How Do I Start The Cycle?

[fish nutter]

The bacteria will die off/colonize in relation to the amount of ammonia available.

But once the bacteria are established in your filter, adding new fish(which will cause a slight ammonia increase); the bacteria will be able to colonize/adapt rather quickly to the new "bio-load" (ammonia).

-FHM

ok well thats good do guramies go well with rummy nose tetras ie. ph, temperature etc... and if so how many and what type. thanks

 

[fatheadminnow]

They should be just fine. Fish can adapt to a very wide range of pH levels if acclimated properly.

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

They should be just fine. Fish can adapt to a very wide range of pH levels if acclimated properly.

-FHM

how many and what type do u reccomend. thanks

 

[fatheadminnow]

Not too sure about which type, but I don't see why you could not get 4-5 in there safely if not more. Just don't put them all in at one time, maybe once a week and add another the next week if your water parameters are good.

-FHM

A good rule of thumb is 2 inch of fish per 1 gallon. This applies to the adult (full size) of the fish.

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

Not too sure about which type, but I don't see why you could not get 4-5 in there safely if not more. Just don't put them all in at one time, maybe once a week and add another the next week if your water parameters are good.

-FHM

A good rule of thumb is 2 inch of fish per 1 gallon. This applies to the adult (full size) of the fish.

-FHM

ok well i could start of with a pearl guramie however will it grow big and eat my rummy noses?

 

[fatheadminnow]

No, I don't think you have to worry about a Gouramis eating other fish. At least not your other fish.

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

No, I don't think you have to worry about a Gouramis eating other fish. At least not your other fish.

-FHM

ok , and totally out of topic question: how often do i need to clean out my filter? and what to do? and if i need to replace any thing?

Thanks

 

[fatheadminnow]

Click in my sig where it says "How to clean your filter media, Video!" I made a video explaining how to properly clean your filter.

You only replace media if it is falling apart.

I would say clean your filter once a month, but since your tank is still new, I would not recommend you clean your filter for another 1-2 months, or unless you flow has decreased a lot.

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

Click in my sig where it says "How to clean your filter media, Video!" I made a video explaining how to properly clean your filter.

You only replace media if it is falling apart.

I would say clean your filter once a month, but since your tank is still new, I would not recommend you clean your filter for another 1-2 months, or unless you flow has decreased a lot.

-FHM

thanks soooo much for your time

 

[fatheadminnow]

Your welcome! I actually appreciate a nice, on going thread like this! It does not happen all that often. Usually a person asks a question then does not return for a day or so, so I love it when we can just keep on going on and on until a conclusion has been reached, such as this.

I really love to help people out on here so, Thank You for your time as well!

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

Hi everyone,

I have recently come across a problem , my science teacher has recently changes his 5 freshwater aquariums into saltwater ones... So i need to do a fish-in cycle without the help of established bacteria . Also i have just tested out the water and my ammonia is no longer at 0... which means soon my nitrites won't be either. However the level of ammonia is not yet at a dangerous level - between 25 and 0 (an estimate) - how do you think i can handle this.

Thanks very much

 

[fatheadminnow]

If the ammonia gets above .25 ppm, you will need to do a water change.

at a level of .25 ppm, a 50% water change will cut that in half, so you will have .125 ppm (which is safe).

Just use simple math to figure out how much water to change out each time if the ammonia and/or nitrite are above .25 ppm

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

If the ammonia gets above .25 ppm, you will need to do a water change.

at a level of .25 ppm, a 50% water change will cut that in half, so you will have .125 ppm (which is safe).

Just use simple math to figure out how much water to change out each time if the ammonia and/or nitrite are above .25 ppm

-FHM

so i basically want to keep it below .25 ppm but not too low other wise the bacteria will have no food to multiply.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Don't worry about keeping it too low. Even though when our test kit read 0 ppm for ammonia, there is still ammonia present in the tank, just too low for the test kit to pick up.

There has to be, there is always ammonia present in the tank or the bacteria would die off. You would have to be doing constant 100% water changes to keep all ammonia out of the tank.

Your main focus for ammonia and nitrite, is to keep them below .25 ppm, don't worry if when you do a water change and then you test again that you get 0 ppm for ammonia; there is still ammonia in the tank.

-FHM

 

[fish nutter]

Don't worry about keeping it too low. Even though when our test kit read 0 ppm for ammonia, there is still ammonia present in the tank, just too low for the test kit to pick up.

There has to be, there is always ammonia present in the tank or the bacteria would die off. You would have to be doing constant 100% water changes to keep all ammonia out of the tank.

Your main focus for ammonia and nitrite, is to keep them below .25 ppm, don't worry if when you do a water change and then you test again that you get 0 ppm for ammonia; there is still ammonia in the tank.

-FHM

ah ok i guess without the extra bacteria i need to do more water changes