Cycling an Aquarium.

campo · 05-04-2012 12:17pm

fred funk }{ wrote: »

I have yet to see an accurate heater thermostat, they never work. A little in-tank thermometer is less than a fiver.

back to the pet shop I go and can I ask regards the food resting on the bottom of the tank is this normal I thought by now this would be broken up and gone through filter process .

I have also tried to test the water but I am doing something wrong here also I have the test tube test kit but when I add the solution it changes colour alright but not a colour that is on the card so have no idea what my Nitrate levels are etc....

fred funk }{ · 05-04-2012 12:25pm

campo wrote: »

back to the pet shop I go and can I ask regards the food resting on the bottom of the tank is this normal I thought by now this would be broken up and gone through filter process .

I have also tried to test the water but I am doing something wrong here also I have the test tube test kit but when I add the solution it changes colour alright but not a colour that is on the card so have no idea what my Nitrate levels are etc....

Four days does seem a little long to be still sitting there without breaking up. Is there enough water circulation in the tank? and what type of filter do you have?

With test kits you need to follow the instructions to the letter or else the results will be wrong.

campo · 05-04-2012 12:34pm

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Four days does seem a little long to be still sitting there without breaking up. Is there enough water circulation in the tank? and what type of filter do you have?

With test kits you need to follow the instructions to the letter or else the results will be wrong.

Thanks for all the help Fred will have to find out the make and model of Filter but regards walter circulation to me it does not look like there is enough as filter is very loud but I dont see much water circulating ,

Will report back later with make and model etc

campo · 07-04-2012 1:26pm

ok so after attempting to cycle tank for a week with not much look I decided to bring a sample of my water to my local pet shop ( underwater world in Limerick ) who are great, the guy in there Kevin tested my water and results were below

Amonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 50

But here was the kicker he asked me if I lived in a hardwater area and when I said I did he told me this is going to be a problem because basically the hardwater in my tap is off the scales when he tested it so I would have to fill my tank with different water, he was good enough to supply me with 60l of water so I can re-cycle my tank

Also bought some

Nutrafin Cycle and Aqua plus along with Prime so hopefully in next couple of weeks I can start to add some fish

ozzy jr · 07-04-2012 2:52pm

campo wrote: »

But here was the kicker he asked me if I lived in a hardwater area and when I said I did he told me this is going to be a problem because basically the hardwater in my tap is off the scales when he tested it so I would have to fill my tank with different water

Thats poor advice. There's plenty of products that soften water without the need for replacing it. The most obvious one being peat in the filter.

fred funk }{ · 07-04-2012 5:01pm

campo wrote: »

ok so after attempting to cycle tank for a week with not much look I decided to bring a sample of my water to my local pet shop ( underwater world in Limerick ) who are great, the guy in there Kevin tested my water and results were below

Amonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 50

But here was the kicker he asked me if I lived in a hardwater area and when I said I did he told me this is going to be a problem because basically the hardwater in my tap is off the scales when he tested it so I would have to fill my tank with different water, he was good enough to supply me with 60l of water so I can re-cycle my tank

Also bought some

Nutrafin Cycle and Aqua plus along with Prime so hopefully in next couple of weeks I can start to add some fish

I'm confused. Your water hardness shouldn't make a difference to your tanks cycling process. Could he of meant that the fish you wanted to keep required softer water?

campo · 07-04-2012 5:17pm

maybe so I did mention that I was looking to keep tropical fish like

Neon Tetra
Tiger Barb
Gourami
Clown loach
Pleco

thats what I am eventually looking at keeping in my tank

fred funk }{ · 07-04-2012 6:54pm

If your water is very hard then those fish aren't really suited to those conditions and trying to soften the water might be a bit much of an ongoing effort.

Have you looked at any African cichlids? They would thrive in your water conditions.

campo · 07-04-2012 7:11pm

fred funk }{ wrote: »

If your water is very hard then those fish aren't really suited to those conditions and trying to soften the water might be a bit much of an ongoing effort.

Have you looked at any African cichlids? They would thrive in your water conditions.

Looked at them thought they were a bit ugly been honest not too bothered about the water just means when I go and visit friends and family in City to bring a container for water

buzz · 07-04-2012 7:33pm

Also, dont put fish food in the tank as it will rot and effect your levels.
Wait until you have fish.

