# New 30 gallon



## stanly89 (Feb 2, 2011)

This is what I'm thinking: 2 dwarf gourami males, 4 zebra danios, 1 marigold wag swordtail, and for cleen up crew 3 olive nerita snails and 1 mini crab. Will these fish survive the cycle?


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

The zebras will, not sure about the olive nerites and crab.The crab i am unsure about because they will snatch fish if they get big enough.Also i wouldnt recommend the two male gouramis,they are territorial.Perhaps try to get a female with one male.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Don't put all of those in for your cycling. Just put in the 4 danios...they are arguably one of the hardiest fish out there. They should survive it and once your cycle is completed, then add your other fish.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

Try and cycle without fish. It's better for the tank and the fish. U can start the cycle with pure ammonia(found at hardware stores), and there are several other ways as well.


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## Martini2108 (Jul 23, 2010)

while yes you can cycle a tank without fish (imo not better for tank) but I would not recommend it for a beginner. The fish to cycle with are the danios, very hardy fish and never seem to stop moving. The gouramis would do better with a male/female pair(as stated before). Wait a bit before adding a cleaning crew you want some stuff to build up so they wont starve.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Fishless is another alternative. Just search on here about what ammonia to use. Can't use just any one.


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## M1ster Stanl3y (Dec 10, 2010)

if you REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY really really really really really need a fish for your fishless cycle you could always do it with a BETA. if you are going with dwarf gouramis they can get along when the tank is cycled. I dunno about the other fish tho. Best bet is fishless cycle with material from an established tank(substrate, filter pads, etc) Adding live plants will also help the cycle out.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

The ammonia will burn the fins of a betta......If you need fish for cycling use zebra danios.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Martini2108 said:


> while yes you can cycle a tank without fish (imo not better for tank) but I would not recommend it for a beginner. The fish to cycle with are the danios, very hardy fish and never seem to stop moving. The gouramis would do better with a male/female pair(as stated before). Wait a bit before adding a cleaning crew you want some stuff to build up so they wont starve.


While I agree that pretty much any method of cycling will get your tank there in the end, I always recommend a fishless cycle to beginners because you just cant go wrong, from the point of view of the fish at least. If there are no fish in the tank you can't hurt or kill them. From the fish keepers point of view it takes away the stress and uncertainty of if your fish are okay as well as the work and expense of possible daily water changes or diseases caused by bad water quality. Really the only disadvantage is that it takes patience not to put fish in your new tank. If you don't want to mess with pure ammonia you can use a different source like a flake of fish food every day.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

One could argue that the exercise involved in keeping the fish safe during a cycle is good for new aquarist. It does help you get certain important thing down to a science like water testing and water changes. Not arguing for or against, just thinking out loud.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

true , it puts some people off forever as well though!


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## stanly89 (Feb 2, 2011)

I know fishless cycle would be best, but I don't have the patients. This used to be my saltwater tank a few years ago, but my chiller broke and was too much of a hassle. Besides you can't really keep a lot of saltwater fish in a tank that size. I think I'm going to cycle it with three turquoise danios. Should I put chemicals in it to keep the nitrate low, or should I just let it build up that way in the end there will be more beneficial bacteria? I will keep those fish in there for about a month then add six neon tetras. Wait another month and I will add a beta fish and some snails. Then probably a sucker fish, hopefully a nice one. Or any suggestions as to which fish look good together? Maybe a frog?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Don't use chemicals in a cycling tank. Only water conditioners. Starting with the Danios may be good, but I wouldn't add in anymore until the cycle is completed. After that you're good to add at a moderate pace.


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## Chillwill007 (Aug 20, 2010)

You could also use shrimp from the grocery store. Just put them in some kinda of net bagy so when it brakes apart you don't have to worry about scooping it up. But it will smell.


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## automatic-hydromatic (Oct 18, 2010)

Mollies are pretty hardy too. I had a pair in a 10 gallon survive over a week long ammonia spike over 6 during a cycle, and they lived to the day I traded them in at the LFS when I moved and had to take down the tank.

