RachShaffy
Member
I thought I'd start this thread off to save me being annoying and repeating myself on the other fresh water threads!
This is how to set up and cycle your FW tank. My husband and I keep Malawi Cichlids so I'll be using those as examples on stocking etc but the basic principle of set up and cycle are the same for most FW fish.
A few basic things to remember...
Always go for the biggest tank you can
You cannot overfilter a FW tank
Weekly water changes are a MUST!
PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN!
What you're going to need:
A tank (well d'uh)
A stand
An external Filter
Substrate
Rock
A test kit (don't use strips, they don't give accurate readings)
A heater
A Plan!
Choose your tank!
I would say that 4' across would be the bare minimum. I use a bow front Fluval 260 litre (I'm gonna steer away from using gallons as the US and UK ones are different) which comes with a 305 external filter. On top of this we have another 2 internal filters and we're planning on adding another external filter in the future.
Filling and decorating.
Unlike an SW tank, you don't have to wait to put all your rocks and things in.
A lot of people will use plastic 'rocks' from their LFS thinking that there is less risk of splatting a fish if it falls over. However, with the right set up, this isn't a risk.
Your LFS should carry a supply of ocean rock. This is really porous and so doesn't displace as much water as you'd expect. It's also more natural looking and contains natural caves for your fish. On top of this, it's a damn sight cheaper too!
Unless you're planning a cold water (goldfish) set up, use sand as your substrate. A lot of FW like to dig about in the sand as well as sift it through their gills. Gravel can cause damage to fish scales and eyes and is really a great way to store poo. Don't worry that digging will cause the sand to float around and cause poor visability in your tank. As the sand is wet, it'll settle back down immediatly. The only time that the sand will float around the tank is when you first add your water.
Once you've chosen your rocks and substrate, you MUST wash them. However well you think you've washed them won't be enough!
For rocks, fill a bucket with water and soak the rock. Rinse it off under running water until the water coming off is clean.
For substrate, put it in a bucket and leave it under running water. You won't lose any of your sand this way as long as you don't have the water running too fast. Leave the water running on it for a minimum of 20 minutes. You cannot over wash this stuff. Unlike marine sand, it doesn't contain any benificial bacteria so you aren't losing anything when washing it.
Right, we're FINALLY ready to start filling your tank!
Always add your base rock before your substrate. By this I mean take the largest pieces of rock and put them on the bottom of your tank. A lot of people use egg crate to cusion the bottom and avoid any chance of cracking the glass. Once you have this done, add your substrate. Don't worry about evening it out too much just yet. You're going to have your hands in and out of the tank so there isn't much point! Just make sure there is a relatively even covering on the base.
Next you can add your smaller rocks. A lot of fish and cichlids in particular like to have plenty of caves. Stack your rocks up at the back of your tank and leave some open room at the front. Fish live at different heights in the tank so if you don't leave some open space at the bottom, the chances are you'll get some fish you won't see!
OK, we're ready to add some water (Knew I'd get there eventually)
Before you do this, you're going to need to test the tap water you have. Fish have different water quality needs, however, I'm not going to put in a full list of every thing. Our tank pH is always between 7.5-8.5, the optimal pH for Malawis.
You will need to add decholorinator to your water whenever you do water changes and when you initially fill your tank. Aquasafe is the best one I've found. It pretty much does it all and is very easy to use.
Put a saucer or flat chopping board on top of your substrate and pour the water onto that. This will help stop your substrate flying off all over your tank. When you first fill the tank, expect your water to cloud. This is just because your sand was disturbed and it will settle within an hour or so. Don't worry, this won't happen with later water changes as you'll already have water in there!
Once your water is in, turn on your heater. The optimal temperature for Malawi cichlids is 78F although you have some leeway as long as the temp is between 74 and 82F.
Although it's not too much of an issue before getting fish in, setting the right temperature means one less thing to think about later and obviously, your tank won't cycle if the water is too cold as the bacteria in the filters won't be able to survive.
