First tank, second hand. Need help!

[Beeman]

Alright so first off let me give you the rundown of what i've got.
A secondhand Marineland 56 gallon cube tank. I got the stand, the tank, the filter, the light, and gravel all free from someone who was moving and just didn't want the hassle of moving it all.

So I get everything home and take the gravel out of the tank, rinse it all in a big bucket in the back yard and cycle that water out several times. Next I take the tank and clean it out as well as I can too. Please note I used a little Dawn dish detergent while cleaning everything (prior to reading anything i didn't realize this was a no-no) But I did rinse, rinse and re-rinse everything.

At this point I went to the local petco and talked to someone in the aquarium area about what i needed to get started. The employee gave me the super basic "how to setup your aquarium sheet" and told me a few basic things.
I walked out with the following:
New carbon cartridges for my emporer 400,
a thermometer (no heater at this point because my inside temp is 78 degrees I will pick one up once it gets cooler)
Water conditioning drops (de-chlorinator,heavy metals etc etc)
Water Clarifier
A petco brand air-pump for aeration/bubbles
a few decorations for the tank

So I go home, fill the tank with tap water, did a quick rinse of the carbon filter cartridges, filled the filter, added all the drops in the appropriate amounts. Turned the filter on and let it go. This was on sunday the 18th.

Here is where I'm at so far 2 days later:
I didn't do a good enough job rinsing the carbon filters because the tank got that dark carbon dust color to it. The filter has been running non stop since.

I have a few questions for where I am right now:
I had no idea you had to cycle a freshwater tank, the petco employee didnt mention this at all. What do I need to do to get my tank fish-ready as far as cycling goes? What is involved with doing this for a freshwater tank? What sort of testing kits can I buy from petco that will let me know if my water is ready or not? And what are the estimated costs of these supplies?Is there some kind of idiot's guide that is a sticky somewhere on this forum?

Also.. How long am I looking at before the charcoal-black tint of the water will go away? Do I need to just empty the tank and refill or will this eventually go away? The water looks okay otherwise, no other color tints or cloudiness besides how the charcoal makes it look.

I don't want to cause any undue stress to any fish I try to introduce to their new home and I'd rather not lose any on my first go at this.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[ConnerFish]

To cycle your tank you need either an ammonia source (such as liquid ammonia or raw shrimp) or you can do an insta cycle with used filter media from an established tank since it will already have the bacteria present. I believe there is a sticky on cycling a new tank either in the newbie section or the general section. Just look at the top of those forums. Everyone will recommend a liquid test kit since they are more accurate and I think you can get them at petco. Not sure the price but know they are more cost effective down the line than strips. Not sure about the charcoal color to the water. Do you have fish already? I don' think the charcoal in the water would hurt the cycle mostly just unsightly. I imagine it will go away after awhile but I'm not sure. Good luck and welcome!

 

[toasty]

There's an excellent fool-proof sticky in this section of the forum called "Freshwater cycling" that you should study. Make a list from it too, that's what I did

Someone else should answer about the dishsoap thing.

I don't think the carbon from the filter will hurt at all, though you don't need carbon in your filter to cycle your aquarium in the first place. You'll be doing a lot of water changes before you add fish (assuming you don't use live fish as your ammonia source), so most of it will be removed anyway.

Here's what you'll absolutely NEED, without the details. (Again, read that sticky)
1. The API Freshwater Master Test Kit or similar tests (preferably liquid) that will test the same things. You will be making best friends with this kit for at least a month.
2. An ammonia source. The guide will detail this.
3. Make sure you have a quality water purifier. Most people here reccomend Prime. I use API brand water conditioner.
4. Patience. It takes several weeks to cycle a new aquarium.

Knowing someone with an established (and healthy) aquarium that will help seed yours will help a lot. Seeding means they give you stuff from their aquarium (like the ceramic media/rings from their filter, filter sponges, substrate, etc) that has bacteria on it which helps your aquarium grow its own from that. Also, getting a liquid bacteria source is nice (like Stress Zyme) but not absolutely required.

 

[Beeman]

To cycle your tank you need either an ammonia source (such as liquid ammonia or raw shrimp) or you can do an insta cycle with used filter media from an established tank since it will already have the bacteria present. I believe there is a sticky on cycling a new tank either in the newbie section or the general section. Just look at the top of those forums. Everyone will recommend a liquid test kit since they are more accurate and I think you can get them at petco. Not sure the price but know they are more cost effective down the line than strips. Not sure about the charcoal color to the water. Do you have fish already? I don' think the charcoal in the water would hurt the cycle mostly just unsightly. I imagine it will go away after awhile but I'm not sure. Good luck and welcome!

