40 Gallon Tank How Long to Cycle For?

Hi, all! I just recently got a 40-gallon breeder, which is where I'll be moving all the fish in my 10 gallon into. My question is, how long should I cycle it for? My dad (he kept Oscars about 30 years ago) suggests a week without fish, would that be enough? Should I do it with the fish in or out? Put in safe start or no? This is my first time having a tank larger than a 10 gallon, so I really don't wanna mess this up.

 

Hello sev...

Before you move the fish, set up the 40 and add some floating plants like Hornwort or Water sprite. Your Dad's right. It won't hurt to let the new tank run for a few days. This will allow the plants to help steady the water and to make sure the heater and filter are running right. When you're ready, move all the filter media from the old tank to the new filter. Add as much from the old tank to the new one as possilbe. The old stuff has a lot of good bacteria on it. Then, add the fish. Test the water every day or two for traces of ammonia or nitrite. If a test shows a trace of either change out 10 gallons of water and replace it with treated tap water. Just keep testing until several tests show no traces of ammonia or nitrite. At this point, the tank is properly cycled.

Once everything is up and running, change half the tank water weekly to maintain a healthy environment for the fish and plants.

Have fun!

Old

 

Is your profile accurate? Do you still have the common pleco in there? If so, the 40 gallon would still be too small to house it. What are your parameters on the 10g? If it's cycled, you can just move the filter media over to the new tank's filter for an instant cycle provided you don't add any new fish.

 

Is your profile accurate? Do you still have the common pleco in there? If so, the 40 gallon would still be too small to house it. What are your parameters on the 10g? If it's cycled, you can just move the filter media over to the new tank's filter for an instant cycle provided you don't add any new fish.

Yeah, the profile is accurate. I know the pleco is too big, I'm looking into rehoming him. Dad and I just talked and we agreed that 6 guppies, 6 neon tetras, 6 cory cats, and 4 nerite snails would be good.

I'm also looking into maybe getting a BN pleco since they're smaller (I just need to find somewhere they sell them!).says it would be 63% stocked with a BN pleco, and 55% without.

The 10 gallon is cycled, and the filter media would fit in the filter I have for the 40g. You mentioned not adding any new fish. How long would I need to wait before adding new stock?

 

So besides the common pleco, you have the 6 guppies and 4 nerites in the 10g? What are the water parameters - pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?

I would move all the inhabitants over including the filter and then monitor the parameters for 2-3 days. If the tank doesn't have any ammonia/nitrite spikes, I'd slowly add in a few fish, waiting a week in between new additions but only after rehoming your common pleco.

 

So besides the common pleco, you have the 6 guppies and 4 nerites in the 10g? What are the water parameters - pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?

I would move all the inhabitants over including the filter and then monitor the parameters for 2-3 days. If the tank doesn't have any ammonia/nitrite spikes, I'd slowly add in a few fish, waiting a week in between new additions but only after rehoming your common pleco.

The parameters are 7.2 pH and 0.5 ammonia (I just put some API ammo lock in there, right after I did the test) I don't have test kits for nitrate and nitrite.

Right now I have about 20 guppies, but I'm gonna take a bunch to the LFS (probably along with the pleco) when I switch from the 10 to the 40.

At this point, I should probably mention (if I haven't already, my memory isn't very good) than my 40 gallon isn't set up yet. I don't have a stand for it yet either, so my tank's parameters aren't really very relevant at the moment.

 

Your tank's parameters are absolutely relevant because it indicates you are not cycled based on your ammonia reading. And if you don't have test kits for nitrate and nitrite, you won't be able to determine if you're truly cycled even if your ammonia goes down to 0. I would invest in the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

After you rehome the guppies and pleco, you could cycle with the 6 guppies you had planned on with Seachem Stability which will allow you to do water changes while cycling. You could even add another school and up the numbers a bit for your neons and corys.

