New Fish Person Learning Curve

[ColoFishGuy]

OS...thanks so much for the info on the water changing kits. My Python No Spill arrived yesterday. Did a 50% change this morning - drain and fill - of my 60gallon in about 30 minutes....no sore muscles from bucketing....great piece of gear!

 

[Old Scales]

Hey that's great! I find that I tend to do WC's more on schedule with the Python as it's just not that much effort anymore. Your fish will be happier. Please keep me posted on your tank as you progress. OS.

 

[Fishfur]

Filter rinsings poured into a filter to seed it work very very well. You can also pour them into the tank, but then you have to clean the gunk off the tank bottom, so now I always pour it into the filter directly.. usually onto some floss to catch the larger chunks of gunk so I can rinse them out a few days later on. Gently, just to get rid of the big stuff.
You'll be amazed how fast it works. My very first tank, was just starting the nitrite spike, when someone offered rinsings. Spike was gone in less than 36 hours, fully cycled.

 

[ColoFishGuy]

Thanks Fishfur....I have noticed that my ammonia is not increasing near as fast as it had been...still not measuring any nitrites/nitrates tho. getting the other filter media and filter water tonight....will be nice once this cycles. But like what OS said....with the Python having to do a 50% change is a piece of cake now...will be glad to get it down to a more normal schedule.

 

[ColoFishGuy]

Temperature and light cycle

Guess I forgot to ask a basic question...what temperature should the aquarium be maintained at? Currently mine is set to 78degrees and maintains there pretty well. I was reading an article on here that mentioned increasing it to 88 to get it to cycle....I am assuming that would be for a fishless forced cycle???

Getting filter matter tomorrow to seed my filter and see what happens from there. With the little pad i introduced the other day i am still not seeing nitrite or nitrate...ammonia i between .25 and .5 ppm....will do another water change tomorrow before i add the bacteria

 

[Fishperson]

Light doesn't really matter unless you have plants, as long as it stays between 6-12 you are pretty much good. But if you are getting algae problems, than you need to decrease how long your lights are on.

For temperature, 88 is high, even for a fishless cycle. For my fishless cycle I had the temperature at 85. With fish in, don't let it get higher than 82 for most fish.

 

[Old Scales]

78 to 80 F should be fine for cycling. 76 to 78 F is perfect temp for most community tanks. OS.

 

[ColoFishGuy]

Thanks OS....putting the Python to use right now....Ammonia had gotten above .5ppm

 

[Old Scales]

Your welcome. Hoorah! Go for it.
I'm excited as I am going to Dallas, TX tomorrow with my brother. Going to stop by one of their biggest fish stores while there. Hoping to bring back some Marbled Hatchets and maybe a GBR. OS.

 

[ColoFishGuy]

the saga continues....

Well my buddy brought over two grungy filter pads that fit in my Penquin 350.....however when i put both of them in along with my current pads my biowheels quit turning....so i have one of his in there with mine...the other one I squeezed as much of the stuff as i could into the filter then put it in a baggy of tank water....i will let that one sit in the baggy for a day then pour it into my filter.

Will check chemistry tomorrow night and see if i notice any changes. Would leaving the light on longer hours help the process?

OS...have a great time in the big D....enjoy fish shopping.

 

[Old Scales]

Got back. Had a great time with my brother. The big fish shop was awesome. Half was salt water and half was fresh. Was waited on by ther owner who was great. Fun guy with a great sense of humor and knew his fish. He had a 150g. set up as a planted tank with blood pidgeon discuss and a cloud of about 50 neons. It was awesome! They didn't have any marbled hatchets or GBR's. Ended up getting two Bolivian Rams. They made the trip back just fine.
OS.

 

[Fishfur]

Fwiw, allowing the contents of the filter to sit in a baggie overnight is likely to result in killing most, if not all, of the BB bacteria it contained. They don't live long out of their ideal conditions, which are plentiful oxygen and food being delivered constantly, by way of the water flow through a filter.