You could toss 4 of them in a 30 gallon and be cycled in a month probably. Then once you're cycled just take them back to the LFS, and most will give you some sort of trade-in value and you can get some new fish. 4 roughly the same size as the Mollies, and maybe 2 or 3 others. Don't stock it all at once, or you'll send the tank into another cycle and the ammonia levels will rise again.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Chillwill007 said:


> You could also use shrimp from the grocery store. Just put them in some kinda of net bagy so when it brakes apart you don't have to worry about scooping it up. But it will smell.


But don't do this if you plan to add fish. This is another way to do a fishless cycle.


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## Lil Gashog (Dec 1, 2010)

What about platy;s?


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## Martini2108 (Jul 23, 2010)

There is another way to "speed cycle" the tank (I would not recommend it just an idea) I've done this 2 times unintentionally. Overstock the tank with danios, make sure you'r filtration is better than great. Do no water changes for about 1 to 2 weeks (most likely you will lose some danios) you will get a major spike in all or most water lvl's. Add as many live plants as you can/want. The plants thrive on ammonia and will keep lvls from getting to high. When I did it this way my tank finished the whole cycle in 1 week all lvls good and still 6 months later. Also seeding the tank with established filter media helps a lot.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I don't think most people on this forum would condone a method that involves intentionally killing fish. If you chose to do a cycle with fish please start with only a small number of hardy fish and remember that you will need to do regular water changes, daily if needed.


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## Martini2108 (Jul 23, 2010)

as stated unintentional and would not recommend it but u can do it without killing any. did it with one tank, other tank lost almost all. the way to prevent loses is plant life imo. but as snail has said really unless you know exactly how to handle it or have the time to dedicate to watch them very close I would not do it at all for you will lose many fish unless you can watch them almost 24 hr a day if doing it that way. Still not really a good idea just giving my experience.


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## M1ster Stanl3y (Dec 10, 2010)

Plants and anything from an established tank....also there are products that are supposed to cycle a tank in 3 days....people do seem to have mixed reviews on it. other forums swear by it I think safe start is one product. You could try this route and let us know how it works


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

The cycling process in a heavily planted tank is quite different, plants absorb ammonia directly and prevent spikes so it is much gentler on the fish. A couple of easy plants can still help in a normal tank. IMO java moss and marimo balls are good for this, being good nutrient absorbers and hard to kill. With high enough light there are fast growing plants that work even better.


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## stanly89 (Feb 2, 2011)

Originally I was thinking artificial plants, but the planted aquariums in my opinion look a lot better. Is Co2 mandatory for these plants? Can I get buy without it? Here's my setup: tall 30 gallon- 24 inches, an eclipse 2 with the filter pad and the bio wheel, extra 30 gallon submerge filter, the eclipse lights (1 white and 1 blue) it's only 20 watts. I do have a 24 gallon nano with 36 watt lights that i can maybe add.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

CO2 is not mandatory for most plants and quite a few of them don't even require a huge amount of light. I would change out the blue bulb you have to a white one in the 6500k area.


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## Martini2108 (Jul 23, 2010)

All my tanks have live plants in them and I have yet to add CO2 to any of them. The most successful plants I've had (low-med lighting and no CO2) are hornwort, a lot of people dont like it cause it can be kinda messy but BIG nutrient hog. The java fern is a nice plant can be attached to wood or rock or float, very hardy plant, I've had some good experience with anubis on lava rock and not sure the name of it but aquatic grass of some kind grows like wildfire and propagates nicely.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

Lil Gashog said:


> What about platy;s?


I tried cycling with platies once. 3 females in a 20 high. sadly one of them( a rare pure blue wagtail, to be specific) gave birth while cycling so I got too focused on raising the 2 fry then doing daily water changes. eventually all of them died of a disease that caused the edges of their tails to turn white (the fry got it, too!). still don't know what the disease was, but because of it I don't recommend livebearers if u must do a fish-cycle


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

You can have a very nice planted tank without adding CO2. There also some plants that can be added to just about any tank if you just want a couple of easy plants rather than a full planted setup. Java fern, java moss and anubias for example will grow in low light and don't need special substrate.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Wisteria, Anacharis are good in lw-light. Java moss will grow from nothing but ambient light.


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