75g Cichlid

First topic message reminder :

75 is on its way to be up and running and ready for the moori to arrive....will post pics as i progress.....Holey rock is currently basking in the sun

KMX wrote:

I thought you used water from you other tank to help start it?

No....Just the media....I just moved here and am setting this tank up from scratch

You could just add your fish now and do daily water changes of 25% for two weeks for it to be cycled.

philuponthepho wrote:

You could just add your fish now and do daily water changes of 25% for two weeks for it to be cycled.

I am waiting on the order with KMX to come in....I want to have it cycled and ready to go before they get here

ahhhh ok.

Just added some flake food

Did a water change and add some flake food this morning

Ok, if you on a short time line do this (I wouldn't recommend it normally)
Go get 2 dozen or so feeder guppy's or the like and put them in there today. If the fish you are getting wont eat them you could always take them back when you are done with them. Do 5-10% water changes every other day or every 3 days. Small amounts will help with the speed of the cycle. You will lose some of the guppy's doing it this way though. If you don't have a liquid test kit go get the tetra laborett kit ($20-25) Test your water before every water change. If you can get some used media from someone it would shorten the cycle by at least 50%. Once your ammonia is at 0 and you have a reading of 15-20 on the nitrite (I think that's the one I always get them confused) Then you tank is cycled and ready for fish after a 50% water change. Leave the guppy's in there till the last minute to keep the bacteria alive and well. Oh and overfeed the guppy's by quite a bit, it will help get the ammonia high and help speed the cycle.

Disclaimer: If you have time for a proper cycle DO NOT do it this way!!!!!! It is not good to use fish to cycle with, its a death sentience for them.

Went to the LFS and got 40 minnows(out of feeder guppies) and added them to the tank....Lets hope for the best

Do you have a liquid test kit? If not go get the tetra laborett, you will need it

Fern wrote:

Do you have a liquid test kit? If not go get the tetra laborett, you will need it

Of course not....They were out...Go figure

Woke up this morning to a tank with 40 dead minnows and a tank that smelled like straight

Um, well its safe to say you had no living bacteria in the tank.

Try it again with a dozen...... I had a feeling 40 would be too much.

How soon are you getting your fish? Do you have another tank you could put them in or someone that could hold them for you?

We may have to do this the old fashioned way..... Don't change any of the water in the tank yet.

My fist fish will be the moori GB that is going on with Kory....Right now I dont have any other tanks to put them in.....I can talk to Kory and see how long he can hold them I guess.....

I will hold out on the water change as long as I can.....I have an unhappy wife right now cause it smells so bad

I think Kory can hold them for you till your tank is ready for them.

You need a liquid test kit before you even think of changing any water. That nasty smell means that there is plenty of gunk in the water to help the cycle along, trust me its a good thing.
If she has an issue with the smell go get one of those cinnamon brooms from the store and put it by the tank UNopened, it will cut the smell. I have one in my fish room..... My BF had an issue with the aquatic aroma so many tanks produce. The cinnamon smell masks it nicely.

Better minnows than moori. :) Good luck!

cichlid mania wrote:

My fist fish will be the moori GB that is going on with Kory....Right now I dont have any other tanks to put them in.....I can talk to Kory and see how long he can hold them I guess.....

I will hold out on the water change as long as I can.....I have an unhappy wife right now cause it smells so bad

I can hold them how ever long you need.

h0ngkn0t2 wrote:

Better minnows than moori. :) Good luck!

[quote="KMX"]

cichlid mania wrote:

My fist fish will be the moori GB that is going on with Kory....Right now I dont have any other tanks to put them in.....I can talk to Kory and see how long he can hold them I guess.....

I will hold out on the water change as long as I can.....I have an unhappy wife right now cause it smells so bad

I can hold them how ever long you need.


Thanks Kory....Let me know when they come in and we will see how far the tank has progressed.....

Fern wrote:

I think Kory can hold them for you till your tank is ready for them.

You need a liquid test kit before you even think of changing any water. That nasty smell means that there is plenty of gunk in the water to help the cycle along, trust me its a good thing.
If she has an issue with the smell go get one of those cinnamon brooms from the store and put it by the tank UNopened, it will cut the smell. I have one in my fish room..... My BF had an issue with the aquatic aroma so many tanks produce. The cinnamon smell masks it nicely.

LFS is out of test kits until the truck comes in tomorrow.

Just picked up a Master freshwater test kit from API....Gonna run the test....will post results shortly

Okay, here are the results:

Water temp is 70- gonna need another heater
PH=7.6
Nitrite=0
Nitrate=0
Ammonia=1.0

Also got a bottle of special blend from this company http://www.microbelift.com/
click on bacterial products, then click on special blend.
Gonna give this stuff a shot to boost the bacteria levels

cichlid mania wrote:

Also got a bottle of special blend from this company http://www.microbelift.com/
click on bacterial products, then click on special blend.
Gonna give this stuff a shot to boost the bacteria levels

I dont believe in bottled bacteria. It's basically another way to make more money.

I normally dont either....but right now i will try almost anything

If you haven't been feeding the tank with flake food you need to start doing so. I would like to see that ammonia jump to 2-3. So dump in about a weeks worth of flake and pellet food, You may want to get some really cheep food for this. Then feed a large pinch of food daily. Do not change the water at all during this, you will just lengthen the cycling time.
You do have your filters running?


Can anyone in his area donate some used filter media???? Or even just a bucket of water that some media was cleaned in. It would help him out a whole bunch!!!!!!!

I have never herd of dumping in a bunch of fish food to get your tank going. I find something out new each day.

Its a very safe way to get the ammonia going. Some people buy bottled ammonia, I really don't trust that method though, You never know what else is in it other than ammonia. But the safest ways are either feeding the tank with fish food or throwing some frozen shrimp in there. I prefer the fish food method though.
Those methods are the only ways to start a tank from scratch w/o losing fish.