Is my tank ready?

P

psilo

AC Members
Jun 15, 2006
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Bolton,UK
www.psiloswildlifephotography.co.uk
I have a 45 gallon tank that has been set up for 6 days. I added aquasafe and bacterlife plus a few plants. My readings are as follows.

NO3 - 0
NO2 - 0
GH - 2
KH - 7
PH - 7.5

I understand that levels of 0 for no2 and no3 is what you are looking for but dont understand gh and kh. From the test kit the kh seems ok but the gh a little low?

Are these readings ok and is my tank ready to hold fish and if so to what capacity?
 
No, it is not ready. Why do you have an empty tank? You can't cycle the tank without a source of ammonia.

Please do not use snake oil products like "bacterlife". It does not have the correct bacteria for FW aquaria and at times it can do more harm than good. Especially if it contains nitrobacters.

Please read this article on cycling:

http://aquafacts.net/wiki/index.php/Cycling_a_Freshwater_Tank

Unless you use Bio Spira and stock your fish immediately, it takes 4-6 weeks to cycle a tank.

Roan
 
Unfortunatly we do not all have the benefit of expert knowledge and have to rely on knowledge given by people who you would hope know what they are doing. Bacterlife says it inhibits new tank syndrome and activates filters and increases bacteria life. I thought it had ammonia in it but it appears that i am mistaken. Will reseach bio spira but even after reading still feel none the wiser.
 
Bio-spira is a hit and miss type of thing. you are better off getitng a few cheap goldfish and start the cycle that way.
 
I think you are right north star. I kept tropical fish for 15 years when I was a teenager and didnt know anything about cycling, ammonia or nitrates and did just fine on a rigorous regime of water changes and keeping my filters and tanks clean. I am not saying my ignorance was good by any means because knowledge is certainly better but I always did very well and lost few fish. The only disease my fish developed was the occasional white spot on my guppies which i always treated. I did really want to try the fishless cycle as I have heard people rave on about it but there seems to be so much conflicting advice.
 
If you can find a source of pure ammonia, you can cycle the tank in 2 weeks (leaving lights on, heat around 85, no water changes except topping up evaporated water) with a final 50% water change; or 6-8 weeks with group of danio's and/or other hardy fish with necessary water changes when spikes occur.
 
A fishless cycle is simple: have an empty tank and add ammonia to it daily to get your levels up to 5ppm for a couple weeks. After that back it down to 2ppm for another couple weeks. The first stage is to help develop bacteria to get rid of the ammonia, and the second stage with less ammonia allows bacteria to get rid of nitrites (the result of the first bacteria getting rid of the ammonia) to develop. The final result will be nitrates, which won't kill your fish in a controlled aquarium and are taken out with water changes. Products like Bio-Spira, Streezyme, and the like are there to allow you to skip the fishless cycle. They run the gammit from being completely ineffective to a coin toss (Bio-Spira is great, but it is definitely a coin toss). If you are doing a fishless cycle with ammonia, it is cheap and takes a long time. If you have the money, you can buy packets of Bio-Spira until one works for you. After adding Bio-Spira, add around 1ppm of ammonia to your tank and see if it goes through the nitrite/nitrate cycle. If you don't have the resultant nitrates, you don't have a cycle. Be sure to read up on the proper type of ammonia regardless of what you decide to do.
 
Nerdy guy. Thanks for that. I have to admit that in the last week I have read several articles about fishless cycling but it all leaves me feeling totally adrift. Not because I dont understand what they are saying on a singular basis but I just cant get my head round the hwole picture and how one process interacts with the other.
I think the problem with fishless cycles is that it is totally daunting to someone that simply cannot understand water chemistry. :huh:
A fish cycle where you put fish in slowly i can understand and with carefully monitoring with water test kits and water changes i feel I can proceed with some confidence. I doubt i will get my head round fishless cycles enough to do it justice. I will keep reading though and no doubt in time it will come to me
 
do not get your ammonia up to 5ppm. too much ammonia in a new tank will prevent the bacteria from growing. go to walmart and get a bottle of "clear ammonia" its in the cleaning aisle and is $1 it should read on the ingredients "Water, ammonia, chelating agent" those are the ONLY things that should be in your ammonia. any surfactants or detergents will kill your fish. dose your tank up to 3ppm and wait. after a week or two, the ammonia will start to drop. when it gets to 1ppm, add a little more up to your original 3ppm. keep adding ammonia when it drops and after only a couple days, you will start getting nitrItes. now, you may have to do some water changes, because if any of the levels get too high, it can stall your cycle, so just do enough water changes to keep you levels on the chart when you test.

once you can dose ammonia up to 3ppm and its gone in 24 hours, and your nitrite is 0 as well, do a large, possibly even 100% water change to drop your nitrAte level to below 20ppm, and add fish right away.
 
If the tank has cycled for at least 5 days I think its ready. At least thata what I did with my fish and they have been doing great. When you are cycling your tank make sure you have all of the proper chemicals in the tank like, salt (which mollies love), stress coat and anything else you think it might need. Make sure you put a few gallons of old water from your old tank that was vaccumed up because that water will start the bacteria in the tank. Bacteria is I think is the most important thing about the aquarium besides water quaility. I hope this helps
 
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