Help me start a new tank.

[molliwopp]

Hi, new to the forums and could use some help.
Ive just bought a new tank andnits my first. Im an avid animal lover and will do what it takes to make sure my tank is cycled before adding fish of any kind.

Im a complete novice in fish keeping so ive started small. I have a 70ltr juwel rekord that came with a filter and heater. I also bought some dechlorinator (obviously) and some other water safe that adds nitrifying and bacillus bacteria. Ive just been reading that it will go nowhere without food for the bacteria.

Its confusing me actually. So any info you have or things i can read to help me get my head around it would be great.
I know nothing, i know nothing about ph levels... Nitrate levels.. Or anything really. Sitting, looking at my new, decorated, water filled tank is hard but i wont risk the health of any Fish

I know of ways to kick start my tank but would have no idea when or how i would be able to tell if not was ready for fish.

 

[bud29]

to the forum, and to the hobby!


Here is a great link to get you started: Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[molliwopp]

Thanks for the quick reply. Will definitely give this a read on my phone tonight in bed.

One thing ive been reading is i need amonia to start a fishless cycle right. Ill get some tomorrow and work out how much i need to put in.

 

[bud29]

Here is a calculator to find how much ammonia you need to add to your tank to reach the desired level: Calculator

 

[molliwopp]

Right so ive been out and bought a water testing kit and some 'boimature' which is a bacteria food.. In the uk pure ammonia isnt legal to buy so this had to do. I already have the bacteria solution which contains the bacteria and obviously dechlorinator.

Im going to read though your link right now but though i would update first. Thanks.

 

[librarygirl]

Biomature is a new one to me but it seems like it does contain ammonia which is what you want. I didn't know it wasn't legal to purchase ammonia in the UK; I know of people who have used Boots or Homebase ammonia to cycle aquariums. The first link that Bud posted will explain cycling and walk you through the fishless cycle process. Let us know if you have more questions as things progress. Good luck!

 

[molliwopp]

Good luck is what i need, thank you. Never new the extent of keeping fish.. it more of a science really isnt it.
I asked at both my aquirium shop and one said it was illegal and the other said they cant sell it? I dunno soninjust bought the biomature.

Will keep the forum updated regularly.

 

[molliwopp]

Just a quick look at the tank as it is now. When its cycled, ill be putting live plants in.

I went to my local aqua shop today and saw some beautiful little harliquins( i think theyre called) and they were really gorgeous. What are these fiah like for beginners? I love zebra danios too and they are my goal. Maybe afew harlis and a group of zebra eventually? What you think? Do small groups of zebras need more than 20 gallons? Wouldnt mind some floor suckers too (eventually). My tank seems quite deep considering the length and width. But dont wanna over stock.

Thought id stick my tank dimensions in here.

61cm length x 31cm width x 46cm hieght.

 

[molliwopp]

And heres some driftwood. Currently soaking!! I actually put this in the tank after the first day soaking after the guy said a 24hr soak is enough. Only a search did i find that 2weeks is needed! So i took it straight back out. The colour of the water didnt change but should i do some sort of a water or is it too early? Shud i just letnmy tank stew for a week before testing the water?

 

[librarygirl]

You can actually put live plants in now if you want; no need to wait until it cycles.

There's no magic number with wood; some wood can leech tannins for months, some don't at all. If you got the wood wild then you might want to boil it and soak it for a while to make sure it's clean. If you bought it from the pet shop it should be fine to put in once you soak it for a bit. Even if it changes the water color it won't harm anything (the cycle or fish) and it's usually temporary. Some wood can lower PH levels so that's what you'd want to watch out for, especially when cycling as if the PH drops too low it can stall the cycle. You can just test the PH of the water the wood is soaking in to see if it changes over time.

Also most pet shops don't sell ammonia so if you want to buy it you should try a hardware or department store.

I think 6 harlequins and 6 zebras would be fine for your tank.

 

[molliwopp]

Thanks. The woman at one of the fish shops said if im adding any ammonia the plants would die? The same woman that when i mentioned and asked for ammonia she looked puzzled and asked why i wanted it.. As if i was some sort of fish murderer

When cycling my tank should i avoid touching or cleaning the filter?
Im about to do a water test, i got alittle book with my testing kit that i will be filling in everytime i do a test. How often should i be testing it during the cycle?





This pump/filter nozzle, which direction should it face? At the moment its point down into the middle of the tank. It coughs out air bubbles every now and again which i presume is probably timed.
Water surface agitation, does that mean bubbling or just moving around nicely?

