Outside tank going through the first cycle

I have situated the 120G tank and began the first cycle.

being outside, I decided to coat the foot traffic side and back of the tank black to limit any movement that may startle the fish. I couldn't find anywhere regarding cycling aquariums outside. So I am going to treat it the same as if I was inside. I am weighing up if I should go with a few African Cichlids and driftwood, or a single FH.

 

African Cichlids are great, but driftwood lowers Ph so you wouldnt want a bunch. NICE TANK

 

African Cichlids are great, but driftwood lowers Ph so you wouldnt want a bunch. NICE TANK

Originally I was going to have one overhanging driftwood, to allow hiding holes. Or I'll just use large rocks, I have a mountain of them.

 

I would definitely use lots of rocks. That's very natural for them.

How cold does it get where you are? Might be trouble trying to keep it warm in winter.

 

I would definitely use lots of rocks. That's very natural for them.

How cold does it get where you are? Might be trouble trying to keep it warm in winter.

it is coming into winter so night time gets around 25 C (77 F) and 27 C during the day. And summertime is a steady 28-30 C (86 F).

I am really liking Peacock Cichilds, However if I find a Flowerhorn, I will be hard pressed not to grab him

 

Do you have an inside tank to take media from to seed the new tank? If so, I would start it with that. It shouldn't be that different of bacteria and will change to meet the needs of the parameters. I just started an outside tank, will be a pond soon, on my patio and so far the media I took from my inside aquarium as done its job with four goldfish in a 30 gallon bin.

 

Do you have an inside tank to take media from to seed the new tank? If so, I would start it with that. It shouldn't be that different of bacteria and will change to meet the needs of the parameters. I just started an outside tank, will be a pond soon, on my patio and so far the media I took from my inside aquarium as done its job with four goldfish in a 30 gallon bin.

unfortunately it was my inside tank, and I wasn't expecting to start up so soon, so I cleaned everything up and packed it away. So I began the fishless cycle from scratch.

 

Ahh, ok. Well you could always add in Seachem Stability or Tetra Safe Start Plus for a bacteria starter.

 

Ahh, ok. Well you could always add in Seachem Stability or Tetra Safe Start Plus for a bacteria starter.

Yes, I have used a bactwrial additive.