New to fish keeping and excited

[JROD84]

Hi Everyone, I'm Jose. Little bit about me, I went through a painful divorce about 4 years ago and it has just been my daughter and I ever since. I struggled with depression and stress from the divorce for quite some time after it. I've been in law enforcement now for 14 years. I've recently (about 4 months ago) got into fish keeping with my 4 year old daughter. We couldn't have pets in our apartment, other than aquariums, so we decided to set up a fish tank. We currently have a 29 gallon tank with about 16 Zebra Danios and 1 Dwarf Gourami. When I set it up, I had no idea it needed to go through the nitrogen cycle and lost a lot of fish in the process. Well, I guess you can say I developed an addiction to aquariums. My daughter and I visit our local aquarium almost every week because she likes to feed the Cichlids in the Cichlid petting tank and the sting ray petting tank. Safe to say she also has developed the addiction to fish. For her birthday, I bought her a 75 gallon tank and everything I need for her to have her own Cichlids. Although I'm new to the hobby, I have been reading a ton and learning a lot about fish keeping. I feel like I have prepared myself enough to make sure the Cichlid tank is a success. I hope at least. I'm happy to be part of this group to learn new ideas and experiences from the pros and novices like me. I would also like to mention, ever since I took up the "Hobby" I have been less stressed and feel happier and truly enjoy watching the fish with my daughter. She and I enjoy doing maintenance on it every week. I feel like it has brought my daughter and I closer together. Anyway, hope to learn from everyone.

Thank You for allowing me to be part of the group.

 

[PascalKrypt]

Welcome!
That was a heartwarming story to read There are quite a few parents on here enjoying this hobby with their young children. It is a great source of relaxing leisure activity. Don't hesitate to ask any questions or advice, there are a lot of hobbyists with cichlid tanks on the site.

 

[Sunflower]

Welcome! Glad you found us! this is a very welcoming, friendly, and informative site.

Do you have any pictures of the tanks? We’d love to see your creations!

 

[JROD84]

Thank you, I will try to get pictures of my daughters tank when I'm on my weekend. I haven't yet set up the 75 gallon tank yet. I'm probably going to do that this weekend. I'm definitely going to try to do a fishless cycle on it. Unless someone can provide the steps on how to cycle a 75 gallon cichlid tank.

 

[johnbirg]

When our granddaughters who are TV addicts come over it's great to see them watching the fish and learning about the aquarium instead of pestering about what movies we have for them to watch. They now want tanks of their own. Looks like an expensive Xmas coming up.

There is a sticky at the top of the freshwater beginners section with pretty much all you need know about the nitrogen cycle and cycling a new tank.

 

[JROD84]

When our granddaughters who are TV addicts come over it's great to see them watching the fish and learning about the aquarium instead of pestering about what movies we have for them to watch. They now want tanks of their own. Looks like an expensive Xmas coming up.

Yes, I probably spent about $1,000 on this tank. I allocated 1500 for the tank and equipment and everything I need for it so, I'd say her birthday gift was a very expensive one to say the least. You're right about TV/movies or anything electronic. Her tank has cut back on electronic usage for her and I as well. It's definitely very relaxing and enjoyable. I allow my daughter to stick her hand in there and let the danios play around her hand. She gets a kick out of it.

 

[FrostedFlakes]

Welcome to the hobby! Fishkeeping is honestly a really amazing hobby. Such a sweet story! So glad both you and your daughter benefit from the wonders of aquatic life Growing up keeping fish has definitely taught me a much needed lesson on responsibility haha

 

[JROD84]

Welcome to the hobby! Fishkeeping is honestly a really amazing hobby. Such a sweet story! So glad both you and your daughter benefit from the wonders of aquatic life Growing up keeping fish has definitely taught me a much needed lesson on responsibility haha

Thank you, it definitely has been an enjoyable time spent with my daughter and her tank. When we lost the fish due to not knowing anything about the cycle, she would always get so sad. She would pet the dead fish and tell it that everything is going to be OK before we discarded it. It definitely is showing her some responsibility. She always asks me to check her tank for ammonia and nitrite spikes so we sit together and go through the whole test process together. It definitely is fun.

 

[AngryRainbow]

Welcome!

One way you can speed up the cycle on your new tank is to remove some of the old filter media and place it into the filter on your 75 gallon as you dose it with ammonia. This will give you a bit of the bacteria you need, so then its just a matter of building up your bacteria colony.

 

[JettsPapa]

Welcome. I'm new here also, but I've learned a tremendous amount in the last few weeks, and I also killed some fish through not knowing about cycling.

