How long do I wait after adding bacteria?

[Komodo]

After adding Bactria in my new tank, a three day process, I started testing the water quality.

High ph 8.0
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm

It's 104 gallons

The bottle says "immediately establishes safe biological aquarium environment.
Product: Nutrafin cycle.

I know that these products have a bad reputation so I added ten Tiger Barb the same day of my last treatment. I was assured that these fish can mix well with African Malawi Cichlids.

Three days latter, the fish seem to be doing well, and the water condition has never changed, how much longer do I wait before adding twenty baby Cichlids?




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[aqua_holic]

You'd be well advised to wait a few weeks - worst thing you could possibly do is stock the tank too quickly.

Who told you tiger barbs would survive in an African cichlid tank??

 

[PB_Smith]

You'd be well advised to wait a few weeks - worst thing you could possibly do is stock the tank too quickly.

and you certainly do not want to add 20 fish at once.

My guess is that the tank volume is so great relative to the bio-load that your tank is doing a stealth cycle where no parameters really spike and can give the false impression that all is well.
If you add 20 more fish now, I fear you would greatly risk a catastrophe.


how long has the tank actually been running, 7-8 days?

 

[aqua_holic]

Many African keepers feel that adding all the fish at once is best. They advise the bacteria colony to be artificially built up by dosing ammonia prior to stocking.

I would return the barbs because they aren't likely to do well with the Africans, and dose ammonia until your tank can fully process 3-4 ppm a day. Then add all 20 fish. Stocking Africans is about the only scenario in which it's good to do that.

 

[Komodo]

You'd be well advised to wait a few weeks - worst thing you could possibly do is stock the tank too quickly.

Who told you tiger barbs would survive in an African cichlid tank??

The aquarium shop keeper

 

[Komodo]

and you certainly do not want to add 20 fish at once.

My guess is that the tank volume is so great relative to the bio-load that your tank is doing a stealth cycle where no parameters really spike and can give the false impression that all is well.
If you add 20 more fish now, I fear you would greatly risk a catastrophe.


how long has the tank actually been running, 7-8 days?

Six days today I put in the water. Five days ago I started adding the Bacteria.
I don't know if it’s imported but I am using two filters.

 

[aqua_holic]

Many people find that fish store employees will tell you whatever you want to hear in order to send you home with some fish. Of course there are good ones, but there are a lot of bad ones. While tiger barbs are tough aggressive fish, they might as well be neons with regards to keeping them with African cichlids. The list of fish that can coexist with them is very, very short. There are a lot of different African cichlids though, so if someone has something they want to add to that please share. I've been learning about them but there are others far more knowledgable than me on this, for sure.

 

[PB_Smith]

Six days today I put in the water. Five days ago I started adding the Bacteria.
I don't know if it’s imported but I am using two filters.

I strongly suggest you have a look at the following articles;
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

and for reference (because you already have fish in tank)
The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice

and finally this;

Lake Malawi and Aquarium Stocking Cichlids - Aquarium Advice


you have at least a few weeks to go before you should consider adding any more livestock.

 

[militantpotato]

You need an ammonia source and test results showing the ammonia and nitrites are being processed before a tank can be called "established." Then you can sort out the sort of fish load you can add. Does it process 2ppm of ammonia into nitrites, then nitrates in 24 hours? You're good to add a full stocking.

I'm a fan of adding media from an established tank to speed up a cycle, but either way the bacteria needs a food source (pure ammonia or fish) or it will die.

I'd get some janitorial ammonia from a hardware store, dose for 2ppm, and reference a fishless cycle guide to be sure the tank is started properly with minimal disease risk.
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[PB_Smith]

You need an ammonia source and test results showing the ammonia and nitrites are being processed before a tank can be called "established." Then you can sort out the sort of fish load you can add. Does it process 2ppm of ammonia into nitrites, then nitrates in 24 hours? You're good to add a full stocking.

I'm a fan of adding media from an established tank to speed up a cycle, but either way the bacteria needs a food source (pure ammonia or fish) or it will die.

I'd get some janitorial ammonia from a hardware store, dose for 2ppm, and reference a fishless cycle guide to be sure the tank is started properly with minimal disease risk.
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he already has fish in the tank

 

[militantpotato]

he already has fish in the tank

Ah i missed that, sorry. I'd wait until nitrates are detectable before assuming a light stocking is stable. Even then expect a mini cycle from 20 rapidly growing fish and be prepared with prime + time to do large water changes to keep ammonia as safe as possible. Maybe some aquarium salt to avoid brown blood if nitrites spike and the fish will tolerate the small.amount needed.

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[Komodo]

Ah i missed that, sorry. I'd wait until nitrates are detectable before assuming a light stocking is stable. Even then expect a mini cycle from 20 rapidly growing fish and be prepared with prime + time to do large water changes to keep ammonia as safe as possible. Maybe some aquarium salt to avoid brown blood if nitrites spike and the fish will tolerate the small.amount needed.

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In my situation, how much salt?

 

[Komodo]

I strongly suggest you have a look at the following articles;
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

and for reference (because you already have fish in tank)
The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice

and finally this;

Lake Malawi and Aquarium Stocking Cichlids - Aquarium Advice


you have at least a few weeks to go before you should consider adding any more livestock.

Thanks for the references, I read them and found them very useful.

 

[militantpotato]

In my situation, how much salt?

Unless nitrites spike I'd not worry about it. But the dosage is 1 teaspoon per gallon. It's important to not use salt if ammonia is present, since the higher ph will greatly increase its toxicity.

Large water changes daily or more frequently using predechlorinated water is the best route if experiencing a mini cycle due to new fish or an immature filter.

Prime also helps a great deal to reduce fish loss.

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[Komodo]

Unless nitrites spike I'd not worry about it. But the dosage is 1 teaspoon per gallon. It's important to not use salt if ammonia is present, since the higher ph will greatly increase its toxicity.

Large water changes daily or more frequently using predechlorinated water is the best route if experiencing a mini cycle due to new fish or an immature filter.

Prime also helps a great deal to reduce fish loss.

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I was told a number of times to use 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, your dosage of 1 teaspoon per gallon is very different. This is my first aquarium so I don’t pretend to know but this is a large difference. Can you please explain your reasoning behind your suggested dosage?

 

[militantpotato]

I only recently learned this stuff myself, it's way above my head. Apparently very little chloride is needed to combat nitrite toxicity compared to sodium needed to combat certain parasites. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...kC0mrQLtIB0opHlCQ&sig2=a5K2AeRQH4xUUcNA6YzsWw
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[Komodo]

I only recently learned this stuff myself, it's way above my head. Apparently very little chloride is needed to combat nitrite toxicity compared to sodium needed to combat certain parasites. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...kC0mrQLtIB0opHlCQ&sig2=a5K2AeRQH4xUUcNA6YzsWw
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It’s all a little over my head, but thanks for the reference.

 

[PB_Smith]

That article is for commercial fisheries and not home aquaria.
I would generally disregard it as not directly applicable.

The use of salt in fresh water tanks is debatable.

The best course of action for you to follow at this point is get a good test kit, API kits are probably the easiest to use while still giving reliable results. Avoid using strips, they are horribly inaccurate.
Then just test and monitor the water and if levels of ammonia or nitrite are present, do a partial water change of no more than 50%, unless some level is really high.


Adding things to the water to try to correct or prevent things is usually not the best first course of action.
Water changes will do much more and more reliably than adding salt.


Follow the guides for doing a fish-in cycle and you should be fine.