No! Go ahead & add ammonia to 2-4ppm, there is no reason to let it sit. You'll be missing weeks of cycling & growing beneficial bacteria & that's what you want & need.
Cadd’s First Community Tank
- Thread starter cadd
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No! Go ahead & add ammonia to 2-4ppm, there is no reason to let it sit. You'll be missing weeks of cycling & growing beneficial bacteria & that's what you want & need.
If you're going to use a ilter to remove dust and fine particulate matter, I'd tie quilt batting around the filter intake to stop the abrasive stuff making it's way to your impeller.
and watch the ammonia adding... I wouldn't add more than to 4ppm... at a certain spot it wil be high enough to kill off your bacteria.
and watch the ammonia adding... I wouldn't add more than to 4ppm... at a certain spot it wil be high enough to kill off your bacteria.
Depends on how you define success.
I will say no.
It looks like a marine light, so although it will let you see fish and grow some plants, it will not make either look as they should.
At a simplistic level, look for something with a color temperature of 5000-8000K (subjective numbers...)
Something more than seeing fish will make you want to consider the actual amount of light produced.
I will say no.
It looks like a marine light, so although it will let you see fish and grow some plants, it will not make either look as they should.
At a simplistic level, look for something with a color temperature of 5000-8000K (subjective numbers...)
Something more than seeing fish will make you want to consider the actual amount of light produced.
myswtsins
Global Moderator
I enjoy how you are breaking it all down for us dollar by dollar, I do this also on my build threads where applicable. I missed a lot so I am going to do bullet points.
- Filter arrangement is fine. Using both bio-medias is a good "cover all bases" choice.
- Not sure why you are not supposed to use TSS and Prime together but I can say I have used Prime while cycling without issues. Is there something specific with those products that clash, I don't know. Personally I don't care for bacteria in a bottle products either.
- Ghost feeding is very slow but cycling in general in slow too. It takes a long time for nitrites to show up and then a long time for nitrates to show up (or nitrites to drop) and then it seems to finish in a flash. With ghost feeding you need to be feeding the same amount you intend to feed to your first batch of fish or more to be safe. Are you feeding enough? I will always use the ammonia method for cycling, it is extremely effective, fast and clean (why put junk into the tank that needs to be physical removed?)
- I'm pretty sure #7 of the sponge filter is just the tee section of the tubing and it is there.
- That is the first time I've seen someone use a leaf blower to clean their substrate! lol Interesting process you have there. I think it in unnecessary to be running those tubs though. I don't think it needs more cleaning for one and... Why not just put it into the main tank if you are going to keep in submerged and filtered?
As noted above, using the tubs to cycle is not necessarily going to give you a good result...
Bacteria will colonize any flat surface it can adhere to, in this case, it accounts for the insides fo the totes.; When you move your filters, any bacteria left over is going to be lost. The number may be small, but it may well be significant too. It's really in your nest interest to cycle the tank as a whole setup, not just whatever is in your filters and on the substrate that you are going to move anyways.
Also know that when you 'ghost feed' the bacteria cannot eat the flakes, they need to wait for the food to break down and deteriorate where there will be ammonia caused (and other stuff dissolved in the water also)
But any which way, once you set up your tank and add fish, be sure to test pretty frequently, and feed sparingly at first, just to let the bacteria rebound, and so you will be able to see potential problems more quickly.
Bacteria will colonize any flat surface it can adhere to, in this case, it accounts for the insides fo the totes.; When you move your filters, any bacteria left over is going to be lost. The number may be small, but it may well be significant too. It's really in your nest interest to cycle the tank as a whole setup, not just whatever is in your filters and on the substrate that you are going to move anyways.
Also know that when you 'ghost feed' the bacteria cannot eat the flakes, they need to wait for the food to break down and deteriorate where there will be ammonia caused (and other stuff dissolved in the water also)
But any which way, once you set up your tank and add fish, be sure to test pretty frequently, and feed sparingly at first, just to let the bacteria rebound, and so you will be able to see potential problems more quickly.
myswtsins
Global Moderator
Forgot about lighting. I consider lighting to be the most difficult topic for planted tanks. My favorite thread talking about it is THIS one from the plantedtank.
