Understanding tank cycling.

[Formula_JP]

I plan on setting up my tank soon (150g), with just a basic sump filtration system, i guess that leads me to my question about never having really done a size tank like this before. As of now i dont plan on having a tank heater, Yet bc i dont know what i'm going to house in my tank, not sure about plans bc i'm worried about co2, since i dont have the $$ for a nice system and lights are just the basics.

Now once i get all the water in, the tank filled the sump on and the substrate in (after being thouroughly rinsed) what are the indicators that the tank is ready for its new inhabitants?? And for that size tank what is the time frame i'm looking at before its ready??

I guess my only other question is about having plants w/o C02. I just want a couple of plants after i upgrade my light to something more full spectrum and a little more intense but i'm not sure if my tank will be able to support them w/o co2.

 

[nolapete]

Just go with low light plants; java moss, java fern, anubias are all good plants. They don't require CO2 or much light at all.

Cycling a big tank is no different than cycling a small one. Have you had a tank before? There should be a sticky on cycling under General Aquaria I think.

 

[Formula_JP]

i didnt see the sticky, i'll go look and read through it right now. hopefully that'll answer my questions. but yes i have done tanks before but never one this size thats what made me think it may be different.

i was told at my lfs that you should have a tank setup for >1month before ever adding fish or plants, thats what threw me off

 

[ziggy2]

You could let it run for two months, but if you don't introduce ammonia in some way, your never going to establish the Benificial Bacteria.

 

[Formula_JP]

well i cant find that sticky on cycling in the general aqua. section, none of them have a title that relates, if someone can link that'd be great bc i dont think i'm seeing it.

ways of introducing ammonia would be? besides buying it at the lfs and putting some in..

lol

 

[Dr Joe]

Hi Formula_JP,

Get a good , fresh test kit, this is one of the basics and you'll be using it a lot. A notebook for logging the info in is very helpful to correlate data.

You found an LFS that actually gave you a good answer, just not all of it.

You did treat the water for chlorine/chlorimines already right?

Aerate the water for a couple of days before starting the cycle process to bring up the D.O. level and keep running the air during the cycle process (it gives you something to watch too and your friends won't ask so many questions).

With the fishless cycle you add bacteria to the filter (bottled bacteria is available from the LFS) If you (or a trusted friend) have tanks that are up and running (and healthy) you can take some filter media from them and place on top of the new sumps media to seed it. You then add pure ammonia (no sudsing additives etc., get from the LFS if they have it or a pharmacy) to feed the bacteria (5 drops per 10g of water per day) After a few days the ammonia will rise to 5ppm, as soon as you see can measure nitrIte level, back the ammonia down to 3 drops per day till you see the ammonia & nitrIte levels drop to zero, that's when the cycle is complete.

With the fish cycle instead of using ammonia you add several small common fish, (I shy away from goldfish, too many possible problems). Rosy Reds, Convicts, Danios etc. seems everyone has their preference. There is a high probability that these fish are going to be stressed and will die during this cycling process, so so have to keep an eye open for dead fish as they will cause you other problems, plus you will have to replace it to keep ammonia levels up or the filter could crash.

Here are a couple reads since I can't find ours right now...

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Cycle.htm

http://freshaquarium.about.com/library/begin/xcolorammoniachart.htm

http://freshaquarium.about.com/library/begin/ncolornitritechart.htm

http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dy...ts=1&zu=http://www.bestfish.com/newtank3.html

And if you like popups...

http://saltaquarium.about.com/gi/dy...://reefsources.itgo.com/guide/biological.html

It's a start, let us know when your done reading and have your fresh test kit .

Dr Joe

.

 

[Ianab]

Good info from Dr Joe there.

The tank wont cycle untill you have some bioload in it, be that fish poop or a few drops of ammonia. I prefer using fish, mostly beacuse I'm impatient and want to see some fish in the tank, not spend 2 weeks putzing about with test kits and bottles of ammonia

You should be able to cycle the tank with fish with no problems, just take it SLOW at first. A few small, hardy fish and you shouldn't loose any.

If you have an existing smaller tank you can move a cycled filter from there into the big tank. It wont be big enough to support the tank, but it will give you some working filtration from day 1 and support the few fish you started with while your new sump filter is cycling. You could also take some media from an existing filter and put that in your sump to achieve the same thing.

You should be OK adding fish after a day or 2. Just let the water clear and the temp stabilise then you are good to add the first few fish. As long as the fish are small in proportion to the tank the ammonia wont rise too fast and the filter will begin to process it before it get to dangerous levels. After a couple of weeks the cycle should have started and you can add a few more fish. Build up the numbers over at least 6 weeks.

Cheers

Ian

 

[Formula_JP]

Thanks for the great response dr.Joe. My only question is, going with a fishless cycle, is it a must to start with bottled bacteria or can you just start with nothing???

As far as aeration goes, you are just refering to having some sort of air pump into the tank to add 02 and surface distrubance?

 

[nolapete]

i didnt see the sticky, i'll go look and read through it right now. hopefully that'll answer my questions. but yes i have done tanks before but never one this size thats what made me think it may be different.

i was told at my lfs that you should have a tank setup for >1month before ever adding fish or plants, thats what threw me off

You can introduce plants right off. They'll help the cycle along.

 

[ziggy2]

You can start with nothing. I'm in the middle of a cycle right now on a new tank. Just add the ammonia like the Dr said. You will need to monitor it very closely.