Best way to establish new tank ?

[aterese]

I need to setup our new 5ft tank.

I have the internal/external filters, heater, lighting etc setup.

I now have to purchase some gravel tomorrow.

I wondered what is the easiest way to put the gravel in (40kg worth) so I don't damage the tank (or worst crack the glass) ?

Also do I need to add Chlorine Neutraliser or can I just leave the water cycling for 24 hours before adding any fish ?

I have all artificial rocks, coral and plants....so no need for substrates I believe.

To start the 2 week cycle do I just add gravel, put everything in place, fill with water and turn the equipment on ?

I understand from reading that it is recommended to just add a few fish to help start the process of building bacteria....how many guppies/mollies would you add just to help with the initial cycling (5ft, 300l tank) ?

Is it also recommended that maybe I add 1 live plant to help create the normal process of decaying matter and cycling ?

I was going to get those test stripes to check the pH and other levels regularly. I expect I need to change 10-15% every 3-4 days.

Any suggestions on what I should remember during initial setup would be appreciated and whether I'm on the right track !

[firedragon92]

Hi mate first off just a quick question where abouts are you located

ok now it sounds like you are ok for filters heaters, ect so thats all good. With the gravel make sure that before putting it in the tank you give it a good wash to get rid or any dust and things from the aquarium. You may end up needing more gravel to substantially cover the bottum of the tank however just buy the 40kg and if you need more u can always get some. The easiest and safest way, which is what i do, although it is a bit time consuming is to scoop the gravel up in and ice cream container and lower it down to the bottum of the tank and tip it in when its just inches from the bottum. you can try to do larger loads however i find to large can get quite tricky and risky, but if your willing to put the effort in thats the safest way, i know of. When you first fill it up do it like you would normally add the declorinator and conditioner and then do the cycling for 2 or more weeks and then once youve tested your water and its all good you can add a few fsh at a time and leave about a week between each lot as you dont want to over load the system. to do the cycling you can use a number of methods you can use a chemical called cycle that speeds up the cycling process, so in a week you can start adding fish. Or you can add in some fish straight away about 5-10 and the waste these fish produce will start the process however these fish are lickly to die because of the poor conditions however they may not so get cheap fish that you are willing to live with, only feed these fish a very small amount as again this can over load the system. If you have filters that have been used in a tank for a long period of time immediatly before you begin cycling and they have had time for the bacteria to build up you can put them in to help combat the ammonia. You can also do somthing that is known as feeding the tank where you sprinkle a bit of food in an empty tank daily and the decaying food will start up the bacteria, however this is the least effective and i would not do it, but its up to you. during the cycling with any method you have all the equipment on and everything. You can add the one plant if you would like but that is basically the same as feeding and although it will be good for your fish to have live plants, if you dont have the right equipment and arn't prepared to care for the plants properly they can cause ammonia problems in the future.

I would probably to a 10-15% water change every day fer a week and then mybe every two for a week after that and then three for the week after that it all depends on how your ammonia is going, however if you use the cycle it obviously wont take that long. I suggest you go in to your local aquarium and ask them about the cycle cause there are many different kinds that require different things so the best way to find out about that is to read the bottel. I would not recommend buying the test strips as they are not as accurate i would buy an actual test kit and test your water daily, if you dont want to buy the test kit you can take the water in to your local aquarium and they will test it for you usually for free, but having your own is much more convinient.

if you have any other questions or did not understand anything just ask and ill see what i can do

good luck and let me know how it goes

[Woodsy]

Everyone has their own way of doing things, but I don't understand the concept of changing water while trying to cycle a tank with no fish in it. If you've been impatient and bought fish straight up, sure, do water changes, but otherwise you're just diluting out the suspended bacteria that will eventually attach to the surface of your substrate. This goes double for those of you who use products like Cycle (Nutrafin) and Stability (Seachem).
Decaying plants help to form mulm, which is basically like aquarium humus. It helps bind heavy metals in your substrate where they can then be taken up by your plants as micronutrients. If you're using water conditioners that contain EDTA (as most do nowdays) this is somewhat redundant in a tank with no live plants. The bacteria that break down organic matter will more than likely be present in your gravel to some degree, even after a good wash.
Like I said - everyone has their own way of doing things. The best advice I can give you is to not use Prime (Seachem) as your water conditioner during the initial stages of setting up your aquarium, as it will bind everything up leaving nothing for your establishing bacteria to feed on.
Good luck! - It's not as complicated as it sounds :p

[aterese]

Thanks guys. I'm located in the Gold Coast.

I hope to get plenty of gravel today and would even have spare.

I had just thought the plant and a few cheap guppies would help the cycling from what I had read.

Sounds like I was doing everything right except I will have to ask about the right conditioners and keep in mind your comments woodsy.

[aterese]

Well I did end up cheating and using a stabilising chemical to ensure the tank was cycling.

I know I've added too many fish each time, but I've kept a watch on the levels.

pH is about 7.4 (however I had brought it down once until I learnt I need a higher level for cichlids and have to do 1 water change soon which will reestablish it (my tap water is about 7.8).

Amonia test is close to nil.

Nitrate test showed about 0.3

I don't have any other tests at this stage, but the tank really looks to be doing well.

