Hamstar99

I use small black pebbles in mine. I think that the darker substrate gives a better contrast to the fish than the white substrates. It is also more It is also less maintenance to keeping it looking good. All my caves and the like are limestone - which i think you have plenty of down there- to help as a buffer although i still add baking soda and salts.

I guess just like the ability to cycle with out testing it comes from peoples experience. Cycling to 4ppm can handle a huge bio load. ie no ammonia, nitrite spikes after fish added. A lot of people y cycle only cycle using 2ppm, big bio loads and no spikes. I guess if we tested water daily when using fish to cycle you would see how much was produced. I have seen some experiments somewhere with this info based on inch of fish per gallon or something like that. :-?. There are certainly multiple ways of doing things each with their pros and cons. Either way they arnt as complicated as we can make them.

You can use clear ammonia to avoid surfactants if that is your worry. Hard to come by its around. I found some at our Binn Inn. Heres some reading from Dr Tim http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/fishless/fishless.html also http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless_cycle.php and http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/fishless_cycle.php

correct CRUNCHBANG

oh i found some more reading material for you ZEEBEE if you were interested :-?

your nitrites should be zero when fully cycled. if you arent fully cycled id just add a few fish at a time until you are.

so you are saying if you use cloudy ammonia you would do a 100% water changes to remove the surfactants? what other contaminants would there be?

Some say that it help to bring the nitrites down faster but like i said i have not noticed a hell of a lot of difference. Huge water changes early on in the bio cycle can cause large but usually brief spikes in your ammonia or nitrites. As long as your perimeters are right ie zero ammonia, nitrites and say 20 nitrates i guess it doesnt matter how much water you change before your fish go in.

Cloudy ammonia has some detergents (surfactant) i believe. (If you shake it it bubbles). Clear ammonia doesnt contain detergents and doesnt bubble. In saying this i have used cloudy ammonia before and it worked. I imagine what small amount of detergents are in there will be hugely diluted in the tank water. I finally found some clear ammonia at bin inn. It is potent (25%) but thats what i use now. I cycle slightly different to you though. I does to between 2-4 ppm then test daily til ammonia reads zero. Dont test nitrites, pointless at this stage. once ammonia is zero for a day or so add the original amount of ammonia (that got you to 2-4ppm) every couple of days until the nitrite is zero. This usually takes twice as long as the ammonia. I usually combine this with daily 25% water changes as well but to be honest have not found it to make a significant amount of difference in time.

could be plenty of reasons. amount of driftwood, nitrates, added salts? the main thing is that the Ph is stable. (carbonate levels)

Sorry. Im not reptilz. They are just my local.

Yeah we have them at Reptilz in town here as well.

Has it got air locks in the pipes?

Its an API kit i probably about 3 months since i bought this one. I usually look through the side. The colour change should be pretty obvious i would think. Well it is when test Carbonate hardness.

Im not too fussed yet. I was thinking of 3-4 species groups of what ever was compatible aggression wise really. I think they all look good so ill probably get whatever is available for now.

in short i have never been able to get a reading with my Gh test no matter what i try. I can never get the sample to change from "orange" to green. I have tried testing tap water, tank water, rain water, smaller samples all to no avail. Has anyone else ever had this issue?? and is it just a simple case of having a dud solution. Cheers in advance.

Hi I use the API master kit and a Kh/GH hardness kit. I think you need to test your water at least for piece of mind if nothing else. Its reasonably important to have your Kh (carbonate) at a good level to stabilise your PH. Level of PH isnt really as critical as the stability. I think you should have both kits, no doubt you'll use them all at some stage.

Hi Guys, Just introducing my self. I am about to make the step up from a couple of goldfish and I am just in the process of setting up a Malawi tank. Have just finished cycling a 480L in wall tank and am ready to start stocking. Cheers all.