Oddball Tank Decoration

[CAC]

Hi, just got my tank today, with the sponges fully cycled! YAY!
cant wait to get my bichir. the shops getting them in for me next week.

Just wondering though...we have this playsand for use in sandpits, thats un-opened, so i was wondering weather it could be used in my bichir set-up???

also, i got a tonne of elephant rocks and lava rocks etc, so would the bichir like that???

i have some bogwood too, but do you have to soak it for like a week or month or something before useing it?!?!

any help appreciated
Mikey

 

[SamUK]

playsand should be fine.

i used the playsand from argos.


wash,wash and wash it again tho.

took me about 5 rinses per load before all the silt was gone and the sand settled in about 5 seconds.


some bogwood does need soaking to get all the tannins out. these are totally harmless to your fish but make the water brown.

put in in a bucket of water and change the water once a day till it runs clear.

it mite need soaking a bit too to make it sink. sometimes it will float at first.


not sure about the rock. some make the ph alot higher and i cant remember what type that is....... someone will kno tho.

 

[keane]

Hi, just got my tank today, with the sponges fully cycled! YAY!
cant wait to get my bichir. the shops getting them in for me next week.

Hi Mikey,

Is your tank up and running? What fish do you have in at the moment to feed your "cycled" sponges??

If you have no fish and you aren't getting your bichir until next week your sponges/filter media are going to be pretty useless.

If the sponges are not in an Ammonia fed (fish poop and pee) filter then any bacteria that is present now will be long gone by the time your bichir arrives and you will have to cycle your tank from scratch.

The fallout from this is that you will not be able to put your bichir in a cycling tank because he will die.

steve

 

[T1KARMANN]

give the lava rock a miss its to sharp all polys like to push them selfs into small spaces

what other fish are you going to add as if you just put polys in with deco you will never see them and the tank will look fish less

 

[OohFeeshy]

In my 40, I've given all the baby preds/cats plenty of hiding places, knowing that even if the tank was bare, they'd find somewhere to hide, and be the less happy for it. Once they've grown up a bit and become even chubbier, they won't fit in the hiding places anyway, so I wouldn't be too concerned now. Rocks are a winner, del has excavated a few tunnels under the rocks to hide in.

 

[CAC]

Hi Mikey,

Is your tank up and running? What fish do you have in at the moment to feed your "cycled" sponges??

If you have no fish and you aren't getting your bichir until next week your sponges/filter media are going to be pretty useless.

If the sponges are not in an Ammonia fed (fish poop and pee) filter then any bacteria that is present now will be long gone by the time your bichir arrives and you will have to cycle your tank from scratch.

The fallout from this is that you will not be able to put your bichir in a cycling tank because he will die.

steve
[/quote]
Erm, well got the tank on thursday...and was away all weekend, so im presumeing its useless then....
they have been in a sealed container, with water, and in a warm part of the house.

but if i do need to cycle the tank, then how would i do this?
i can set up the tank now pretty much, as im home and dont need to do anything....
i could cycle it cold, and put my goldfish in it, or tropical and put in my betta lol.
Mikey

 

[pica_nuttalli]

oh, wow, you have your goldies in a 5g bowl?!? definitely put the goldfish in the 32g tank, ASAP.

goldfish are major waste producers and a filter is a must-have for any goldfish set-up. fancy goldfish also need about 10g per fish; basic goldfish need even more space (they're likely to reach and exceed 12" in length).

have you got fancy goldfish or basic feeder-type goldies? there's some basic information posted on how to keep them in the Coldwater and Ponds forum.

even if you don't keep them in the 32g long term, the goldfish will stimulate the appropriate bacteria to grow. just perform daily water changes and keep an eye on the waste chemicals.

 

[CAC]

Well theres all ready bacteria on the sponges....
theyve been used on thursday, the put in an airtight container, and kept warm until now....
i think theyd be ok...

About the goldies...yes i have a friend, who is going to tank them soon, he has a large pond.
Mikey

 

[jayjay]

bacteria dies off after about 24hrs (or 12 i can't remember) i think and after it dies in won't be cycled any more.

 

[CAC]

Damn, so whatll i have to do!??!?

Mikey

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Well theres all ready bacteria on the sponges....
theyve been used on thursday, the put in an airtight container, and kept warm until now....

(1) the bacteria colonies need constant sources of ammonia and nitrite and (2) they need constant access to oxygen. keeping them warm is besides the point.

putting them in an airtight container for the weekend was probably the worst thing you could have done, since that would have limited the oxygen supply to whatever little was dissovled into the water on thursday. 3 days later, all that oxygen is probably long gone (especially since keeping them warm would only increase the bacteria metabolic rate). i'd bet that these sponges are now filled with non-desirable anaerobic colonies and will need a good rinsing before restarting the cycle.

--EDIT--
have you got any decorations in your goldfish/betta bowls? any flat surface in an established fish tank will have cycle bacteria living on it. take your goldfish and any decorations in your bowls and put them in the 32g. run your filter and monitor the production of waste chemicals.

basically, you're going to perform a seeded cycle with fish. that means daily water testing and plenty of water changes.

 

[CAC]

Ok, so what do i need to do now?!?
give them a thourgh wash, and set-up the tank, but then how long should it take for it to cycle if i put in my 2 goldfish?!?!?

Mikey
Thanks, for the advise

 

[pica_nuttalli]

depends on how many other bacteria colonies you can introduce from your bowls. rocks, plants, knick-knacks--any item who's surface has been exposed to freely circulating water will have some amount of beneficial bacteria living on it. feed your goldfish as usual to make certain that there's plenty of ammonia being produced.

with any luck, you can have a good sized colony established in the 32g pretty quickly. but don't leave these things to chance--if you don't have an ammonia/nitrite/nitrate test kit already, GET ONE.

 

[CAC]

Nope, havent got one yet, will do though, and ill probably do it tomorrow.

One thing though, this Site, says not to use goldfishes....
what do you think?!?!
i dont want to belive them, but im not sure why you couldnt use them....

Mikey

 

[pica_nuttalli]

it says "no goldfish" based on the premise that most people who have a first fish tank will have no fish yet. and goldfish are not compatible with the tropical fish most people ultimately intend to keep.

since you already own your goldfish and your goldfish are not diseased, then there is no reason that they cannot be used for a fishy cycle. (there are various reasons why it is superior to use fishless cycling, but seeing as how your goldfish are currently housed, most of those reasons are invalid in this situation.)