First tank..

[Comacchio]

So after a while of searching for the right tank, I finally found one that I liked.

It's 100cm long by 40cm wide by 50cm deep, holding 200 litres/53ish gallon. It came with a Fluval 205 external filter, Fluval U4, Fluval 4+ filter, two heaters, a bubble thingy, protein skimmer (I know I don't need this unless I plan to go marine - which I don't), RO generator and a bunch of other stuff including gravel and fake plants.

My question really is aimed towards the substrate and cycle I guess. The fish I plan on stocking with (in the long run that is) are as follows: 10 Blue Tetra, 10 Cardinal Tetra, 2 Keyhole Cichlids, 6 White Cloud Mountain Minnow, 1 Albino Bristlenose Pleco, 1 Siamese Algae Eater, 2 Dwarf Gourami, 6 Harlequin Rasbora, 10 Cherry Shrimp and 2 Apple Snails.

Would I be better off with gravel or sand for these fish?

With regards to the cycle - should I have all my plants, substrate, background, driftwood etc in and the heater on throughout the whole cycle? I was thinking of chucking some snails in to help with the cycle also.

Thanks in advance,

-Allan

[Comacchio]

Thanks for the replies. I will head to Argos tomorrow and get some sand. Should two bags be enough for a 100x40cm tank for a fill around 1 inch? How do you clean it?

I got a Nutrafin liquid drop test kit with the tank alongside a whole bunch of other goodies.

[Comacchio]

Sorry thought I said but must have forgotten - household ammonia.

I've seen people mentioning 'power heads' - do i need them or does the filter have its own pump etc inside?

[Comacchio]

Brilliant thanks. Plan of action for tonight is to get a background, sand and some bogwood/decoration in the tank alongside the filters and heater.

Then a fill of water (ill be counting buckets in my sleep tonight!) and hopefully the first 4/5 ppm of ammonia to start my cycle.

[Comacchio]

One more question.. Picked myself up a crackin' bit of wood - should i just put the wood in to soak while im cycling or let it soak in another container?

[Comacchio]

So the water i put in should hopefully be in over the whole cycle? Just since i was cycling thought i could kill two birds with one bit of wood.

[Comacchio]

Beginning by Allan.Jones, on Flickr

Water is in, dechlorination stuff in and I'm letting it settle overnight. Tomorrow's task after work is to get the correct media for the 205 (I got all the stuff for the U4 today, shop didn't have the 205 stuff :S), clean out the U4 and place media in then get it in the tank and add ammonia. Roll on fully cycled!

[Comacchio]

Since adding the ammonia on friday morning at 11am, nothing seems to have changed. Ammonia levels still appear to be around the 5ppm mark (Hard to tell with the liquid to paper comparison). No nitrite or nitrate, pH of around 7 now.

I was wondering if perhaps my aeration wasnt enough and this was hindering the bacterial growth? I've got a 200L tank with a surface area of 100x40 cm. Im running a fluval 205 external of which the output is positioned 2cm below the water level to provide a current and also a fluval U4 which has 3 settings for the output. During the day I have it on the upper output which agitates the surface water, during the night I have it on the lower output which provides mid level current. I also have a small airstone in the middle of the tank. Ideally at night I would like to leave just the airstone and the low level U4 (along with the constant 205 positioning) as the tank is a mere 2 feet from my bed!

Question is, is this adequate aeration? Here are some videos of the setup:

1)
http://flic.kr/p/ahpNHs

2)
http://flic.kr/p/ahnc5v

3)
http://flic.kr/p/ahnkpc

[Comacchio]

Nope no water changes until either I screw up the cycle or the cycle completes.

Thanks for the replies.

[Comacchio]

Exactly 1 week after adding 11ml of ammonia to my 200L tank I tested the water again.

Ammonia levels still appear to be around the 5 ppm mark. My eyes are wanting to see the colour as about 2-3, but after testing for nitrite and it coming up as essentially nill - I've come to the conclusion that theres no change.

I hope to see a change soon!

Edit: The only change is the loss of 8 litres of water through evaporation.

[Comacchio]

Hysteria1983 said:

It can take up to 6/8 weeks for it to sort itself out. So just take your time.

Part of fishkeeping is learning how to be patient. You won't get anywhere fast.