 

Alright folks, I have an update!
I got that 40 g breeder up and running tonight! I've got the heater, filter, and air stones going, and I put in some Stress Coat to dechlorinate the water. I think the method I'm gonna try is the one described in post six on . I'll sum it up here:
1. Fill your tank, and put your dechlorinator in.
2. Wait at least 24 hours
3. Acclimate fish and add them in
4. Add TSS to tank
5. Do nothing (no water changes, filter media changes, etc) except feed sparingly for 2 weeks

At the end of the 2 weeks, test the tank (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) and it should be cycled!

I plan on starting with the guppies, and once the tank has been cycled for a week or so I'll add the cories, and then I'll add a group of middle-dwellers a couple weeks after that. Have any of you guys tried this method? What were your results? Please let me know!

 

You were able to take all but 6 of the guppies to the LFS along with the pleco?

 

You were able to take all but 6 of the guppies to the LFS along with the pleco?

Right now all the fish are still in the 10. My dad and I are gonna call the LFS tomorrow and see if they'll take the pleco (last time I was there they said they'd take the guppies). If they won't take the pleco, I'll have to figure out someone/somewhere that will take him, since there's no way I'll be upgrading to 55 (or even more!) anytime soon.

 

How many guppies are you putting in the 40 gallon to cycle with? Tetra recommends only 1-2 small fish per 10g. So at most I would only have 5-6 male guppies in there.

 

Hm, really? I didn't see that. I guess I'll just do that then. Once it's cycled, can you slowly start adding more? I have an abundance of male guppies and I want to cut it down to 2 or 3 eventually, so could I slowly do that (adding in the females, and bringing down the number of males to two or three) after it's cycled?

 

Do you have a plan for all the fry you'd have?

 

Yeah, what I've been doing for a while (with the guppy fry) is just sort of letting them do their thing, and when their numbers start to get a little bit higher than I'd like, I take them to an LFS. I haven't had to do it in a while, though, which is nice.

I haven't ever separated the fry from the adults, is that something I should be doing?

 

Depends on your plans for them but be careful not to allow the remaining guppies to overstock your tank like it did on the other tank. It already seems like you have more than enough guppies, so I'd just rehome all the females and keep the 5-6 males.

 

I took the pleco to the LFS today. I'm sad to see the guy go, but it's for the best. Hopefully, his size and the price (34.99!) will dissuade anyone from buying him for anything smaller than a 55 (I doubt many beginners are willing to spend almost 40$ on a fish!).

On to less sad news, I've started cycling the tank! I haven't put in the TSS yet (waiting for the temp to come down a couple degrees) but right now I have 7 male guppies and 3 nerite snails in there. I tested the water (I finally got a master test kit!) before I put in the fish, here's the parameters:

pH: 8.0 (I added API Perfect pH 7.0 after)
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm

My guppies seem to be almost invincible, so I think they'll do ok.

I have one more question though. When I hit 0ppm ammonia/0ppm nitrite/10-20ppm nitrate and it stays there for a few days, does that mean I'm cycled?

 

I wouldn't mess with the pH. You really want it to remain consistent. Also, I'd take the snails out since they are really sensitive to ammonia and may not make it through cycling. I lost a mystery myself when I put some into a not completely cycled tank.

 

I took the pleco to the LFS today. I'm sad to see the guy go, but it's for the best. Hopefully, his size and the price (34.99!) will dissuade anyone from buying him for anything smaller than a 55 (I doubt many beginners are willing to spend almost 40$ on a fish!).

On to less sad news, I've started cycling the tank! I haven't put in the TSS yet (waiting for the temp to come down a couple degrees) but right now I have 7 male guppies and 3 nerite snails in there. I tested the water (I finally got a master test kit!) before I put in the fish, here's the parameters:

pH: 8.0 (I added API Perfect pH 7.0 after)
Ammonia: 0.5 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm

My guppies seem to be almost invincible, so I think they'll do ok.

I have one more question though. When I hit 0ppm ammonia/0ppm nitrite/10-20ppm nitrate and it stays there for a few days, does that mean I'm cycled?

