Simplest way to cycle a tank for beginners

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
^ what stability seems to do is make it "safe" for new tanks to add a fish or 2 in, I used it in the beginning of my fishkeeping and dumbly and w/o the guy at pet smart telling me no added a Senegal bichir and leopard ctenopoma w/o cycling the tank at all. Used Stability+Prime though and they both lived happy lives. Until the power cut one night and my Cten couldn't take it. The Senegal made it to 9 inch before randomly dying of bloat like they seem to do a lot. You can stop using it a few weeks after setting up the tank IF you have some seeded media. If not don't stop for a few months.

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I read someplace that adding stability directly to the filter gives better results, maybe just keep it simple and sell them a bottle of stability, prime and two giant danios.
 
I've helped people set up hundreds of tanks and there's a lot of dummy's out there. thank god when worked the last two places I was at I could refuse sale. but anyways what I have found to work the best is anything 10 gals or under I would give large fish bags of water, anything over its best to walk over grab your prime and bacteria hand it to them explain that without the bacteria they would have to wait 6-8 weeks before adding fish and with it 7-10 days. then tell them to wait 7 days and bring you in a water sample so you can test it and make sure its safe for the fish or if they need to wait a little more.
 
Stability had worked for me a few times.

Added a few fish from the start and used Stability as per the instruction. Monitored water parameters everyday, ammonia and nitrite level were always on the safe side thus no stress on the fish.

After 7 days, I started to add more fish, as the water started to have nitrates.
 
Hi everyone! I agree with points from everyone's posts. I just started up my 125 gal and though I dont have my final fish in there, I have not yet seen any problems in my first month. I have juvenile goldfish of which I acquired from my naturally spawned pond fish (surprise!) serving as my cyclers right now. I've kept fish for a while and luckily I have acquired that oh so valuable patience before adding fish to a new tank. However, I know this is VERY difficult to obtain, especially with beginners! What I am surprised with so far is that I have not seen any adverse effects on my new set up. From my personal experience, water changes and constant monitoring in those first crucial weeks are the key. The other two important factors I very much agree with is the addition of only a few fish at a time, a few weeks apart, and absolultely the filter having a chance to establish that BB colony. I have recently been gaining experience on dirting tanks (this is my 4th) and everyhting is working quite well. A personal opinion, but I also think live plants are nothing but beneficial. The light demands tend to go down as well if you have a nutrient rich substrate. No need to rock those huge expensive HO fixtures (though I have two myself on the 125 gal, plus a good ol Lowe's T8 ballast). Though helpful later, I also agree the gravel doesn't really play a part in establishing a tank right off the bat. The magic happens in the filter media. I'm not a fan of chemicals or fertilizers, especially those used only for aestetic reasons. If your tank is unsightly, there is an imbalance, plain and simple. Though most won't be interested in becoming an aquarium "chemist", it is beneficial to know the basics. Organic potting soil is super cheap from any gardening/home improvement store if a planted tank is desired. With all of that, I think the easiest and fastest keys are: 1) sufficient filter size for your tank 2) always de-chlorinate, etc. your water 3) Add only a FEW fish at a time- if a mixed species tank, put in the hardiest species first 4) get a master test kit...a small investment to protect your larger ones. NOT the strip tests, get the liquid dropper ones. 5) 20-40% water changes weekly for the first few weeks. Perhaps more if your ammonia/nitrites start to spike 6) don't overfeed- fish dont need 3 meals/day 7) Something like Ammo-Lock is good to have on hand, but being proactive and monitoring your new addition shouldn't require it 8) If tank goes green/cloudy, let it, but keep testing and water changes 9) tank should clear up and filter established after a few months, VOILA! If you desire plants 1) Dirt the tank if you desire heavy plants (1/2 to 3/4" dirt, "capped" with same thickness of any aquarium gravel). 2) Heavily plant, maybe even include floating plants (can remove later if desired) to take up excess nutrients 3) water exchanges almost daily 4) expect some "melting", but not always inevitable (plants eroding away, will come back) These rules have served me well for years and I cant remember of ever suffering from "new tank syndrome". A little research goes a LONG way for this wonderful hobby!
 
The easiest & also fastest way, which is probably most essential when working with customers who have no amount of "waiting" in them, is to use established media from a highly colonized filter. However, most LFS tanks have disease even if it is not symptomatic at the moment. anyone who has ever battled resistant ich knows this.
If I could design a dream method, it would be to have one small LFS tank always kept with NO fish ever in it, but a large enough filter with very porous media, such as seachem matrix.
I would begin & cycle it ASAP with SeaChem Stability (to ensure no disease transfer).
Then continue keeping the filter media alive using pure ammonia daily & sell bags of media to customers. (replenish the filters' media as you sell it).
FIRST have customers setup the complete tank equipment, then have them return for live media & fish.
sell the appropriate amount of media that will sustain their bioload. I say "sell" because LFSs need to make money somewhere, and it is often very costly at the beginning of the fish-keeping learning curve. They profit from fish deaths, REstocking, and bottled media.
IMO it is not worth risking the 3 Ds: Disease, Death & Discouragement by using media from regular LFS tanks.

My 2nd choice would be Seachem Stability, as per instructions, but that has the added caveat of required water testing & very careful stocking. it is more costly & if they do it wrong they will lose fish.
Seachem Stability is very reliable, I have used it. but if I had to do this when I was young, ignorant of water testing, & on a tight budget it would have deterred me. Human nature is to jump in impulsively to buy pretty fish & feel more ammenable to REstock than to complete so much required learning in the beginning.

Make a hand-out info sheet about tank cycling so people can get a basic understanding of how filters live & function.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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