So i got a new tank, some tips would be very appreciated!

GoonerGeorge

GoonerGeorge

Small Fish
#1
Aug 8, 2011
20
0
0
London, England
#1
So my cousin has moved house and decided to give me his tank. he only used it for about 2 weeks and then got bored. I have done some reading on the web and have come across the cycling of the tank etc and from what i gather, my cousin didnt do this.

The make of the tank is this Hagen Elite Style 60 Tropical Aquarium Fish Tank 60L | Net Pet Shop but instead of 60 litre is 90 litre, which i believe is about 24 gallons give or take.

My question is when it comes to cycling i understand what is is but could somebody dumb it right down for me as far as how to cycling a tank. I would prefer to do this fishless.

1 more thing also i noticed people talking about saltrate or something like that and would like some recommendation on that.

This is my first ever tank so please be kind.. :(

Thanks a lot! *GOLDFISH*

Gregg!
 

S

Sageofstupidity

Medium Fish
#2
May 4, 2011
76
0
0
Ohio
#2
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...eshwater-beginner-stickies-read-me-first.html Link to the beginners sticky, includes fish-less cycling information.

It basically comes down to this, introduce ammonia to the water and a bacteria builds to consume it and converts it into nitrite, with nitrite in the water another bacteria builds to consume that and convert it into nitrate. All 3 are toxic to fish but that is the order of toxicity basically, Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate, you then remove nitrates with regular water changes.

You must mean substrate, substrate is anything that makes up the bottom of your tank to give the bacteria a place to grow and/or plants to grow. You have a lot of options as far as substrate, sand/gravel/rocks even blasting grit has been used as substrate. What you choose depends on style, budget and function. Also note some fish prefer one substrate to another but that is generally a bottom-feeder or cichlid, not the run-of-the-mill fish.

As far as recommendations, it depends on what you want. Do you want a white sand, black sand, any specific color of gravel? Do you want to grow plants? Do you want bottom-feeders or cichlids? Is it saltwater or freshwater?
 

GoonerGeorge

GoonerGeorge

Small Fish
#3
Aug 8, 2011
20
0
0
London, England
#3
Hi mate thanks for the reply! basically its fresh water - and i would prefer gravel.

As for the cycling of the tank how do i go about starting the cycle. what forms of amonia can i introduce and how do i go about water changes (%'s etc)

Thanks!
 

S

Sageofstupidity

Medium Fish
#5
May 4, 2011
76
0
0
Ohio
#5
Just get gravel of whatever color you like then, nothing special really. You can grow plants in gravel, the level of care and attention depends on the plant itself so research your plants and then ask questions in the planted section or read the stickies there for more information on specific plants.

Use pure ammonia, it is the easiest and most reliable way if you are not using a fish. You start the cycle by adding ammonia which is the food source for the bacteria, can be fish, pure ammonia (ammonia that reads ingredients: water, ammonia), fish food and such. As I said though pure bottled ammonia is easiest to control and measure.

Water changes are recommended 20-25% weekly and at least 50% monthly, it depends on your bioload and nitrate amounts though that is just a baseline. If your nitrates go above 20 ppm on your test kit do a water change, most fish can tolerate up to 40 but lower is always better. If your tank is understocked or overstocked you will have to do more or less water changes either in frequency or volume of water.

Do you have some sort of test kit for the water? I have always done fish-in cycles so I defer to the sticky for fish-less using pure ammonia.
 

GoonerGeorge

GoonerGeorge

Small Fish
#7
Aug 8, 2011
20
0
0
London, England
#7
Thanks a lot for the help etc and ive check out the link which helped me loads too. But can i just summarize how i think a cycle should be performed and you guys can tell me if i have gone wrong.

Set up the tank

Add the gravel sand

treat the water for chlorine etc

add the plants

let the tank settle for a couple of days

add the ammonia and then monitor the levels of nitrate, nitrite and ammonia.
once these have all peaked and hit zero my tank is ready to populate..

???

Thanks

George
 

S

Sageofstupidity

Medium Fish
#8
May 4, 2011
76
0
0
Ohio
#8
Once you start showing Nitrates your tank is ready, plants will help though because they will absorb ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. You got the right idea but you watch for ammonia to peak, make sure you are getting nitrite in the water then once you start showing any nitrates it is ready to be stocked, best to let the ammonia drop a little but if it hits zero than the bacteria will start to die in a few days. It is not really necessary to let the tank settle if you are not adding fish right away as the cycle can take anywhere from 5 days to 3 weeks usually. Just as long as you keep the filter running, gravel does not really put a lot of dust in the water when washed.
 

GoonerGeorge

GoonerGeorge

Small Fish
#9
Aug 8, 2011
20
0
0
London, England
#9
thanks so much for the help, you guys have cleared up a lot!

one last question, as the source of ammonia earlier comments have said to use pure ammonia, but i have also read you can use fish food.. is this true, and if so how woul di go about using the fish food? Would i feed the tank twice a day as if the tank was populated??

Cheers

George
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#15
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#15
Also when your tank is cycled, add fish slowly so you don't get a new ammonia spike. You might even want to run your stocking ideas by people here; take what your fish store tells you with a grain of salt - sometimes they know what they are talking about, but sometimes the 'advice' given leads to tragic results.
Good luck!
 

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