A few basic questions

[GBG]

Hi guys. My first post. Great looking board!

I've been out of th ehobby for a few years, but am now planning my return. I'm about to a 315g tank in a few weeks and have a few basic set-up questions:

1. I'm gonna give fishless cycling a shot. Any idea how long this will take on a 300g?

2. I'd like to use some established filter media from my buddy's Eheim, but he lives about an hour away. Will the bacteria colonies live that long in an Eheim that's got no oxygen running through it? If not, do I need to remove the media and just put it in a bucket? What's the best method to get established media from his Eheim into my wet/dry?
4. In a 300g tank, how powerful of a pump (GPH) do I need for the wet/dry? Will a Mag3600 (3600 gph) be sufficient? Planning on a cichlid tank.
3. In order to do water changes on such a big tank, I am unable to condition the water before putting in the tank. In other words, chlorinated water PLUS a dechlorinator will go into the tank at the SAME TIME. Is this a problem with either the fish or the beneficial bacteria in the filter/tank?

Thanks!!

GBG

 

[rallysman]

Hi guys. My first post. Great looking board!

I've been out of th ehobby for a few years, but am now planning my return. I'm about to a 315g tank in a few weeks and have a few basic set-up questions:

1. I'm gonna give fishless cycling a shot. Any idea how long this will take on a 300g?

2. I'd like to use some established filter media from my buddy's Eheim, but he lives about an hour away. Will the bacteria colonies live that long in an Eheim that's got no oxygen running through it? If not, do I need to remove the media and just put it in a bucket? What's the best method to get established media from his Eheim into my wet/dry?
4. In a 300g tank, how powerful of a pump (GPH) do I need for the wet/dry? Will a Mag3600 (3600 gph) be sufficient? Planning on a cichlid tank.
3. In order to do water changes on such a big tank, I am unable to condition the water before putting in the tank. In other words, chlorinated water PLUS a dechlorinator will go into the tank at the SAME TIME. Is this a problem with either the fish or the beneficial bacteria in the filter/tank?

Thanks!!

GBG

Welcome to MFK!
although I've never done fishless cycling, the established media will speed it up dramatically. I think an hour in a bucket will be no problem at all.
3600 GPH is plenty for a tank of that size.
I've always mixed water and dechlor in my 300 at the same time and have never had a problem, but recently I switched to a DIY drip system that does a small continuous water change 24x7. All I had to do is add a carbon filter to remove chlorine and all was good.

I hope to see some pix of your setups btw what do you plan on keeping?

 

[GBG]

Thanks Rallysman.

I love the idea of your 24 hour drip setup, but I'm not a DIY guy. As far as what I'm keeping, I'm probably going to do Cichlids (South and Central American), but I'm always fighting the urge to throw a Pacu and a big cat in there and grow them out.

I'll post some pics soon. GBG

 

[ewurm]

Welcome! I don't even cycle my tanks, I perform frequent water changes, use a lot of filtration, and old media and substrate. A good bacterial product like Stablility or stress zyme helps. No fish loss during cycling in over three years.

 

[GBG]

Thanks ewurm.

I don't have the luxury of old substrate. I plan to get some old media, but not enough to avoid cycling. I have well water, so I don't beleive that there's any chlorine or chloramine. I'm hoping that some old media and well water will translate to a very quick cycle-- perhaps a week or so.

I'm pretty pumped up about the tank. I've had experience with big tanks, and I'm now ready to go at it again after a year or so break from the hobby. This 315g will actually be a downgrade for me, as I had a 480g for about 5 years but then sold it when I moved. This tank (96" x 24" x 36") is a more workable size because it's half the width of my old tank (the 480g was 96" x 48" x 24"). The 48" back to front was great for fish but very hard to maintain because I could never reach the back center). Also, the 24" height was a bit short for me (I', 6'4" tall) when viewing from a standing position. This tank is taller. At 36", this tank should [I hope] be spectacular to view from a seated or standing position.

I'll post some pics in a few weeks when it's set up.

GBG

 

[KJP]

Welcome GBG! Good luck with the tank. I wouldn't leave it in the filter but a bucket should do the trick and if you can get some of your buddies substrate that would help speed up the process also. I only have a 125g but i add water and dechlorinator directly back into the tank without conditioning and i haven't had a problem.thumbsup:

 

[GBG]

Thanks KJP. I'll dump the media into a bucket to give the bateria air, thanks. As far as the dechrlinator question, I saw a post recently saying that if you have well-water then you don't have chlorine in your water. Sounds right to me (I have well water) because the ater is pumped directly from the well to my house (with filter, but no chemicals as far as I know), so maybe the issue has taken care of itself.

 

[rhinod56]

no real time paremeter is set. just use quick test strips, and keep checking your levels everyday untill the water is safe, then just add a few fish at a time...

 

[Lil_Stinker]

Wellcome to NY oops thats MFK neighbor..

The well will not likely have chlors, but you do have to be carefull. be sure you know your wells capacity. You dont want to run it dry, or even close. Not durring the initial fill nor changes.

Do you know what the capacity is? watch your water table also.. pace your fill if needed.

if you have a decent stream you might be able to tap it. check the quality & pump in from it. (caution here: your well walls provide filtration & a stream tap will not)

Again welcome & Good Luck.. & Fill at the appropriate pace for your well.

 

[GBG]

Lil-Stinker: Damn, I never even considered the idea that I might run my well dry when I fill my tank or during a large water change. That would be a disater. How much capacity would my well need to ensure that a 315g tank would NOT cause a problem? And how do I find out my well capacity?

Thanks for alerting me to this issue. Gary