Few questions from a beginner

[Cermet]

That is good - waiting a week should work but since most QT for two weeks, it is then a mote point ... .

When do you plain on cycling and what type of cycle? Best not to use high end fish for a fish based cycle (and never a catfish.) Besides, for a 50 gal, would need a lot of fish for 1 ppm.

[Phantom2k4]

I am confused - you are going to start a new aquarium so the filter is not cycled but I keep hearing that you will add all the fish all at once. I assume you will add all the fiah after you do a fishless cycle?

If you have a tank, and cheap filter (that came with the setup), why not start cycling with the existing filter? Once you get a better filter, run them both and the new one will cycle too while the cheap but cycled filter keeps the fish healthy.

Since a fishless cycle can easily take six weeks, why wait any longer? Also, adding all the fish at once can lead to an ammonia spike with a fully cycled filter, so be on your guard for that and measure the ammonia and Nitrite levels for a few days after adding 'all' the fish to the cycled tank.

For stocking - just go to this site:

http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?

Gonna do a fishless cycle

I'll best starting completely from scratch this weekend. New tank, new filter, new everything. How many fish I could add in my initial stock was one of the questions I was still looking into. I wasn't sure how many I could add at a single time after my cycle was completed

Thanks for posting! I'll be sure to check out the link as well

I'm not that experienced but I would never recommend adding a whole lot of fish at once. Maybe add the penguins first, then the congos a few weeks later, cories after that and angel at the end over a period of a few weeks/months.

Very nice, big fan of the driftwood!

I'll likely use this timeline as a rough idea on purchasing order and times:

- Once the tank is cycled, buy my 6-8 congo tetra
- Wait a few days or so, buy my 8 or so penguin tetra, start quarantining them
- After 2 weeks in quarantine, i'll add the penguins to the tank
- I'll then buy and quarantine the corys. The tank's ecosystem should be settled in for them by the time they're ready to be added
- Buy and quarantine an angelfish. By the time I add it, the tetra should be too big for food

Also gonna go for a planted tank

[Cermet]

Your plain is excellent and very well thought out! I would suggest a black veil angel - those fish are beautiful.

For cycling - remember that the starting ammonia level is 1 ppm and refeed only once a day when and until it falls to zero. Adding too much ammonia can slow the growth of bacteria that convert nitrites ... . Also, don't let nitrates get much above 30 ppm or this can slow the cycling. Otherwise, no water changes! Best of luck but I don't think you need luck - your plaining and knowledge is excellent!

[Phantom2k4]

Your plain is excellent and very well thought out! I would suggest a black veil angel - those fish are beautiful.

For cycling - remember that the starting ammonia level is 1 ppm and refeed only once a day when and until it falls to zero. Adding too much ammonia can slow the growth of bacteria that convert nitrites ... . Also, don't let nitrates get much above 30 ppm or this can slow the cycling. Otherwise, no water changes! Best of luck but I don't think you need luck - your plaining and knowledge is excellent!

I've spent quite a bit of time researching aquariums etc., i want to have a good base of knowledge before I start actually tending to one

I'll be sure to keep that in mind, thanks!

[ameliaaahx]

Sounds like a great plan you've got there -- don't forget to update us! You'll love the Congos. ;)