armadillo

Cool, looking forward to seeing these. What method of cycling did you use to be able to add so many fish at once? I know that with one method (can't remember which), it's possible.

Trpimp147

just put two plecos in weds night and then waiting a few days to add more. no major way just putting fish in the tank haha

armadillo

Oh, nevermind. I thought you had the magic formula.

Trpimp147

i just have to add them slow at first due to ammona problems dont want to many fish at once, just start out with a few then at 6 at a time till your tank is full of fish. 75g should be able to hold like 40 + gold fish, like 25 cichlids with a pleco or 2. tetra should be able to hold a good amount of them too. only time tank is to full is when the filter needs changed every 2 week or so hahaha

armadillo

Changed every 2 weeks? Not just rinsed every 3 weeks (my current regime)?

Trpimp147

i do a water change once a week. about 20% and then i filter the tank out with a brine shrimp net. helps clean tank, i like to stir up the tank a little. then try n wipe off the filter media. also clean the filter out some due to stuff building up in there its gross!

armadillo

Ooooo, nice touch, the brine shrimp net to remove floating particles. Very nice idea. Needless to say that my normal fish net technique has not been successful so far.

sick-lid boy

I actually have different method for each tank.

For my 15 gallon, I siphon the water out into 5 gallon buckets (which also makes it easy to determine how much water I'm taking out and how much needs to go back in) with a 1/2 clear hose with a plastic piece from an old filter fitted on the end of the hose to make sure I don't suck up any small fish or gravel. I kind of swish it around in the gravel at the same time to clean up debris from the gravel at the same time. To get the fresh water back in the tank, I fill up a 5 gallon bucket with tap water, dechlorinre it, then use a pitcher to fill the tank so as not to disturb the decorations too badly... I have alot of plants in that tank that could get uprooted if I just dump the water in straight from the bucket.

For my 55 and 80 gallon tanks, I use the gravel vac that came with my Magnum filter to siphon the water out into 5 gallon buckets (it's kinda big to use on my 15 gallon), vacuuming the gravel at the same time. For both of those tanks, I just dump the dechlorinated tap water back into the tanks straight from the bucket. The 55 gallon just has rocks for decorations, and the 80 gallon is tall enough so the waterfall from the bucket barely reaches the bottom of the tank. Neither tank is disrupted by pouring water in from buckets.


On a related topic: I was thinking about buying a Discus fish from a fish store that had some really nice looking Discus. I was telling the owner about my Discus tank and how I changed the water. He told me I was nuts for filling the tank back up with buckets. He said I should just use straight hose water to re-fill my tank and THEN add the dechorinator. I decided NOT to buy any Discus from him right then and there. Was his advice as bad I as I thought it was or was he right? I always thought chlorine would instantly remove the beneficial bacteria.

armadillo

Thanks for that, Sick Lid Boy (oooo, only just got that Sick Lid = Cyclid). Yeah, that's kind of why I don't use buckets to pour it back in, because my depth is not big enough and it would disturb the gravel. If your tanks are big enough, I guess there's no reason.

About the putting unconditionned water in first, then condition it, I heard a lot of people on Fishlore do that. The ones that use a Python. So the guy might have been right. I don't do it out of, I don't know, superstition I guess. It just doesn't feel like the conditionner will be mixed properly with the new water if you condition after putting the water back in, but there are several accounts by experienced aquarists that say it works.

tan.b

eeewwwwwwwwwww!!!
so you wont be trying that extra "spice" next time then?!

tan.b

i may try it. i'd have to stand on a big chair or something as the top of the tank is at my chect height and i'd struggle to tip the watering can for that length of time. sounds perfect for the fish though! and less messy! i slopped water everywhere again this morn :

tan.b

some gets syphoned up for me, but some doesnt, and the remainder the fish love to eat as some of it must be algae wafer particles that sink through the gravel and prob some scraps of bbs too. the filter and fish feast clear it up in under an hour. having the water cloudy that long is prob not good as some of that debris is poo! especially if you have plecos!

tan.b

mmmm, i personally dont and wouldnt do that. why? because you add the chlorine to your tank, the chlorine kills the good bugs and lowers your fishes slime coat makes it prone to disease, then you add the dechlor...by then the chlorine/chloramine has touched and affected everything. to fish and bugs chlorine is like bleach. you wouldnt pour the bleach in you tank then add the dechlor would you? i am scientific by nature though so tend to over analyse, but i can see reasoning to declor the water before adding to tank. bit late dechloring it after its touhed the fish etc!!

Trpimp147

i agree i delcor before adding water. due to high amount of clorine in my water in the area and dis trust of water cleaning from my local plant... ya kno its to be the best in the area but i still dont do it the fish are already prone to any thing even if all water levels are set right. just a sudden change can kill just about any fish right? i just use a bucket and fill it declor it then let it sit till i need it.

tan.b

sounds like a good plan to me!!!

sick-lid boy

Hmmm.. interesting. I was sure I read somewhere that chlorine will almost instantly destroy any bacteria- including the beneficial bacteria. The top of my 80 gallon Discus tank is over 5 feet from the floor and I am only 5'5". Lifting 5 gallon buckets all the way up there to refill it is a chore to say the least. When I do my weekly water change, I change out six 5 gallon buckets worth of water. Using a hose to refill it would definitely be a LOT easier.

Any other thoughts on this?

For now, I think I'll just play it safe and do it the way I always have done it in the past. No need to go to gym using the bucket method...

armadillo

Wow, that's worrying. So there would be no directly ill-effects on the fish, but those members would get mini-cycles which they wouldn't immediately associate with the untreated water. Interesting indeed. And very possible. Thankfully I added gravel/filter pad from my cycled tank AFTER I'd put conditionner in. Pfeeew.

griffin

you can add a full load if you did fishless ammonia cycling