WHat is your Ph level?

After about 2 weeks of cycling, start with the tetras, they are hardy fish.
Leave them for a week or 2 before adding anymore fish, as the filter needs time to build up bacteria. Add fish slowly after that, maybe 1 or 2 per 10 days to be safe. Better be safe than over loading to soon, which can affect your amonia and Nitrite levels and cause a problem... You can use filter boost to help cycle the tank.

fred funk }{ · 07-04-2012 7:56pm

campo wrote: »

Looked at them thought they were a bit ugly been honest not too bothered about the water just means when I go and visit friends and family in City to bring a container for water

Fair enough but sourcing water from a different region might become a real chore once the initial fish keeping novelty wears off.

campo · 07-04-2012 8:52pm

buzz wrote: »

Also, dont put fish food in the tank as it will rot and effect your levels.
Wait until you have fish.

WHat is your Ph level?

After about 2 weeks of cycling, start with the tetras, they are hardy fish.
Leave them for a week or 2 before adding anymore fish, as the filter needs time to build up bacteria. Add fish slowly after that, maybe 1 or 2 per 10 days to be safe. Better be safe than over loading to soon, which can affect your amonia and Nitrite levels and cause a problem... You can use filter boost to help cycle the tank.

just did a check there and results were

Amonia 0ppm
Nitritre 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

and PH 6.4

Is this a good thing

fred funk }{ · 07-04-2012 9:09pm

campo wrote: »

just did a check there and results were

Amonia 0ppm
Nitritre 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm

and PH 6.4

Is this a good thing

You should have a reading of some sort of nitrate.

campo · 07-04-2012 9:24pm

After looking at it again looks more like 5ppm

Posy · 12-04-2012 2:07am

What should the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH readings generally be to keep your fish healthy?

fred funk }{ · 12-04-2012 7:59am

Posy wrote: »

What should the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH readings generally be to keep your fish healthy?

Nitrite and Ammonia should be zero. Nitrate is the end product off the cycling process which means there will always be some level present. Nitrate is harmless at low levels, that's why water changes are important. If you over feed or are over stocked with fish the Nitrate levels will increase quickly so more water changes are needed.

pH is a measure of the waters acidity and it's measured on a scale of 1-14, 1 being acidic 14 being alkaline and 7 being neutral. Aquarium pH normally varies between 6-9. Some fish do best with low pH and others with a high pH. Most fish will acclimatise to a particular pH even if it's not it's natural level but what will shock/kill fish is sudden change.

campo · 12-04-2012 7:50pm

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Nitrite and Ammonia should be zero. Nitrate is the end product off the cycling process which means there will always be some level present. Nitrate is harmless at low levels, that's why water changes are important. If you over feed or are over stocked with fish the Nitrate levels will increase quickly so more water changes are needed.

pH is a measure of the waters acidity and it's measured on a scale of 1-14, 1 being acidic 14 being alkaline and 7 being neutral. Aquarium pH normally varies between 6-9. Some fish do best with low pH and others with a high pH. Most fish will acclimatise to a particular pH even if it's not it's natural level but what will shock/kill fish is sudden change.

My latest readings are as follows

Amonia 2.0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
PH 7.6

Cycling about a week now should I do anything like water change etc or just leave for now

fred funk }{ · 12-04-2012 11:50pm

Leave her be. You should start seeing the nitrite showing soon.

suziek21 · 13-08-2012 3:27pm

Hi campo, did you get your tank sorted.
i'm just about to start in next 2-3 weeks and i've been reading your thread, god i didn't know there was so much to setting up a tank :-)
i've a 330 ltr tank and need to start reading up. where in limerick would you recommend a good fish shop. i'm in mallow

donal7 · 10-09-2012 9:50am

Hi All,

I am about to start cycling a new tank.

I already have a tank fully cycled (running 5years+) and was going to pop some of that filter media into the new external filter to help it get established.

The tank has been fully cleaned along with the sand base. I was planning on filling the tank, treating the water with dechlorinator (Easy Life Fluid Filter Medium) and leaving an airstone on for 24 hours and turn on heater. Start up the new external filter with the mature filter (I also have polyfilter in the new external filter).

