75 Gal Tank With Fluval FX4

[fishman120]

Hi All.... Was wondering if the 700 gph flow of the FX4 is too much for my 75 gal tank. Am thinking the flow of water is going through the filter too quickly to "seed" the filter. Should I throttle down the filter or let be ? Started a fishless cycle with Fritz 700 Turbo last Saturday (May 25) and have had a white haze/cloudiness which started almost immediately. Water parameters are 50% RO/DI and 50% Tap(treated with Prime); ph 7.4; temp 80; GH 172. Cycling seems to be progressing but cloudiness remains. Don't remember this much cloudiness in previous tanks. Initial ammonia level 4 ppm after adding Fritz Fuel. Presently have 1ppm ammonia; 2ppm Nitrite; 5ppm Nitrate. Perhaps I am being impatient (Ya think ?!) but the cycle seems to have stalled. Would slowing down the FX4 be of benefit ?? Thanks In Advance!!

 

[FranciscoB]

The fx4 will be just fine, not too much. I used to have a fx6 and AQuaclear 110 in a 75. It is just aboutvsmart placement and types of intakes and outlets.
Coupled with a prefilter, an aggressive tank water change regime, and frequent cleaning of the filter, the fx4 would be just fine.

 

[fishman120]

Thank for the reply. Funny... I didn't state this... But I also have a Tidal 75 HOB. It's running primarily as a skimmer. Ready to throw in a bag of Purigen, ChemiPure, or Phosphate remover when needed. Beats taking the FX4 top off to throw in a bag of whatever. Thanks Again. Best To You !!

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. You can avoid a lot of water issues if you simply remove and replace half or even a bit more of the tank water every few days. You just need to use a water treatment to detoxify the chemicals your public water people put into the tap water to make it safe for you to drink. With a new tank, I always dose a bacteria starter according to instructions to make sure there's a substantial bacteria colony to use the ammonia and nitrite produced by the dissolving fish waste. The large, weekly water change will remove what nitrogen may remain in the tank after the bacteria has done their job.

10

 

[Essjay]

What type of fish do you intend to keep in the tank? If it's fish which prefer slow moving water, almost 10 times turnover could be stressful for them. However fish which prefer fast moving water will be quite happy.

 

[fishman120]

What type of fish do you intend to keep in the tank? If it's fish which prefer slow moving water, almost 10 times turnover could be stressful for them. However fish which prefer fast moving water will be quite happy.

Not sure.... Thinking of Severns, Parrot fish, and some Rams.

 

[fishman120]

Hello. You can avoid a lot of water issues if you simply remove and replace half or even a bit more of the tank water every few days. You just need to use a water treatment to detoxify the chemicals your public water people put into the tap water to make it safe for you to drink. With a new tank, I always dose a bacteria starter according to instructions to make sure there's a substantial bacteria colony to use the ammonia and nitrite produced by the dissolving fish waste. The large, weekly water change will remove what nitrogen may remain in the tank after the bacteria has done their job.

10

Thanks for the info. Wishing you the best !!

 

[MaloK]

Go full speed for the cycle, don't overdose ammonia too much, the nitrite spike is 3 times harder to pass... Dont accumulate too much. Your filter will be clogged enough in time.

If you have other cycled tanks running, you can pre-clog it a bit, with a squeeze from an established tank.

 

[fishman120]

Go full speed for the cycle, don't overdose ammonia too much, the nitrite spike is 3 times harder to pass... Dont accumulate too much. Your filter will be clogged enough in time.

If you have other cycled tanks running, you can pre-clog it a bit, with a squeeze from an established tank.

I wish I did have a cycled tank, but sadly that is not the case!

 

[fishman120]

Hi All !! Thursday, June 13th, the tank finally cycled! The cloudiness which existed for most of the 2 weeks finally cleared up, and a couple days later we had a cycled tank. It took around 2 and a half weeks. Sunday (June 16) I went out and bought some cheaper fish (Congo Tetras) to make sure everything was OK. Testing the water daily, and happy to report everyday since cycling no Ammonia, or Nitrites. I did have 40 ppm Nitrates, but after three 30 gallon W/C's I'm down to 5 ppm Nitrates. It been 3 days since the Congo Tetras arrived and they are doing great. I'm keeping the feeding to a minimum feeding them small amounts once a day. Today is the first day I gave them a bigger helping. I'm itching badly to get some more fish, but I'm trying to hold off. Hard to do !!!

So my question is.... Should I be adding salt to the tank? I used to add salt with previous tanks. I did not post in my list of fish, Clown Loaches. I read somewhere that Clown Loaches don't appreciate the salt.
Holding off on the salt till I hear from you. Thanks to all for the great info I am getting.

 

[fishman120]

Here's comments and measurements to tank.

 

[Essjay]

Should I be adding salt to the tank?

Salt should only be added to a freshwater tank as medication. It should not be added routinely.

It was used routinely many many years ago as it stops nitrite binding to fish's blood. Nowadays we know about cycling, do regular water changes and have testers to check things so there should not be any nitrite in the water.

 

[fishman120]

Salt should only be added to a freshwater tank as medication. It should not be added routinely.

It was used routinely many many years ago as it stops nitrite binding to fish's blood. Nowadays we know about cycling, do regular water changes and have testers to check things so there should not be any nitrite in the water.

Wonderful, Thank You!