im buying my sharks on saturday

[spitfire]

i filled my tank today with water and turned on the filter and heater

what shud the temp be?on saturday i will be buying some bala sharks

and what else will go with them?

[karen]

100 litre tanks will not be suitable for bala sharks they need much bigger,before you go to buy fish you need to cycle your tank.

[spitfire]

Cycle? whats that?

bala sharks dont grow big

[mralgae]

cycle:
is allowing the filter in the tank to get rid of different poisions from the water i.e. ammonia,nitrAte,nitrItes etc.of which you need test kits to check these on a req basis. if this is not done and you allow you water to go unchanged and unchecked you will poision the fish you have. the cycle also builds up friendly bactiria in the filter.

compatibility:
is if you intend to put different species of fish together as to if they will get on together or not, there are a lot of fish that should not be put together as they will fight or even one will kill the other.
like i have posted earlier to you, you should start reading up on even the basics of fish keeping before you put anything in the tank.

[spitfire]

ok so how do i cycle and how long will it take and where would i get a kit and how much will it cost?

[jackpike]

U don't have to buy a kit, all u need is some time. Leave your aquarium running with no fish in it for 3-4 weeks at the very least, longer the better. A test kit to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate would be a good buy. After the 3-4 weeks have past u test for ammonia and nitrite making sure the test reads zero for both. u should be safe to introduce a small amount of fish. After a couple of weeks test again and if all is good u can add some more fish. Gradually build up your stock of fish. Be careful not to overstock your tank. If there is any ammonia or nitrite present they will poison your fish and nitrate is also considered toxic if it reaches over 50ppm. Once u have fish in the tank, U should do a 20% water change a week to keep nitrate in check.

[ORCA.]

Bit of info on fishless cycling.
With this I am going to promote fish less cycling. Typically, people use fish to cycle the tank but the whole process of cycling is highly stressful to fish and IMO a catalyst for disease. This is no way to start off a new tank. Record your tanks progress daily thru a water test kit to monitor its progress.

Be certain your tank is up and running and the heat is roughly 82 degrees. The heat speeds up the process slightly. Be certain you have a good air source running during cycling. Air is vital to the beneficial bacteria ( nitrosomonas and nitrobacter) as they develop.

First you need to get ammonia into your water which can be done in a few ways. You can add cut shrimp/fish to your tank and as it decomposes it will create ammonia. Adding fish food to the water (Flakes) will also add ammonia to the water as it decomposes. Using 100% pure ammonia will also work but be SURE it is 100% pure. No additives of any kind. Add roughly 4-5 drops for every 10 gallons. Whether you end up with ammonia or ammonium all depends on your PH. Under 7 it is ammonium. Over 7 and it is ammonia. At this stage you should notice only high levels of ammonia. It is only the begining. nothing to worry about.

Soon bacteria will develop over the next week or two called nitrosomonas oxidizing the ammonia/eliminating it. The byproduct of this is called nitrites which is just as toxic as ammonia, but all a part of the process. You should notice your ammonia levels decreasing and you nitrite levels skyrocketing. Fear not.

The next step in the process bacteria called nitrobacter will develop and turn the nitrites into nitrates. Nitrates are much less harmful that ammonia or nitrite's but still harmful in large amounts. From this point on regular routine water changes will be the best for the removal of the nitrates. At this point it is safe to add your new aquarium fish, acclimating them as you normally would. At this level you should notice your ammonia and nitrite levels decreasing and your nitrate levels rising. This is good!

A few ways to speed things up in this process are the addition of rock/gravel from an established tank. In well cycled tanks bacteria is present on nearly everything. The addition of a sponge filter from an established tank or old filter media is also a great way to help this along.
Hope that helps :happy:

[spitfire]

well i kinda understand that.

which wud be the quickest cycling? with ammonia?

the tank has been on for a week with filter and heater

[jackpike]

spitfire, Do you have a test kit for ammonia and nitrite?

[spitfire]

i have a test kit for amonia thats all i cud get

[jackpike]

Do u know if your water is hard or soft because the would affect the choice of fish u would get for your aquarium

[spitfire]

we are supposed to have hard water but im not sure

how will i find out?

[mralgae]

one quick way of finding out if you have hard water is to see if when you wash your hands is, if the soap lathers right away, if it does it is proberbly soft water, if it takes a lot of rubbing for the soap to lather it is prob hard.

[karen]

mralgae said:

one quick way of finding out if you have hard water is to see if when you wash your hands is, if the soap lathers right away, if it does it is proberbly soft water, if it takes a lot of rubbing for the soap to lather it is prob hard.

thats a good idea i didnt know that

[spitfire]

i will try that