more newbie questions...

[jameshilljr]

I was reading yesterday about cycling the aquarium with/without fish in it.
I bought an existing 55 gallon aquarium with several live plants(i dont know what kind) and 3 medium sized yellow lab cichlids 2 days ago. I also bought 2 juvenile convict cichlids, and 2 juvenile firemouth cichlids, yesterday(I know dumb move-I have been reading posts about what to do/not do all morning!) I have read about testing the water and doing partial water changes everday until the levels in the water calm down(from reading the posts about 6 weeks). I was wondering about if I need to vacuum siphon the gravel as well? I do not have an undergravel filter-but I do have 2 Aquaclear 300 external filters for it. I have never had live aquarium plants before. The previous owner told me just to make sure the light stayed on 10 hours a day.Do I need certain kinds of substrate besides the gravel? Also, is it possible to 'over aerate' with the water level being too low(with both filters going there's alot of air bubbles in the water)and having an air pump with bubble stones?

[jm1212]

you should gravel vac with every water change. with a UGF, this is even more important than if you didnt have one.

if you can find some used filter sponges, carbon, etc., it will help the cycle along and it will be completed much faster.

in regards to your stock- mixing african cichlids (yellow labs) and CA/SA (cons and firmouths) cichlids is not the best idea. aggression levels differ and the conditions that african cichlids require are also different than those that CA/SA need. plus some CA/SA cichlids have been nkown to tear up plants, and african cichlids will eat them.

[jameshilljr]

if you can find some used filter sponges, carbon, etc., it will help the cycle along and it will be completed much faster.

I reused the sponge filters from the prior setup(i just rinsed them off- hope that doesn't defeat the purpose)

Thank you for the advice

[Hurley]

Did you rinse the filter in tap water? If you did the chlorine can kill off the good bacteria. I usually rinse mine off with old tank water or water that has been treated with de-chlorinator. This way the bacteria isn't killed but all the gunk is washed off.

Go ahead and vacuum the gravel. Any bacteria that develops there will stick to the gravel so vacuuming it shouldn't bother it.

As for the plants, can you post picture in the plant section. This way we can id them. Once we do that, we can recommend lighting, gravel types and whatever else the plants need. However, like jm1212 said, plants and cichlids usally aren't a good mix because they will just dig up the plants.

[BoredAgain]

I reused the sponge filters from the prior setup(i just rinsed them off- hope that doesn't defeat the purpose)
Depending on how you rinsed them off...like using untreated tap water is a no no.

[jameshilljr]

well, I guess I can chalk this one for experience...:wall:
Yeah i did use regular tap water-oh well.

[BoredAgain]

well, I guess I can chalk this one for experience...:wall:
Yeah i did use regular tap water-oh well.
You'll learn, good thing you joined this forum. When in doubt (and doubt everything), ask.