Leaderboard

Fish in, up to the full final stocking. Sometimes more in a temporary situation. Water changes up to daily, sometimes twice a day in extreme circumstances. Doing a 125 right now doing about 75% water change every 3 days. It has a three rams and like 25 half grown sterbai corys. None of them seem to be having an issue with the nitrite level. I'm also putting in Stability occasionally. The hobby is becoming water change phobic. They (water changes) just solve so many obvious issues and an unbelievable number of issues we can't see (if I had to guess). You can also bring filter media from other aquariums. I'd do that with my 125, but I'm trying to keep bladder snails out of the tank and I don't trust any of my other tanks not to have eggs in the sponges/media.

You’re correct about toxicity of ammonia being not an issue under low pH settings, but not all fish can live under low pH. I’m trying to explain that the nitrification process is accelerated at a higher pH because of the use of alkalinity.

I saw these brackets online for building an adjustable firewood rack and was wondering if anyone has attempted something similar for an aquarium stand? Could be a simple way to piece together a diy stand for someone with fewer tools etc. Though I wouldn't want to test it with something larger than a 40 gallon to start with. Or maybe something like the brackets that are used to piece together wooden dock sections 🤔

My method unfortunately was to listen blindly to what petsmart told me only to realize the next day there was a problem. Then i came on here and found all these nice people who explained it to me the proper way and I'm now at the point where i think this weekend i will be ready to get a couple fish.

Hey I can contribute here. I have six tanks, and except one that has been running on with a similar setup, and for sure same filter for the past like 11 years, a lot of them were done in the past few years by one method or another. The first tank I did I spent like few months cycling, no fish, just plants, maybe snails, maybe food, light, nothing else. All the others I chose a different approach. Soaking sponge in existing tank, using mulm from other tanks, if I needed a tank that I needed fast, I would mix 50% of substrate from other tank. The substrate would have malaysian trumpet snails, I would also add ramshorns, plants from established tanks. I think the plants that are not newly bought and stagnant, but really cuts of healthy plants that just use the boost in nutrients, are the biggest game changer. I essentially did a fish in cycle when I needed to move fish from one tank to a newly setup different tank, that had previously used filter and half the substrate. Granted I dont do much measuring and water tests as I just dont find them reliable, I often cant do anything about the end result, so for me it is a why bother situation. I think frankly all the approaches have the same result. I always hated the fish in cycle. What do you do with the "hardy not the end fish" there? do you keep it? give it to someone else to destroy its gills with ammonia? Who knows right I think any cycle can be fixed or its effects reverted with a large amount of floating and fast growing plants and frequent water changes, so in the end the results are sort of the same no?

When I set up my first tank I ghost fed for a few weeks, but I only every saw like 1ppm nitrate, and never any ammonia or nitrite. I went and got a few Harlequin Rasboras and gradually built the stocking up from there. What is weird is using both API test kit and ACO test kits I have never detected any ammonia or nitrite and very little nitrate in the last 2+ years, not even during "cycling". This is probably because when I first set up my tank I did daily water changes even before the fish was added for some reason. Probably the fact that I started off with lots of plants contributed to this. Now that I have lots of media whenever I set up a new tank or redo an old one I just use media from another tank and let it sit for a little while while ghost feeding and then add some hardy, established fish from another tank to start it off. I think this is definitely the most simple method.

As long as the fish keeper is diligent about doing water changes during a fish-in cycle, I don't see a problem with it. There are some people who vehemently disagree (I will leave it at that so I don't get in trouble).

It is. Before I get flamed, Let me start by saying that I have a single tank and its been cycled for a few years so I don't use any method often BUT I do prefer the fish in cycle where you test the water daily and do water changes as needed. To me its the "dumb dumb" method that is very easy to follow and see results. You have the ammonia source in your small amount of fish (in my last case it was 3 endlers) and you can easily see in the test tubes whether or not a water change is needed. It is a pain in the butt changing water every day or every other day but its pretty fool proof. I also used Fritze Zyme after every water change to try to add some beneficial bacteria. I have never tried the liquid ammonia so maybe that would be easier but the ghost feeding method always seemed vague to me. Based on research, I could never figure out how much I should be ghost feeding and when to add more food, etc. Just didn't seem definitive enough for my liking and like most, I want fish in my tank as quicky as possible, not 2 months of feeding nothing hoping that bacteria begin to grow.

Greetings, With the exception of my rimless tanks, all my aquariums have their backs painted. Black is my preference, but I’ve done sky blue, forest green, and even orange (for my reef tank). Between brush coating and spraying, spray painting is totally the fastest and most efficient way. It maybe takes 45 minutes total for prepping, actual spraying, and waiting in-between coats (honestly waiting around for paint to dry takes the most time; 20-30 minutes or so). When completed, as long as you’re careful moving your tank after it’s dry to touch, it should be pretty durable for a long time. I’ve found that planning ahead of time for spray painting is the key. Doing it outside away from anything you shouldn’t get overspray on (like your neighbor’s car, or your own white picket fence), when it’s above 50 degrees F, and also in an area protected from rain, you can do it without much fuss or mess. The prep time if done properly (tape off the sides and open top with newspaper and painters tape) will take no more than 10-15 minutes. Enjoy the experience!

