# New tank : how long before adding fish?



## [bt]

I've had my new tank for a week now.
It's 40 litres and I plan to stock around 8 cardinal or neon tetra.

I've researched what sort of gravel to add, which light and filter/pump to add and have now added water.
I have the pump running permanently and have the light on for between 8 and 10 hours a day (usually in the mid-afternoon to evening).

After 3 days of having the water in, I have these readings:

Temp : 21degC
pH : 8
NH3 : 5
NO2 : 0
NO3 : 0

I have done a lot of reading (books, internet, forums) and can find no consensus on roughly how long to leave the tank before adding fish.
The booklet I got with my tank and testing kit says 6-8 weeks. Several books say "a few weeks", some internet sites say "about a week" and I've read someone here say "I've added my fish after the usual 3 days new tank settling".

So how long should I leave it?
Am I waiting for the ammonia and then nitrite peaks? (I know 3 days is a little early for the ammonia to peak, more like 5 or 6 before it really starts rising)
Also, I know I need to get the pH down to stock tetra - will this drop slowly over time?

Help!


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## Fishfirst

your tank needs to go through the whole nitrogen cycle yet... You need to put in a source of ammonia and then wait until your water parameters look like this
Ammonia - 0 
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 10-30

ONLY THEN can you add fish... also your pH seems high, do you by chance have shells in your aquarium? this could contribute to it being high. I'd naturally bring it down by buying some driftwood before you get fish. A good source of ammonia is a peice of cocktail shrimp


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## fish_doc

I agree. You need to wait for the entire cycle to finish before adding more fish. 
The reason no site gives specific numbers is because the cycle depends on many factors. Some of them being the size of the tank, number of fish, size of fish, type of filter, ect... Almost anything in the tank can affect the cycle time. The best way is to test the water with a reliable kit and log the data.


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## [bt]

My pH is high due to my local water supply. I live on a limestone outcrop on a limestone Jurassic coastline. The local aquifers are chalk, so the water is classed as 'hard'. I kinda knew that I'd get a high pH reading.

I've got some 'bogwood', which I intend to introduce this weekend - I know I've got to soak it first, but in what? Cycled water from the tank? Tap water? 

Also, when's the best time to put the 'conditioning' products in? (I have Nutrafin Cycle, Waste Control and Aqua Plus)

As for the cycle, I was planning to wait at least 36+ days until the nitrite levels had dropped and the nitrates were slowly rising. I'll stick to that original plan now - thanks for the confirmation guys!


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## fish_doc

This is a hobby of patience and endurance. It is like a marathon. You do water changes constantly while slowly maintaining filters and lights. There are few shortcuts. But the enjoyment you get back out of it is worth it. Sounds like what a marathon runnerwould say dosent it?


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## fishboy

trust me the worst thing you can do is add earliy. That is unless you add a few cheap fish as an ammonia sorce I used a molly and a platy (because i'm new to fish and didn't know cycleing makes fish weak) but its better to use fish you don't plan on keeping good luck


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## MyraVan

You don't have *any* fish in there at the moment, right? So I'm confused as to your test results... You have some ammonia (NH3), but not nitrites or nitrates(NO2 & NO3)? Is there any chance that you've confused your chemical names, and that you have 0 ammonia and nitrites, and nitrates at 5? That would make sense, as tapwater often has nitrates in it (ours does anyway...)

As to cycling with tough fish vs fishless cycling, I used to be a fan of cycling with tough fish, like zebra danios. But I've decided that this isn't really the best approach, for two reasons. First, even super-tough fish like danios must be affected by the high rates of nasty chemicals that they've been through. Mine look fine, and they looked fine all through cyling, but still, it can't be good for them. Second, you don't want zebra danios in all your tanks! And having one set of "cycling fish" that you subject time and time again to the nasty chemicals of cycling a tank is really cruel...

But I've found another way to get your tank up and running pretty much instantly, without waiting weeks and weeks to do a fishless cycle. That is, you put lots and lots of plants in the tank (making sure that you've got the proper substrate and enough lighting to let them grow) and then add floating hornwort for the initial break-in of the tank. You set the tank up and after a day or two, add a modest amount of fish. The hornwort soaks up most of the ammonia and grows like mad. Meanwhile, your nice plants are getting going as well. Then, over the coming weeks, you gradually remove the hornwort, and your other plants and the bacteria in your filter take over ammonia processing duties. I am doing this with a little tank that I've got at work, and it's working well.


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## [bt]

To clarify, I've tested again this morning, with my Nutrafin Laborette set and with a Tetratest 5-in-1 stick.
Here are the results:

pH = 7.6
I'm not worried about this at the moment.
I visited my local aquarium shop today and he said that my pH levels were average for this area and that adding my bogwood should help reduce my pH to a slightly more acidic level.

KH = 10-15'd
GH = >16'd
Not entirely sure if these levels are okay, but the shop guy said that either rainwater or distilled water used in water changes should help soften my tank water.

NO2 = 0 mg/l
NO3 = 25mg/l using the stick / 5mg/l using the test chemicals
NH3 = 0 mg/l
Today is day four of having the water in, so I'm expecting the ammonia level to start rising, but it's not.
Could my initial water have been too 'clean'? My Nutrafin Cycle says "Powerful biological supplement which rapidly matures new aquariums and filters" - this hasn't cycled the tank in just a few days, has it?


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## Fishfirst

my guess would be no. You need an ammonia source for your tank to cycle... Nutrafin cycle is snakeoil, useless basically. The best way to jump start a tanks cycle is to and an ammonia source (such as a cocktail shrimp or pure ammonia) and then get a used filter cartridge and put that in for your filter media and run it. Nothing will stop the cycle... this just speeds it up to maybe two to three weeks depending on the size of the tank.


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## [bt]

Yeah, I did have a feeling that most of these 'wonder' supplements aren't up to much. Still, got them free with my tank.

I'll add some shrimp to give my tank an ammonia source.


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## Fishfirst

sounds good... keep us posted on how your cycle is going


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## E

Easier to match the fish to the PH than the PH to the fish. Tetras prefer PH 4-6. How about dwarf tanginikans cichlids? You could use peat moss and distilled water to drop the PH, but its hard to keep it stable in such a small tank.


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## Fishfirst

> Tetras prefer PH 4-6


4? a pH of 4?????? Thats the consistency of orange juice! 7.6 is fine for tetras... a stable pH is better than a fluctuateing one.


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## Lexus

My tetras are fine at 7.8ph.


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