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I am in the process of starting a tank.

Its second hand, but in V good condition.

Have cleaned it and need to know how long to leave it once I have added water and Stress coat (Water treatment formulae) before I can

A) Introduce plants
B) Introduce Fish

I have a 81 Litre Tank

Can Anyone help
Leon

I would wait at least 4-5 days. Let your tank cycle, and if you are extremely hesitant, its ok to go even a week. Dont add plants till 2 weeks after getting your fish, so that there is some waste built up from the fish that the plant can get more nourishment from, rather than living off of liquid fertilizer. Hope this helps!

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

You should let it sit for 24 hrs at the least. This will allow the PH to become stable.

Then add as many plants as you want. Keep in mind that the tank is still new and doesn't have any nutrients to offer the plants yet. So dosing with ferts is a must.

If you add fish before the cycle is complete and you'll need to make sure you only put a few very hardy fish in there like zebra danios. Do not and I repeat do not add any sensitive fish to this tank until the cycle is complete.

Once the cycle is complete if you do not wish to keep the danios, return them to your LFS the same day you go to get new fish.

If you have the lighting and the $ to spend on a lot of plants, you might not ever have a cycle.

S few members who have started a tank out very very heavily planted have reported they never saw a spike ion ammonia then in nitrites.

It seems that live plants also use up ammonia. If they use the ammonia then the bacteria never gets a chance to grow.

But this is a risky move, and not recommended for the beginner.

Your tank needs to cycle before you can add the full stock of fish that you want. There are several ways to do this:

THE FISHLESS CYCLE: (taken from the thread found [link=here]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/55288.html?200502242143" style="COLOR: #FF82AB[/link])

I fishless cycled my 55g.

I got a scoop (1-2 cups is plenty) of gravel from one of racso's tanks and put it in nylon pantyhose, to culture the bacteria. I bought a bottle of pure ammonia, making sure it had no additives. I added the ammonia at a rate of 5 drops/10g/day. When the nitrItes reached a peak, I decrease the ammonia dosage to 2 drops/10g/day. When the nitrItes fell back to zero ppm, the cycle is complete.

Fishless cycles aren't always 100% stable, so you still want to add your fish slowly. I added only 3 or 4 right after the cycle completed, then about a week later, this it what it looked like:

[link=http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lilagluckpilz/detail?.dir=6548&.dnm=298f.jpg&.src=ph]http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/lilagluckpilz/detail?.dir=6548&.dnm=298f.jpg&.src=ph" style="COLOR: #FF82AB[/link]

9 bags of fish! I was very lucky that my cycle was stable enough to handle that, and despite the picture I recommend you still add your fish slowly. The hardest part of a fishless cycle is finding the balance of fish to add so as not to kill off your bacteria, or kill off your fish. Too many fish at once = too much ammonia for the bacteria to handle. Too few fish = not eough ammonia for the bacteria to live off of.

If you choose this method, add your plants after the cycle is complete.

CYCLE USING FISH: (taken from the article found [link=here]http://www.fishprofiles.net/faq/begin-cycling.asp" style="COLOR: #FF82AB[/link])

In aquaria-speak, the "nitrogen cycle" (more precisely, the nitrification cycle) is the biological process that converts ammonia into other, relatively harmless nitrogen compounds. Fortunately, several species of bacteria do this conversion for us. Some species convert ammonia (NH3) to nitrite (N02-), while others convert nitrite to nitrate (NO3-). Thus, cycling the tank refers to the process of establishing bacterial colonies in the filter bed that convert ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate.

The desired species of nitrifying bacteria are present everywhere (e.g., in the air). Therefore, once you have an ammonia source in your tank, it's only a matter of time before the desired bacteria establish a colony in your filter bed. The most common way to do this is to place one or two (emphasis on one or two) hardy and inexpensive fish in your aquarium. The fish waste contains the ammonia on which the bacteria live. Don't overfeed them! More food means more ammonia! Some suggested species include: common goldfish (for cold water tanks), zebra danios and barbs for warmer tanks, and damselfishes in marine systems.

During the cycling process, ammonia levels will go up and then suddenly plummet as the nitrite-forming bacteria take hold. Because nitrate-forming bacteria don't even begin to appear until nitrite is present in significant quantities, nitrite levels skyrocket (as the built-up ammonia is converted), continuing to rise as the continually-produced ammonia is converted to nitrite. Once the nitrate-forming bacteria take hold, nitrite levels fall, nitrate levels rise, and the tank is fully cycled.

Your tank is fully cycled once nitrates are being produced (and ammonia and nitrite levels are zero). To determine when the cycle has completed, buy appropriate test kits and measure the levels yourself, or bring water samples to your fish store and let them perform the test for you.

If you go this route, you can add your plants before your fish, as long as you use ferts like Shannen said.

THE "INSTANT" FISHLESS CYCLE:

There are products available (can't think of any brands off hand) that you add to your tank that will supposedly instantly cycle your tank. I've never used this method, but I have heard that it works, you just have to quickly add fish before the bacteria dies off.

Plants can be added at the same time as, or after the fish.

I know that's a lot to read and take in, but it will help you get a well established tank with few problems, if everything is done properly

HTH

><>Dani<><

[hr width='40%']I don't want another pretty face
I don't want just anyone to hold
I don't want my love to go to waste
I want you and your beautiful soul

I spent something like 3 weeks fishless cycling the Panda Breeding Aquarium before transferring the current occupants. My method was to feed a small amount of flake food every day, as if there were a few small fish already present, with some Java Moss & Java Ferns on bogwood in there from the start. Partly because in my experience, they are two of the most resilient plants that can be planted in an aquarium. Apart from letting them dry out and dessicate, I can't think of a way to kill them off (not that I ever would want to of course!).

Consequently, when the Pandas went in, it was ready for them. And given how Pandas are notoriously fussy about things being 'just so', the fact that they've since spawned in there shows I did something right


Last edited by Calilasseia at 14-Mar-2005 09:17

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002