First Tank -- opinions on setup and cycling

[TheWaterBoy]

This is my first post besides in the newbie section so go easy on me I was wondering if my filtration sounds like it will work well and my heaters are both set to 76F and my tank thermometer sayse 82 It one that sticks to the outside. Im thinking that its the thermometer giving bad readings but not sure. Also I started my fishless cycling today. I had read in a article to put half a cup in a 50g aquarium so I put a little less (100ml). Now my readings are 8ppm maybe higher cause thats as high as my test goes. I realize i should have added less cause different sources of ammonia will have different amounts of actual ammonia in them. So should i now replace all the water or just replace enough to get my readings down to 5ppm. Will water changes even help or is it a winless battle?

 

[Spat_si]

The stick on thermometer is not usually accurate so i would gt on the floats or goes inside the tank. I would leave your heaters on at 80 because i read somewhere it helps to cycle tanks faster. I wouldn't bother with the water changes, just let it filter and it will cycle.

 

[Bol]

Get your thermometer verified. That is, double-check it with another, reliable thermometer.

About the ammonia, here's my opinion. First, you should find out exactly how high the ammonia is. One easy way to do this is to use a diluted solution. You could take equal (or unequal, but note the ratio) portions of tank water and zero-ammonia water and mix them, then test that solution. Then, just use the ratio of waters to get your true ammonia reading. e.g. 1/3 tank water, 2/3 "pure" water, reading comes up 5, then your tank is 15.

Since you just started, I wouldn't think a complete water change is necessary. Once you find out your real ammonia reading, it should be easy to just do a partial change, and dilute it down to 5 ppm.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

You could just take the less scientific approach and just replace that water until it's around 5 ppm.

I prefer cycling with fish because it's more sure-fire IMO. If you only have a few fish when you start you can gradually buildup and you don't have to be as patient.

Get a thermometer with a suction cup. They're cheap. 1 dollar (or two depending on where you go).

 

[Bol]

You could just take the less scientific approach and just replace that water until it's around 5 ppm.

That's true, but you may end up doing multiple water changes, and many tests.

I'm generally lazy, and ... umm ... "thrifty" , which is why I'd personally go for the method that only requires one water change, and minimal ammonia tests.

 

[TheWaterBoy]

I stopped today and got a thermometer that goes in the tank. It stands up on the gravel, so i can move it and get readings from different locations in the tank. I also got the Python system to make the water change easier. I was thinking, if it was 8ppm and i do a 50% water change then wouldnt it make sense that the readings should be about 4-5ppm unless the ammonia level is ALOT higher then 8(my kit stops at eight). Its kinda funny i cant get fish and im impatient so everytime im out i end up buying more plants just to have something new in the aquarium.