Newb needing cycling advice
- Thread starter Fish@Work
- Start date
Ok.
Lets start with a couple of questions first.
What fish are you planning on keeping in this tank?
Do you have someone that can lend you a complete, seeded filter for a couple of weeks?
I am assuming that you just want something in the tank to begin and are not looking to go overboard on the bioload right away?
Now depending on the fish that you are planning on keeping. If it is something that doesn't need kid gloves to be maintained if you can get another filter cannister or HOB and run the filter at the same time as yours for a few weeks until the seeding is done and your tank and filter can maintain the small bioload of the fish you have on it's own.
I don't cycle tanks in the conventional way anymore. I just take a filter from one of my other tanks and slap it on the new one on throw a few cichlids in and I let it go. Once the tank is sufficantly seeded I take the borrowed filter off and go from there.
It works well as long as you are patient and don't over stock the tank right away.
Lets start with a couple of questions first.
What fish are you planning on keeping in this tank?
Do you have someone that can lend you a complete, seeded filter for a couple of weeks?
I am assuming that you just want something in the tank to begin and are not looking to go overboard on the bioload right away?
Now depending on the fish that you are planning on keeping. If it is something that doesn't need kid gloves to be maintained if you can get another filter cannister or HOB and run the filter at the same time as yours for a few weeks until the seeding is done and your tank and filter can maintain the small bioload of the fish you have on it's own.
I don't cycle tanks in the conventional way anymore. I just take a filter from one of my other tanks and slap it on the new one on throw a few cichlids in and I let it go. Once the tank is sufficantly seeded I take the borrowed filter off and go from there.
It works well as long as you are patient and don't over stock the tank right away.
I agree with scott. Maybe the petstore will rent you a sponge from one of thier filters. Make them an offer they can't refuse. Any local aquarium clubs in town? I always keep a few extra sponges in my eclipses filter tray now, maybe someone else does the same. Again, make them an offer they can't refuse. Look in clasified ads, and see if anyone is selling a tank, and see if thier filter is still viable.
In the words of the Wu Tang Clan: "Cash moves everything around me"
In the words of the Wu Tang Clan: "Cash moves everything around me"
ScottoMacD said:
Gouramis, neons, cherry or tiger barbs, cory cats, a pleco, and hopefully a synodontis of some sort.
No.
Yes. I don't plan on adding them all at once.
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Also another question, about lighting.
This tank will have live plants, but I worry about algae.
The hood holds 2 bulbs. Can I mix and match buls? I was thinking one Aqua-glo and one life-glo, or 2 aqua-glos.
This tank will have live plants, but I worry about algae.
The hood holds 2 bulbs. Can I mix and match buls? I was thinking one Aqua-glo and one life-glo, or 2 aqua-glos.
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AFAIK, light does not encourage algae growth as much as an excess of nutrients in the water column. As long as you keep up with regular water changes and do not overfeed, you should be alright.
