Verify F8 Setup

[Hawkeye]

Ok thanks, sounds easy enough. How long should I continue the treatment for, especially if only using as a precaution? Does overdose in the absence of IP's hurt the F8?

...thinking I will probably add a pair of bumblebee gobies after I can confirm I have a true cycle going

[ILoveLola]

No, the medication won't harm them any. The directions will say to add to the water, don't do that. I broke the tablets into 4-5 pieces and it took me about ten days to two weeks of treating her food for her to be noticably better (ie, her belly not being sunken in just hours after feeding her).

[Hawkeye]

Cool, any significant difference between those two meds? Which did you use?

[ILoveLola]

A lot of people report really good things about Jungle, but the only Jungle stuff I could find was medicated fish food pellets. Definitely useless to puffers. I used the Tetra fizzy tablets. API also had powdered anti parasite meds, but it was waaaay more expensive than Tetras. It came with more medication, too, but I still have a few tablets left from when I treated Lola, so I'm sure its not necessary to have all of that stuff.

What is important is that it contains praziquantel and metronidazole.

[sevenyearnight]

Please don't add your fish until the tank has completed the cycle.

[Hawkeye]

^^Don't worry, I won't. I'm excited, but I understand the dangers of high ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and I don't plan on jumping the gun. I was successful in cycling my first tank and have had very few fish deaths in the two years I have had a community tank. I have gotten quite proficient at water testing/ water changes and at pruning java ferns for decaying material. I plan on keeping my F8 for a long time, so I am trying to do as much research as possible before picking it up from the store.

[RTR]

Mulm does contain beneficial bacteria, but not necessarily the nitrification bacteria. There are many, many forms of bacteria in our tanks.

Plants do take up ammonia (ammonia is mostly nitrogen) and nitrate when they are healthy and growing well. But during fishless cycling the ammonia levels are far higher than they are in a mature tank. If there is enough light to support the plants during fishless cycling, you are very likely to have algae problems. Tanks should not be well lighted during fishless cycling to avoid algae issues. It is not a good idea to do both at once.

Nitrification bacteria are best in filters, not on the gravel surface unless you are using prefiltered RFUG (reverse flow undergravel filtration).

[Hawkeye]

Im running the tank with the lights off and continuing to keep ammonia in the tank. I definitely have at least a microcycle going, but I think it needs to go longer, as I understand puffers have a high bioload

[Hawkeye]

Just checked water parameters

Ammonia: 1-2 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 30ppm

Will check again tomorrow night. Only about 4 plants in the tank of significant size. Continuing to provide ammonia source.

[RTR]

Sounds reasonable. That level of ammonia should clear within 12- 24 hours. You cannot consider it cycled until it does clear it within 12 hours.

If you have a pH test kit, it is a good idea to monitor that regularly during cycling also. That will confirm that you still have decent alkalinity to support nitrification.

[Hawkeye]

Ya, I think ph is around 8.0 (...colorblindness makes these API color tests a pain lol...gotta get my friend to verify, but I think I'm right.) I beleive the aragonite is a good buffer.

I'll continue checking twice daily. I started a journal for this tank to record water parameters/feeding times just to keep track.

[DrKennethNoisewater]

i really like the looks of the tank set up

[Hawkeye]

Thanks! Should I be testing kH as well? What hardness does a F8 prefer? I am thinking from my substrate choice and rocks it should be at fairly correct levels.

[sevenyearnight]

KH for Figure 8's, I believe, should be at least 8°
The aragonite should maintain that, and if your pH is 8.0, then t that would suggest that your KH is sufficient.

[sevenyearnight]

Just an idea, but you could start a thread and post pictures of colorimetric tests next to the corresponding cards, if you don't always have a friend nearby when doing testing. Unless you think that's too much of a PITA.