this may sound dumb
- Thread starter sharpie
- Start date
Yes. A biowheel is only one type of filter system. There are others and they all need to have the cycle started.
You can do a fishy cycle with a few hardy fish (probably not goldfish, something like danios would be better). Or a much better solution is a fishless cycle where you simulate fish by adding ammonia into the aquarium, this way you don't end up with fish deaths and massive water changing all the time. With a UGF your bacteria will be heavily established in your gravel.
Theres a great article on cycling in the article forum. It will make a lot more sense once you've read that.
Theres a great article on cycling in the article forum. It will make a lot more sense once you've read that.
ummm... gold fish= not the best idea from what ive heard... they put out diff pooo than most tropical fish, so it seems the bacterial colonies would be altered for the goldfish (yell at me if im wrong)
try feeder guppies, and read the articles on cycleing in the article section!
try feeder guppies, and read the articles on cycleing in the article section!
feeder fish would just be a good way to introduce parasites and diseases into your tank. and unless you plan on doing goldfish, they would most likely need completely different water conditions than what you should be trying to get in the tank. undergravel is the same as bio-wheel, just another method of providing media for the good bacteria to grow on. to cycle just get 2 or 3 small hardy fish that will do fine with whatever you plan to do in the end. in about a week after adding them the water will get a little cloudy. the cloudiness will go away on average in about 3 weeks. at that point your tank is cycled and you can start to slowly add more fish.
what size tank is it? what type of filter is it? what kind of fish are you wanting to have in the end?
what size tank is it? what type of filter is it? what kind of fish are you wanting to have in the end?
any feeder fish can easily introduce parasites and diseases. oscars should not be fed live food at all for this very reason. in addition, live food can make them more aggressive. this could cause problems for 2 oscars in a 55 (which may not work in the first place). many people consider a 75 to be minimum for a single oscar. i think a 55 is fine if done right, and 2 is really pushing it. TONS of filtration is needed for 2 oscars in a 55. what types of HOBs exactly? i have 2 whisper 60s on my 55 that has one foot long jaguar cichlid (very similar to an oscar). they are doing a great job. if you decide to do 2 oscars in a 55, you should probably also consider a canister to supplement the other filters, whichever type they are. you cant overfilter, but it is very easy to underfilter, especially with the fish and tank size ou are attempting. i only feed pellets, if they will take frozen that is good too. a variety of high quality pellets is the best.