first big tank, advice??

[TerribleJakes]

I just set up a 180g wide for my irredescent shark. I filled it 3 days ago, conditioned it, and started the filter up (fluval fx5). I added bacteria starter, and a bunch of stuff from my existing 55gal tank including bio-material, gravel (covering only 1/3 of the bottom so far), decaying food(gross!!) and a few fake plants. The water is foggy still since I filled it and even with everything added the ammonia NitrIte and nitrate are all at 0. any tips for cycling a tank this size any faster? I know its a long process but I thought id get some small trace off all that stuff!! lol

Also im having trouble getting a pH reading... Im using the freshmater master test kit drops and the low range test is reading higher then 7.6 and the high range test is reading lower then 7.4...


Last but not least, once my tank is fully cycled I have my fish moving in:
Irredescent shark (6")
2 weather loaches(5" and 6")
2 polypterus(3" babies)
2 bala sharks (3" and 4")
Ropefish (just flew in from Africa, picking up tomorow)

I just recently discovered Jade Gobies, but im not sure if they're a match for my fish... all my kids are still relatively small and although i've heard jades grow slowly they have a large mouth to body ratio...

Thank you tons!!

 

[mountain_webste]

Congrats on the new set-up. Move your fish now.

Don't bother with the bacteria starter stuff. If you moved the contents of your old tank you should have enough to seed your new tank. If you still have it, you may want to put the old filter media either in your fx5 or in the tank too.

I'd monitor your water levels for a while. I'd wait a few weeks until I knew the tank was stable before adding stock (after QT).

 

[rufioman]

I wouldn't go jades with that stock list..just my $0.02 though

 

[TerribleJakes]

im reading 0 ammonia 0 nitrItes and 0 nitrAtes though, wouldn't I want at least some nitrAtes to know if my tank was cycling before moving them? my 55gal is currently SKY HIGH in the NitrAtes, not sure if its cuz i took out half the decor or what, they were at about 40 like 5 days ago, now they're at least 80-100... never had them that high..

 

[ianab]

Well you wont get nitrate until you start adding ammonia, either artificial or from some fish.

If you have seeded the tank with media and stuff from the established tank then you now have at least some bacteria in there, just waiting for ammonia to appear.

What I would do now is drop in a couple of fish and get things started. Your new filter wont be cycled yet, so you will be relying on the bacteria you have transplanted in there, so don't just stock the tank fully right away.

If the Nitrates in the 50gal are high, change some more water. As long as it's only Nitrate that is high then the cycle is still working properly in there, and start moving a few fish into the bigger tank to take the load off the smaller tank.

Ian

 

[thebrandon]

You can take the old filter media and put it in the FX5, that is what I like to do, or my next favorite option, run the old filter along side the new filter for a month or two. It usually takes less time but I like to make sure.

With either option 99% of the time you can just plop the fish in there without any cycling issues.

 

[TerribleJakes]

thanks guys! I added my 4 mollys, 2 small bala sharks, and large snail (also a large dead crayfish for 48 hrs) I now have slight amoonia (.25ppm) so I took out the cray fish. the poor little fish look petrified in the huge tank lol not used to the room I guess. Waters clearing up, just waiting to add my more delicate fish.

Also I just got my ropefish (still in the bag from africa) yesterday. He seems shy and not moving around too much day or night. Is this just recovery and adapting to my tank after long flight? I hope he's ok... He's in the 55g now.