I was planning on leaving the tank for a week and then test the water.

Any other tips/suggestions? In my current tank I use EasyLife Fluid Filter Medium for water changes.

Cheers in advance

ozzy jr · 10-09-2012 10:24am

donal7 wrote: »

Start up the new external filter with the mature filter (I also have polyfilter in the new external filter).

I was planning on leaving the tank for a week and then test the water.

If you have established bacteria in the new filter, you're going to need to feed the bacteria to keep it alive, so adding some fish straight will be no harm.

Only add enough fish that the amount of filter media you put in the external filter can cope with.

donal7 · 10-09-2012 10:45am

ozzy jr wrote: »

If you have established bacteria in the new filter, you're going to need to feed the bacteria to keep it alive, so adding some fish straight will be no harm.

Only add enough fish that the amount of filter media you put in the external filter can cope with.

Thanks ozzy jr for the reply

I was thinking of getting a couple of guppies or something just for the initial cycling period in the hope the LFS might take them back when the tank is fully cycled and I'm ready to get more fish

FoghornLeghorn I say boy · 01-03-2013 12:53am

Hi does anyone know where in Galway you can get Chaetomorpha Algae for a marine sump all info greatly appreciated. Try Special Blend or Easy Life to cycle your tank,just follow the instructions on the bottle. :cool:

Ilik Urgee · 28-03-2013 9:52pm

Hi all,

Started cycling a 125 liter tank last Sunday with some live plants. How long should I leave the lights on?
It's a Juwel125,used API Stress Zyme and Stress Coat that came with it. Plants are Ludwigia Rot,Echinidorus and Mini Althenanthera if it makes any odds,running at 25.5*C

Marcin_diy · 01-04-2013 1:01pm

Ilik Urgee wrote: »

Hi all,

Started cycling a 125 liter tank last Sunday with some live plants. How long should I leave the lights on?
It's a Juwel125,used API Stress Zyme and Stress Coat that came with it. Plants are Ludwigia Rot,Echinidorus and Mini Althenanthera if it makes any odds,running at 25.5*C

Hello

You will find many opinions on this, but what i do when I start a tank is :
I keep lights on for 6h week1
7h week 2
8h week3
9h week 4
10h week 5 +

Ludwigia Rot - light requirements are medium to high
Echinidorus - light requirements are medium to high
Althenanthera - light requirements are high.

What light do you have in your tank?
is it standard 2x 24W ?

if yes I'm afraid it won't be enough for Echinidorus and Althenanthera

For plants with low light requirement I can say that 0.3 - 0.5 W per 1Litre of water is enough
medium - 0.5 - 0.7 W per 1L
high 0.7 - 1W per 1L

Let say you have 48 Watts - divided by 125L = 0.38 W per litre.

Did you think about getting additional lights units?

like this one:

The only thing you need to do is to drill 4 small holes in your top and attach light tubes

thedavman009 · 03-12-2013 8:44pm

Hi all hooping you can advise me if my tank has fully cycled. I have been cycling my new aquarium for the last 3 weeks which can be summarised as follows:

Week 1: No fish and small amounts of fish food added each day. At the end of the week I had a low ammonia reading and no nitrite.

Week 2: I added 5 zebra danios. The ammonia steadily increased together with the nitrite. I did frequent water changes to reduce the ammonia and nitrite levels.

Week 3: Overnight the ammonia and nitrite have dropped to zero (Having added some API Quick Start to the tank on the instruction of the LFS a day previously). I bought a nitrate testing kit and it is registering 30ppm, however my tap water also registers 30ppm.

Is there any way I can confirm whether my tank has cycled and I can add more fish or has the Quick Start given me false hope at this stage?

Thanks

fred funk }{ · 03-12-2013 11:09pm

If your Nitrite and Ammonia levels remain at zero but your Nitrate levels increase then your tank is cycled.

Consider that with only a few Danios, there isn't much waste being created so the levels of the above will be quit small.

thedavman009 · 05-12-2013 8:14pm

Hmmm still very confused as to whether my tank has cycled or not.

The ammonia and nitrite levels remain at zero however the nitrate has now also decreased to zero!

