Starting My New African Cichlid Tank

[riogal_11]

I pulled a real bonehead move a few minutes ago, and need help. I got play sand tonight, and made a huge mistake. I put a cupful in and THEN realized I hadn't washed it. I don't know what I was thinking! The whole tank is now cloudy, you can barely see anything in it. So my question is this... will it eventually clear up on its own? If I change some of the water, will it mess up the whole cycle? Can I just wait it out until it's time for the 90% water change and then fix it that way?
I'm only adding about 10lbs. total, so I'll wash the rest tomorrow and add it.

Ughhh... and everything was going so well!

 

[Malawi MaD]

Dont worry about it,The sand should be fine, in the worse case scenario you could do a 25% water change but i dont think you will have to do that as the filter will do the job and clean it for you . At least this happened with no fish in the tank

 

[riogal_11]

Dont worry about it,The sand should be fine, in the worse case scenario you could do a 25% water change but i dont think you will have to do that as the filter will do the job and clean it for you . At least this happened with no fish in the tank

You were right! Just got up, and the tank is clear. At least I know my filter is working well. I will get the rest of the sand cleaned out good today and put it in. Also going to test the water again today.

 

[riogal_11]

1/15/2012 at 11:00am - Ammonia-0ppm and Nitrite Above 5ppm Nitrate 160ppm+
Redosed Ammonia to 4ppm.

 

[riogal_11]

I put more sand in and wasn't a big fan. It was VERY fine (almost dust-like), and I can just envision it constantly being clouded up when the fish get in there. So, I had some spare spectra stone around and mixed it in with the sand. The spectra stone is pretty small, and mixed in with the sand, I think the fish will still be able to mess around in it. I have silica sand in my tank at work, and it is so much easier to deal with, no clouding at all.

 

[riogal_11]

Any suggestions on how to improve? I'm not one to re-scape after I have fish in, so I need to love it before I get them.

 

[Malawi MaD]

I think it looks ok as it is The fish will prefer to sift and dig threw the sand more than the gravel but if your like it that way then thats good. You have made a good amount of caves for them to hide in and take territories/breeding spots. Do you like it?? If not maybe try rocks either end of the tank? Looks like you have a good width with all the space at the front, so if you where to use rocks either side then you can use that to your advantage and create more hidey holes for them

 

[riogal_11]

One more question, and I'll try to refrain for awhile.
I was at the LFS tonight and they only had one albino in the tank of small guys. Would it be possible to buy some smalls and some mediums in order to get what I wanted? Will the larger ones pick on the smaller ones?

 

[Malawi MaD]

One more question, and I'll try to refrain for awhile.
I was at the LFS tonight and they only had one albino in the tank of small guys. Would it be possible to buy some smalls and some mediums in order to get what I wanted? Will the larger ones pick on the smaller ones?

Don't worry about it im happy to help . Yeah they will be fine as long as hes not small to the point of where the larger fish could eat him, if he is that small then there could be a few issues. Have you thought about how many you want to add??

 

[riogal_11]

One more question, and I'll try to refrain for awhile.
I was at the LFS tonight and they only had one albino in the tank of small guys. Would it be possible to buy some smalls and some mediums in order to get what I wanted? Will the larger ones pick on the smaller ones?

Don't worry about it im happy to help . Yeah they will be fine as long as hes not small to the point of where the larger fish could eat him, if he is that small then there could be a few issues. Have you thought about how many you want to add??

Ok, that's great. They get shipments in on Thursdays, so I'm planning to go on Friday the 27th (providing the cycle stays on track). Planning to get 12 on that day, and then 12 more the following Friday if everything is going well. Thanks again for your help!

I think it looks ok as it is The fish will prefer to sift and dig threw the sand more than the gravel but if your like it that way then thats good. You have made a good amount of caves for them to hide in and take territories/breeding spots. Do you like it?? If not maybe try rocks either end of the tank? Looks like you have a good width with all the space at the front, so if you where to use rocks either side then you can use that to your advantage and create more hidey holes for them

Thanks! I like it, but I don't think I'm in love with it yet. The left side of the tank is really small stone mixed with sand. I'd say they'll still be able to sift through it. The dusty type of sand I got was just too much. I definitely think it would have stayed stirred up constantly, so I mixed it all together. I would prefer to add some more ocean rock, but they don't sell pieces here unless they are "live", in which case they are $8.99/lb.

 

[Malawi MaD]

Ok sounds good .

You could have another play around with it at a later date. Most malawi keepers always change the rocks around a little every now and then just to help stir the sand and gravel up a little and make their tank look fresh again. Try the rocks at either side like there has been a rock slide, they usually look brilliant

 

[riogal_11]

Ammonia came back down to O tonight, so I re-dosed to 4ppm. Didn't bother testing Nitrites, as I tested earlier today and it was off the chart. Ughh... now the long wait begins until next Friday. At least I've had time to do research and learn as much as I can before I get them.

 

[riogal_11]

1/17/2012 8:00pm - Ammonia dropped back down to 0-0.25, so I redosed to 4ppm. Nitrite is off the charts.
1/18/2012 at 4:15pm - Ammonis dropped back down to 0-0.25. Redosed to 4ppm. Nitrite is off the charts.

Couple of questions:
Will the nitrite progressively get lower, or will I check it one day and it's off the charts, and then the next it is 0?
IS the fact that I have to re-dose so often now indicative of getting closer to the end of the cycle? As it processes the ammonia faster, the bacteria grows, thus turning to ammonia into nitrite faster?

Sorry if that is a silly questions. I've never been one for science.

 

[Malawi MaD]

Yep sounds to me like the cycle is getting close to finishing how is the tank as of now??

 

[riogal_11]

1/20/2012 at 11:30am - Ammonia back down to 0; Nitrite off the charts. Redosed to 4ppm.