First cycling have a few ?

J

jimpru

Exodon
MFK Member
Aug 9, 2012
32
2
23
Huntsville, Al
My first large tank with a my first cycling. So I have a lot of questions


My setup.
Tank is 72x24x30
Running two ehiem 2217's.
2 fluval 300w heaters
Substrate is Eco complete for cichlids about 160lbs.
River rocks and 1 piece of drift wood
Plants are amazon sword, java fern, Java moss, and Anubis


Used API Master test kit
Ph 8.0
Ammonia 0


I finally found the right ammonia to start the cycling with (that was not easy in my area but found Ace janitorial)


I know my filters are not enough for a tank of this size but budget is limited. Eventually I will be adding an eheim 2262 to help out.


I am just checking to make sure I am on the right track thus far. I have been checking for ammonia about the same time every day. Thus far I have been greeting a reading of .05 after that I add ammonia to bring the level back up to about 3-4ppm. Am I doing it correctly? Also just checked nitrites and have a reading o about 2.0ppm. Just checking to make sure I am on the right path. As I understand it I need to wait for the ammonia to go to zero within 24hrs before I start water changes correct?
Any advice/input is greatly appreciated.



Thanks for the help with this
 
S

skjl47

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
May 16, 2011
4,404
3,792
179
Tennessee
Hello; Here is a link to an article about nitrogen, bb and cycling. It is an involved read. You u may want to save it somehow for later reference. A lot of information to take in quickly.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/nitrogen_cycle.html

While filters are often rated for a tank size, my experience is that much depends on the stocking level and maintaince procedures used. I started keeping tanks when all I had were air bubble operated filters. These were weak compared to even small filters of today. Meaning you can operate a tank successfully with small filters.

Water changes incorporating a substrate vac are a help.

Keeping the stocking density low is perhaps the simplest way to have a tank with good water quality. Many try to put either too many fish or fish too large in tanks.

My observation over time has been that most, including myself, have overfeed which leads to a number of water quality issues.

Good luck
 
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