Author Topic: PaddyC's Peaceful Community (Read 81372 times) 637 replies

Paddyc · « **Reply #40 on:** March 03, 2016, 12:39:43 PM »

Quote from: Sue on March 03, 2016, 10:49:47 AM

That does look good

Since you have the ammonia and Safe Start, add them whenever you want. The temp doesn't need to be at 28 deg C, it's just that the bacteria multiply faster at warmer temps. They'll get started at lower temps, and you'll have already had a day or so head start once the tank reaches the desired temp.

Have you got the mature media yet?

Cool, thanks Sue. I have added the ammonia and safe start and am waiting to test again after 30 minutes. Tank is a toasty 29 Celsius.

I don't have the old media yet, my mate says I can have it anytime

Quote from: Fiona O'Mahoney on March 03, 2016, 11:55:00 AM

Even though it's not my tank I still find it exciting. Thats a lovely tank btw

That's really nice Fiona, thanks very much!

Sue · « **Reply #41 on:** March 03, 2016, 01:28:58 PM »

Quote from: Paddyc on March 03, 2016, 12:39:43 PM

I don't have the old media yet, my mate says I can have it anytime

The sooner you get it, the sooner those bacteria in there can start feeding on your ammonia and multiplying

Littlefish · « **Reply #42 on:** March 03, 2016, 02:18:23 PM »

Get the media.....get the media......you know you want to.
I'm glad it's all gone well so far.
Keep up the good work.

Paddyc · « **Reply #43 on:** March 03, 2016, 03:52:17 PM »

Ok so I have started my full fishless cycle today

Before I added anything to the tank I did a full test of pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.

pH = 6.6
Ammonia = 0ppm
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 10ppm.

I added 150ml of Tetra Safestart (50ml for 60 litres so 180litres dose = 150ml)
I added 3.6ml Ammonia (0.2ml per 10 litres, 0.2 x 18 = 3.6)

30 mins later, Ammonia = between 1.0 and 2.0 ppm
Added 0.5ml ammonia
30 mins later, ammonia = 2.0 ppm
Added 0.5ml ammonia
30 mins later, ammonia = between 2.0 and 4.0 ppm

So I'm satisfied that my full maintenance dose is 4.6ml ammonia.

I was slightly paranoid about my low pH so I added bicarbonate of soda at a dose of 5grams per 25 litres so I added 35 grams.

pH now sitting at 7.4 so I'm happy with that figure going forward. I will probably do 24 hour pH tests for now and do another full set of tests in 72 hours or just before I add the old media, whichever comes first.

Paddyc · « **Reply #44 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:01:32 PM »

Quote from: Sue on March 03, 2016, 01:28:58 PM

The sooner you get it, the sooner those bacteria in there can start feeding on your ammonia and multiplying

I know, my mate unfortunately has a bit of a family issue, his grandson has Scarlet fever and his daughter is unwell so I'm not wanting to bother him at the moment...

Quote from: Littlefish on March 03, 2016, 02:18:23 PM

Get the media.....get the media......you know you want to.
I'm glad it's all gone well so far.
Keep up the good work.

I know, I know haha. I should have asked him yesterday to get it out of his filter for when I picked up the tank. But as I say above, there are more pressing issues in his world at the moment.

Thanks for the praise, I only do what I have learned based on the advice of the brilliant people here at Thinkfish. It's been a great learning experience so far, thanks to all for your help so far and in the future

Sue · « **Reply #45 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:06:34 PM »

In those circumstances, I wouldn't bother him either.

The Safe Start should do something; you could be pleasantly surprised

. I just warn against expecting too much as between warehouses and delivery drivers, you never know what conditions the bottle has been subjected to.

Paddyc · « **Reply #46 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:25:41 PM »

Yeah I guess time will tell. I will definitely get the old media from him in the next few days.

I will keep the pH maintained like I have done today, when it gets to 6.6 I will raise it to around 7.4, 7.5 so it is just either side of neutral. This way I should be able to build a decent community of fish for once the cycle is complete.

Sue · « **Reply #47 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:36:08 PM »

Don't let the pH fall below 7.0 The bacteria multiply more slowly at low pH and can even stop completely below 6.5. You need to add more bicarb if the pH drops below 7 to prevent it dropping too far - once it starts to go it'll drop quickly.

Paddyc · « **Reply #48 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:37:42 PM »

More learning has occured, thanks

How high is safe for the pH during the cycle?

Sue · « **Reply #49 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:50:19 PM »

I'm not sure how high is too high

I know that people who have pH 8 or slightly over out of the tap have no trouble.

