37 gallon tank build

[TeamPisces]

Hi all,

I am going to attempt to document my tank build from bare tank, painting, cycling, and adding sand, rocks, and fish.

First day bringing fish tank and stand home. This is where the first tank (hint: more tanks in the future) will be placed. This is my second time around working with aquariums. This is my first time working with freshwater. I know that it is going to be a fantastic experience.

I have talked with some of you about painting the back of my tank. Thanks everyone for your help. I have got two coats of paint on now.

 

[Tony]

Good luck, brotherman.

Definitely hit up Davis G or his bro, Pete, for a local source of good bacteria to get yourself jump-started.

Looking forward to meeting you this weekend.

Tony

(EDIT: SHOOT.. IF YOU'RE GONNA BE THERE ON SUNDAY, I'LL BRING YOU A SPONGE FILTER TO GET YOU STARTED. SHOOT ME A PM.)

 

[TeamPisces]

Good luck, brotherman.

Definitely hit up Davis G or his bro, Pete, for a local source of good bacteria to get yourself jump-started.

Looking forward to meeting you this weekend.

Tony

(EDIT: SHOOT.. IF YOU'RE GONNA BE THERE ON SUNDAY, I'LL BRING YOU A SPONGE FILTER TO GET YOU STARTED. SHOOT ME A PM.)

Thanks Tony. Same here. Unfortunately, I will only be there Saturday. I am on coverage on Sunday. It would be just my luck that some family will erupt in a crisis and I would have to facilitate an emergency removal of a child for safety reasons.

 

[TeamPisces]

Tank Update

Today, I placed a strip of light diffuser in the bottom of tank to support my rocks. I then added sand after it was rinsed a few times. Rock went in next. I also put my filter and heater in as well as my thermometer. The led lights that came with the hood are okay. Here are some pics.

Tank with light diffuser (egg crate).

Sand and rocks:

Night lights:

I am using a raw cocktail shrimp to kick off the nitrogen cycle.

 

[TeamPisces]

First Tests

Tank is fine this morning. No leaks or anything. Using API High PH test, I registered a PH reading of 8.0 according the chart. My ammonia reads 0.25.

 

[TeamPisces]

Four days of testing

Hi all,

I first attempted my fishless cycle with a raw cocktail shrimp? That proved to be pretty funky in a hurry, lol. This is my fourth day of testing and I have been registering 0.25ppm for Ammonia and 8.0 for PH for four days straight. Am I on the right track? Should ammonia be getting higher? I removed the shrimp after its second day in the tank. I have some janitorial grade ammonia from ACE if I need to add more ammonia to the tank. What are your thoughts so far?

 

[chriscoli]

I don't do a fishless cycle. I use filter media from another tank to inoculate the new one. You can do this by moving a whole, used, filter into that tank, or by taking a sponge filter from an established tank and squeezing it into the new tank (much messier that way) and letting the new filter pull the funk out of the water.

You can even do this by moving substrate (sand) from an established tank to a new one. The bacteria you want are everywhere in an established tank (in the water, on your decorations, etc) but the substrate and filter have the most.

And, voila! Instant cycle.

 

[TeamPisces]

I don't do a fishless cycle. I use filter media from another tank to inoculate the new one. You can do this by moving a whole, used, filter into that tank, or by taking a sponge filter from an established tank and squeezing it into the new tank (much messier that way) and letting the new filter pull the funk out of the water.

You can even do this by moving substrate (sand) from an established tank to a new one. The bacteria you want are everywhere in an established tank (in the water, on your decorations, etc) but the substrate and filter have the most.

And, voila! Instant cycle.

Thanks Christine!!!

 

[TeamPisces]

Latest on the tank

I have some tank updates. 48 hours after adding a cultured sponge and a wc I now have 0ppm Ammonia, 0ppm Nitrites, and 10ppm Nitrates. I picked up some new rock from Go Fish. I recognized two employees from Exotic Aquatics running the place. I then traveled down to HOT. I feel like I made first impulsive newbie mistake. So, after talking to one of the staff about my tank and what I wanted to keep, I cam home with four males for an "male only" tank. I purchased two male Labdichromis sp. "mbamba" (yellow top mbamba) and two male Metriclima lombardoi (Kenyi). Both are pretty young. I have already have plans to get a 75 or 90 set up in my basement. They are pretty much chillin' in the rock work.

Not able to post any pics. I keep getting some wierd internal error message.

 

[ezrk]

Last time we fishless cycled we used Dr. Tims bacteria, ammonia and some sodium nitrite (adding nitrite early is supposedly helpful in cycling as the nitrite reducing bacteria are the slower growing) and it took about 1 to 1.5 weeks create a solid bacteria colony.

 

[FishInMaryland]

I don't want to totally squelch your enthusiasm, but rather, offer a word of warning. My first Africans also came from HOT and included a Kenyi, who set about systematically killing everything in the tank, even pulling one of the other Kenyis out from under a rock to kill him. I pulled him from the tank - don't remember what I did with him, possibly took him back to HOT - and everybody else has lived happily ever after. You need LOTS of fish to keep the aggression dispersed, but with some species, plan to lose some fish.

Ruth

 

[TeamPisces]

I don't want to totally squelch your enthusiasm, but rather, offer a word of warning. My first Africans also came from HOT and included a Kenyi, who set about systematically killing everything in the tank, even pulling one of the other Kenyis out from under a rock to kill him. I pulled him from the tank - don't remember what I did with him, possibly took him back to HOT - and everybody else has lived happily ever after. You need LOTS of fish to keep the aggression dispersed, but with some species, plan to lose some fish.

Ruth

Noted. Thanks for the heads up.


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[TeamPisces]

You were Ruth, that Kenyi eventually killed all the fish. He died about a month ago. I am looking to get a 55 gallon for my birthday. Trying to get a better mix of fish without the fighting.