My 55 Gallon Journey

I have both Finnex and Beamswork. As mentioned really like the Finnex 24/7 SE with all the programming available. I do have a Finnex Stingray (no bells and whistles) on my 55, it grows low light plants (Wisteria, Swords, Java Moss and Hornwort) it might be an option since it is an economy light. The Beamswork is on my 20 it grows plants as well but not sure for a 55 with the depth. Just thought I add my .02. One of our Lighting pros Jocelyn Adelman might have some suggestions. Good Luck

 

Hydrocotyle triparta 'Japan' most likely

Also agree add angels last

Lighting... personally not a fan of the beamswork, esp on a 55. Some here have used it with success though (I had one and now use it as a secondary light on a 20long).
Prefer the finnex 24/7 SE or fluval fresh and plant 2.0. Lighting is what will drive your plants... you can always try the beamswork and if it doesn't work we'll upgrade to another light (of course then you will be out the $$ for the beamswork).
You can also try 6500k cfls in a shop fixture, might be a good low budget alternative... I believe TexasDomer has a tank with these on it and can chime in.

 

I have both Finnex and Beamswork. As mentioned really like the Finnex 24/7 SE with all the programming available. I do have a Finnex Stingray (no bells and whistles) on my 55, it grows low light plants (Wisteria, Swords, Java Moss and Hornwort) it might be an option since it is an economy light. The Beamswork is on my 20 it grows plants as well but not sure for a 55 with the depth. Just thought I add my .02. One of our Lighting pros Jocelyn Adelman might have some suggestions. Good Luck

Hydrocotyle triparta 'Japan' most likely

Also agree add angels last

Lighting... personally not a fan of the beamswork, esp on a 55. Some here have used it with success though (I had one and now use it as a secondary light on a 20long).
Prefer the finnex 24/7 SE or fluval fresh and plant 2.0. Lighting is what will drive your plants... you can always try the beamswork and if it doesn't work we'll upgrade to another light (of course then you will be out the $$ for the beamswork).
You can also try 6500k cfls in a shop fixture, might be a good low budget alternative... I believe TexasDomer has a tank with these on it and can chime in.

Thank y'all for the input! In terms of a light I went with a Vivagrow 24/7. It is a knock off of the Finnex. It's not as bright but my plant list will be very low tech and low light dependence (anubias, hydrocotyle, java fern, and maybe some others). If that doesn't work I'll admit defeat and find a way to get a better one or add another.

Angels last it is! I'll probably do rummies, then corys, then pearls, then angels.

Next step is to get the scape done. Does anyone have suggestions in terms of how to make a cool rock pile? I have some slate and don't know what to do with it.

 

Good Luck, never heard of the light. Will be interested in your results. Let us know.

 

Good Luck, never heard of the light. Will be interested in your results. Let us know.

Will do. I’m no plant expert, but I can tell if stuff grows or not!

The light has a lot of the features the Finnex, so I’m hoping it’s fairly comparable.

 

Just a word of caution, if you are adding multiple different groups of fish at different times, just be sure you have a qt set up....
It is also possibly to cycle to a higher ammonia ppm (still cycle with 2ppm ammonia, after cycle is finished begin increasing to 3ppm, onece processed in 24hrs, 4ppm, etc... you can add more groups at once safely that way and not continually have cycle bumps as you add each group....

Pearls as in CPD? Just be careful with their small size they don't become angel snacks

 

CPDs will become angel snacks! And they need cooler water.

 

Just a word of caution, if you are adding multiple different groups of fish at different times, just be sure you have a qt set up....
It is also possibly to cycle to a higher ammonia ppm (still cycle with 2ppm ammonia, after cycle is finished begin increasing to 3ppm, onece processed in 24hrs, 4ppm, etc... you can add more groups at once safely that way and not continually have cycle bumps as you add each group....

Pearls as in CPD? Just be careful with their small size they don't become angel snacks

In terms of cycling I have a 20 gallon that is fully cycled. I plan on taking some media from there and using it to seed the filter. How would this process work?

CPDs will become angel snacks! And they need cooler water.