It sounds like you and your daughter are having a great time with your aquarium. I'm looking forward to when my grandson is old enough to take an interest. He's 2 now, so he does like to look at the fish, but he loses interest pretty fast.

Thank you for your service in law enforcement.

 

[JROD84]

Welcome!

One way you can speed up the cycle on your new tank is to remove some of the old filter media and place it into the filter on your 75 gallon as you dose it with ammonia. This will give you a bit of the bacteria you need, so then its just a matter of building up your bacteria colony.

Yeah, I thought about doing it that way, but lately I've been having some trouble with her tank that I'm trying to get under control. I'm just gonna do the tetra safe start and dose it until it cycles. I read from tetra to fully stock the tank with cichlids and use TSS but I'm worried it will kill them

Welcome. I'm new here also, but I've learned a tremendous amount in the last few weeks, and I also killed some fish through not knowing about cycling.

It sounds like you and your daughter are having a great time with your aquarium. I'm looking forward to when my grandson is old enough to take an interest. He's 2 now, so he does like to look at the fish, but he loses interest pretty fast.

Thank you for your service in law enforcement.

Thank you, and welcome as well. Yeah, I have read a lot and bought the Freshwater Aquariums for dummies book to read up. It definitely is fun to do maintenance with your kids (grandchildren).

Thank you for your support. Not very many people are fond of Cops these days.

 

[JettsPapa]

Yeah, I thought about doing it that way, but lately I've been having some trouble with her tank that I'm trying to get under control. I'm just gonna do the tetra safe start and dose it until it cycles. I read from tetra to fully stock the tank with cichlids and use TSS but I'm worried it will kill them



Thank you, and welcome as well. Yeah, I have read a lot and bought the Freshwater Aquariums for dummies book to read up. It definitely is fun to do maintenance with your kids (grandchildren).

Thank you for your support. Not very many people are fond of Cops these days.

I think LEO's have more support than you realize; the supporters just don't make it onto the news.

 

[JROD84]

I think LEO's have more support than you realize; the supporters just don't make it onto the news.

where i live, cops for the most part are respected. its the implants that don't like them

 

[Islandvic]

@JROD84 , Welcome to the forum !

Thank you for your service.

I saw your thread about your new 75 gallon cichlid tank. What was originally going to be a quick reply, ended up being long winded to say the least on that thread. Ha There is so much knowledge that I've gained from here, it's hard to condense it and keep it concise.

This forum has been an excellent resource for our family's fish keeping, so I try to contribute back when I can.

Not trying to knock other forums, but I chose to join this one for a reason after browsing some of the other forums first.

Everyone here is positive and always are ready to help others out with their experiences and advice.

Moderators do a fantastic job on keeping the atmosphere 100% family friendly.

Welcome to the Fishlore family.

 

[JROD84]

@JROD84 , Welcome to the forum !

Thank you for your service.

I saw your thread about your new 75 gallon cichlid tank. What was originally going to be a quick reply, ended up being long winded to say the least on that thread. Ha There is so much knowledge that I've gained from here, it's hard to condense it and keep it concise.

This forum has been an excellent resource for our family's fish keeping, so I try to contribute back when I can.

Not trying to knock other forums, but I chose to join this one for a reason after browsing some of the other forums first.

Everyone here is positive and always are ready to help others out with their experiences and advice.

Moderators do a fantastic job on keeping the atmosphere 100% family friendly.

Welcome to the Fishlore family.

Well, if you have any feedback on helping out and cycling the tank, I would be grateful. I'm kind of nervous about it. So many questions. Bacteria + ammonia or is it just ammonia and waiting for the bacteria to appear. I'm kind of lost on how that works

 

[PascalKrypt]

Well, if you have any feedback on helping out and cycling the tank, I would be grateful. I'm kind of nervous about it. So many questions. Bacteria + ammonia or is it just ammonia and waiting for the bacteria to appear. I'm kind of lost on how that works

Whether bacteria starter products work or not is hotly debated, so the answer will depend on who you ask and their personal experience with it. Though the accumulative answer seems to be: maybe. For some people it dramatically shortens their cycling time, for others it doesn't appear to do much. Nobody seems to be able to pinpoint the reason for this difference. So you can try it if you want (it wouldn't hurt certainly) - there is no guarantee that it works but it might.

Ammonia is necessary in any case, because it is the food that the bacteria need to multiply and grow.
Cycling with just ammonia dosing takes anywhere from 4 to 10 weeks (around 6 is the average). If you choose to use a BBS product, the common advice is to ignore instructions and just pour the entire bottle in at the beginning, then start dosing with ammonia. If it works fantastically, you can be cycled in a week. If it works less well, it can take anywhere from 2-10 weeks just like regular cycling.