when can i add my fish???

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
joey02

joey02

Piranha
MFK Member
May 22, 2007
1,351
79
81
Canada
thekingofdiy.com
so today i got my 135 gal tank, added the gravel,wood ,filters,heater,ect... my questions is how long befor i can add fish? the filters on it are already cycled from a prev. tank and i conditioned the water...ok, ok, so i already added the fish...6 baby severums and 7 oto cats. are they gonna be ok or did i jump the gun??? i just heard that if your filter is cycled then there is no waiting time....filters were was on a 75gal tank for around a year. (canisters)
any idea????
 
Are you sure the filters are cycled? If you took them directly off the other tank, then yes.
If they ran for awhile on a tank with no fish or no ammonia source then it is debatable.
If they are indeed still cycled you may not have any problems depending on what the bioload on the previous tank was. If the previous tank held about the same bioload as the new tank then the filters have sufficient bacteria to deal with the current fish load.

Test your water every day - or even a few times a day - to make sure there are no ammonia or nitrite spikes. If not, you're good.
If you have problems you will just have to keep doing water changes to keep the parameters at safe levels until you are through your cycle.

(I honestly don't see 6 baby severums and a few otos as much of a fishload for a 135g tank though. If the filters have any bacteria at all you should have little to no problems)
 
That's what I did for my last tanks. Took an extra filter off one of my other tanks and started adding fish as soon as temperature stabilized. Don't add too many too fast and it should be fine.
 
ok..thanks..reasurance always makes me feel better..lol....last question.. im adding to baby uaru on friday. when these all fish mature into full size, do i have to upgrade again??? i really dont want to over stock it, but i cant resist uaru's. do uaru's have the same requirements as the sevs(feeding,space,ect.). i read they do for the most part, but theres always better advise around than i read.
 
Good move going with the instant cycle. Keep plenty of ilters and media going, and you'll never have to cycle again.
 
Your probubly OK with baby fish but even established filters have a 'level'. The amount of nutrifying bacteria changes constantly with the bio-load. Just because you are using filters from a cycled tank does NOT mean you can plop in any number of fish you want safely. Fish should always be added slowly over a period of time to allow the bacteria levels to grow.
 
a bacterial colony can double within 24 hours, all that stuff about adding fish a few per week is way overkill. if you started with 3 medium cichlids, you could ad 2 more medium sized cichlids every 2 days if you wanted (up to your stock limit)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom