I've Finally Brought My Tank...

[Vancar]

So i went to the LFS and brought my:

tank 80x30x40 clear seal (larger than i originally planned)
filter Eheim 2012 pick up
Jager heaterstat 100w,
Light 24" 10000k 20w t8 light
7.5kg aqua grit

I set the tank in place, washed it, washed the grit and filled the tank with aqua-safe treated water or whatever it's called. Now I obviously didn't clean the grit enough, as the water and glass are now all dirty. So I've left the light heater and filter running to clear the water up. I will swill out the filter tomorrow and start the cycling tomorrow following one of the methods shown on the forums.

My question is this, Do i need to buy a kit to check the chlorine levels as the API Liquid freshwater master test kit seems to test for everything but chlorine? Also am I going about it right so far? or am I missing something?

Oh and finally I am ok using a brand new unused household sponge for cleaning the glass while i have no fish in it as the glass got really dirty while adding the water.

 

[anwhyte]

So i went to the LFS and brought my:

tank 80x30x40 clear seal (larger than i originally planned)
filter Eheim 2012 pick up
Jager heaterstat 100w,
Light 24" 10000k 20w t8 light
7.5kg aqua grit

I set the tank in place, washed it, washed the grit and filled the tank with aqua-safe treated water or whatever it's called. Now I obviously didn't clean the grit enough, as the water and glass are now all dirty. So I've left the light heater and filter running to clear the water up. I will swill out the filter tomorrow and start the cycling tomorrow following one of the methods shown on the forums.

My question is this, Do i need to buy a kit to check the chlorine levels as the API Liquid freshwater master test kit seems to test for everything but chlorine? Also am I going about it right so far? or am I missing something?

Oh and finally I am ok using a brand new unused household sponge for cleaning the glass while i have no fish in it as the glass got really dirty while adding the water.

if you're using aqua-safe (or whatever) properly then no need to test for chlorine. A new sponge is fine, as long as you don't use any products with it (eg soap,bleach ^ so on).

 

[Wills]

Hi, sounds like you are spot on so far They dont make the chlorine test, you dont need them as you need to use dechlorinator all the time with water changes so the tank wont have any chlorine in.

Dont worry about the dirt, its normal but it does clear

Are you going for the fishless cycle method?

Wills

 

[toshapetriji]

So far so good.

Please please go for a fishless cycle, much easier on you and no harm to fish.

Good Luck

 

[Vancar]

So far so good.

Please please go for a fishless cycle, much easier on you and no harm to fish.

Good Luck

Yes going to start a fishless cycle tomorrow hopefully. test PH = 7.6. heater needs tuning i think as temp is set to 29 degrees but temp on other side of the tank the water is 20 degrees at moment will leave for another 4 hours then check again if not adjust the heater.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

is your filter on?
I would have thought this would do a more than adequate job of moving the warm water around the tank. A difference of 9 degrees looks a bit dodgy to me...

Or did i mis-read that. Is the water 29 at one side and 20 at the other? or is the heater set to 29 and you have only got 1 thermo?
I think my heater is cranked up to 35, whereas my temp is 27-28... As far as i was aware, the dials on heaters are just optomistic!

 

[Vancar]

is your filter on?
I would have thought this would do a more than adequate job of moving the warm water around the tank. A difference of 9 degrees looks a bit dodgy to me...

Or did i mis-read that. Is the water 29 at one side and 20 at the other? or is the heater set to 29 and you have only got 1 thermo?
I think my heater is cranked up to 35, whereas my temp is 27-28... As far as i was aware, the dials on heaters are just optomistic!

My heater is set to 29 degrees and on the back of the tank at the left and my thermometer is at the front right and reading 20 degrees, will ramp it up a bit later tonight if no change.

 

[Vancar]

Temperature of tank last nioght was 25 - 26 degrees so I added the ammonia, getting 4ppm on the ATI test. This morning I checked temperature which was at 30 degrees, so i lowered it by one to get the 29 which from reading these forums is the ideal temperature for bacteria to group. Did my tests again 4ppm ammonia 0 for nitrites and nitrates. Will try again tomorrow morning.

 

[waterdrop]

OK, with the temp up around 29C/84F, the ammonia dosing at 4ppm and the pH between 7 and 8, you sound pretty optimized for starting off your "bacterial growing soup." The first drop to zero ppm ammonia can take anywhere from a couple of days all the way to 3 weeks - fishless cycles vary wildly for different tanks and people.

You're aware that the markings on a heater knob don't usually bear any connection with temperature reality, but often are intended to be "calibrated" by you based on a thermometer, right? For example, often the knob itself consists of a part that is the fixed electrical rheostat and a plastic cap with the numbers on it that can move seperately from the fixed part underneath. The instructions for the heater usually tell you there is some way to press a little button or lift the plastic cap part and adjust it seperately from the underlying rheostat. You look at the real temperature as reported by your thermometer, turn the rheostat until the moment when the heater light comes on and then you adjust the numerical cap to read the same as what the heater is reporting. That way, from then on, the numerical cap is matching the numbers to the "pointer," which represents the "setpoint" where the heater will switch on. (sheesh, does that make sense? )

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Vancar]

thanks water, that makes sense I looked at the heater instructions and found that out. Tank at the moment is somewhere between 29 - 30 degrees. I testing for ammonia every 12 hours. lol, desperate for the cycle to start.

 

[waterdrop]

This phrase "desparate for the fishless cycle to start" and "am testing every 12 hours" will, I predict, be one of your toughest problems. Cycling is slow, slow, slow. Its best to accept that and focus on intensifying your learning during this period. Its a great combo to have the members both help you with your cycle and at the same time help your stocking plan and your learning about all the aspects of good maintenance once the tank gets going.

Have you ever sat by a freshwater pond or stream or river all by yourself on a sunny day with absolutely no other people of signs of civilization around? Let's say you're sitting there listening to crickets and feeling the humidity. At some point you realize that its really slow, really boring.. it just goes on and on all day with nothing much happening. This is how I visualize the growth of the beneficial bacteria. As far as they're concerned, there's nothing wrong with taking a whole season to grow! Lots of things in nature just don't move at the pace that our daily lives do.

At the very beginning of a fishless cycle you're almost better off just going back later in the week for a single ammonia test and seeing if it surprises you by being lower than the original test you did right after your first dosing of ammonia. Its wildly unpredictable: it could go down in a couple of days or it could take two weeks or it could be awful and take 3! The overall fishless cycle could easily take two months (or it could surprise you and go faster than that!)

~~waterdrop~~