Discussion
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
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
Personally I prefer sand - and the shrimp will too. Get some playsand from Argos/B&Q and wash it thoroughly if you like uniform sand, or head down to your builders' merchant and get some river sand if you prefer a bit more varied look - I use river sand, but still sieve (sp?) it a little to get rid of the bigger bits. Either way it will be cheaper than buying from your LFS.
Get some driftwood in as the plec, algae eater and shrimp will thank you for it. Either buy some pre-soaked, or do a quick google to find out safe wood (must be dead) to soak yourself (takes forever though).
Put everything (save for livestock) in for the cycle, as it gives it a chance to settle down. No need to turn your heater on though. May be worth adding fertiliser and easy-carbo for the plants, depending on how heavily planted your tank is - I'm sure some people with more knowledge than me will confirm whether this is the case, or whether it will mess with the cycling.
Cycle for as long as possible (aim for 4 weeks, no less than 2) and check levels before adding anything. Snails won't really make a discernible difference to the cycle.
Get some driftwood in as the plec, algae eater and shrimp will thank you for it. Either buy some pre-soaked, or do a quick google to find out safe wood (must be dead) to soak yourself (takes forever though).
Put everything (save for livestock) in for the cycle, as it gives it a chance to settle down. No need to turn your heater on though. May be worth adding fertiliser and easy-carbo for the plants, depending on how heavily planted your tank is - I'm sure some people with more knowledge than me will confirm whether this is the case, or whether it will mess with the cycling.
Cycle for as long as possible (aim for 4 weeks, no less than 2) and check levels before adding anything. Snails won't really make a discernible difference to the cycle.
Powerheads are generally used to increase the circulation in a marine tank or to increase the flow when using undergravel filters. i would not think you'd need one in your tank. The filters that you're using should provide plenty of water movement. Good choice on the household ammonia its more controllable. you're looking to get the ammonia up to about 4ppm but i'm guessing you already know that as you seem well clued up!
Comacchio said:
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.
You'll have to part change the water depending on your readings etc. but the driftwood can release lots of tannins over several weeks. If this happens in the tank, it will take a long long time before your water is completely clear again.Stevenj214 said:
Soak in another container unless you like tea-coloured water
You would have to soak it for months, you can put it in the dishwasher (honestly) if you wanted, no soap obviously. Then just soak it afterwards to check it's running clear/clearer than before.The bogwood can effect the PH levels, depending on the size it can have a little or large effect. You want to change as little water as possible, or as much as needed when doing a fish less cycle, and you don't want to have to be messing that up because the bog wood is in there.
Sounds like you know your stuff pretty well already.
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!
Looking good so far, it's good to see you've done your research - not enough people do unfortunately.
One thing I would suggest is some cory's once the tank is cycled. They've got some real ugly duckling charm - a school of 6+ (though personally I'd go for 8-10) panda corys is a safe addition to most tanks.
One thing I would suggest is some cory's once the tank is cycled. They've got some real ugly duckling charm - a school of 6+ (though personally I'd go for 8-10) panda corys is a safe addition to most tanks.
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
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
Aeration won't make much difference, and it will take a long time for the tank to cycle. As long as you're fishless cycling normally, adding ammonia and testing daily you'll get there eventually - it is a slow process (but well worth doing properly.) You're not doing water changes are you?
Comacchio said:
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.
Nitrite should show after a week or so, nitrate after a few weeks.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.
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.
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