Ok, I just set up a new 60 gallon tank a little over 3 weeks ago. I put in water conditioner, and bacteria supplement. One week later, I added 6 Africa cichlids. Small ones. Now its two weeks later, and everything seems to be going well. I spoke to the guys at the Pet Boutique store on Garland Rd, and they tested my water chem and said that things looked well. Still in the cycling stage. They said that in maybe a couple of weeks we could add some fish.
I bought a test kit and retested the water to record the numbers. The readings were Ammonia 2.0 ppm Nitrites 0 Nitrates 0 Ph 8.3
So, I just wanted to get advice, or suggestions.
1) The guys at the store said that most likely the ammonia was on its way down, and that the nitrites will then come up. Then, they would quickly come back down and the nitrates would then go up. Is this correct?? When the nitrates go up, is this the end of the cycling?
2) Do we need to finish the cycling BEFORE adding anymore fish??
3) As I said, we have 6 small african cichlids now. We are interested in adding a red tail black shark, and some kind of cat fish that will go well with the cichlids. How does this sound?? Any suggestions??
4) Besides water cond, and bacteria supplement, what other chems do I need to use with the type of fish I have, and want?
5) i have two filters on my tank. One is a regular cartridge type filter. Another is a bio-wheel filter. I was told when we bought the bio-wheel filter, that it needed to rotate slow to have equal good exposure to both water and air. But when we plugged it in, it runs a little fast. There is no way to turn it down. I was told by the guys at the store that it would start to slow down when the algae and bacteria build up. Is this true??
6) Do any of you have your fish fast for 24 hours a week? I read in a book it was good to do that so that the fish get their systems cleaned out. Also it was to help against constipation.
Well, I will stop with the questions for now. It just gets so confusing with all the differant opinions out there. I never know what to think.
Any and ALL advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time.
Christi
I bought a test kit and retested the water to record the numbers. The readings were Ammonia 2.0 ppm Nitrites 0 Nitrates 0 Ph 8.3
So, I just wanted to get advice, or suggestions.
1) The guys at the store said that most likely the ammonia was on its way down, and that the nitrites will then come up. Then, they would quickly come back down and the nitrates would then go up. Is this correct?? When the nitrates go up, is this the end of the cycling?
2) Do we need to finish the cycling BEFORE adding anymore fish??
3) As I said, we have 6 small african cichlids now. We are interested in adding a red tail black shark, and some kind of cat fish that will go well with the cichlids. How does this sound?? Any suggestions??
4) Besides water cond, and bacteria supplement, what other chems do I need to use with the type of fish I have, and want?
5) i have two filters on my tank. One is a regular cartridge type filter. Another is a bio-wheel filter. I was told when we bought the bio-wheel filter, that it needed to rotate slow to have equal good exposure to both water and air. But when we plugged it in, it runs a little fast. There is no way to turn it down. I was told by the guys at the store that it would start to slow down when the algae and bacteria build up. Is this true??
6) Do any of you have your fish fast for 24 hours a week? I read in a book it was good to do that so that the fish get their systems cleaned out. Also it was to help against constipation.
Well, I will stop with the questions for now. It just gets so confusing with all the differant opinions out there. I never know what to think.
Any and ALL advice, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time.
Christi