"NetMax" wrote in message ...

What temperature do you keep your aquarium at?

Temperature varies slightly during the day but stays around 78 to 80.

Do you remove the gravel to clean it ? A cycled tank means that there is
a biological processing capability which matches the bio-load in the
tank. This is most easily done with a filter, but can also be achieved
by the bacterial coating of the various surfaces (ie: gravel), which
should not be cleaned often.

I don't remove the gravel to clean it. I generally vacuum up an area
or two where a lot of mulm has collected and get any larger pieces of
stuff that might be floating around. Most of the gravel and other
stuff remains pretty much untouched.

Another variable to consider is how much (if any) temperature variation
are you allowing? Small tanks typically use incandescent lighting which
is quite warm. In combination with daytime summer heat, could your tank
temperature be bouncing on a daily cycle. Sorry for all the questions.


When I first set up the tanks I noticed that the temperatures could
range anywhere from 74 to 80, but like I said before, things seemed to
have balanced themselves out. Heat isn't a concern because we have
central air running at all times and keep the apartment at around 76
degrees.

Why do you want a loach? They are not very suitable for such a small
aquarium. There are other bottom feeders (ie: shrimps, snails) which
might be more suitable.

I know I'm going to need more room with loaches. I'm going to be
getting a 30 or 40 gallon tank sometime in the next 2-3 months. I
wanted some because they're cute and fun to watch. I suppose I should
wait until I get the larger tank up and running before I get them
though. I'm hoping to make the larger tank a planted tank so it's
going to take me a month or so to get it up and running.

Regarding your fish stocking question, it would depend on how your
nitrifying bacteria are housed. If 'au natural', I would add gradually.
If a bio-wheel, I would add all at once (tripling your bio-capacity takes
less than 2 days). hth

NetMax

Thanks for all your help.