i cant take the wait any longer

Best of luck to you!!!
 
i'm using stresscoat as my dechlorinator. i don't have access to filter media because my lps doesn't use that sort of filter.. they said they have 2 300gal something or others all connected. not sure what N02 or N03 mean, but my ammonia is at .25ppm, nitrites 0, nitrates 0 and pH is 7.6.

what exactly can i expect to happen upon floating this nylong bag of gravel in my tank? what should i look for in my parameters and so on. and also when will i know i'm cycled?

thanks everyone.
 
NO2 = nitrite

NO3= nitrate

Length will depend on how much bacteria is actually transferred and the amount of ammonia present in the water to feed the bacteria. Since you are fish cycling it will still take longer, but not as long. Time tables are hard to judge.

Cycling is considered done once ammonia/nitrite are consistently at 0 ppm and you have nitrates building up. Just be patient. ;)
 
pappy thank you for clearing that abbreviated nitrites/nitrates up. as i stated ammonia read .25ppm before i put the "seed" in. should my first indication be that ammonia going down? also, though i still need to wait, this will for sure be faster than if i hadn't gotten the established gravel right? because this sock of gravel hanging in my tank looks a whole lot worse then 6 small fish swimming around in 46 gallons of water. haha. boy this is one experience i'll remember forever.

again, thank you all. below is my sock of hope. it resembles something i'd rather not elaborate on. hopefully you can all have a laugh at my expense.

2.jpg
 
katuuuz said:
as far as dechlorinator, of course i use it!! .. but now that you mentioned it, it may just have something to do with my problem. i add respective amounts of stress coat for every water change. i always add my tap water via the python and THEN dose with stress coat. i can't really devise a way to treat the water first, and dont really want to do it a gallon at a time in a milk jug or something. do you think in that short 5 minutes or so before i dechlorinate the newly added water that it would kill the bacteria? i've heard of adding water, then dosing before... but is that only for already established plants??
Click to expand...

Are you adding stress coat just for the amount you are refilling or for the whole volume of the tank? when you are refilling directly from the tap instead of pre-treating, you need to dose for the WHOLE tank. also, are you leaving the filters running when you do the water changes? the bacteria can survive a good 30 seconds of contact with chlorinated water, but past that they'll die. and in that 5 minutes, you can also be harming the fish. you don't have to "devise" a way to treat the water first, you just pour the dechlor into the tank itself. that way the chlorine is almost immediately neutralized as soon as it comes into contact with the dechlor chemical. if you leave the filters running when you refill, then the chlorinated water is going into the filters and killing off the bacteria there too.

would you rather go into a room filled with poison gas with your gas mask on already, or have to hold your breath and put it on once you were already in there? extreme example, but same point. Chlorine is a poison. Dechlor is your fish's (and bacteria's) gas mask.
 
wataugachicken said:
Are you adding stress coat just for the amount you are refilling or for the whole volume of the tank? when you are refilling directly from the tap instead of pre-treating, you need to dose for the WHOLE tank. also, are you leaving the filters running when you do the water changes? the bacteria can survive a good 30 seconds of contact with chlorinated water, but past that they'll die. and in that 5 minutes, you can also be harming the fish. you don't have to "devise" a way to treat the water first, you just pour the dechlor into the tank itself. that way the chlorine is almost immediately neutralized as soon as it comes into contact with the dechlor chemical. if you leave the filters running when you refill, then the chlorinated water is going into the filters and killing off the bacteria there too.

would you rather go into a room filled with poison gas with your gas mask on already, or have to hold your breath and put it on once you were already in there? extreme example, but same point. Chlorine is a poison. Dechlor is your fish's (and bacteria's) gas mask.
Click to expand...

thank you for breaking that down for me. well i have been shutting my filter/heater off during water changes since i started them. if you're saying to add stresscoat to the remaining water in the tank before i start refilling, i havn't been doing that. i usually fill the tank with tap (50% i took out) then apply stresscoat. i'll start dechlorinating the tank first.

thanks man
 
I don't mean to hijack your thread but I also am in the same boat as you
If there is anyone in the Worcester Ma. area that would like to sell or donate something with some bacteria for my cycle I would appreciate it
Thanks
 
hiittman said:
I don't mean to hijack your thread but I also am in the same boat as you
If there is anyone in the Worcester Ma. area that would like to sell or donate something with some bacteria for my cycle I would appreciate it
Thanks
Click to expand...

that's fine with me man. i ended up coaxing a girl at my lfs to reach into a tank and give me a few handfuls of substrate from one of their display tanks. worth a try. she put it in a fishbag with water so i could take it home.
 
Ya thats maybe what I'll end up doing,I have a Petco right down the street but theres always dead bodies in all thier tanks
I figure someone hear would give me something healthy

Like I said, I'm in same boat as you so I'll be interested in your progress
keep us updated
Thanks
 
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