Best gosh for cycling

[ganesan]

I stripped my 5x2x2 feet aquarium clean and dry and am going to keep discus on barebottom aquarium. Now regarding cycling which fish are best and how many required. Plates,sword tails,tiger barbs or sharks,plecos. I hear keeping one species is better so which fish is better and how many for this tank. I plan to keep one canister filter running with heater at about 28c and also 2 sponge filters. Also plan to keep drift wood with no plants. Is it better to tie anubias to wood before or after cycling. Also are water changes needed or just keep top off water that evaporate. I think water changes will remove ammonia so no need to water change. Any advice are welcome

[Iminit]

How big are the discus going to be that you plan on getting? If small discus might as well cycle it with them. Your going to be changing water daily anyway.

[ganesan]

They will be around 3 inches and about 6 to 7 pieces. So you say daily water changes will suffice for cycling the water. Will try this way. Thanks

[dagray]

you don't need fish to cycle a tank. use cheap fish once you test the water to confirm your cycle.

cycle by putting ammonia in the water and letting it go through the process of conversion to nitrate. Or you can feed the tank and let the food rot and complete the nitrification process.
The easiest is to fill the tank and add bacteria. I had to add bacteria to my tank as somehow the cycle was killed (maybe by me rinsing all the filter media at once even though I have substrate and wood in the tank to hold the anaerobic bacteria.

I do water changes weekly, and my tank has been running since 2012.

Seachem makes a bottle of the bacteria, and it saved my but after losing a bunch of fish (cory cats, Cardinals, apistograms, and rams.

[Iminit]

Well if buying 3” discus clean water is needed for growth. The more water changed the better. Now you’ll be doing this till 5” or 6” so plan on changing water daily for atleast 4 months.

[LizStreithorst]

I agree with you, Tom. Still, Seachem Stability along with daily WCs can save you a world of worry, especially if you don't have years of experience under your belt.

[dagray]

I agree with you, Tom. Still, Seachem Stability along with daily WCs can save you a world of worry, especially if you don't have years of experience under your belt.

Seachem Stability saved my bacon. I lost the cycle in my tank and had a nitrate spike. I put the Stability in every water change (20 gallons a week in an 85 gallon system... 75 gallon tank with HOB and two canister filters) to combat high nitrates as the nitrate reading from a certified lab on my tap water is 7.3 ppm (municipal water).

[Iminit]

Ok I understand what you both are saying. But we’re talking a new 150 g tank. New water ready for discus. 7 3” discus. Changing 50% of the water daily your ammonia should never go up. And as these fish are growing the extra waste is building up your cycle. You should never have a nitrate problem. Unless you decide not to change the water for a few months :). Now if it takes an additive to make your water ready for discus that’s different. I don’t and rarely ever use these additives. At best sometimes prime in the winter.

Next being your starting with 3” discus I’d get a 40g tank to start them in. Grow them out in this tank. Changing 50-80% daily. This is less water than in the 150. Fish will grow big this way. And last I’d say spend the extra money and buy 5” discus. These fish are grown out by breeders and are usually there best fish. These fish are also young no more than a year old. Still will grow bigger in your tank. I’ve done it both ways. 5” fish are so much stronger.

[dagray]

Seachem Stability is basically the anaerobic bacteria that convert the ammonia to nitrite, nitrite to nitrate, and help consume the nitrate. Even with daily water changes it is cheap insurance against losing fish

[pitdogg2]

Seachem Stability is basically the anaerobic bacteria that convert the ammonia to nitrite, nitrite to nitrate, and help consume the nitrate. Even with daily water changes it is cheap insurance against losing fish
Don't you mean aerobic bacteria? My bacteria likes oxygen and work better because of it.😉

[Iminit]

Lol yes beneficial bacteria grows in oxygen rich water like a wet/dry system. And is what’s needed to run a healthy tank. Now anaerobic bacteria which eats nitrates (the new great thing to remove) grow in oxygen depleted and dark areas. Like a never cleaned canister filter. So since the market is so hot on removing nitrates this is profitable advertising :). Does it work???? If it makes you feel good why not :).

[Willie]

Lol yes beneficial bacteria grows in oxygen rich water like a wet/dry system. And is what’s needed to run a healthy tank. Now anaerobic bacteria which eats nitrates (the new great thing to remove) grow in oxygen depleted and dark areas. Like a never cleaned canister filter. So since the market is so hot on removing nitrates this is profitable advertising :). Does it work???? If it makes you feel good why not :).

So you know, anaerobic bacteria does NOT grow in oxygen depleted and dark areas. It grows in areas where there is NO oxygen, not even a little bit. Maybe if you have 4" of gravel, there might be a little pocket where there's no water flow. But without water flow, nitrate can't get in there to be converted.

Lots of stuff on the Internet hype contraptions that promote anaerobic bacteria - but it's not scientific. If it really works, they just have to measure nitrate levels before and after. Not a single post has ever demonstrated nitrate reduction.

(I use to teach General Microbiology to undergraduate and graduate students at a major university.)