Update Of Cycle, Am I Doin Ok?!

[jo_85]

Thanks WD, so i just tested my nitrites again today and its finally at 0ppm! Yey! So will keep testing every 12 hours. Im guessing nitrites probably wont process in 12 hours for maybe another week? Starting to get excited now, this has been one drawn out process but deffinately worth the wait. Suppose I better start deciding on fish, keep changing my mind!

 

[waterdrop]

Totally unpredictable. The last phase could be 4 days or two weeks, no telling. Keep an eye out for sudden pH drops. Yes, your stocking plan should be in full swing and being verified by the various good people here. WD

 

[jo_85]

PH has slightly dropped to 7.6 from around 8.2. So will keep an eye on this daily now. Nitrates are off the chart for the first time so all looking good.
Im thinking of getting Hengels rasbora's as suggested on this site, most likely a 6 or 7 shoal. Pygmy Cory's for the bottom of the tank? Not sure on quantities as its only a 48ltr tank. I would like 1 fish that occupies the surface and was thinking maybe a betta? Opinions appreciated, thanks.

And ive just found dwarf corys which i really like the look of. Would these be ok with a shoal of hengels rasboras? Im reading up on them and they sound a peaceful shoaling fish that need sunken pellets or live food to feed on? Any info please?

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, oldman47 has a really nice post or thread somewhere with pics and info on the 3 types of pygmy corys. Hopefully it can be found with searches. One does want to get familiar with the details as not all stay at bottom and at least one type is excessively shy. They are all fine with other species however and because they are so tiny its easier to get to enough in your shoal that they will stat to be happy and playful (cories of all types, including pygmys get more and more playful as their numbers get larger, its how they live in nature.) WD

 

[hihi100202]

Lucky... It takes me FOREVER to get decent water stats.

 

[jo_85]

Thanks. thinking of getting 8 of the dwarf corys to start. Will there be enough ammonia being produced if i only put 8 of these in at the start? I was told on another thread its best to fully stock up after the cycle.

I will try and look up oldman47's thread on the pygmys.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

i would go for 75% stock at first. In theory, you can go 100% but as a beginner its probs best to ease into a routine of water changes etc.
If you do just start with the 8, thats fine. Just bear in mind when you add new fish not to add too many at once.
I think the rule is no more than 50% extra stock within 24h-48h (the reason is so your bacteria can grow to accomodate the extra fish) but im sure someone else will confirm/deny that

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Jo, once you have qualified the filter (meaning it has big robust bacterial colonies that could handle a full stocking of the tank) you will no doubt actually stock less (sometimes considerably less) than a full stocking and the size of the bacterial colonies will adjust downward. This is exactly what we want and once we stock fish we want to no longer ever really worry about the feeding of our bacteria, the fish respiration, fish waste, excess fishfood and plant debris will all be providing plenty of ammonia and the bacterial colony sizes with gain and lose according to the bioload (usually just the fish stock, but sometimes some shrimp and snails etc.)

The initial stocking right after a fishless cycle is the *only* time one can do a massive stocking. Forever after that its better to just ease the number of fish upward (assuming the plan allows it) very slowly so that the bacteria have plenty of time to react and increase their numbers without a "mini-spike" (traces of poison re-appearing) occurring. I usually like to just go easy. I might add a "mini-shoal" of 5 neons (as an example of below average size fish) or three of some average sized fish or just two of a larger type. I let them spend a nice long time in my quarantine tank (usually months) and then introduce them to the main tank (usually on the same day as I bring home new fish for the quarantine tank) assuming I'm in a phase of stocking a tank and have multiple batches coming.

~~waterdrop~~