By pearls I mean Pearl Gourami. As much as I love CPD I don't think they would work in the size tank unless they were the only ones in it haha.

 

Seeding a filter is a great way to get the cycle going, it adds the bacteria in a small amount to the new filter, the colony would still need to grow.

You can do this one of two ways

You can add the media from the other filter when you add fish. (Without fish or an alternate source of ammonia the bacteria will die off.) Keep an eye on parameters, dose prime for tank volume if ammonia/nitrites are present under 1ppm, if they climb to 1ppm or over do a large water change (50-75%) . A 50% change reduces your value by 50%. You want to try to keep those levels low enough to be safe for the fish and have your cycle complete at the same time... this "monitoring" would need to be done each time you add one of the groups of fish....

Or
You can add the media now and begin dosing ammonia. Cycling usually takes 4-6 weeks (some more some less). Adding the seeded media your cycle should have a good jump start, shortening your cycling period to 2-3 weeks. Dose ammonia to 2ppm daily, watch the spikes (fishless you want to try to stay under 4ppm for ammonia and nitrites or your cycle will stall). When the ammonia you are dosing is processed fully in 24 hrs (ammonia and nitrites 0) begin upping the ammonia dose to 2ppm, then 3, then 4, etc.

The amount you cycle to should be loosely correlated to the amount of fish you are planning to add at one time, the more fish the higher the ppms....

Happy to hear the pearls are gouramis and not danios

 

Seeding a filter is a great way to get the cycle going, it adds the bacteria in a small amount to the new filter, the colony would still need to grow.

You can do this one of two ways

You can add the media from the other filter when you add fish. (Without fish or an alternate source of ammonia the bacteria will die off.) Keep an eye on parameters, dose prime for tank volume if ammonia/nitrites are present under 1ppm, if they climb to 1ppm or over do a large water change (50-75%) . A 50% change reduces your value by 50%. You want to try to keep those levels low enough to be safe for the fish and have your cycle complete at the same time... this "monitoring" would need to be done each time you add one of the groups of fish....

Or
You can add the media now and begin dosing ammonia. Cycling usually takes 4-6 weeks (some more some less). Adding the seeded media your cycle should have a good jump start, shortening your cycling period to 2-3 weeks. Dose ammonia to 2ppm daily, watch the spikes (fishless you want to try to stay under 4ppm for ammonia and nitrites or your cycle will stall). When the ammonia you are dosing is processed fully in 24 hrs (ammonia and nitrites 0) begin upping the ammonia dose to 2ppm, then 3, then 4, etc.

The amount you cycle to should be loosely correlated to the amount of fish you are planning to add at one time, the more fish the higher the ppms....

Happy to hear the pearls are gouramis and not danios

Knowing I’m dealing with an impatient wife, I’ll probably do the first so that I can get fish in ASAP. Fish in is how I typically prefer to cycle, so I’ll start with the rummy nose and check parameters daily.

 

Rummynose are very sensitive to water quality, and are not usually a good fish to cycle with.

 

Rummynose are very sensitive to water quality, and are not usually a good fish to cycle with.

Even with precycled media?

 

Well if you have enough seeded media to get an instant cycle, then you're not really doing a fish-in cycle. If you don't, then you are, and rummynose are not the best choice.

 

Well if you have enough seeded media to get an instant cycle, then you're not really doing a fish-in cycle. If you don't, then you are, and rummynose are not the best choice.

Alright. Would it be better to start with the gourmi?

 

Not really. Can you remind me of your entire stock?

 

Not really. Can you remind me of your entire stock?

Rummys
Pearl gourami
SterbaI or panda corys
Anano shrimp
Snails

I think Ive decided I’m going to transfer to iump start and then do typical fishless.

 

I think fishless is a great idea!

I would go with sterbaI cories over pandas. They're more temp compatible with your other fish.

 

I think fishless is a great idea!

I would go with sterbaI cories over pandas. They're more temp compatible with your other fish.

Sounds good. When doing fishless is it ok to have a little too much ammonia. I was aiming for four and ended up around 6-8

 

I would do a water change to bring it down to 4 ppm. 6-8 ppm can stall your cycle, and you don't want to wait longer than you have to!

