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got myself a 24g (29g us) tank would like to know how long i need to cycle it and what's the best way to.had my fish for about 6 months and don't want to lose any.

1 silver shark
3 dalmation molly's
3 guppy's (1 pregnant)
1 bronze cory
3 neon tetra's
2 clown loach's

Martinh

where are the fish now are you keeping them in a previous tank if so how large is it.
what type of filtration were you using before? You may be able to transfer the filter over and have an already mature nitrifying bacteria colony. if you dont want to go that way you may consider using parts of the filtration media or place the old gravel in a container that will allow water to pass through it. all these will spped up the cycle in the new tank.

I must add that your new tank is too small for the amount of fish you have listed.IMO

they are in my old 15g tank the filter is not strong enough in my old tank my new one is a fluval 3 plus not so sure about the gravel ,its got snails in it....used the calculator to convert the size of new tank its actually 32g

I would suggest getting a better filter for the fifteen, and leave the neons and the guppies in it. You really are overstocked. Your silver shark will get up to twelve inches, way to large for a 29 gallon. They are also schooling and like the companionship of others. You might consider returning him to the fish store for an exchange or refund.
I think you will be OK with the mollys in the 29, but up your cories to six, since they like to be in groups of six or more. Your loaches can also, get up the twelve inches, so you may need to reconsider those, too.
Add your fish to this tank very slowly, a few at a time and make sure to test your water.

shark and loaches are 3 inches mollys and guppys are 2 inches tetras are 1 inch cory is 2 inches i also got told from my LFS that the shark and clowns only grow up to 12 inches in wild but its uncommon for them to grow above 6 or 7 inches in a tank hopefully when they get bigger i'll either take them back or upgrade my tank again....how long should i cycle my new tank.out of the 120 litres it holds eventually i will have added about 25 to 30 litres of water from my old tank.

The sharks and loaches will grow 12 inches. If kept in your tank now, they will be stunted which means their insides will keep growing, but their outsides won't. That's not a good situation and they will die an early death.

I think you should take the loaches and shark back. Its not very nice to keep fish in a tank that isn't big enough for them. I don't think you would want to live in a closet the rest of your life would you?

About cycling: Its not how long you should cycle, its how. Put some gravel from your established 15g in some nylon pantyhose/stockings. If the gravel is the same color as the new gravel then you can just put a couple handfuls in the new tank. Also, if you can, take some filter media from your other tank and put it in the new filter. That will help get the cycle started.

You will also need to add some type of ammonia source, whether that be fish or pure ammonia (no additives, no scent, no surfactants). You could move the mollies over to provide an ammonia source.

Get yourself a good test kit, if you don't already have one. Look for a liquid test that has atleast tests for ammonia, nitrAte, nitrIte, and pH. You'll need to check these to monitor the cycle.

I suggest you take the shark and loaches back to the LFS and exchange them for 5 more cories and atleast 3 more neons. Neons really do better in larger groups (8 or more), but you will be fine with 6.

Like suggested before, leave the neons and guppies in the 15g tank. Add atleast 3 more neons and that tank will be stocked.

In the new tank you could have:
3 mollies
6 cories
8-10 tetras or rasboras (depends on what you like).

If you like sharks, you could get a red tailed black shark instead. They don't get as big. But, I suggest returning the cory also, if you got one of those. They are territorial and don't really like sharing the bottom of the tank.

Oh, and I wouldn't take any more advice from the LFS employee. Obviously they aren't giving out good information if they let you buy all those fish for a 15g tank. They just want to make money.

*Kristin*

Hello
First off what was said earlier is very good advice. Never take the word of a lfs employee, they are there to sell you stuff, and are not the most knowledgable sort. Don't get me wrong, there are many fine, knowlegable people working at fish shops but also many are not. Now guys, that is not meant to slam anyone but...well you know.
The shark and the clowns will grow too large for a 29. The mollies and guppies are live bearing fish so please be prepared for the population explosion that will occur. My mollies kept giving birth every few weeks. I never had a male in the tank so she musta gotten pregnant at the lfs. They can hold the sperm inside them for many months, poppin a few out at a time.
OK, the cycling thing. My tank, holding six harlequins took just over six weeks to cycle from scratch, w/o adding anything to speed it up like cycle or bio-spira. Again a good liquid test kit like the aquarium pharmaceuticals master test kit will aid in knowing just when your ammonia and nitrites spike. as the nitrites start to drop and nitrates come up your tank's cycle will be close to complete. Good luck. Oh, and research and questions help a lot. do it before you buy tho and take the word of any lfs employee with a grain of salt.