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How much ammonia did you add?

It recomended you dont take more than 1/3 if you plan to keep the first filter running to reduce the risk of a mini-cycle

I have heard of water picking up traces from copper water tanks as it tends to sit in them, but not from the pipes. But as long as your declorinator also deals with heavy metals you wont have a problem

Another day another update, the results for the 12 hour tests have about halfved from yesterday. Still looking for further comments on the stocking list, see the 1st post for that

Mature media really does make a world of difference, if only LFS's would sell that rather than bacteria in a bottle!

There is no difference in the process of a fishless cycle with mature media than without. The benefit of the using mature media is that is speeds the process up.

Have you double checked the measurements on yours?

I think I have the older one which is only 62cm deep rather than 66, was a bit cheaper probably to clear the old stock

is this stuff your talking about? It does look very interesting, if you do give it a go you will have to let us all know how it goes

Thanks Tom, will have to compare tanks when they are all done. I will have a look at the bristlenosed, I am not going to be short of bogwood got about 6 pieces most pretty decent sized. I was thinking of the Gourami's as a center piece fish. The reason for the Endlers is I am thinking of them...

I would switch to the external (puting all media from the internal in it) and see what its like, if you need more flow pick up a cheap powerhead

As it happens I have one of those from a Bioflow 8 (infact the whole Bioflow 8) I will be looking to get rid of soon.

I have the APS 2000l/hour model (just branded eagle aquatic rather than APS). The drop off in rate with media is pretty big, though they can handle very large bioloads. On my RIO 400 I have the APS and a fluval 405 and still giving some thought to adding a powerhead to keep things moving!

Powerheads and airpumps are differnt. These are powerheads These are air pumps The main differnece is the fluid they move, a powerhead moves liquids while an air pump moves gasses

So 1 week in almost and more double zeros, and as of 7am tomorrow morning 12 hour testing. I am thinking another 2 weeks and I should be ready for fish. Current ideas for stocking is: 20 Black Bar Endlers 15-20 5-Banded Barb 20 Tetra (Rummynose or Cardinals) 20 Corys (Venezuela's, Pandas or...

Corys really love a sand substrate, might be worth the swap

looking good so far, I would top the ammonia up if its below 0.25. I would say go to 2-3ppm until you get past the nitrite spike

ah good hope you can get them soon. Corys are so cute :good:

Corys need to be in larger groups (I think 6 min), so if you are looking to move them on I would recommend that you do, otherwise if you can get a few more.

Yea that's the idea, though some people still do a 50% weekly change, especially with planted tanks. It would be worth referring to the thread I mentioned earlier its pretty detailed.

No they are a seperate species but most Endlers these days are cross-breeds with guppies. There are a few pure breeds out there though, I am looking at some black-bar endlers for my RIO 400 when its cycled.

To be honest you may as well pour those bacterial starters down the sink, they will make about the same difference to your tank. You need to commit to a fishless cycle (my recommendation) or a fish-in cycle and follow that trough until it is complete

I would start the larger changes now

Ok big one is missing from that list, Ammonia I would not be surprised if that is very high You might be lucky with these test strips but they are notoriously unreliable, I would recommend the API freshwater master kit. I strongly recommend you have a look at the fish-in cycle thread...

Yep pretty much same as my plan. Added 5ppm last night, check this evening, if double zeros add 5ppm again and test Saturday morning, keep testing am and adding PM till am readings are double zeros. Then starts the qualifying week (keep getting double zeros after 12 hours for the entire week)...

A few questions to help see whats going on with your tank: How often are you doing water changes? and how large are they? What are the actual figures for your water checks? What test kit do you have? You are in a fish-in cycle, probably got a long way to go.

I am looking forward to getting some of your Endlers when my tank has cycled they really do look stunning!

most filter manufacturers say change the media every so often so they can sell more media. You don't need change it until its falling apart. Its not so much the filter or tank that you cycle but the media inside the filter. That is where the bacteria that covert the toxins (Ammonia -> Nitrite...

It takes a lot more than 3 days to cycle, but if you take all the media (sponges etc) out of the old one and put them in the new it will support the same bioload. When you change sponges how much of whats there do you replace? and how often? Sponges should not need replacing unless they are...

ok there are a few in that range 50, 100, 200, 400 and XL any idea which you have?

0.25 is the absolute maximum you want to find in there (and can kill fish), you probably need a better filter and/or larger/more frequent water changes.

What filter are you running on the tank? With just the barbs you are looking at about 42" of adult fish so you are going to need something decent to keep that clean

It sounds like a combination of new tanks shock for the first ones and an uncycled filter. I strongly recommend you do not add any more fish. Try a fishless cycle, it does not sounds like there is any external contamination

You dont need special substrate, argos play sand is a very common choice from growing plants. But as everyone is saying your current fish are just not suitable for that tank, look at it this way. would you keep a kitten in a shoe box?

They did answer your original point, but its not the answer you want. In order to get your set up right. Step one - Get a bigger tank

... and no filter!

£38 all in and you have a deal

Yea I run both at the same time, but my tank is over twice the size. You should be able to get away with one, but look at something rated more 1200 l/hour most ratings are with-out media so you actually achieve much less, so aim for 8-10x times turnover (mine works out at 8.25, but the drop off...

Have a look at this link it should explain what cycling is all about. Sadly most pet shops/lfs are more interested in selling you things than making sure you are really ready for fish. All I can say is good luck! You have a lot of work ahead of you to sort things out, but it will be worth it...

personally I would look for a Fluval 405, I have one of those and a eagle aquatic hw-304 running on my RIO 400 and looking at a powerhead to get things moving a bit more. Better to have too much and turn the filter down than not enough