When you've got all this done (for Gods sake, if you can use a hose, do it! Unless you're into getting fit...in that case carrying loads of buckets around the house is a great workout!) you need to start cycling the tank. There are several ways to do this...I'm going to list three of them.
Cycling with fish
The accepted method for a long time was to use some cheap but hardy fish. Put them in the tank and feed them every day. As any left over food decays and as the fish excretes, ammonia will naturally form and kick start your nitrogen cycle. Within about 4-6 weeks, your filters will be mature enough to add your stock.
The problem with this method is that it's rather cruel. Firstly, there is a risk of ammonia poisoning to the fish that you're using and secondly, there is a chance that once you add your stock, the fish you were using will get bullied and/or killed by the new fish.
To be perfectly honest, with the alternatives that there are now, if you are happy to use this method then empty your tank, put it on ebay and take up knitting or something. Whether you're bothered about the fish you use to cycle or not, they are still living animals and deserve no less care than anything else.
Fishless cycling with ammonia
This is an easier and less cruel way to cycle your tank and is just as, if not more, effective way to do it.
Go to your local chemist or hardware store and get some pure household ammonia. Add enough to your tank to get your ammonia level up to 5. Do this every day until water tests show that Nitrates/Nitrites are forming. Once this starts, check your water everyday until your tests show that ammonia and nitrite levels are down to zero. Once this has happend and the levels have stayed stable for a a few days, you're ready to add your fish.
Fishless cycling with 'bottled bacteria'
This is probably the quickest method of cycling as you can add your fish within 24 hours of adding the bacteria. However, do be careful as this stuff doesn't work for everyone. Safestart is pretty much the only stuff I've found that really does do what it's supposed to. You still need to check your levels before adding fish though!
In all honesty, using the ammonia to cycle your tank and letting time do its work is the best method of cycling.
There is NO substitute for TIME AND PATIENCE!!!!
I am not an expert. This is written from my personal experiance of setting up tanks and peoples experiances do vary. This is the basics as I would do it. You may find different ways to do things and if you do then great but if you want some pointers then here I am
This is how to set up and cycle your FW tank. My husband and I keep Malawi Cichlids so I'll be using those as examples on stocking etc but the basic principle of set up and cycle are the same for most FW fish.
A few basic things to remember...
Always go for the biggest tank you can
You cannot overfilter a FW tank
Weekly water changes are a MUST!
PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN PLAN!
What you're going to need:
A tank (well d'uh)
A stand
An external Filter
Substrate
Rock
A test kit (don't use strips, they don't give accurate readings)
A heater
A Plan!
Choose your tank!
I would say that 4' across would be the bare minimum. I use a bow front Fluval 260 litre (I'm gonna steer away from using gallons as the US and UK ones are different) which comes with a 305 external filter. On top of this we have another 2 internal filters and we're planning on adding another external filter in the future.
Filling and decorating.
Unlike an SW tank, you don't have to wait to put all your rocks and things in.
A lot of people will use plastic 'rocks' from their LFS thinking that there is less risk of splatting a fish if it falls over. However, with the right set up, this isn't a risk.
Your LFS should carry a supply of ocean rock. This is really porous and so doesn't displace as much water as you'd expect. It's also more natural looking and contains natural caves for your fish. On top of this, it's a damn sight cheaper too!
Unless you're planning a cold water (goldfish) set up, use sand as your substrate. A lot of FW like to dig about in the sand as well as sift it through their gills. Gravel can cause damage to fish scales and eyes and is really a great way to store poo. Don't worry that digging will cause the sand to float around and cause poor visability in your tank. As the sand is wet, it'll settle back down immediatly. The only time that the sand will float around the tank is when you first add your water.
Once you've chosen your rocks and substrate, you MUST wash them. However well you think you've washed them won't be enough!
For rocks, fill a bucket with water and soak the rock. Rinse it off under running water until the water coming off is clean.
