How can I quickly cycle my tank and or get enough bb to introduce lots of fish at once

! I agree with the post above yours. Being patient will reward much better than trying to cycle all within one week. Good luck!

Thanks not trying to do it in a week. Just not wanting to wait months b4 adding fish . Also want to have strong bb. Will my bb still be strong if I’m cycling with 5ppm ammonia instead of 10?

 

I’m hoping for about 3 week cycle.

 

Thanks not trying to do it in a week. Just not wanting to wait months b4 adding fish . Also want to have strong bb. Will my bb still be strong if I’m cycling with 5ppm ammonia instead of 10?

You won’t have to wait a month. I’m sure you could get it cycled in as little as two-three weeks, adding all the fish at once in a brand new tank might be a problem. You might suddenly increase the bioload too much even after cycling. You could also buy a product like tetra safe start, apI quick start, etc etc.

 

Ideally, you want to add ammonia and testing every day (maybe even twice a day) until you see a nitrite spike. Then you keep adding ammonia until you see a nitrate spike. This means that your tank can finally convert ammonia to nitrites then nitrates. Once you see this nitrate spike your tank should be cycled and ready for fish. While your fish are in there the first month I’d do water changes either once or twice a week and test the parameters daily. If after adding your fish, you see ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate spikes. This means your tank couldn’t handle the bio load and you should change 50%+ of the water immediately

awesome thanks for some reason I didn’t see this comment really helpful

 

You won’t have to wait a month. I’m sure you could get it cycled in as little as two-three weeks, adding all the fish at once in a brand new tank might be a problem. You might suddenly increase the bioload too much even after cycling. You could also buy a product like tetra safe start, apI quick start, etc etc.

cool thanks any you recommend?

 

If you don't want to wait months to add fish you will need to find a completely cycled filter from someone you trust OR cut your stock WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back. You're looking for the "Holy grail" of cycling. There isn't one. Its been done a certain way for a loooooooooooong time....., because it works. Adding 10ppm isn't going to cycle the tank in a week. That's not how it works.

 

Also how many fish would you guys add to a new tank in one go?

 

If you don't want to wait months to add fish you will need to find a completely cycled filter from someone you trust OR cut your stock WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY back. You're looking for the "Holy grail" of cycling. There isn't one. Its been done a certain way for a loooooooooooong time....., because it works. Adding 10ppm isn't going to cycle the tank in a week. That's not how it works.

how would you guys do it?

 

perzonally I just don’t want to add 1-2 fish every 2 weeks. I feel like that will take so long to get through all my fish

 

Youve gotten a ton of good, solid, advice in this thread. You're going to do whatever you want in the end. There is no way to safely add all the fish you want to add at once, or even within a couple months, in my opinion.

 

Youve gotten a ton of good, solid, advice in this thread. You're going to do whatever you want in the end. There is no way to safely add all the fish you want to add at once, or even within a couple months, in my opinion.

Ok . What’s a safe amount iyo?

 

I think you're jumping in WAY over your head. Start small, work towards what you want.

Youll DEFINITELY want to quarantine ALL your fish after the initial batch are put in (you might want to quarantine them too so you don't introduce something into the main tank that stops you from stocking it). Id start by adding one batch of Tetras (doesn't matter which). Id ALSO get a second batch ready in a quarantine tank. After 3 weeks if they look good, Id get ANOTHER batch of fish in quarantine. A week later if the first batch are fine, add them (its now been a month since the initial stocking and you're adding your second batch of fish). Now in a week or two get ANOTHER batch in quarantine and continue adding your stock this way until its complete. Its going to take about a year or so to get them all in there.

Also, skip the GBR's, they want much warmer water than your other fish.

Id start with the Tetras, then either continue adding the other Tetras or rotate some of your bottom dwellers. All the fish listed should get along for the most part, so no worries there. Id add the Gouramis last, with the Pearls being the last thing in since they get quite large. You don't want adult sized Pearls with baby Tetras (although Pearls are peaceful the size difference would be too risky).

As for BB, cycling, ammonia spikes, etc., if you set the tank up and add 10 baby Tetras, you shouldnt have to worry about this. Theyll start the cycle and any small spikes that might happen can be easily dealt with through a water change. Having Prime on hand will help too, but water changes are the best solution. You go this route and add the stock over time and you'll be okay. You try to set up a tank with half of what you have listed all at once and you'll have some serious problems.

This is my post on page 2. This is what Id personally do. Start with a school of Tetras and go from there. But that's just me and what I think would be safe.

 

This is my post on page 2. This is what Id personally do. Start with a school of Tetras and go from there. But that's just me and what I think would be safe.

Thanks

 

Ok . What’s a safe amount iyo?

You need to slowly add fish as the tank matures. And not more than one school of tiny fish or a couple of medium sized fish at once. You’ll want to reorganize your tank after new fish if any of your old or new fish are or will be aggressive.
I think adding too many new fish at once or even within a few months could be asking for trouble. Not to mention fish diseases that could come into play with adding new fish (especially at once) that could damage your whole stock. You have to take it slow as a beginner and learn about fish diseases and the potential risks when adding new fish. There’s a dude on YouTube you can find his “trio” medicating video. I also recommend watching a few of KGtropicals videos on fish diseases as well as from other sources. Finally I’d watch about how to treat disease effectively. I know petsmart sells a 5 gallon kit for $19.99 ISD no heater and any QT tank is better than no quarantine tank. Good luck fish keeping!

 

You need to slowly add fish as the tank matures. And not more than one school of tiny fish or a couple of medium sized fish at once. You’ll want to reorganize your tank after new fish if any of your old or new fish are or will be aggressive.
I think adding too many new fish at once or even within a few months could be asking for trouble. Not to mention fish diseases that could come into play with adding new fish (especially at once) that could damage your whole stock. You have to take it slow as a beginner and learn about fish diseases and the potential risks when adding new fish. There’s an awesome dude on YouTube you can find his “trio” medicating video I also recommend watching a few of KGtropicals videos on fish diseases as well as from other sources. Finally I’d watch about how to treat disease effectively. I know petsmart sells a 5 gallon kit for $19.99 ISD no heater and any QT tank is better than no quarantine tank. Good luck fish keeping!

thanks I’ll do that now

 

Hey guys, locking up this thread as we seem to be going in circles now; Fergus has gotten lots of great advice and now how to move forward is up to him.