Cycling Temperature & How Many Fish To Add

[rdoherty]

Hi
I have 3 questions to ask:
1. What temperature does the tank water have to be for the tank to successfully cycle?
2. How many small fish can I add to a 10G (UK) tank?
3. I can't got hold of any pure ammonia. Can i use anything as a substitute

 

[dwarfgourami]

1. Keep it normal tank temperature, around 24C.

2. A total of 10 inches of small slimbodied fish, e.g. 5 platys or female guppies (male guppies are smaller). 5 male guppies, or endlers, and 3 pygmy corydoras. Or a betta and some corys. Or any combonation along those lines. No fish who grows more than 4" long should go in a 10 gal. No heavy waste producers. No fish that need to swim fast and far (like danios).

3. Have you tried your local hardware store? Either a big chainstore like Walmarts, or a big Boots store in the UK, or a really oldfashioned local store.

 

[modernhamlet]

If you're going to fishless cycle, I'd suggest uping the temps to 28-30 to speed up the process. Just make sure you bring it back down before introducing fish.

 

[rdoherty]

Hi
Yea I wioll be using the fishless cycle, thanks for your help I will try my local chemists/ Asda

 

[Vegan Peaches]

For #2, Cories are awesome beginner fish. It was already stated, but I feel like restating it.

For #3, you can put flake fish food in the tank to cycle it; as the food brakes down, ammonia is released. It's not as effective as pure ammonia and is a little messier, but I successfully cycled a 10 gal US doing this.

 

[rdd1952]

1. As modernhamlet said, keep the temp at about 30 (86 F) for cycling. I actually cycled my last tank with the temp at about 90F/32C.

2. The 1" per gallon rule is still a pretty good guide for starters. A lot depends on the filtration though. If you are overfiltered and have a good weekly maintanence program, you can fudge a little sith small community fish like tetras and corys. They're not huge waste producers.

3. Fish flakes will work fine but is a little harder to regulate. It's hard to tell how much to add to acheive the 4 to 6 ppm of ammonia you need to start the cycle.

 

[rdoherty]

Hi
If I get the ammonia how much do I add to my 10G (UK) to start it off.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi
If I get the ammonia how much do I add to my 10G (UK) to start it off.

Enough to bring it up to 4-5 ppm. Hard to give hard and fast ruleson how much that is going to be; I seem to remember I found 12 drops was enough for my 12 UK gallon tank. I did the add-daily method, so added that amount every day until the ammonia dropped and the nitrites spiked, then added half the amount every day until nitrites disappeared, then big water change (70%), then added fish.

I found the place to get ammonia was an oldfashioned type of "village" hardware store.

 

[Patchwork]

homebase in the UK has household ammonia which will work, its in the household section mate.

 

[gnouf]

Just an idea, really. I used a handful of gravel from an established tank to get the cycle going in my new tank - worked for me. I also upped the temperature a couple of degrees from the suggested 24c. Number of fish - one inch of ADULT fish for one gallon of water as a guide. ie. calculate on the basis of what size they will end up as, not the size they are in the shop.

 

[rdd1952]

Hi
If I get the ammonia how much do I add to my 10G (UK) to start it off.

It really depends on the strungth of the ammonia you buy. It's best to experiment a little. Fill a 5 gallon bucket and add about 10 drops. Swirl the water around to mix it good and then test. You may actually have to add it a couple times (keep count of the number of drops you've added) to get the ratio but with a little simple math you should then be able to calculate how much you need to raise 5 gallon to 5 ppm.

 

[rdoherty]

Hi
I've just been to the chemist and my local aquarium shop and they do not sell pure ammonia and cannot think of anywhere that does. The fish shop recommended that I use flake but I haven't got an idea how much to add. I am going to add some in a bit so how much for the first time?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi
I've just been to the chemist and my local aquarium shop and they do not sell pure ammonia and cannot think of anywhere that does. The fish shop recommended that I use flake but I haven't got an idea how much to add. I am going to add some in a bit so how much for the first time?

Have you tried the hardware store for ammonia?

 

[rdd1952]

I've never used flakes before so I can't really say. You may just have to experiment in a 5 gallon bucket to see how fast it breaks down and how much ammonia it produces. As for buying ammonia, the best places are grocery stores and hardware stores. Here is a link to a thread about places to buy ammonia.

 

[Squid]

Hi
I've just been to the chemist and my local aquarium shop and they do not sell pure ammonia and cannot think of anywhere that does. The fish shop recommended that I use flake but I haven't got an idea how much to add. I am going to add some in a bit so how much for the first time?

I asked the same question.. its not pure ammonia.. ! the one in homebase is something like 9% or whatever, but will do the trick.. just work out how much you need as described earlier.!