For substrate, put it in a bucket and leave it under running water. You won't lose any of your sand this way as long as you don't have the water running too fast. Leave the water running on it for a minimum of 20 minutes. You cannot over wash this stuff. Unlike marine sand, it doesn't contain any benificial bacteria so you aren't losing anything when washing it.
Right, we're FINALLY ready to start filling your tank!
Always add your base rock before your substrate. By this I mean take the largest pieces of rock and put them on the bottom of your tank. A lot of people use egg crate to cusion the bottom and avoid any chance of cracking the glass. Once you have this done, add your substrate. Don't worry about evening it out too much just yet. You're going to have your hands in and out of the tank so there isn't much point! Just make sure there is a relatively even covering on the base.
Next you can add your smaller rocks. A lot of fish and cichlids in particular like to have plenty of caves. Stack your rocks up at the back of your tank and leave some open room at the front. Fish live at different heights in the tank so if you don't leave some open space at the bottom, the chances are you'll get some fish you won't see!
OK, we're ready to add some water (Knew I'd get there eventually)
Before you do this, you're going to need to test the tap water you have. Fish have different water quality needs, however, I'm not going to put in a full list of every thing. Our tank pH is always between 7.5-8.5, the optimal pH for Malawis.
You will need to add decholorinator to your water whenever you do water changes and when you initially fill your tank. Aquasafe is the best one I've found. It pretty much does it all and is very easy to use.
Put a saucer or flat chopping board on top of your substrate and pour the water onto that. This will help stop your substrate flying off all over your tank. When you first fill the tank, expect your water to cloud. This is just because your sand was disturbed and it will settle within an hour or so. Don't worry, this won't happen with later water changes as you'll already have water in there!
Once your water is in, turn on your heater. The optimal temperature for Malawi cichlids is 78F although you have some leeway as long as the temp is between 74 and 82F.
Although it's not too much of an issue before getting fish in, setting the right temperature means one less thing to think about later and obviously, your tank won't cycle if the water is too cold as the bacteria in the filters won't be able to survive.
When you've got all this done (for Gods sake, if you can use a hose, do it! Unless you're into getting fit...in that case carrying loads of buckets around the house is a great workout!) you need to start cycling the tank. There are several ways to do this...I'm going to list three of them.
Cycling with fish
The accepted method for a long time was to use some cheap but hardy fish. Put them in the tank and feed them every day. As any left over food decays and as the fish excretes, ammonia will naturally form and kick start your nitrogen cycle. Within about 4-6 weeks, your filters will be mature enough to add your stock.
The problem with this method is that it's rather cruel. Firstly, there is a risk of ammonia poisoning to the fish that you're using and secondly, there is a chance that once you add your stock, the fish you were using will get bullied and/or killed by the new fish.
To be perfectly honest, with the alternatives that there are now, if you are happy to use this method then empty your tank, put it on ebay and take up knitting or something. Whether you're bothered about the fish you use to cycle or not, they are still living animals and deserve no less care than anything else.
Fishless cycling with ammonia
This is an easier and less cruel way to cycle your tank and is just as, if not more, effective way to do it.
Go to your local chemist or hardware store and get some pure household ammonia. Add enough to your tank to get your ammonia level up to 5. Do this every day until water tests show that Nitrates/Nitrites are forming. Once this starts, check your water everyday until your tests show that ammonia and nitrite levels are down to zero. Once this has happend and the levels have stayed stable for a a few days, you're ready to add your fish.
Fishless cycling with 'bottled bacteria'
This is probably the quickest method of cycling as you can add your fish within 24 hours of adding the bacteria. However, do be careful as this stuff doesn't work for everyone. Safestart is pretty much the only stuff I've found that really does do what it's supposed to. You still need to check your levels before adding fish though!
In all honesty, using the ammonia to cycle your tank and letting time do its work is the best method of cycling.
There is NO substitute for TIME AND PATIENCE!!!!
I am not an expert. This is written from my personal experiance of setting up tanks and peoples experiances do vary. This is the basics as I would do it. You may find different ways to do things and if you do then great but if you want some pointers then here I am