That's the people who have to keep livebearers or Rift Lake cichlids

Paddyc · « **Reply #50 on:** March 03, 2016, 04:58:09 PM »

Ah cool, eventually I might research into Cichlids but at the moment it's been put in the "forget that for now" pile...

I'll keep it around 7.5, that shouldn't be hard to achieve and maintain.

I'm currently uploading a video, I think you'll all think it's pretty good... Just hope it works!

Sue · « **Reply #51 on:** March 03, 2016, 05:03:59 PM »

With your soft acid water, you should be able to keep most south American cichlids without trouble.

Extreme_One · « **Reply #52 on:** March 03, 2016, 05:45:10 PM »

I'm really enjoying the updates. You're making me quite envious.

Setting up and planning a new tank is great fun!

Paddyc · « **Reply #53 on:** March 03, 2016, 06:38:54 PM »

Quote from: Extreme_One on March 03, 2016, 05:45:10 PM

I'm really enjoying the updates. You're making me quite envious.

Setting up and planning a new tank is great fun!

Simon, sorry but I'm not going to help you with the envy, I've been making videos!

First off, Here is a video of the new light I bought today. A 57cm strip of RGB remote controlled LED lighting.

~~I don't know how to upload videos into my posts yet so the link will open up in youtube~~ {Extreme_One} Fixed that for you.

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0BRW2dONpI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0BRW2dONpI</a>

Extreme_One · « **Reply #54 on:** March 03, 2016, 06:47:20 PM »

Hehe yeah I have one of those.

Mine isn't in the tank though, I have mine set up to strobe/pulse and light up the living room wall/ceiling when it's late and we're listening to music.

Paddyc · « **Reply #55 on:** March 03, 2016, 06:52:00 PM »

Apparently it is safe to submerge as well but I don't think I'll be submerging it. I love the idea of the light coming from the bottom of the tank (from say, buried in the gravel at the front of the tank shining up and backwards against the plants/decor) but I'm not sure it would stay looking cool with the gravel shifting and the accumulation of waste on the bottom wouldn't be very good I don't think.

Paddyc · « **Reply #56 on:** March 03, 2016, 06:54:35 PM »

Here's the other video...

I wanted to test the waterproofness (sp?) of my Sony Xperia Z2 phone. Turns out - thank god! - it works fantastically well! My daughter Abbie was in charge of the lighting, dressed as Anna from Frozen for world book day at school

Take a tour through my fishless tank!!

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3r2_ZmRmNs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3r2_ZmRmNs</a>

Littlefish · « **Reply #57 on:** March 03, 2016, 08:19:34 PM »

Awesome updates & video

Paddyc · « **Reply #58 on:** March 03, 2016, 09:18:43 PM »

Quote from: Littlefish on March 03, 2016, 08:19:34 PM

Awesome updates & video

Cheers, I'm not overly happy with the internal video, the YouTube stability rendering hasn't worked very well and it's really jerky, it was actually better originally...

Fiona · « **Reply #59 on:** March 04, 2016, 02:15:03 PM »

Disco tank

I love it!

Subject - Started by	Replies	Last post
Community creator Started by Puffin Board Help Requests	3 Replies 18986 Views	May 07, 2014, 02:36:05 PM by Puffin
My Community Tank Started by dbaggie Gallery Showcase	4 Replies 6156 Views	May 12, 2014, 10:46:56 PM by jesnon
Community Creator Started by Fiona New Fishkeepers	2 Replies 7667 Views	June 12, 2014, 12:28:13 PM by Fiona
Community Creator Started by Rich_D New Fishkeepers	8 Replies 11086 Views	July 19, 2014, 12:38:25 PM by Rich_D
Goldfish Community. Started by Thor God Of Thunder New Fishkeepers	2 Replies 6059 Views	May 26, 2015, 07:28:02 PM by Thor God Of Thunder
Inspiration for 55G community tank Started by water watcher General Fishkeeping Chat	4 Replies 5502 Views	February 10, 2019, 01:46:28 PM by water watcher
Creating my community Started by LeakysLab Fish Community Creator	15 Replies 18297 Views	February 03, 2020, 02:51:24 AM by Matt

PaddyC's Peaceful Community

PaddyC's Peaceful Community

Author Topic: PaddyC's Peaceful Community (Read 81372 times) 637 replies

Assess Tankmates In The Tropical Fish Community Creator

Topics that relate to "PaddyC's Peaceful Community"

Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice

Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice

Tropical Fish Keeping Product Reviews

Tropical Fish Market Place

Tropical Fish Keeping Community