 

I would do a water change to bring it down to 4 ppm. 6-8 ppm can stall your cycle, and you don't want to wait longer than you have to!

Alright. I did about 25% and that brought it down to around 4 (checked by me self and the wife).

 

I would do a water change to bring it down to 4 ppm. 6-8 ppm can stall your cycle, and you don't want to wait longer than you have to!

How does having to much ammonia lead to a slow cycle?

 

I'm actually not exactly sure. I'm sure there are other members here who are better informed and can explain it. I do know that people who have high ammonia or nitrites (above 4 ppm for either one, it seems) have trouble cycling. A water change to bring it down seems to solve the problem.

 

Time for some driftwood. I got an awesome piece from a guy who collected it from the Sierra mountains. Super cool find. It came with bark though, so I had to strip it.

Step one - soak for two days



Step two - strip bark









And done! Took about an hour and a half to strip it all. Mostly done by hand

And of course for the finale, to see it in the tank

You can also see the light that came in! I ended up going with a vivagrow 24/7. So far I'm liking it. The remote is nice and it lights the tank well. It's also really customizable.



Now the process of cycling begins...yay.

 

I'm starting to also think preemptively about how to keep circulation up to snuff. My filter is a Sunsun 304B which is rated around 530GPH (assuming not with media). This exits via spray bar at the top that faces the surface. To help keep water moving, I'm looking into getting a . This is rated at 528gph. I would most likely put this on the opposite side of the output and have it angled at the substrate. What do you think about that layout? Would it be better to have it on the same said as the output and have it pointed at the intake?

Also (this is more for my wife) but what do y'all do to keep the cord mess low? It seems like I have more cords than normal even though less stuff is plugged in haha.

 

Are you sure you need a wavemaker?

I hang a powerstrip inside my stand, that way all the plugs and most of the cords are in one place. You can also put labels on them to make it easier for you, and ziptie extra cords together to make it more tidy.

 

Once your ammonia reaches a certain point its about 5 ppm it can become toxic to the bacteria and they start to go dormant. They don't outright die but quit reproducing.

 

Are you sure you need a wavemaker?

I hang a powerstrip inside my stand, that way all the plugs and most of the cords are in one place. You can also put labels on them to make it easier for you, and ziptie extra cords together to make it more tidy.

I'm thinking a wavemaker would increase waterflow and improve circulation. Right now, I have this setup:


This has a what I feel would be a dead spot below the intake.

I made a couple mark ups for what a wavemaker could do:


In this setup, I angle the input down and use the powerhead at the surface. Or:


This is keeping the output pointing up at the surface and have the wavemaker blow across the whole tank.

I'm probably way overthinking this.

 

Once your ammonia reaches a certain point its about 5 ppm it can become toxic to the bacteria and they start to go dormant. They don't outright die but quit reproducing.

Gotcha! Makse sense.

 

Are you sure you need a wavemaker?

I hang a powerstrip inside my stand, that way all the plugs and most of the cords are in one place. You can also put labels on them to make it easier for you, and ziptie extra cords together to make it more tidy.

I was more looking for ways to get things that don't need to be out of the tank. Like is there a way to make the heater inline with the filter or something so that it isn't in there?

 

Oh, sorry! And yes, you can get an inline heater, but I would get one made specifically for that, and not put the heater you have now in the tubes. You can hide a lot of the tubing behind tall plants.

I think either way would work, with the wavemaker and the spray bar.

 

I was more looking for ways to get things that don't need to be out of the tank. Like is there a way to make the heater inline with the filter or something so that it isn't in there?

You need to be careful with online heaters as if you connect it to the output from the filter, in introduces resistance which reduces the water flow. Just to put you through the math,
Your filter without media gives you a flowrate of 525g/h
With media, you will get on average around 30% less = 365g/h
If you add a heater you will loose around 10% = 330g/h

Which is still ok for your 55 gallon tank, which requires around 6 x 55 = 330h/h.

I have an inline heater, and I regret it because of the drop in water flow through the filter.

