new 20 gallon tank

[jordanmom13]

just got a new 20 gallon tank, have underground filter and outboard filter.
filled tank added chemicals to dechlorinate, stresszyme etc. Its been up and running for 24hrs. Tested everything ph, ammonia, nitrate, nitrites, chlorine,etc, all ok. how long does it need to cycle b4 adding fish. I also have live plants in it.
I have a 10 gallon tank with 2 female mollys, 1 male molly, 2 danios, and (iknow) 3 gold fish that came with the tank when my brother in law passed it along. My 2 female mollies are pregnant, and would like to get them away grom the gold fish. i have a breeding net but they are not quite ready (been watching very closely).
Temp tank (in both) is 78 degrees. Need any help and suggestions. Thanks
Jordanmom13

 

[parker313]

Take a look at this post and some of the other posts pinned to the top of this forum for new tank information

 

[Fishy Fishy Man]

pssssst.... if you have no fish.... its not cycling

read up on it

FFM

 

[yhbae]

Also, before you start cycling, perhaps you should re-think on that underground filter. From what I have read, they become a real pain to clean after a year of use as you have to pretty much bring down the whole tank to clean it. External power filter should be sufficient for that tank.

What is the brand and model of your "outboard filter"?

 

[jordanmom13]

my filter is a topfin 20 which came with the tank. Also i just read a post tha you should cycle your tank fishles to grow good bacteria in the gravel, and watch the nitrites and amonnia levels. Now I am really confused. Please HELP

 

[yhbae]

You are in luck since you already have a tank that is mature. Otherwise, it would have taken you a month or longer to cycle the tank!

Since you already have a testing kit, it shouldn't be tough from here...

1. Create a stocking plan first. What fishes do you want to see eventually a year from now?
2. Choose the hardiest of the species you have in your stocking plan, and add them into the tank. You must make sure that plenty of objects from your old tank is added at the same time. Gravels work great, and if filters of both old and new tank uses sponges, take them out, and rub into each other for a good 10 secs or so. This will transfer alot of good bacteria.
3. Measure ammonia and nitrite levels daily. In the best case, you will not see any of these, and start to see nitrate levels build up. (Do you have a nitrate testing kit?) I've never had any measurable levels of ammonia/nitrite in any of my other tanks during cycling following this method.
4. If you see any levels of ammonia/nitrite, try some water changes and also transfer more items from the old tank.
5. Once ammonia and nitrite level settles back to zero and nitrate building, you are ready to add the next batch of fishes (next hardiest on the list). Only add few at a time, and at least one week apart otherwise you may see another mini-cycle. At this point, you can re-transfer the stuff that came from the old tank back.

Good luck!

 

[jordanmom13]

thanks for the info. will use old tank and transfer some gravel to get the good bacteria. should I transfer my mollys (female r preggers) dont want to stress them or should i use the danios? mabey the danios?!?!?. i read that i should put the old gravel in a stocking and hang in in the tank is this the correct way. the new tank is totally different color scheme. thanks for the help
Jordanmom

 

[yhbae]

thanks for the info. will use old tank and transfer some gravel to get the good bacteria. should I transfer my mollys (female r preggers) dont want to stress them or should i use the danios? mabey the danios?!?!?. i read that i should put the old gravel in a stocking and hang in in the tank is this the correct way. the new tank is totally different color scheme. thanks for the help
Jordanmom

Danios are known to be hardy so they will be good species as the initial introduction...

As for the gravel, yup you can put them in a net and hang them. Ideally, you should place it where the water current exist so that more water can flow through them....

 

[jordanmom13]

you guys r GREAT!!!!!!! this is the best site in the world. so glad i found it. ok, now....yes, i do have ALL the testing supplies including strips and the water testing varieties, i have all the chemicals needed just in case(spent a fortune) PH (up and down) ammonia,nitrate, and nitrite remover, stress coat dechlorinater, stresszyme, cloudy water clearer, etc have it all. I have a syphening tube to vacuum the gravel and change the water. Pet store is my best friend.
anyway I transfered som gravel in a stocking and hung it in the new tank, rub the two filters together and transfered some ornaments. Hope this will do the trick. I also did put the danios in the tank, the seem very happy, swiiming around nicely. am waiting 2 hours b4 feeding them. Hope I did ok. checked all levels in both tanks everything is fine. again thanks for the help.

How long do you think I should wait b4 putting in the mollies (2 pregnant females and 1 male)? After that we'll discuss what others i can add(would like some guppies) and any other suggestions u guys might have regarding top, middle, and bottom feeders.
thanks

Jordanmom

 

[yhbae]

you guys r GREAT!!!!!!! this is the best site in the world. so glad i found it. ok, now....yes, i do have ALL the testing supplies including strips and the water testing varieties, i have all the chemicals needed just in case(spent a fortune) PH (up and down) ammonia,nitrate, and nitrite remover, stress coat dechlorinater, stresszyme, cloudy water clearer, etc have it all. I have a syphening tube to vacuum the gravel and change the water. Pet store is my best friend.
anyway I transfered som gravel in a stocking and hung it in the new tank, rub the two filters together and transfered some ornaments. Hope this will do the trick. I also did put the danios in the tank, the seem very happy, swiiming around nicely. am waiting 2 hours b4 feeding them. Hope I did ok. checked all levels in both tanks everything is fine. again thanks for the help.

How long do you think I should wait b4 putting in the mollies (2 pregnant females and 1 male)? After that we'll discuss what others i can add(would like some guppies) and any other suggestions u guys might have regarding top, middle, and bottom feeders.
thanks

Jordanmom

Out of curiosity, what is your pH out of the tap? You may not need to use chemicals like pH up / down... Also Stress Zyme is not needed either. In fact, the only chemical you really need is a dechlorinator (and testing chemicals, of course). So ideally, you will only need to use your stress coat and no other chemicals from now on!

You should wait until you see some reading of nitrate before adding more fish if yuu want to take it safe. I have to admit, I did add 10 fishes on one shot and cycled it instantly by moving sponge media from one filter to another, but I don't recomend doing this to anyone... The safest indicator is when you have zero ammonia, zero nitrite and some levels nitrate. If everything went well, you should see the sign of nitrate in about a week or so...

Good luck!