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New Tank Cycling And Stocking Help!


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#1 angelz969

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 09:58 AM

Hi,

I'm setting up a new tank in the next few weeks and need some advice around cycling and stocking.

I've run a fish tank most of my life but the last tank I had been running for 10 years so I've always had seeded media. This will be completely new with no existing media available so I have no clue how to get things going. Can someone please point me in the right direction of the easiest start up method? I have been looking at Seachem Stability and fish food cycling.

I haven't kept cichlids in a few years either but would like to set up a male peacock / hap tank can someone please let me know if my stock list sounds OK or what's wrong or more or less. I'm happy to remove trouble makers until I find the combo and all will be juvenile.

Details are as follows:

Tank
Aquaone Brilliance 120
120W X 45D X 65 H - approx 300L
Aquaone Nautilus 1100 Canister Filter
Pisces Black Diamond Gravel (sand drives me nuts)
Texas Holey Rock & Malaysian Driftwood
May try growing some Java Fern

Stocking
Peacocks will depend on what I can find at the time but I'm not sure how many?
All juvenile.
1 x OB Marble Peacock
1 x Dragonblood Peacock
1 x Sunshine Peacock / Flavescent?
1x Albino Peacock?
1x Rubensen Peacock / Ruby Red
1x Sulfur Crested Peacock
1x Red Shoulder

1x Red Empress (A must)
1x Copadichromis Borleyi Kadango 'Red Fin'
1x Venustus?

2 x Cuckoo Catfish or similar

2 x Bristlenose ( Algae clean up)

Advice appreciated

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Edited by angelz969, 25 November 2017 - 12:07 PM.


#2 Delapool

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Posted 25 November 2017 - 12:43 PM

Someone will have to help me out but I think I’ve seen bottled ammonia at our sponsor shops?

#3 boops

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Posted 26 November 2017 - 10:17 AM

I use goldfish to cycle new tanks .



#4 chrishaigh82

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Posted 26 November 2017 - 03:50 PM

If you have a couple of weeks I'd suggest dumping some new ceramic media and bio balls into an existing tank (bio balls-in a mesh bag) so they can build up bacteria.  

 

What suburb are you in ?? I'm happy to do a water change and give you healthy water thats ready to go, change is half of 1000L so more than your needs.  If you are south of the river i'd be happy to stick ceramic from Aquotix in my tanks for a couple weeks to be ready for the job :) 



#5 humbug

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Posted 26 November 2017 - 03:58 PM

I'm a huge advocate of fish-less cycling.  I believe Aquotix can supply ammonium chloride; I've certainly got it from them in the past.  Alternatively a local chemical supply company will have it, although you may need to sign a form to say you want it for cycling tanks and not bomb-making. :)   Its not expensive. I personally believe you do far better using the ammonium chloride than using fish food or a raw prawn because you have direct control over your ammonia levels. 

Best bet is to locate someone with a running tank and getting hold of the mulm from their filter when they do a filter clean.  Innoculate your media with that mulm and you will achieve a much faster cycle than you will using any of the "bacteria in a bottle" products. 

Remember if you are fishless cycling you can crank your temperature up, which can really speed up the cycling process. 

Re your stock-list:  You have a selection of fish there from potentially quite aggressive through to quite placid.  Yes, there is always a range of temperaments within a single species, or a variety, but I think I could pretty accurately identify which fish in your list are likely to become the trouble makers. 

If I were putting together a stock list for an all-male display tank, I'd choose either a group of "tough cookies" (those that can not only give out a fight, but can also take one) such as the OB, Dragonblood, Albino, Venustus, etc . . . .  OR a group of more placid guys like the red emp, pure species peacocks etc.  I personally think you are on a hiding to nothing trying to mix the gentler guys with some of the thugs.

If red emps are a must, why not look at a collection of Protomelas, Placidiochromis, Otopharynx, Copadichromis and some of the pure strain peacocks?




 


Edited by humbug, 26 November 2017 - 04:04 PM.


#6 chrishaigh82

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Posted 26 November 2017 - 04:27 PM

If red emps are a must, why not look at a collection of Protomelas, Placidiochromis, Otopharynx, Copadichromis and some of the pure strain peacocks?

 

My favorite malawians are  Chilotilapia rhoadesii and they are not only stunning but hardy.  I got from Aquotix a couple of months ago and saw this week they still have in stock is some alternatives to the protomelis red empress, its a blue/green variant, maybe Protomelas spilonotus??  I know its from a different catchment area but the steatocranus casuarius hold up pretty well assuming you have ground cover and are super interesting fish in character.

 

Ditch the hybrids :)


Edited by chrishaigh82, 26 November 2017 - 04:30 PM.


#7 hollis

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Posted 27 November 2017 - 11:51 AM

Stocking list is fine , Generally wont have an issue with peacocks and haps, you will nearly always get a dominate peacock try to assert himself that's just life . tank set out will have as much to do with aggression as species. 300ltr with plenty of rock etc. will help . Wood will lower your ph. a little , no big deal . chrishaigh82 what is heathy water ? are you suggesting taking water from your tank and putting it in anlglz . the only thing this will do is transfer contaminates . there are no Beneficial bacteria in the water column . the only heathy water is fresh . 


Edited by hollis, 27 November 2017 - 11:55 AM.


#8 chrishaigh82

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Posted 27 November 2017 - 01:39 PM

hollis, we've helped a few friends set up in this manner and when we've added tanks.  Take media that has been in use for 6 months or presoak new media in our existing tank, take water from the existing tank and put filthy fine filter media in with it and it greatly speeds up the establishment of a new system/cycle.  The term healthy water I mean we know that fish have been alive in that water, they have produced waste in that water and along with the media it does its thing.



#9 hollis

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Posted 27 November 2017 - 05:18 PM

Seeded media yes , nothing good in used water.

#10 chocky

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Posted 28 November 2017 - 08:03 PM

I’m sure there’s someone who has extra sponge media that they can give you to give your tank a head start :)


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#11 Ageofaquariums

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Posted 29 November 2017 - 06:46 AM

Why bother with ammonia when its more effective to just use fish food?

 

*You dont need exact amounts of ammonia to cycle, just feed the tank the amount of fish food you would like to be able to feed your first batch of fish.

*At the end of cycling you then have a container of fish food to use, rather than a useless bottle of ammonia.

*Ammonia comes from protein, so the higher the protein content of fish food the more ammonia it produces.

*Just as important as the ammonia eaters, are the rotters, that break down protein into ammonia. Adding ammonia skips out the rotters, resulting in a less robust biofiltration colony.

*You will be growing microbes that specialise in handling the exact food you are feeding.

*Theres other stuff in there that feeds other microbes, things we dont test for but are also important that we build up microbes for.



#12 K.M.

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Posted 30 November 2017 - 09:32 AM

Angel, if you're still reading this thread, then please keep us updated on this. I want to see how it turns out.

-Kamran






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