 

[molliwopp]

First test is as fellowed.

Ph inbetween 7.2 and 7.6
K/h mg/l inbetween 50 and 100
Gh mg/l inbetween 125 and 250
Nitrate looks like 25
Nitrite looks like 0

Nonidea what this means though lol!

 

[molliwopp]

My friend has a cold water aquirium.. Can i use filter matter from his tank? How safe is this? Whats the procedure? Rince out his filter into mine or something?

 

[ownedbycats]

Filter material from a cool water tank should be just fine as long as he doesn't have sickness in his tank. The best way is if you can cut off a piece of sponge/other filter media and squeeze it in beside the filter material in your filter. Bacteria will eventually transfer from that sponge to yours. If he has solid material like ceramic balls, or plastic stars, see if you can borrow one for a few days and then return it after the bacteria has had time to transfer to your filter. There might be a bit of die off as bacteria adjust to change in temperature, but enough should be left to kickstart your new colony.

She probably doesn't know you are doing a fishless cycle. Ammonia is a poison, so if you had fish in your tank you would likely be killing them with the levels used for a fish-less cycle (On the plus side, the amount of bacteria grown during a fishless cycle can more than handle the amount of ammonia produced in fish waste.) Extremely high levels of ammonia would probably kill plants eventually (ammonia is a caustic chemical, it causes burns so could damage leaves. Think bleach.) However, plants do actually need some ammonia in order to grow (they get nitrogen from it.) As long as you are following the cycling guide and not dumping in so much ammonia that your tank is more ammonia than water, plants should be fine.


Harlequins are nice easy fish for a beginner. No special requirements, no special food (just need warm temperature and general tropical fish food) and your tank is a good size for them. Were the ones you saw silver and black with blue iridescent stripe? Fish stores tend to sell fish when they are still small and that is what mine looked like when I bought them. Several months later, the fins have taken on an orange color and their bodies range from a pale orange for most to a couple that are more of a reddish color. They are a schooling fish, so you should get at least 6 to keep them happy.

 

[molliwopp]

Ok. Well i now have another friend that has a tank and he was just saying how his filter needs cleaning. Is this a good or a bad thing.. I have no idea if either of them have healthy tanks though...

Oh and my new heater doesnt get herebuntil wednesday so the bacteria wont have to adjust until then.

And yeah, i think your almost spot on with the colours there. My memory really is crappy.

If i were to use abit of a friends filter. What would i do after that? Would i have to add any food or just wait?

 

[ownedbycats]

You still have to add bacteria food (ammonia) to help to bacteria multiply and to keep them alive. Without ammonia the bacteria will eventually starve and die. Once you add fish, they will supply ammonia through the waste they produce. Having a starter colony means it will take far less time for you tank to fully cycle.
Doing a fishless cycle is a matter of adding ammonia and waiting and watching your test levels.
First you add the ammonia, and test your water to see what the starting levels for all the important chemicals are (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate - don't forget to hit the bottom of the bottle against something first). After that you can probably check just the ammonia levels until they start to lower. That's when you add a little bit more ammonia. That's also when you start checking your nitrites and nitrates. As ammonia levels lower, you start to see nitrite levels rise. Then both the ammonia and nitrite levels should start to lower and your nitrate levels rise. The only way to get rid of nitrate is to do water changes. When you can add your usual dose of ammonia, and your bacteria filter can convert it from ammonia, to mitrite, to nitrate, your bacteria should be able to handle fish. You can stop adding ammonia, do a large water change to bring the nitrAte levels down to safe amounts, and bring your fish home.

 

[molliwopp]

Right... As much as it hurts to think i could cut a month out of a cycle. I dont want to risk the health of my fish. Not knowing how healthy these tanks are worries me. I see this first cycle as a learning curve and if i skip it and jump into the deep end, if anything goes wrong ill have no idea of what to do. Making it worse for me in the long run. So its back to plan A.

 

[ownedbycats]

Well, although some fish diseases can hide for a while before showing up, if your friends have had their tanks running for any length of time those diseases should have made themselves known. If they are having fish die, or with obvious problems (fungus, sores, swimming strangely) then don't get filter media from them. On the other hand, if they keep their tank clean, fish don't die except for old age or accident, then you are probably safe to ask them for a head start.

 

[Wingman-Goose]

I would point your power head nozzle upwards to create surface agitation! If it's to powerful / noisy aim it up but slightly towards the back wall to take some of the power out of it!

 

[brennae]

Your tank looks very nice, I can't wait to see it planted!