Newbie with Cichlids in 55gal cycling question??

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rossman901

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Aug 3, 2008
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Alright first here are the specifics of my tank. It is about 10 years old or so and I purchased it from a co-worker. The gravel is also old and came with the tank but i thoroughly rinsed it in a cauldron with tap water. It is a 55 gallon with a Penguin Marineland Biowheel 350 which I just bought and Tetra Tech ap200 air pump which also came with the tank.. It has a few plastic decorations like a building and buddha, and a few fake plants all of which i rinsed well with fresh tapwater only before I placed them in the tank. I had it up and and running for about a week and then took my water to the local fish store. They tested it and said it was fine and I bought 3 cichlids. 1 Electric Blue Ahli, 1 Bumble Bee Cichlid, and 1 African Cichlid all of which were from the assorted african cichlid tank. I am feeding them Extreme Aquatic Foods Cichlid Diet pellets. They told me to put them in there and then do a water change within a week. Up until today I changed the water only once. My friend who is also on this forum (BigDylan420) came over today and tested my water. This is what it read:
pH - 7.4
Ammonia - 2.0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm

He said that the tank wasn't cycled and I may need to do several water changes. So we did 1 50% water change. I am using API stress Coat to treat the water. The LFS suggested I also add Seachem Stability New Tank Stabalization System fluid. My friend also suggested I add some aquarium salt but he only added enough for half the tank because he didnt wanna over do it. He added that because he said one of the cichlids had a bit of fin rot developing. So that is all I can think of for now. My main question is how often should I test and change the water and what are the ideal readings for a properly "cycled" tank??
 
Your tank is not cycled.

Do daily 50% water changes...when ever ammonia or nitrites are not below .25 ppm.

You need a good liquid test ki of your own.

You do not need the salt.
 
I would test your water at least 2x a day right now and change as much water as needed to keep the ammonia and nitrite as close to 0 as possible. AMmonia and nitrite are very very toxic to your fish. I wouldn't go crazy with the chemicals, a good quality water conditioner (most recommend Prime) will do it. Best of luck and keep up on those water changes!

edit: here is the sticky on cycling, a good read for a new tank owner : http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598

Also, its likely keeping your water quality perfect will be of more help to the fin rot than the salt.
 
Test daily and do water changes until ammonia and nitrites remain at zero considering you have fish in your tank. Your friend is correct in saying your tank is not cycled. You really have to add fish only when ammonia and nitrites are zero whereas nitrates do not exceed 40 ppm as ammonia and nitrites are toxic to the fish.

The only chemical I'd put in the tank is dechlorinator, nothing else.

:welcome: to AC!
 
:iagree: and 75% water changes would probably be better IMO.
 
Thanks guys. The **** fish store told me the water was ready and I didn't test on my own. Will keep you posted on results.
 
They said the water was fine because the water had no ammonia source, therefore, no way to start a cycle. Don't blame the fish store.
 
If your friend has a freshwater tank, ask him for some of his filter media or a double handful of gravel from his tank. You can safely remove about half the media from a filter and replace it with new and not impact his tank.

Put either or both near the intake to your filter, or in your filter if you have the same type as he has, and you can shorten your cycle time by several weeks and make your fish a lot happier. If you don't want to mix his gravel in, put it in a net like you use inside a canister filter (costs $3 at the petsmart).
 
If you want, you can try some Biospira or bacterial additive to make the process go by slightly faster...


however, it's arguable on whether they actually help or not. I don't think you have anything to lose, so you might as well try.
 
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