Discus Newbie - from zero to ??

[AquaholicAnonymous]

Can you clarify what you mean by 'mini-cycle'. I'm assuming it's doing a small water change but maybe I'm wrong. Not sure what forum etiquette is on reaching out privately but I will send you a link to a video I was given by the seller, on how to enter the new Discus in the water.

The fish will have not eaten in 48 hours (sent by air-freight) and I was suggested to wait 24 hours with their first feed to allow them to settle.

The aquarium has never had any fish, and I plan to add 10 fish in one day (following instructions on the video). I did add 'Priobotics Nitrifying Bacteria' (double amount for a new fish tank).

[Second Hand Pat]

OK, so you know about the nitrogen cycle? This is where you introduce pure ammonia to a freshly setup aquarium which is added daily to grow beneficial bacteria to handle the ammonia and nitrates the produced by the fish? You add ammonia until your ammonia test is zero. Otherwise you will need to do large water changes until the cycle is established to remove the harmful ammonia.
Pat

[AquaholicAnonymous]

Ok so add ammonia to a new tank, to jumpstart the biological filtration. I think something similar already by adding this product below. If that's not it then I'm probably not going to have enough time to do this over 3 days and I will be practicing my water change a lot in the first few weeks.

[AquaholicAnonymous]

Just googled 'new aquarium nitrogen cycle' and understand better now. Thank you.

[AquaticNerd]

If you haven't cycled your aquarium, no amount of "bottled bacteria" is going to prevent a cycle from happening after adding 10 fish. Be prepared to change 100% of the water daily for the next 6-8 weeks until you have cycled your aquarium.

[jwcarlson]

If you haven't cycled your aquarium, no amount of "bottled bacteria" is going to prevent a cycle from happening after adding 10 fish. Be prepared to change 100% of the water daily for the next 6-8 weeks until you have cycled your aquarium.

Yep, get ready to change water!

[Second Hand Pat]

You can also add a dechlorinator to detox any ammonia present in the tank water.
Pat

[AquaholicAnonymous]

You can also add a dechlorinator to detox any ammonia present in the tank water.
Pat

Example of this would be Seachem Prime? Also seen Seachem Stability recommended for new tanks.

[AquaticNerd]

That's correct - prime would be the product to detoxify ammonia. Stability won't get you over the task of cycling your aquarium.

[Charlyc11]

Hope tank is cycled if not postpone your delivery. It will be 100 times harder to keep up with the tank and keeping your fish healthy. I took me like 4-5 weeks to get my 125g cycled adding bateria with a fishless cycle. Don't believe the label that tells you can add fish immediacy.

[jwcarlson]

With my discus (and many other fish/tanks)... I just change a bunch of water for a month or so adding both Prime and Stability for each water change. Just make it your routine. You should be doing that anyway with discus, so what's the difference? If I'm already changing 75-100% of water every day, it doesn't really matter if your tank is cycled or not. *shrug*

Now if you're going to get your fish and then buzz off for two weeks on vacation, it won't end well. But if you're changing a bunch of water it's no problem.

[AquaholicAnonymous]

The Discus breeder has agreed to delay delivery. I have now cancelled and will focus on cycling the aquarium. A bit annoyed with myself that I didn't spot this earlier. Been reading extensive but somehow missed this. I do see some info on Google and will be starting today with adding some fish food every 12 hours to grow ammonia, and get the bio filtration started. Maybe add some small hardy fish that are not as sensitive as Discus. Any other tips that may not be on the internet please share. Thank you everyone!

[AquaticNerd]

That's good to hear. It is my opinion that you made the right choice. Everyone in this forum is looking out for each other and we want everyone to be successful in keeping their fish. The last thing I want for you is to be unsuccessful simply because of a cycling issue that could result in affecting or killing the fish you've invested so much time and money in to.

As far as extra tips, do a fishless cycle. I would hate for those hardy fish to bring in something that you aren't aware of and potentially bring in a disease that affects your discus. Additionally, frequently test your water for the signs of cycling. When I do fishless cycles, I probably check my parameters at least once a day.

[AquaholicAnonymous]

Still trying to get good water conditions. After struggling with getting Nitrates down after water changes, I figured out that the tap water where I live has a nitrate level of >40ppm so water changes aren't doing anything. I have a small RO setup but with a 550 liter tank I would have to invest in a larger RO system which I don't want to do at the moment. So I am trying to get nitrates down using hornwort and pothos plants.

[LizStreithorst]

Finally installed.
Aquarium 150x55x55cm.
Sump 100x35.60cm.

Was suggested to let it run for 2 days to get the glue and silicon washed out of the system.

That big rock that you have weighing down your media...Remove it, and put a few drops of vinegar on it. If it fizzes it means that the rock will release calcium into the water, raising your kH and you will have to use something else heavy to weigh the media down. If not, it's fine. I'm sure that someone else will be better at explaining this than I.