Possible 20 gallon high tank journal

[jaylach]

Oh, another question in relation the the post directly above this...

My tank population is going to be 3-4 Panda Garra (Garra flavatra) which will be initially .75-1.0 inch, around 3 inch mature, and 10-12 Ember Tetras (Hyphessobrycon amandae) initial size of 0.5-0.75 inch with a mature size of about 0.75 inch.

I'm sure that both species will be totally healthy as I'll be getting from Dan's Fish and there won't even be any shipping stress as I'll just take a less than 2 minute walk and pick them up.

The question is, once the tank is proven cycled, should I just add all the fish at once or do one species at a time to avoid busting the bio load? The tank is a 21 gallon high with extreme under gravel filtration including 4 risers. 2 air driven by a Whisper 20 pump on each riser. The other two risers will be driven by aerated 127 gallon/hour power heads although I'll probably cut them back some. I'll actually set the power head flow by my sword plants. I will want them to move in the flow but not to the extreme. It will be a little bit of a balancing act to get the flow right as the Panda Garras like faster water than the Tetras. I'm thinking about positioning the power head risers lower in the tank for the Pandas which are all over the tank but mostly lower. I would then position the air driven risers higher which would still give flow but be easier on the Tetras which are much more upper tank.

Oops! Starting to ramble once again so I'll just shut up and post...

 

[MaloK]

Yes, Once cycled you can add the complete bioload at once.

One of the aim of fishless cycling is being able to do so securely.

You still are going to want to keep everything in check and intervene as necessary. But if the tank has completed it's cycling process, ammonia should turn to nitrate seamlessly at a good pace.

There should be very close to no stress caused by any nitrogen product at this point.

 

[jaylach]

Yes, Once cycled you can add the complete bioload at once.

One of the aim of fishless cycling is being able to do so securely.

You still are going to want to keep everything in check and intervene as necessary. But if the tank has completed it's cycling process, ammonia should turn to nitrate seamlessly at a good pace.

There should be very close to no stress caused by any nitrogen product at this point.

Thanks! Odd thing is that my first tank was like 55+ years ago but this will be my first actual fishless cycle. Just want to do it right.

Any comment on the test strips?

 

[MaloK]

My take on test strips is,

I like to at least check them against chemical tests if possible and then try to "learn" to read them properly.

I use the SJWave 16-in-1 test strips. And must admit that it's pretty close from what I can compare.

 

[jaylach]

My take on test strips is,

I like to at least check them against chemical tests if possible and then try to "learn" to read them properly.

I use the SJWave 16-in-1 test strips. And must admit that it's pretty close from what I can compare.

Thanks!

I actually thought about taking some water to my local Petco and have them test and I probably will to compare to the strip results. Still I wonder if results I'm likely to get from a chain like Petco is going to be any more accurate than the strips. Since I got a contaminated moss ball from them that killed everything in my tank within a day and a half I just don't trust anything Petco.

I thought about asking Jonny from Dan's fish about testing my water to give a base line but I just don't feel right about that as they are just not a "service store". They are a warehouse that ships good fish. Jonny has always been good with me as to answering questions but I think asking to test my water would be sort of out of bounds. He may or may not do it but I just don't feel right asking.

Actually Jonny is the one that convinced me that Ember Tetras would be OK with the water flow I intend. One may think that he is just saying it is OK to make a sale but, just as often, when asked about fish matches, he has said nope, I can't advise that as there will be issues. He has a lot of knowledge and I basically just trust him.

I mean Dan is not dumb and does not work with dumb people. In fact, before starting the shipping business, he was a college professor.

 

[MaloK]

Are you going to show us how it looks ?

 

[jaylach]

Are you going to show us how it looks ?

Of course I will but I need to put it together first.

Shoot, I'm still deciding if I'll use the fake tree trunk from my old cube or to make a slate structure. I'll probably use the trunk and a couple of other pieces of wood but may easily change my mind and add another piece of wood along with a slate structure getting rid of the fake tree trunk.. If I do the slate it will be a somewhat open cave system. There will be nooks and crannies but not as 'tight' as would be if I were to be planning to have a rope fish.

 

[jaylach]

Sigh, still procrastinating and have done nothing more with the new tank. I think I keep putting it off hoping that scuds will became available from Dan's Fish. My preference would be to start with just the scuds to allow them to find their areas and build up a good colony before adding fish that will likely eat a lot of them. It's my lie and I'll tell it anyway I want. Actually it's not really a lie as I really would like to start with just the scuds first. The lie part is that I could setup the tank and just not start cycling until scuds are available. When they are in stock then I'd add the ammonia and Dr. Tim's bacteria culture. I suppose the real reason is that I totally detest breaking down a tank. I mean breaking down to the point that there isn't a speck of gravel or anything else. Scrubbing it out and making ready for storage. I don't know why but I REALLY hate the process.

Anyway, there is an actual question here. I can't begin to count the number of tanks I've setup in the last 55 or so years but this is, believe it or not, going to be my first totally fish-less cycle. I just want to be sure that I got the right form of ammonia. What I got is Dr. Tim's Ammonium Chloride and should maintain an ammonia lever of ~2.0 PPM until the level drops back to zero within 24 hours. Normally I'd expect this process to take at least a month but I hope that the Dr. Tim's bacteria culture will speed things up a bit; more like a week or two.

Before getting a bit back into this there were many years without a tank. Man, have things changed! Back in the days of my first tanks I was fortunate enough to have really good live fish stores that would give you established substrate to go along with a tank you bought from them. Bury a dead feeder gold per 5 gallons of water to feed the already established bacteria and add a few fish for the added stuff they put out other than ammonia and you were ready to in a week or two. I'm sure such stores are still out there but not where I live. I have Dan's fish right next to my apartment to get good fish but they just don't do anything but fish. The closest I have to a live fish store is a Petco and, after a contaminated moss from them killed all my fish, I'm not about to buy anything live from them.