hey erin
I replied to your thread in Cichlids about the same tank
Having it empty during the cycle will be much better than potentially having sick fish in there, and a lot less work on the water changes.
Get the lads online and picking out some pictures that they like etc. Or give them the job of doing the tests during the cycle etc. Also spread out the set up process - so get a substrate, filter, heaters in quick but let them help do the rockwork etc. over the course of the cycle.
I replied to your thread in Cichlids about the same tank
Having it empty during the cycle will be much better than potentially having sick fish in there, and a lot less work on the water changes.
Get the lads online and picking out some pictures that they like etc. Or give them the job of doing the tests during the cycle etc. Also spread out the set up process - so get a substrate, filter, heaters in quick but let them help do the rockwork etc. over the course of the cycle.