Cheap lighting options for a 55g that is capable for growing plants (besides the lowest light plants anyways) leaves only a few choices that I know of. My favorite cheapest option would be a dual diamond plated shop light $36 from home depot which you can apparently get on amazon for the same price now. You will see this light listed on the plantedtank thread I linked too.
For something a little fancier and only a little more expensive I have to suggest a light I got recently, the Vivagrow 24/7 LED $57 which is even cheaper than I paid for my 36" ones. I've been using mine for 8 months and I just love it. I've been using 2 on a 21" tall tank (like yours) and 18" wide (6" wider than yours so you'd probably only need 1 light) and I've had great results. Plants have even turned redder than expected, red plants tend to need more nutrients (I consider light a nutrient too). Plus I love the versatility of this light. I can do almost anything I want with it but I've just been running the 24/7 mode and I use other settings for pictures mostly.
There are more options out there of course, these are just the ones I am most familiar with and like the best ATM.
Cheap lighting options for a 55g that is capable for growing plants (besides the lowest light plants anyways) leaves only a few choices that I know of. My favorite cheapest option would be a dual diamond plated shop light $36 from home depot which you can apparently get on amazon for the same price now. You will see this light listed on the plantedtank thread I linked too.
For something a little fancier and only a little more expensive I have to suggest a light I got recently, the Vivagrow 24/7 LED $57 which is even cheaper than I paid for my 36" ones. I've been using mine for 8 months and I just love it. I've been using 2 on a 21" tall tank (like yours) and 18" wide (6" wider than yours so you'd probably only need 1 light) and I've had great results. Plants have even turned redder than expected, red plants tend to need more nutrients (I consider light a nutrient too). Plus I love the versatility of this light. I can do almost anything I want with it but I've just been running the 24/7 mode and I use other settings for pictures mostly.
There are more options out there of course, these are just the ones I am most familiar with and like the best ATM.
Oh, I missed the leaf blower, lol. But I stand on ammonia for cycling, I prefer 2ppm or so. Do you have a Dollar Tree near you? They sell no additive ammonia, best dollar you'll spend!
Thanks for the suggestions everyone. To answer a few questions
Two plastic tubs soaking the sand with the filters running. I'll keep them in the tubs until my 55 gallon tank is up and running.
I'm currently cycling in my 29 gallon tank (which is on the stand I made from 2x4s). That tank current has a sponge filter in it along with a canister filter running as well (Fluval Biomax and Seachem Matrix are the bio media I've put in the media trays of the canister filter). This is the tank I'm ghost feeding.
Once I build (or find an inexpensive stand for the 55 gal tank), I'll move everything from the 29 gal tank into the 55 gallon tank. I'll probably dump the substrate from the two plastic bins into the 55 gallon tank as well.
Fishorama, thanks for the dollar tree ammonia suggestion. I think I'll eventually pull the trigger and start cycling with ammonia. It's just now, I'm not in a rush at all. I have many many projects I'm still working on and I don't mind if my ghost feeding process takes forever (for now). Once I have more free time, I can focus more on the cycling process.
My main tank is a 55 gal tank that I have on the carpet. I can't put the substrate in yet as I still need to build a stand for it.
Thanks for the explanation. Just to clarify, my current set up is as follows:
Two plastic tubs soaking the sand with the filters running. I'll keep them in the tubs until my 55 gallon tank is up and running.
I'm currently cycling in my 29 gallon tank (which is on the stand I made from 2x4s). That tank current has a sponge filter in it along with a canister filter running as well (Fluval Biomax and Seachem Matrix are the bio media I've put in the media trays of the canister filter). This is the tank I'm ghost feeding.
Once I build (or find an inexpensive stand for the 55 gal tank), I'll move everything from the 29 gal tank into the 55 gallon tank. I'll probably dump the substrate from the two plastic bins into the 55 gallon tank as well.
I just started reading up on lights. It's all too confusing. I'll post my question when I narrow down my choices to 2 or 3 lights. Thank you for that link =)
Fishorama, thanks for the dollar tree ammonia suggestion. I think I'll eventually pull the trigger and start cycling with ammonia. It's just now, I'm not in a rush at all. I have many many projects I'm still working on and I don't mind if my ghost feeding process takes forever (for now). Once I have more free time, I can focus more on the cycling process.