If the two pads were too clogged up to allow the filter to run, I'd have squeezed and rinsed them both out in a few cups of either tank or treated water and poured that into the filter instead. But since you have one pad in the filter, you should still get good results. But if you ever have to seed a filter again, just be aware, they don't live long outside the filter conditions. I'd have to research just how long they can manage, but I know it's less than 24 hours.

Edit.. having said less than 24 hours, I find I'm not quite right about that, though it's what I was told once when I was given seeding material in the middle of winter in sub zero temperatures. Survival time depends on a few factors, food, oxygen and also temperature. Chilling, [ not freezing! ] will prolong their lifespan. But supplies of oxygen and food are still important for survival of large numbers. There are quite a few posts on this topic when I googled it.. not all agree, of course.

 

[Mebbid]

Fwiw, allowing the contents of the filter to sit in a baggie overnight is likely to result in killing most, if not all, of the BB bacteria it contained. They don't live long out of their ideal conditions, which are plentiful oxygen and food being delivered constantly, by way of the water flow through a filter.

If the two pads were too clogged up to allow the filter to run, I'd have squeezed and rinsed them both out in a few cups of either tank or treated water and poured that into the filter instead. But since you have one pad in the filter, you should still get good results. But if you ever have to seed a filter again, just be aware, they don't live long outside the filter conditions. I'd have to research just how long they can manage, but I know it's less than 24 hours.

BB are quite a bit more resilient than most people go e them credit for. I mailed a used filter pad to a friend who then let it sit in the bag for close to a week and there was still quite a large number of BB left alive to start the cycle. Not as many as there would have been if it was put to use immediately but it was still significant.

 

[Fishfur]

That's surprising, since without oxygen they can't process food. But if kept at lower temperatures, they can last longer because the cold slows down all their processes. But without a food source, and oxygen ? Not saying it didn't happen, not arguing that, it just surprises me enough of them lived to be useful.

Interesting post on this topic I saw on another forum with a scientific explanation of their metabolism and how it works.

I'm not sure it's allowed to post a link here to another site/post on another site, or I'd post it, because it's sure interesting.. and I also don't want to plagiarize it.

 

[Mebbid]

That's surprising, since without oxygen they can't process food. But if kept at lower temperatures, they can last longer because the cold slows down all their processes. But without a food source, and oxygen ? Not saying it didn't happen, not arguing that, it just surprises me it could.

Interesting post on this topic I saw on another forum with a scientific explanation of their metabolism and how it works. I'm not sure it's allowed to post a link here to another site/post on another site, or I'd post it, because it's sure interesting.. and I also don't want to plagiarize it.

Bacteria have the ability to slow down their metabolism and go dormant when there's a lack of nutrients. They dont last forever but it does happen.

Also, feel free to link to other sites on related topics

 

[ColoFishGuy]

i am seeing changes - yay

ok...I did squeeze out the filter pad from the baggie yesterday and just added that into my filter.

Just did my api test

0ppm Nitrite
5-10ppm Nitrate
.5ppm Ammonia

First time I have gotten a Nitrate reading...thats a good thing right? So should i just wait another day or two and test water again???? What is my threshold for doing a water change in relation to ammonia now that Nitrates are starting to form?

 

[Old Scales]

IMO, I'd wait 24 more hours, then test again. If Ammo goes up from .5 do water change. If Ammo goes down then celebrate as your cycle may be close to done. Ammo should go down to 0 or <.25, nitrites 0, and nitrates slowly rising.(if fish in cycle) OS.

 

[ColoFishGuy]

Thanks OS I will test again this afternoon here and see what happens. By the way I ordered the 20 inch tube for the place on water changer sure is awesome. So glad you made that recommendation it is made my life so much easier. Also by the way I downloaded the app for my phone great way to keep in touch when out and about.

 

[ColoFishGuy]

latest tests

OS...just tested my chemicals and good news...ammonia has not gone up since yesterday and the color of the Nitrate test is darker...but not quite at 10ppm yet. Nitrites are still 0ppm. I moved the grungy filter to the right side of the Penguin 350 to get some gunk going into that filter pad.

I'm not at the point of celebrating yet but I am getting close to the top of the hill I think.

 

[Old Scales]

Keep me posted on your Ammo test. I'm following along.