new here......my new 55g fw tank

this is my new fw tank been cycling for 3 weeks now

Think ya need to throw some fish in there. Have found fw tanks don't need a long cycle period. If in a hurry put in some feeder goldfish that will get things going.

Good for you! A fishless cycle is the most humane way to go. Do you have something creating ammonia in your tank to help the cycle along?

Oh and

Welcome to the box.

Stop in your local fs.. beg for a discarded filter medium.. Bill in Va.

i started with 10 feeders down to 7 and they seem to be doing better than when i first put them in....

What kind of fish are you thinking of putting in there?

im planning on 2 weather loachs,1 clown loach,1 common pleco,1 marble pleco,6 ghost shrimp,1 snail,and im still trying to figure out whatelse...any ideas?

The snail and shrimp will end up expensive for for the clown loach

Welcome to USA! Good luck on the tank.

I agree ...I think the loach would be fat and you will have missing snails and shrimp.

Ya Im sure your loach will love the ghost shrimp for lunch, dont let him get used to having those high priced dinners =) jk, keep um well fed! And I agree with the previous post, 3 weeks for frshwater is a long time, your definelty ready for some fish, but check your ammonia levels. Do you have anything in there contributing to the ammonia? If need be, get some cheap feeder goldfish, they will stank up the tank real quick and if you plan on getting any semi aggressives, they will just be eaten when the newbies get in.

What kind of filters do you have running?

a tip for your tank:
1) get some more foliage, live plants are VITAL to your fish, if you cant go live, at least get some plastic plants (bigger than you have) , but make sure they are the kind that would allow fish to swim through or sit in. Fish are natural scavengers and hiders, they love to find a little hidy hole to sit in and feel safe and stake out the rest of the area, you have to allow them some place in the tank to do that.

But your tank looks good, I would just add some plants in there for them. Hornwort is good, if you dont want to actually plant any live plants. It floats at the top of your tank or you can plant it inside a decoration, allows your fish to have a nice big bushy plant to hide in. LvMyPuffer just gave me some, I knew about it, but never used it before and it looks really nice in the tank.


Good luck

thanks man....i had my tested friday and they said my nitrates are still a little too high but my amonia is gone so ill be getting my long term fish this friday hopefully haha....but ive had a complication with the website i was goin to get fish from so im going to my local stores (probably a better idea anyways haha) but im not sure what im gonna get yet....i know i wanna do a community tank tho.....and ill get some live plants too....

just an update amonia no more nitrates going down goldies getting more active....new fish this friday or monday

Looks awesome!!!!!! Congrats!

Nice Tank! A 55 gal is a nice size. Good Luck with the stocking. Thats the fun part!