Looking in to the tank looking at the back wall, your not going to perceive any difference so long as there is no lint from the roller sticking in the paint. doesnt really matter if it is matt or gloss either. The glass gives it a gloass regardless. now on the back of the tank looking from the outside there is a difference, but looking at it from the glass side, none whatsoever. My tank backs are near a wall, so I never see the side that it matters one way or the other. It is generally such a small surface I never bother with a roller and simply brush it on. 2 coats reliably blocks light. I place a light inside the tank when brushing. Between fumes, overspray, need to mask, expense, I much prefer brushing over spraying. I can see where others might prefer spraying…. Either way I cant tell the difference when I am looking in to a tank.

this is the thing, there is more than 1 way to get the desired result, and to do so without causing harm to the fish involved.

I've always wondered what the back would look like if i just sprayed it with frosted glass paint.

I used black acrylic paint with a roller.

Yeah I would, but I prefer the fishless cycle because I have smaller tanks so I would need a few small fish, but I have no access to small non schooling fish (because most schooling fish need at least 6 fish) and online is a lot of money for shipping at a total of like 100 dollars! No kid. I know how to cycle doing the fishless way and i want to stick with it! IMO . Yes I agree @AndEEss, but I would not say it is torture

I’ve used rustoleum spray paint on all my aquariums. Just be sure to tape off and cover up whatever you don’t want painted. Or roll it on, but I’ve never done this.

Thank you for the replys that was the kind of response I was looking for I’ve seen all types succeed and I’ve seen all types fail both in fresh and salt water so it doesn’t really matter what people choose I just like to hear why people do want they do sometimes you learn something so thank again

Yeah, I’m not really sure why it’s so controversial. All three systems work just fine. I have done all three before. By accident in my first couple of tanks. You know, buy tank, add fish. But we learn. My lfs still recommends a fish in cycle. They offer a few very hardy species until the tank is cycled, then they do exchanges when ready. I usually add fishless fuel ammonia, just because it’s so convenient. I have done ghost feeding before. I do use fritzyme7, but Seachem stability or Dr Tim’s work just as well. I really think it’s just a personal choice and have no issues with any cycling method. I do think for larger tanks it’s a bit easier with fuel. Not going to try water change in large tanks. I still use buckets as my tanks are scattered around. the only consideration for me, is the health of the animals. That’s a whole lot of water changing. But as long as you can keep up with it. It’s not a problem. The problem is that a lot of people either can’t or won’t be consistent enough.and the animals do suffer.

hang on while i get the pop corn!🙈

My tank started with the black top as well. You will need to replace it with a glass top for a plant light. It is important to check the brand of tank you have, and the brand of top you are getting, Aqueon lids don't work too well on non aqueon tanks, and non aqueon lids don't fit too well on aqueon tanks. For tetra tanks i've found H2pro lids seem to fit.

if it is a common sized tank, you can usually get glass lids that work well with most lights.

A friend kept them and they had a nasty habit of biting out one of the eyes of weaker fish in the group

I’ve had a school of them in a 90 gallon about 5 years ago. Anything that went in the tank got attacked. It’s quite brutal and torturous to have it in anything other than a species only.

Any particular reason you chose Exodons? I don't know much about them but I do have a 7 year old and he is interested in the fish the first month they are in my tank and then he doesn't care anymore until we get a new fish. Sure he wants to feed the fish still but he doesn't care all that much outside of that unless they are new and even feeding is hit or miss depending on if he has anything "better" to do. My point being that choosing a single fish that seems to severely limit the tankmates doesn't seem like the best idea for a 7 year old long term. Maybe I am wrong and your nephew has a better attention span than my son but if I were you I would take him to the fish store and get a feel for which fish he likes and then plan the tank around a centerpiece fish of his choice. Pick a dither fish or 2 to get a 10-15 fish school for each, Pick a type of cory or other bottom dweller, maybe a type of hatchet fish or something like that for the top portion, and then get the centerpiece fish last. Make the stocking take a good 6 months until all the fish you plan are in the tank to maximaize his interest. After you get the fish in and its fairly established, you can try things like neocardina shrimp or dwarf cpo crawfish or bamboo shrimp or maybe some snails. The more you can mix it up and allow him to add things to the tank, the more you can peak his interest imo. Trips to the fish store are fun if he can buy stuff. I have learned that window shopping isn't as fun for my 7 year old as it is for me. Edit: idk if you are using plants and hardscape you already own which would make sense from a cost standpoint but if you are going to buy this stuff, maybe give him a couple of rock options, maybe take him to pick out the wood, maybe give him some options for plants. Like I said, my son likes everything other than caring for the fish long term lol. I did all the tank decorating and made the decisions myself without his input and part of me wishes I would have included him with some of it. If he ever shows any real interest in my tank, I plan on suggesting a 20 gallon or something like that for his room but I will take his lead on that and not for ce anything.