 

Gotcha! Makse sense.

I do not know if high levels of ammonia stall your cycle. However with no fish in the tank, I would not worry about anything up to 10ppm as this will help the AOB bacteria grow and produce nitrites which will then require NOB bacteria to oxidise them and form nitrates.

That is why you need to monitor (in a table) the water parameters as the first the ammonia will start dropping and then the nitrites go up. After a while the nitrite level will fall and you will have nitrates.
After that, just add some ammonia to the tank and watch it change into nitrates within 24 hours.

pH and temperature are important in developing the bacteria as it affects the amount of ammonia vs ammonium in the water. Keep you pH above 8 and you will be fine during the cycle. Once you get fish in the tank, the pH should be monitored and set according to fish type. A pH value below 7 will change your ammonia into ammonium,

Temperature of 82F - 90F can help the development of bacteria as well as will extra aeration of the water.
I strongly recommend avoiding fish until you get your tank cycled - even if it means waiting a little longer with a fishless tank. Since you have seeded the filter with bacteria from another tank, you should be able to cycle the tank within 7-10 days.

 

Time for some driftwood. I got an awesome piece from a guy who collected it from the Sierra mountains. Super cool find. It came with bark though, so I had to strip it.

Step one - soak for two days

I like to boil my roots for a couple of hours - this removes the tannins which are harmless to the fish but turns your water brown. If you can boil, do so gently for 3-4 hours. Boiling also helps the wood get soaked so it doesn't float to the surface when you fill the tank up with water.

 

I like to boil my roots for a couple of hours - this removes the tannins which are harmless to the fish but turns your water brown. If you can boil, do so gently for 3-4 hours. Boiling also helps the wood get soaked so it doesn't float to the surface when you fill the tank up with water.

I was unable to boil it due to size. That's why I put it in that tuppperware. I slowly filled that with boiling water and htne just let it sit in there for a couple days. Most of the tannins came out in that water.

 

Oh, sorry! And yes, you can get an inline heater, but I would get one made specifically for that, and not put the heater you have now in the tubes. You can hide a lot of the tubing behind tall plants.

I think either way would work, with the wavemaker and the spray bar.

You need to be careful with online heaters as if you connect it to the output from the filter, in introduces resistance which reduces the water flow. Just to put you through the math,
Your filter without media gives you a flowrate of 525g/h
With media, you will get on average around 30% less = 365g/h
If you add a heater you will loose around 10% = 330g/h

Which is still ok for your 55 gallon tank, which requires around 6 x 55 = 330h/h.

I have an inline heater, and I regret it because of the drop in water flow through the filter.

I was thinking of doing this

.Would this design still reduce flow too much?

 

Sorry, I don't know much about that.

 

I was thinking of doing this

.Would this design still reduce flow too much?

Would not like to miss lead on this one, but I would imagine that a 10% reduction will be in order as you will change the water flow characteristic.

 

Would not like to miss lead on this one, but I would imagine that a 10% reduction will be in order as you changing the water flow characteristic.

Alright. The heater and stuff being visible was more a QOL thing. Not really a deal breaker. Thank you!

More Decorations! While I'm waiting for this dang thing to cycle, I decided to make some decorations. These all are from a creek/river near my parents house or from around my own house.

Overall

• Gersh
• Nov 4, 2017

An overall shot.

Tower

• Gersh
• Nov 4, 2017
• 7

This structure my wife put together. We decided to silicone the rocks in place so that if anything were to bump it, we wouldn't have rock falling all over the place.

White Rocks

• Gersh
• Nov 4, 2017

My personal favorite. I found these rocks and loved how bright the white was. It also contrasts with the black sand extremely well. Love it!

All of these rocks were soaked for a while, then scrubbed throughly to make sure all dirt and nasty was off.

Next thing to add is plants.

 

zenish nice!

 

I forget how much a test of patience cycling is. I've been keeping logs of my progress so far and it's been (and going to be) slow. Even with including pre-cycled media and adding to it with some of the off the shelf "cycle in a bottle" type products, I've still yet to see a result. But that's ok! I know this all takes time and will be worth it in the end!