What's in the 10 gallon now? If empty and if you haven't already done so, I'd move over the filter and media over to the 40 gallon to jump start the cycle.

Can you also test your tap water for ammonia?

I agree not to mess with your pH. It's just fine and the fish you have don't need a specific pH. I'd stop using that product.

There's no set number for nitrates to watch for to determine if you're cycled. Ammonia and nitrite should be zero but as long as you see SOME nitrates for a couple of days straight, I will say you're cycled.

And what's the temp of the tank?

 

What's in the 10 gallon now? If empty and if you haven't already done so, I'd move over the filter and media over to the 40 gallon to jump start the cycle.

Can you also test your tap water for ammonia?

I agree not to mess with your pH. It's just fine and the fish you have don't need a specific pH. I'd stop using that product.

There's no set number for nitrates to watch for to determine if you're cycled. Ammonia and nitrite should be zero but as long as you see SOME nitrates for a couple of days straight, I will say you're cycled.

And what's the temp of the tank?

Right now, there's about 10 guppies in there, and that's it. Once the tank is cycled I'll be slowly moving the guppies around until I have the stock I want in the 40.

The ammonia level out of the tap is 0.5ppm. I just tested the tank water as well, here's the levels:

pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.5ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: Between 0ppm and 5ppm (medium yellow)

I'll make sure not to mess with the pH again.

The temp is currently 82. It dropped to 79 a few hours ago, but then I closed the (glass) lid and the temp started to rise.

 

So there are 7 male guppies in the 20 gallon and 10 guppies in the 10g? What are the final stocking plans for the 20 gallon and 10g?

7 guppies is too much to cycle with TSS+ in the 20g. The most I would use is 3-4 guppies or I would switch bacteria supplements and use Seachem Stability instead which would allow water changes during dosing. TSS+ doesn't. And with 0.5 ammonia already in your tap, you risk ammonia escalating even higher with 7 guppies.

You could use a fan next to the tank to help the tank cool off though 82 is not too horrible a temp for guppies.

 

So there are 7 male guppies in the 20 gallon and 10 guppies in the 10g? What are the final stocking plans for the 20 gallon and 10g?

7 guppies is too much to cycle with TSS+ in the 20g. The most I would use is 3-4 guppies or I would switch bacteria supplements and use Seachem Stability instead which would allow water changes during dosing. TSS+ doesn't. And with 0.5 ammonia already in your tap, you risk ammonia escalating even higher with 7 guppies.

You could use a fan next to the tank to help the tank cool off though 82 is not too horrible a temp for guppies.

It's not a 20g, it's a 40g.

My final plans for the 40 look something like this:
4 female guppies
2 male guppies
6 cory cats
3 (maybe more?) snails
6 other schooling fish (maybe danios?)
Maybe a honey gourami, if I can find one.

And In the 10, once that's empty (and I do a fishless cycle) , my betta will be living in it.

AqAdvisor says the 40 gallon would be 62% stocked (room for fry!) and the 10 gallon would be 41% stocked.

EDIT: I should add that the 5 gallon the betta is in now will be turned into a quarantine tank (or maybe a new home for a betta )

 

Oh ok, was probably confused with another thread. Sorry.

What are your plans for all the fry in the 40 gallon though?

 

Oh ok, was probably confused with another thread. Sorry.

What are your plans for all the fry in the 40 gallon though?

No worries, it's easy to get mixed up on here, there're so many threads!

I'm probably gonna let the populations fill out a little bit, at least for the guppies and whatever other kind of fish I get. I'm gonna keep up on the populations of the cory cats for sure (I don't wanna have any more than 8) and the honey gourami will be the only one of it's kind in there (so no fry there). When things start to get kind of tight (say 85-90% stocking), I'll take some to the LFS.

Speaking of gouramis, what other kinds of peaceful gourami are there? I really like the way they look, and I want to have several backup options if I can't find a honey gourami.

 

Banded, sunset thick lipped, moonlight and pearls are other peaceful gouramis.

 

Okay, cool. Thanks!