I've used the Marina Slims before and I liked them. Occasionally they would rattle and I sat a rock on the lid and that helped. The problem I found with the Marinas is the baskets are small and even my tiny hands had trouble getting into the baskets to clean and not enough room to add a bag of biomedia. So, I changed to Tidal 35s and I love them. When any noise starts, I clean the impellers and scrub inside area where the motor attaches. I do that every 2 or 3 months. I can only hear the waterfall noise. BTW, the green colored nano pump from the Co-op is silent, so you could use that for a sponge filter. I hope you get your problem resolved.

I use the static cling stuff from Amazon. Either in a lightish blue or black. It's probably more expensive than paint, but it's so much easier. Plus if you decide you want to change it (which would probably be rarely). You don't have to scrape it all off. Admittedly the black looks "cleaner" because it blends the black rims. But I don't mind. I really like bare bottoms. My wife, however, fairly frequently says "why does it have to look like that". It's about the fish, lady!

Spot on, fishless cycle hurts u in only one way, 1.Your Patience is tested!!!!!!!! lol Yes I agree I have never watched him before.

I use black poster board, cut to fit and secured to the tank with black electrical tape (all of my tanks have black rims, so the tape doesn't show).

You get told that anyone who does fish-in cycling, even when done with regular water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites very low, is cruelty to animals. 1) The "hardy" fish don't get burned if the water is changed when needed. 2) This also doesn't happen if the water is changed when needed. It's my understanding, from multiple sources, that with low pH the ammonia toxicity is so low that it's not an issue.

Ya for sure i showed up on there fish delivery day last week just to scope the place out to see if it was worth getting fish there and he was all excited/disappointed they just got 6 lemon Oscars in which are beautiful fish but they weren't looking good to him. (looked fine to me) but he was explaining about how he is going to treat them to get them better and then put them for sale. Sorry this thread seems to have gotten off topic a bit lol

From my perspective, a successful fish-in cycle consists of (a) having cycled filter media from another tank, (b) lots of plants, (c) light stocking of fish, and (d) very light feeding.

@Travis that’s a very cool find. Does it state a max load?

If you are looking for a black background, I've had really good luck with the spray plasti-dip on the back of my 75 gallon aquarium. It's also removable if needed. I haven't tried removing it yet, but it seems like I probably could remove it if I wanted too.

I've never had a failed cycle. I use ammonia bottles that are labeled Dr Tim's aquatics ammonia or something like that. I dose to 2ppm ammonia and then it usually takes 2.5 weeks for a new tank to get through that. Then I redose 2ppm ammonia and repeat until the tank can get through it in a day. Likely overkill, but you should at the very least get your tank to run it 2-3 times which usually gets to the point anyways.

After using Fritzyme 7 and Seachem matrix in my tanks, I have never had a problem with cycling an aquarium. I just make sure the tank has pH is over 6.8 and temp over 76 and the bacteria have always kept up.

In my case, they are Harlequin Rasboras. I have kept them since and they are some of my favorite fish. Also, if you stay up on water changes daily or even more frequently as needed and have some hungry floating plants then almost no nitrite or ammonia will be present at any time to harm the fish.

The problem with fish-in is two fold: 1) A “hardy” fish is still being burned by ammonia and nitrite. It just doesn’t die as quickly as a less hardy fish. 2) You’re then throwing a live animal away or sending it back to the LFS so it can be tortured again. Or, if the fish keeper is bad enough at caring for the animals in question, the fish are tortured to death.

Yeah, and that’s the only problem I see. People like us are going to take care of our animals. I like what my lfs does. They make sure (as much as they can) the animals are treated well. Too many people don’t have respect for their animals. They’re just decorations. And trust me, I’m not an animal welfare nut. My family actually raises livestock for a living, but animal welfare is and should be important. I hate the idea of a throw away animal

Slightly less than 1 day of growth lol. Insane.

You dont need to double the fertilizer if you have 80ppm. I'm sure you're plants will do fine with half or less, and it may cut some of the food off for algae.

Personally, I would water change to drop the nitrates and minimize chance of Algae taking off. Then redose with ammonia. The ammonia will convert to nitrite to allow that part of the cycle to continue.

Do your females box up gravid like they’re going to drop fry? If so, the problem is likely predation. I would get rid of the Mosquitofish. Those are like Ninjas in the nursery! I also would stop adding salt when performing water changes. I would bump the temperature up 2°, bite bullet, and go buy a variety of quality foods.

I caught a strange indostomus behavior, maybe mating but usually the male is supposed to entice the female into his tube, this was not the case ofcourse my glass is not washed, there was not ideal light and the video is shaky,... but the behavior happend at that time, so couldnt be picky

I do notice some male are more sexual active than other, plus those mosquito fish are great fry hunter

Google up dither fish. But we shouldn't be surprised when we build a nice tank that allows fish to hide and then they proceed to do so.

So many shiny toys! Looks awesome

Yes, both above are correct. But I know Cory has the cute planters. And I believe they leave things like crypts in there. So don’t think it will harm the plant. But, yes, optimal long term is planted. It’s going to escape anyway, so ….

It will do much better planted.

It should be planted.

I believe you can leave it there. Mine is planted in the substrate. It does send out roots and will spread throughout the tank. So if you want it to be contained, it’s probably not going to be