Reminder, cycling?

Hi, fairly experinced fish keeper here but reestablishing a 70gT tank after
6.5 years in storage. It's been ages since I had to start one over fresh.
I recall the process but not the time factor. No need for immediate answer,
the tank gets here in 4 days but we plan to fil it on the back porch to make
sure it's still watertight, and leave it there for a week. Then, we bring
it in and fill and start the process.

We normally start with just fresh water, gravel, and LFS plants and the
pump. I've had bad experiences with getting tank water from LFS places.
Then, after a week or so we add a molly nd leave it be. I seem to recall 3
weeks? Has to be a week after it clouds up then clears. There is a biota
bottle we used once and it worked well to get things going.

It's more of a 'remind me' than a teaching of the basics. Bet you folks are
happy to see that for a change!
xxcarol

Cshenk wrote:
Hi, fairly experinced fish keeper here but reestablishing a 70gT tank
after
6.5 years in storage. It's been ages since I had to start one over
fresh. I recall the process but not the time factor. No need for
immediate answer, the tank gets here in 4 days but we plan to fil it
on the back porch to make sure it's still watertight, and leave it
there for a week. Then, we bring it in and fill and start the
process.

We normally start with just fresh water, gravel, and LFS plants and
the pump. I've had bad experiences with getting tank water from LFS
places. Then, after a week or so we add a molly nd leave it be. I
seem to recall 3 weeks? Has to be a week after it clouds up then
clears. There is a biota bottle we used once and it worked well to
get things going.

It's more of a 'remind me' than a teaching of the basics. Bet you
folks are happy to see that for a change!
xxcarol

My recommendation would be to get a test kit (I use the Aquarium
Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit) and use it religiously.
Opinions are very mixed on the use of starter cultures such as Cycle and I'm
not sure if they really help, but I'm using Cycle while cycling the tank I
have slated to house a betta.

I'm also a big fan of fishless cycling so as to avoid putting the fish under
the stress of ammonia and nitrite poisoning. See details he
http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php
http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm

It can take a month or more, so be patient.

--
David L. Burkhead "Dum Vivimus Vivamus"
"While we live, let us live."
My webcomic Cold Servings
http://www.coldservings.com -- Back from hiatus!
Updates Wednesdays

rather than getting the RIGHT kind of ammonia and getting the RIGHT amount in the
tank, a pinch of Hikari Gold fish food for a small tank up to a tablespoon in a 75
gallon can be tossed into the tank, the heat set to 82oF and plenty of aeration. In
3 days or so watch the ammonia. If no ammonia is seen add more food.
or, try any fish food that causes an ammonia spike.
Ingrid