Oh, I know don't worry. No money for the fish just now anyway so glad (in a way) it's not cycled yet! Hoping to see ammonia levels dropping this week however. Is it ok to top up the tank with a bucket of fresh water treated with tap safe while its cycling (wont affect my ammonia readings much, is what i mean)?

Cheers,

-Allan

[Comacchio]

Changes to the tank! Unfortunately after day 9 the ammonia still hasn't dropped Not to worry I'm patient enough to let it go at the speed it wants to.

Found some new rock and slate in a bucket of gravel the seller gave to me (I decided on sand instead of gravel so the bucket just sat there for a while). I decided to re-scape the tank. All thats left to go in now is the bogwood and plants. (Going to go infront of the heater and extend out towards the orange/red stone in the sand)
.

Re-scape by Allan.Jones, on Flickr

Should I be doing much maintenance to the filters during the cycle since theres not too much crap going through? (Cycling with raw ammonia)

ETA: Made some homes. Cost £1, time to make: 30 mins.

Edited by Comacchio on Sunday 4th September 18:13

[Comacchio]

Yep going to be planting alongside adding fish once this damn cycle (starts!!) completes!

[Comacchio]

Yeah I'd rather just stick to the test kit!

Progress! Day 13.5 I tested when i got in from my mammoth 7am - 10pm shift..

Ammonia 4-5ppm, Nitrite 0.1ppm!!! So at least its doing something!

Not sure whether its a massive coincidence or whether the Nutrafin Cycle I used in the last 3 days actually done something?

[Comacchio]

Day 18.

Ammonia: 3-5ppm
Nitrite: 0.3-0.8ppm
Nitrate: 10-20ppm
pH: 7.5-8
temp: 30

Not much change =( This is going to be one of the 100-200 day cycles, I can feel it.

[Comacchio]

Still not too much to report and nearly day 21. Getting worried! Here's some bad images of my tests. I've got an API kit waiting at the post office to collect in the morning since I dont quite like the vagueness of these test charts. Ammonia is yellow, nitrite purple.







The ammonia reading looks a bit lighter in the day. I added 11ml to my 200L tank (which when I think about it is a tad much since I forgot to measure for the substrate etc) which should be around 5 ppm. Which after 21 days hasnt dropped all that much has it?

[Comacchio]

So I picked up my API kit from the post office this morning and tested my levels exactly 21 days after adding 11ml of ammonia to my 200L tank (A slight bit too much - I forgot to take into account for the substrate)

No more ammonia has been added in this time. The ammonia test does look inbetween 4 and 8 from my eyes, but on this image it looks nearer to 8 in my opinion. What are your thoughts on these levels?


readings by Allan.Jones, on Flickr

[Comacchio]

Thanks for the replies. Sorry had been at work since 1 so couldn't reply sooner. Done a nitrAte test there - results are between 30 and 40 ppm id guess.

[Comacchio]

Yep cant wait! I'm going to do a 25% water change on sunday to bring the ammonia down to around 3-4ppm which should be more manageable for the bacteria and will allow me to see changes more rapidly. Then its waiting on the nitrItes to fall in line and then its fishies!

I've already got my planned stocking ready and I take a weekly trip to several fish shops to try and find everything I want, some of them will need to be ordered online though I think as I've not seen them in any shops

[Comacchio]

Certainly!

10 x Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon acelrodi)
10 x Cherry Shrimp (Neocardina heteropoda)
10 x Harlequin Rasbora (Trigonostigma heteromorpha)
10 x Panda Cory (Corydoras panda)
4 x Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)
2 x Keyhole Cichlid (Cleithracara maronii)
2 x Dwarf Gourami (Colisa lalia)
1 x Apple Snail (Pomacea bridgesii)
1 x Albino Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus)
6 x Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis)

I know this leaves me slightly over stocked, but I also over filter and will be doing 30% water changes per week.

This is the intended final stocking, so obviously not all going in at once!

EDIT: The algae eaters are the one I haven't decided on yet. I've also given my girlfriend an opportunity to put a fish in (provided it's suitable). She's currently swaying between rummy nose tetras (I feel I would have too many shoaling fish though) and neon rainbows, so we will see!

Edited by Comacchio on Saturday 17th September 00:13