I lost only 1 angelfish and 2 guppies which I suspect was not from ill health but attacks. My oscar sat for the weekend with one of the dead fish in his mouth :)

Otherwise all the fish are getting along and established their territories. I kept to the quieter species mostly. Only my johanni (which is grumpy but stays in his log) and oscar are what I'm watching. Oscar seems to have a crowd of cichlids that love to follow him and is never aggressive. But the Johanni is very put out at times (as his colours show when he gets mad).

I've got my guppies and swords breeding in another tank and only put them in the bigger tank once a decent size (where they seem to be left alone).

I'm pretty happy given it was experimentation, but so far the mixes have worked. Let's see when they all mature if that changes. I did avoid breeding pairs....lots of males in the tank and only 1 female Johanni.

[Woodsy]

I'm glad it's working for you, aterese :)
One suggestion though - I wouldn't put the guppies in with the Oscar, as in my experience, once Oscars start eating live fish they tend to start looking at everyone else in the tank as a potential meal. The best way to keep them sedated enough to remain in a community, is to avoid putting things in that are so small that they become an irresistible snack. Communities with Oscars in them appear to be based on the idea that nearly all fish in the tank eat the same types of food, or otherwise they have an imposing size; and that this food does not consist of live fish, which Guppies almost always are in tanks with large fish. In that respect, I'd be growing the swords nice and big too, before I considered putting them in.

[aterese]

Thanks...I did find the Oscar with a dead fish in his mouth (the left over angel)....so I think his instinct has kicked in already.

I've lost a few fish after water changes and just had the nitrate spike yesterday (80).

I'm doing a 50% water change again today. Seems I was overfeeding for the 2 weeks. So whilst all other levels are okay nitrate is now toxic.

I hope I can save the rest from dying but I'll have to put this one down to being newbie and too eager to add fish.

I did find that the other tank also had fish die and those levels are near 0 for amonia and nitrate. I'm wondering if the chlorine neutraliser is working.

Is there tests for that ?

I also have whitespot after introducing some fish...seems the oscar was the one affected and is now very badly covered. I put him into the healthy tank to give him a better chance and much easier to treat just 2ft.

If after 2 treatments (3 days apart) he still doesn't have the whitespot improving, what do I do next ?

[aterese]

And woodsy, I wish I listened to you about using Stability (Seachem), I suspect that what you described (I did plant medium density)....that it contributed to the sudden surge after 2 weeks.

I want to replace my bio balls and noodles with Matrix medium too. Will this help ?

[Woodsy]

I don't personally, have experience using Matrix, but from what I understand it has a very high surface area, which is what you're aiming for with your biological filter. Apart from that, I can't honestly say whether it's better or not. I'm sure the manufacturers would tell you it is :p
I'm a little confused about what you said about using Stability though, and about planting at medium density. Care to explain?

[aterese]

The stability I do think bound everything up...as I've been warned.

The plants caused a lot of breakdown and the filters were covered in plant waste.

I used Purigen and now the levels are back to normal (took only 1-2 days).

I still want to replace the medium in the external canister though. No more fish are dying thank goodness.

[wombat1100]

Just remember that the bioballs or noodles or whatever you are using in the canister should only be rinsed with existing tank water so as not to kill the biological filter you have just created

[Woodsy]

The stability I do think bound everything up...as I've been warned.
Interesting, I use stability all the time and have never found that to happen. I'll have to check and see if it has a precipitating agent or something similar in it.

[aterese]

It's all working well now, no dead fish for over a week in the 5ft tank :)

I did the water change and vacuum with very little crap in the tank this weekend. I love those canister filters, but do have a question.

My canister is full of crap in the water (plant waste)....I only washed the sponges once in a month. Should I be taking a bucket of tank water and washing all the medium (and how frequent).

Is there any stage where I should be filtering out somehow the buildup of plant waste in the canister water (can I even safely empty the canister and replace with water just from the tank) ????

[joz]

Don't panic too much and start your cannister cleaning to early.
Give it a couple of months,then maybe just clean the dirtiest saection in the filter so not to effect the rest of it.

Or at a later stage you may want to add a second cannister so you can clean them alternately and have no fear of one being non-biological..

[Woodsy]

I know I probably shouldn't say this, but your filter bacteria aren't as weak as everyone makes them out to be, and it usually takes something pretty major going wrong for your filter to crash on you. After a couple of months it will be fairly well established and can withstand a good rinse, even a blast under the tap, although unless you're comfortable with what you're level of skill is, it's probably best to take precautions such as using old tank water to rinse with. The most important thing I would say to anyone is to make sure your canisters are well-kept! If there's excess sludge in there, it will displace your bacteria and make it uninhabitable for them.

[joz]

I agree Woodsy with your thoughts on filters.
I tend to get pretty ruthless with mine,bar using a hot water rinse.
But am a bit reserved with giving some advice incase some new comers take it a bit to far.
I actually do rinse under a running tap..:eek: to get as much crap out as possible.But I still only do alternate cleans with my filters (never both cannisters at once,but months apart) just in case shit happens..

[Woodsy]

You're spot on there Joz - Hot water will do a lot more damage than cold tap water.

[aterese]

Glad you warned me about the hot water....is it best to use cold when just clean the plastic trays then ?

[joz]

For anything inside the filters I'd only ever use cold tap water though others only use tank water as a rinse.
If in doubt just use tank water for peace of mind.

Just remember if REALLY REALLY want to KILL you filter bacteria,hot water will do it! :)