2nd Time Around Fishless Cycling 120gal Tank

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Just FYI...it's 1am...I've been at an international soccer match and have been enjoying adult refreshments since about 1:30pm...so take what I say with a grain of salt :)

Water poured out of pitcher + through net + fish falls into net = perfectly fine IME.

From what I understand about DW...bogwood does contain tannins...so unless properly cured...you can have pH reduction and tea colored water.
 
Terrific! I will do that tomorrow afternoon. I have to get a bunch of setups though because once I lower the water so I can more easily catch the fish, I don't want them to have to wait so I'll get them into their own pitchers, get the drips going and use the net. I have a huge net that won't bother them too much
I'll prepare the tank in the morning. Get the setups I need and move them in the afternoon.
The pH is steady, around 7.2; there was no Am as of this afternoon; and NitrItes=0 and I fed it this morning to Am 1ppm

I HAVE to move my fish tomorrow because the heater in their tank is heating the water when the water is 82 deg. and I have the heater set at the bottom and it still won't turn off. So I'm going to unplug the heater and set my alarm to check on them at 4am and if the temp is too low, I'll plug it in for a while.
But they have to move out of there asap because of that heater.

The bog log I have is well cured. It was in the LFS's big tank and it was not leaking tannins. Plus it's been in water in my house and the water is clear.

I'll let you know how the move goes tomorrow.:fish2:

Thank you so much Eco23.:thanks: It's so great to have my tank fully cycled the fishless way! By the time I started over again, it only took 24 days. Not bad!!!:dance:
 
Fishie Day!

Water parameters this morning:
pH=7.2ish+ between 7.2 and 7.6
Am=0
NI=0
NA=40-80 (those colors are so close, I really can't tell)
Temp=87

So after church I'm going to buy some plants at Petco (not at my LFS because he's closed today). I'll go tomorrow and buy as many as my $ will get me. But my fishies are used to plants and I can't move their current plants that are hanging on with that black hair algae on them.
Today, fishies are moving to their new aquarium. So I'll do a massive treated water change to remove the NitrAtes and get them down to 5 or 10ppm, lower the heat, add the plants and bog log.

For the fishies, I'll do the acclimation method that Eco23 recommends with just a little twist. I will put them in two large dedicated fish only containers with some water from the old tank and then add in new tank water a bit at a time until they are acclimated. . . I'm guessing in about 30 minutes. But if I need to take longer than 30 minutes, Eco23, please correct me. Then I'll net them with a NEW net and pour some new tank water over them and the net (to make sure no algae spores from the old tank travel to the new tank) and let them swim out of the net into the new tank. :dance:

Then, I'll tear down and remove the old tank, clean it up so it is absolutely sparkling and sell it.

I'm also going to use the MarineLand 360-C cannister filter in my new tank . . . after Ian power washes it and I treat it with some mild bleach, and scrub it until all the algae is gone. Then I'll hook it up the the new tank - so I'll have this second cannister running along with my Rena. That should keep the water nice and clean for them.

I'll post some pictures today, if I can figure out how to do that. Mostly, you'll be meeting Angelina (JuruPari Cichlid), 7 Rio Tapajos Red Nose Cichlids (one which is an adult and the other six probably teenagers), 6 Clown Loaches, 3 Cory Dory Julies (sp?), 1 Ancistrus. Doesn't sound like very many fish for that size tank, but they are growing and will get bigger and the Rio Tapajos will be breeding.

It won't have too many plants in it today, but I will be adding as I go.

Thank you again Eco23 - couldn't have finished this fishless cycle without'cha! :flowers:
 
You did all the work and had tremendous commitment...I don't deserve any of the credit, it's all you :)

I'm sure however you acclimate them is fine...since we've got different levels of CC and other parameters, it's just important that we acclimate them slowly in one form or another.

Can't wait to see pics!
 
Thank you Eco.:)
But is 30 minutes enough time to bring the water ratio up to what they need? And what should ratio of old to new water be - 50% old and 50% new; or 40% old and 60% new. . . over 30 minutes (enough time?) Hopefully, this is my last question.
:)
Ann
 
Ann7667 said:
Thank you Eco.:)
But is 30 minutes enough time to bring the water ratio up to what they need? And what should ratio of old to new water be - 50% old and 50% new; or 40% old and 60% new. . . over 30 minutes (enough time?) Hopefully, this is my last question.
:)
Ann
Click to expand...

If you're going to just use a bucket, I'd fill it maybe 30-40% with old water...let it fill with the new, dump half out when it's full and do it again. You don't have to drip acclimate them...you can just pour a bit of new water in every 15 minutes or so. 30 minutes might not be long enough IMO. Maybe 45 would be ideal as far as what I think.
 
Thank you Eco!
I'm actually using two kinda large rectangular plastic boxes. But your instructions on how to proceed are very useful!
fill with 30% old water.
Put fishies in.
Every 10 or 15 minutes add a little more water until it's full.
Siphon out half out half.
Fill it to the top again.
Once it's full I can net the fishies and put them in their new home!:fish2:
Thanks again!:)
 
All Fishies are in!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!! It took about 4 hours from beginning to end - I still have some clean-up to do - but all the fishies are moved into the big tank! It was so amazing! :band:

No one wanted to be netted and put in the boxes of water, but I got them all (Ian netted the last few because I was wearing down!) Angelina was a pearl color in the tank with the lighter sand and when she get upset she puts on her stripes, but the moment she was released into the big tank the stripes just disappeared. They all seemed so amazed at the size and they all ran to the bog log and hung out there together, except for the cory dora julies who swam around and around together.
The water parameters are perfect! The Nitrates even are under 10.

I'm really so happy. It turned out so nice. I'll try to get some photos. I picked up some plants which will probably not live long because they need bright lights, but at least we have mostly real ones and a few low growing plastic ones.

Thanks again Eco for hanging in there with me:thanks: - it was helpful to have you and Deckape, Library Girl and Mr. Z AND burlacher who first warned me about the ammonia I was using which would never have worked.

Fishless Cycling is the only way to go!(y)
 
Yay! Glad we reached a happy and successful conclusion! :). It was nice getting to know you during the process. I hope you'll stick around:).

Pics! Pics! Pics!
 
Great job Ann. Looking forward to seeing how it looks...hint
 
Oh they DO! They absolutely LOVE IT in there! The clown loaches go racing across the tank with the Rio Tapajos coming after them and the little Cory Doras get in the mix too! :)
Ian really likes fish now. The first morning, Ian was up first and turned the fish light on (first time in 17 years), then yesterday he went to the LFS with me and wanted to get 2 more Cory Dora Julii's and I ended up getting 3 because an extra one jumped in the bag.
Then I ordered a heater regulator at bulkreefsupply.com because my heaters are making the water too warm for them so I have to constantly watch them Then I order an additional light for the aquarium so my plants would live . . . $ . . . Whew! Ian got a little pale when Aaron at the LFS said the light would cost $169.00 but his color returned when he realized I was not going to get another one that was $699. :)
The light is over the 4'center of the tank and that's where my live plants are so I'll getting some plastic somethings to put on the sides. I need a little bit of shade in there for the Clown Loaches.
 
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Great pictures Ann. Absolutely stunning. Thanks for sticking with it!
 
That's a really nice tank you have there Ann!
I'm glad through all your work you got the tank to cycle!!!
Patience is a virtue!
 
Great aquarium Ann! I also think that my aquarium is finally cycled. Just waiting for the right time to move all my fishes into it.
 
Awesome tank and beautiful pics. I love the friendly blue background. Thanks for your patience and inspiring me.
 
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