New Tank Setup; Easy Question

I'm excited.
I just filled my 38 gal tank, all the gravel and rocks are in, heater is on, bubbler is on, and my Fluval 306 is on and filtering. I have the Bio-Foam in the bottom basket, and Matrix in the top 2 baskets. I'm planning on getting African Cichlids and plants on Wed.
2 hrs before I put the fish and plants in, I'll put in Tetra Safe Start +.
One worrisome thing is that the water is cloudy right now. I used API Stress Coat to dechlorinate the water right after filling.
Am I correct in assuming that the cloudiness will clear up after I put in the Tetra Safe Start +, as this will activate the bio media?
If not, how do I clear up the water?
Please be easy on me, I'm a newbie.
Thanks.

 

The cloudiness is just the dust from the gravel and Matrix. That will settle in 1-2 days depending on how cloudy it is.

If you're relying on Tetra Safe Start + to cycle your tank, add it a few hours after you put the fish in. You don't want the live bacteria to die off before any ammonia is present.

And I'm not sure if you know this, but that stuff won't cycle your tank instantly. It will still take a few weeks, and it sometimes doesn't work at all. So sometimes it will take the full 5 weeks to fully cycle. You'll have to do a fish in cycle which is a pain and can kill your fish.

Read up on the nitrogen cycle. I suggest a fishless cycle by adding pure ammonia to the tank. If you use TSS+ (and it works) the cycle can be over in 2 to 3 weeks and you can fully stock your tank without worrying about hurting any fish. This is especially good if you're a beginner as having fish die on you is very frustrating and sad.

 

I'm confused.
The TSS bottle and site state "add entire bottle to aquariums up to 100 gallons. Aquarium is then ready for fish."
I need this spelled out please.
What are the exact steps you recommend?
Thanks

 

I personally have never used TSS+ but can pass on information from folks I trust.

You want to wait at least 24 hours after adding any water conditioner before pouring in the TSS as it will interfere with the bacteria in the bottle. You can go ahead and add your fish during that 24 hour waiting period. You want them in there first so there will be a bit of ammonia in the tank before adding the full bottle of TSS.

Once that is done do nothing but feed your fish very lightly for 2 weeks. At the end of that 2 week period if all has worked as it should your tank should be cycled. You may want to draw up some water in a container and treat it for topping off the tank. You want it to set at least 24 hours before you pour it in the tank. You only have to do it this way for the 2 weeks you are allowing the cycle to grow. After that you can do your water changes with freshly drawn up and treated water.

I hope this clears the steps up for you.

 

Excellent.
Thank you mattgirl.
Last questions; do I have to dechlorinate every time I do partial water changes?
And is once a month a good interval for partial water changes?
Thanks

 

Excellent.
Thank you mattgirl.
Last questions; do I have to dechlorinate every time I do partial water changes?
And is once a month a good interval for partial water changes?
Thanks

If you have chlorine/chlorimines in your source water then yes you need to add conditioner to all the water you put in there. even if I didn't have chlorine in my tap water I would still use it every time. I consider it a very cheap insurance.

You need to let your tests be your guide as to how often you do water changes. Water changes are normally the only way to keep the nitrates down. I do a 30% water change at least once a week on my 55, 50% on my 10, 50 to 70% on my 5.5 and 75% on my 2.5 gallon snail jar.

 

They say you can put fish in right away because adding TSS+ is better than just starting a new tank without using TSS+ and then adding fish right away (like most beginners do).

The cycling process still takes time and it will be hard on your fish.

Like mattgirl said, feed your fish very little in the first few weeks and de-chlorinate your water at least 24 hours before adding to the tank. I think you can do water changes after a week of using TSS. The bottle should tell you.

Another thing people do is pour the TSS+ directly into your filter. The filter is where most of the bacteria is stored once it colonizes so doing this is supposed to help make sure that the bottled bacteria has the chance to "grab hold" of where it will eventually live. The thought process is that a lot of the bacteria will die while freely suspended in the water without grabbing hold of filter media. I've never done this but it's what others recommend.

 

Still no consenus on whether to add the TSS before or after the fish???
Tetra's directions say before.
But it makes sense to have the fish in first to add ammonia then pour the TSS in after so the bacteria have something to eat.
???

 

Still no consenus on whether to add the TSS before or after the fish???
Tetra's directions say before.
But it makes sense to have the fish in first to add ammonia then pour the TSS in after so the bacteria have something to eat.
???

Both ystrout and I agree, put fish in first. Is that a consensus? Hopefully more folks will chime in.

 

Both ystrout and I agree, put fish in first. Is that a consensus? Hopefully more folks will chime in.

Still no consenus on whether to add the TSS before or after the fish???
Tetra's directions say before.
But it makes sense to have the fish in first to add ammonia then pour the TSS in after so the bacteria have something to eat.
???

Yes, put the fish in first.

I'd put them in for at least 6 hours. Ideally half of a day before using TSS.

This is because you want some ammonia present in the tank so the bacteria (bottled in TSS+) can instantly start eating it and forming a colony. If you put the TSS in before any ammonia is present, the bacteria will start dying off before it can start to colonize.

They don't write that on the bottle because it's too complicated for their general customer base. The majority of people (especially beginners) just want something that says "add this then add fish".

It's too complicated and will scare people away if they explain the cycling process and the steps to optimize the product/s effectiveness.

 

The bottle says to add it at the same time, though I understand why ystrout is telling you 6 hours, you don’t have to. The reason you don’t have to is because TSS has enough ammonia present in the bottle to hold them off until fish waste is broken down. I’ve used it once and while I never had a nitrite spike, ammonia was present for a few weeks. This is because nitrite-oxidizing bacteria make up most of the bacteria in the product.


We’re probably scaring him now anyway, so the instructions don’t have to!

 

AquaticJ, sorry, your post really confused me.
Just when I was seeing the wisdom of adding the fish first.

 

Yeah I thought so LOL. Don’t worry, everyone on here has been there at some point or another. I’m in the middle of something currently, so I can't give much detail at the moment, but I know mattgirl is good at explaining the cycle in detail!