By introducing the API Quick Start (on the instruction of LFS) have I possibly restarted the cycle again and will have to wait for ammonia and nitrite to reappear and the cycles to recommence?

ozzy jr · 05-12-2013 8:37pm

thedavman009 wrote: »

Week 1: No fish and small amounts of fish food added each day. At the end of the week I had a low ammonia reading and no nitrite.

Week 2: I added 5 zebra danios. The ammonia steadily increased together with the nitrite. I did frequent water changes to reduce the ammonia and nitrite levels.

You shouldn't have added fish while you had a positive ammonia reading. You should have let the cycle complete.

thedavman009 · 05-12-2013 8:58pm

ozzy jr wrote: »

You shouldn't have added fish while you had a positive ammonia reading. You should have let the cycle complete.

Clearly that is no longer an option.

I understood there was more than one way to cycle. Including a cycle with hardy fish such as zebra danios. Should I now wait for the tank to cycle and maintain constant water changes to reduce ammonia and nitrite?

ozzy jr · 06-12-2013 12:09am

thedavman009 wrote: »

Clearly that is no longer an option.

I understood there was more than one way to cycle. Including a cycle with hardy fish such as zebra danios. Should I now wait for the tank to cycle and maintain constant water changes to reduce ammonia and nitrite?

There's no need to use fish to cycle an aquarium, no matter how hardy you believe them to be, especially with all the quick start methods available nowadays.

If I was in your position, I'd remove any fish and start the cycle again.

thedavman009 · 06-12-2013 12:17am

ozzy jr wrote: »

There's no need to use fish to cycle an aquarium, no matter how hardy you believe them to be, especially with all the quick start methods available nowadays.

If I was in your position, I'd remove any fish and start the cycle again.

Fishless cycle obviously no longer an option. Apart from waiting for the cycle to naturally occur, what if anything should I do?

ozzy jr · 06-12-2013 12:22am

thedavman009 wrote: »

Fishless cycle obviously no longer an option. Apart from waiting for the cycle to naturally occur, what if anything should I do?

You could do some water changes, but as there isn't enough bacteria in the filter, any waste from the fish won't be processed. Ammonia and Nitrite will more than likely continue to rise.

thedavman009 · 06-12-2013 12:32am

[quote="ozzy jr;87864110"Ammonia and Nitrite will more than likely continue to rise.[/quote]

Until such time as the bacteria are established in the filter?

CruelCoin · 13-12-2013 5:31pm

thedavman009 wrote: »

Until such time as the bacteria are established in the filter?

Yes.

You can buy in your lfs (local fish shop) little bottles of filter bacteria.

Can act as a kickstart and good in a pinch.

Or you can find someone else with a tank, borrow some of their filter media, put it in your own filter, and hey presto!

ZiabR · 13-12-2013 5:37pm

Where are you based? The best way and only way to cycle a tank fast which I have been doing for years is seeding. Squeeze someones filter contents into a bag and pour the bag into you tank and filter. It gives the tank a HUGE kick start.

I would be happy to give you filter squeezings if you are close to me.

thedavman009 · 15-12-2013 4:48pm

Hi Logik,

That would be brilliant.

I am in Castlekncok. Where you based?

ZiabR · 16-12-2013 10:31am

Ahhh, I was actually in Castleknock yesterday visiting family.... I am based in Dundalk, but we could arrange to meet somewhere if you like and I can bring a bag of filter squeezings. Let me know if you are still interested.

Rugby_kats · 23-04-2014 10:52pm

Hey Guys,

Looking for some advice, my old filter has died so bought a new one today. Is it ok to let the new one running and the old one just sitting there for a few weeks or do I need to try and shove the old sponge into the new filter?? This is the first tank I've had and never had issues before.

lynchie · 24-04-2014 3:34pm

If the filter is the same as the previous one then you should re-use the filter media. If its a different type you should try to fit the media in if possible.

Leaving the old filter there wont really help as without a flow going through it, there may not be any ammonia / nitrite passing through it for the bacteria to consume.

Sleepy · 25-04-2014 11:01am

It won't be pretty but I'd just squeeze the sponges from the old filter into the new one and then leave the sponges themselves somewhere inside the tank where the flow from the new filter is strong for a week or two.

Anawilliam850 · 29-12-2022 5:47pm

Thank you for the typs for my aquarium

Cycling an Aquarium.

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