Alright,
First thanks for all of the friendly help I have recieved so far. I set up a 29 gal aquarium at my office 9/8/06. I added fish the following Monday, which would have been 9/11/06 so it has been 1 week stocked. Originally, I had
6 Black Mollies
12 Neon Tetras
4 Sword Tails
During setup, I added a full does of water conditioner and prime. I also added a full dose of Stress Zyme. I added pretty close to the recommended salt level for the mollies to make them alittle more at home, but I did this gradually over the week as I really didnt think Petsmart used salt in their tanks.
During the week last week, I took water samples daily, and every day it was 0ppm for Amonia/Nitrite/Nitrate. I am just now getting a reading for the first time of any Amonia in the tank. It is between .25-.5 ppm, and everything else is still at 0.
My question is, is this a slow cycle start, a small bio-load, or did I add enough of the prime bacteria that it could have aided the process since it had about 3 days to set up in the filter media? I had the temp around 82 degrees during that weekend to help the process, tank now is about 76-78 Degrees F.
The first few days, several of the neons died, and 1 of the red tails died. Friday one of the Mollies died as well, so currently I am left with
3 Neon Tetras
5 Black Mollies
3 Sword Tails
I am thinking of adding a Gourami centerpiece and an clean up fish. Should I continue to wait or go ahead and get the fish? I am also considering adding a few more black mollies. I would eventually like something fun like a "Cobalt Lobster", but want the tank absolutely stable before adding a 40 dollar item to the tank.
Thanks!
James
I left out a main part of the question, should I perform a PWC or let it have the ammonia so it can better cycle?
First thanks for all of the friendly help I have recieved so far. I set up a 29 gal aquarium at my office 9/8/06. I added fish the following Monday, which would have been 9/11/06 so it has been 1 week stocked. Originally, I had
6 Black Mollies
12 Neon Tetras
4 Sword Tails
During setup, I added a full does of water conditioner and prime. I also added a full dose of Stress Zyme. I added pretty close to the recommended salt level for the mollies to make them alittle more at home, but I did this gradually over the week as I really didnt think Petsmart used salt in their tanks.
During the week last week, I took water samples daily, and every day it was 0ppm for Amonia/Nitrite/Nitrate. I am just now getting a reading for the first time of any Amonia in the tank. It is between .25-.5 ppm, and everything else is still at 0.
My question is, is this a slow cycle start, a small bio-load, or did I add enough of the prime bacteria that it could have aided the process since it had about 3 days to set up in the filter media? I had the temp around 82 degrees during that weekend to help the process, tank now is about 76-78 Degrees F.
The first few days, several of the neons died, and 1 of the red tails died. Friday one of the Mollies died as well, so currently I am left with
3 Neon Tetras
5 Black Mollies
3 Sword Tails
I am thinking of adding a Gourami centerpiece and an clean up fish. Should I continue to wait or go ahead and get the fish? I am also considering adding a few more black mollies. I would eventually like something fun like a "Cobalt Lobster", but want the tank absolutely stable before adding a 40 dollar item to the tank.
Thanks!
James
I left out a main part of the question, should I perform a PWC or let it have the ammonia so it can better cycle?