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stang90gt

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 16, 2010
19
0
1
Iowa
hi, my name is jim and im from Iowa. ive been lurking here for a few days trying to absorb all the knowledge that i possibly can. i just set up a 56 gallon column tank (thats what is says on the marineland site at least) its my first aquarium in like 15 years so ive forgotten the little that i did know. i wanna set up a south american cichlid tank and have maybe 2 or 3 fish in it, was liiking at maybe a red devil a managuense, and maybe a dwarf pike. maybe a couple of catfish from the synodontis family and maybe a couple of smaller sized pleco's like emperor plecos. anyways my question is in my 56 gallon tank i am using a rena xp3 canister filter, a penguin 200 power filter and a penguin 1140 powerhead with the sponge attatchment. is this enough filteration for this tank as i know that cichlids can be quite messy fish. i have larger sized gravel and a piece of mopani wood and another "plastic' piece that look like wood for hiding places. im planning on getting the fish at about 1 1/2 to 2" long so i can put them in at the same time and hopefully will all get along. any advice?
thanks in advance
 
stang90gt;4478775; said:
hi, my name is jim and im from Iowa. ive been lurking here for a few days trying to absorb all the knowledge that i possibly can. i just set up a 56 gallon column tank (thats what is says on the marineland site at least) its my first aquarium in like 15 years so ive forgotten the little that i did know. i wanna set up a south american cichlid tank and have maybe 2 or 3 fish in it, was liiking at maybe a red devil a managuense, and maybe a dwarf pike. maybe a couple of catfish from the synodontis family and maybe a couple of smaller sized pleco's like emperor plecos. anyways my question is in my 56 gallon tank i am using a rena xp3 canister filter, a penguin 200 power filter and a penguin 1140 powerhead with the sponge attatchment. is this enough filteration for this tank as i know that cichlids can be quite messy fish. i have larger sized gravel and a piece of mopani wood and another "plastic' piece that look like wood for hiding places. im planning on getting the fish at about 1 1/2 to 2" long so i can put them in at the same time and hopefully will all get along. any advice?
thanks in advance
Click to expand...

You sound like you are fine on the filtration...

-How are you going to cycle the tank?

-What is your ph out of your tap? This is good to know when getting in to cichlids and many other species of fish with specific water preferences.

-The cichlids you named are actually central american cichlids, not south american. I suggest you head over to the cichlid forum and do a little more research, those guys can offer you excellent advice as well on compatibility issues.

Welcome to MFK.


Edit: I would also urge you to read all the "sticky" posts at the beginning of this setup section and the cichlid section that are located above the newest posts on the main page.
 
thanks for the advice a clockworkorange. the ph in the aquarium right now is at 7.5. as far as cycling the aquarium, i know a guy that works in a pet store that let me borrow one of his sponge filters and he told me that using that and some of his old water when he does a water change will help the aquarium to cycle faster because of the bacteria he said it would take about 3 weeks to cycle it that way, im two weeks in now so hopefully next weekend i will be able to add some fish
 
stang90gt;4478923; said:
thanks for the advice a clockworkorange. the ph in the aquarium right now is at 7.5. as far as cycling the aquarium, i know a guy that works in a pet store that let me borrow one of his sponge filters and he told me that using that and some of his old water when he does a water change will help the aquarium to cycle faster because of the bacteria he said it would take about 3 weeks to cycle it that way, im two weeks in now so hopefully next weekend i will be able to add some fish
Click to expand...

Seeded sponge filters are one of the best ways to cycle a new tank. I got an almost instant cycle on my 125 gallon with a seeded sponge filter and seachem stability. The "used tank water" really won't do much for you, unless it has a lot of mulm in it from a thorough gravel vac during the water change.

Your 7.5 ph is great for a lot of CA cichlids, but poor for many SA cichlids--this probably doesn't matter to you because the fish you mentioned were CA cichlids anyway.

So you have no fish in the aquarium currently, just the seeded sponge filter, right? Are you dosing with ammonia to do the cycle?
 
correct, i have no fish in the aquarium yet, and yes i have been using ammonia during the cycle, i was told 5 drops per 10 gallons since my aquarium is a 56 ive been using 28 drops a day and was told that i could stop doing it in the middle of next week. i do the drops in the morning before work and check ammonia levels at night. according to the test kit my ammonia level is 0. thanks for the advice on the managuanse too i want to make the best possible habitat for the fish, any suggestions on anothe fish that would go well? maybe a jack dempsey?
 
Jack dempsey would be a good choice for your size tank as well, but with cichlids its all about managing aggression... no fish is 100% compatible all the time. I am not a cichlid guy, I would suggest you head over to the CA/SA cichlid section on MFK and ask them, they would love to help you.

I am, however, a setup "guy"...

If your tank is dropping the ammonia and nitrite level to zero in 24 hours and you have a nitrate reading, I would say you are indeed already cycled, and could add fish immediately after you do a 90% water change.

There is no "magic" time amount it takes to cycle, it is simply when your tank has built up enough beneficial bacteria that it is processing ammonia into nitrate without any ammonia and nitrite readings, in the case of fishless cycling you should see this within 24 hours after adding a decent amount of ammonia. For some people this will take weeks or months, there are too many variables for someone to tell you "keep adding ammonia for this many weeks and you will be cycled."
 
thank you so much for all your help and advicei will go to the CA/SA cichlid section and see what knowledge i can gain. thanks so much again
 
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