I dont own or have access to an established tank, so that's not going to work for me.

 

[Beeman]

Toasty: Thanks for the link to the cycling guide.
So It looks like at the moment my main concern besides starting my cycle is do I need to start over because I did a bad job of rinsing my filters? Or will the dark cloudiness settle in a few days?

 

[excuzzzeme]

Welcome to AC

Using seeded substrate or filter from another tank is helpful as has been mentioned. However, it doesn't create an instant cycle as implied. It's one of those helpful things to do but rarely saves more than a week or possibly 2 of cycle time. I personally think it better for you to forget it and cycle the long, tried and true method so you will know factually how long it takes your water to respond. Once you have done one tank, the rest won't matter on method used. It is simply to educate you in a manner that you will likely never forget. You will also be able to see how a change in one item can effect a change in something else. Without a doubt, it will be the best lesson in fishkeeping you will ever learn.

If you take the time to set up the first tank from scratch (so to speak) any future tanks will go much faster as you will know how long it takes to convert the nitrogen cycle to sustain a populace without harm. The super hard part is the waiting. Forget the the air pump and bubbler for now and forget the carbon. Don't buy into the sales pitch that a bio-wheel filter is better. It's not, it's just a different way to get to the same point. Once the tank is cycled you can add the carbon back in if you wish. To remove the black from the water requires a water change. Some people like myself do not use carbon other than to remove medications from the water. Some people need to use it because their water develops an unpleasant smell or to help "polish" the water. You will figure out it you need it or not.

Cleaning a tank: Use vinegar! It doesn't hurt to use bleach provided you rinse everything well. The first fill after using bleach should have a dechlorinator added as a safety precaution. Vinegar can be used inside and outside the tank and will evaporate leaving no harmful aftereffects. Vinegar also makes for a great, earth-friendly, weed-killer so be careful around plants as it will harm and possibly kill them.

This is one hobby that if you don't become impatient and rush things, can be very rewarding for the patience used. Rushing anything will likely result in dead plants and animals and an empty pocketbook.

 

[Beeman]

The emporer 400 came with the tank for free. I wasn't sold to any hype or anything like that. It has 2 biowheels and slots for 4 cartridges that have a spongey blue side and the other side has slots opening to the carbon material inside.

Are you saying that I dont need to use the cartridges that fit this filter?

 

[Plague]

Just throwing this out there, when you do buy the ammonia if you decide to go fishless cycle, make sure that it is PURE ammonia and doesn't have anything else. Ammonia is sometimes used by janitors I believe? so it comes with some cleaning chemicals in it. But they do sell pure ammonia and ACERS is always thrown out there as a place that sells it.

 

[toasty]

See my other post, third paragraph about your charcoal question.

You can use the filter cartridges provided just fine. As previously mentioned, carbon isn't really necessary. It's in your cartridge already, fine, but you can optimize it by customizing the filter's contents. If you go here and scroll to the last bit that says "Marineland Emperor 400 Filter Media" it'll tell you what you can do to change your filter up a bit, if you choose to.

I have a little bio wheel thing for my 5g too. I've never changed the cartridge before, I just emptied out the carbon stuff and stuff it with my own media. I just rinse it with dechlorinated water whenever I do changes. The point is to maximize bacteria space in your filter, but it's also more economically savvy than buying brand new cartridges each time you need a change.

AMMONIA: In response to the other person's post, I second that. Shake the bottle of "pure" ammonia in question, and if it foams/froths, then it isn't pure. Some people find their ammonia in dollar stores. I found my 1 gallon at Ace Hardware, called "Blue Ribbon CLEAR Ammonia" for about $3.

 

[ryukin_5]

Hi and Weldon.

Let's see if I can simplify things !!!

1. Start over.
2. Get the liquid test kit as sugested.
3.empty the water from the tank and rinse use the viniger or light bleach solution as sugested .
4.rinse the filter cartridge/s under a tap for a while !! How long a while !!! Oe at least until it stops running black or you are satisfied that the shade of black has changed to your liking or considerably.
Again rinse & rerinse.you could also do this under using a bucket to make shure the cartridge is no longer realising the black dust......patience is the key here.
5.read the cycling sticky and procede.