Good bacteria in freshwater tank?

Question

Ok, to start, I have a 50 gallon tank, and I set it up Saturday. My ph is way off the charts high right now. I know I need to get the "good bacteria" started, so I need suggestions on how to begin that.

Someone told me a good start would be to throw some hardy fish in there, like maybe a bunch of guppies. Would that work out? I wouldn't mind using guppies as "test subjects" since they're cheap. Are there any other hardy cheap fish that could work, besides goldfish?

Are there any other ideas that you've used or know work to ready a tank for fish?

Is there a specific temp I should keep it at in order to begin the bacteria? I believe it's 78 right now, or so.

Will the ph equal out once I get the bacteria starting to build up?

I know this is a lot of questions, but my betta and I appriciate and thank you in advance for your help. He's eagerly watching and waiting to check out his big new home!
:o)

Answer 1

First if you pH is off the chart you need to remedy that before you put any fish in there, my suggestion is if its too low a little baking soda one or two teaspoons, or if it is too high an acid buffer, vitamin c works ok if you have some, but they sell acid buffer in pet stores.

anyway, cycling is a huge myth, its the way to keep novice fish keepers from killing there fish, all you need to do is add two fish to the tank and feed them reasonably

then wait a week and add two more, feed them reasonbly, by that i mean dont feed them twice a day,

i have six fish tanks and i never wait to put fish in, i just make sure that my ammonia is zero, I use amquell plus to knock out any chloramine, because regular dechlorinator will actually release ammonia into your tank

and i dont reccomend putting a betta into such a big tank, they dont swim well and like to be a little cramped they live in rice patties in the wild

as far as good bacteria they will grow overtime, but you just need to think of the tank as a big rubberband, you can stretch the amount of fish you put in there slowly, a few a week, but if you go an add like ten fish at once the rubber band will snap from to much force at once

just keep an eye on your ammonia level and you nitrite level they should not be zero at this point when you add fish but they should be very low

Answer 2

Different species of fish can tolerate ph from 4.5-9. Your betta will tolerate anything in that range, especially if he's already in hard water. Don't worry about ph until you've figured out which fish you want to go with him. Using chemicals to make the ph unstable will kill fish.

A fishless cycle is best. Get a source of PURE ammonia or use frozen feeder shrimp to cycle the tank. Guppies are kinda small to cycle a 50 gallon tank. Feed the tank a tablespoon of ammonia or a few feeder shrimp and the bacteria should start to grow.

Answer 3

Ph is not dependant on bacterial levels. Bacterial levels are dependant on ph. Ammonia and nitrite levels are what are affected by the bacteria in the tank.

Carbonate hardness (KH) is what will determine your ph's stability and level over time. If you have a low kh tank, you need to add baking soda or some other carbonate buffer to get it above 6.4. There are a number of products from seachem & aquarium pharmacudicals that are carbonate buffers. Stay away from phosphate buffers - They'll attract beard algae. Alternatively you can use crushed coral as gravel to help stabalize the ph.

Bacteria start dying at ph 6.4 and below. Anything above 6.4 and below 8.5 is fine for nitrifying bacteria. Acidic conditions are bad for bacteria.

Guppies are fine fish for cycling. They tolerate crappy conditions well. You just need a source of organic ammonia to get things going.

Better yet, they sell a product in the refrigerated section of most fish stores called bio-spyra, which is live bacteria. Its about $18-24 for a 50 gallon dose. It works overnight as long as the water conditions don't kill bacteria (like, dechlorinated... ph above 6.4). Be sure to check the expiration date before buying... They have a very short shelf life & must be refridgerated.

Answer 4

You can cycle your tank using one small application of plain ammonia. That way you don't have to torture any fish,cheap or not. Look up "fish-less cycling" on a good aquarium web site. Any way you cycle it will take about 5 weeks to completely go through the process of growing the bacteria colonies that will care for your fish. You don't need to buy bacteria cultures to add to your tank,they are every where. The key to fish-less cycling is a good test kit.----- Your temperature is fine, temp is not that critical.----- The pH is what it is. High pH water is very hard water usually with a high alkalinity factor also. This means that short of a Reverse Osmosis system you will have to deal with a high pH. The easiest way to do this is to keep fish that will thrive in this kind of water. African Cichlids(although a 50 gallon tank might not be large enough,territory-wise) Some of the mid water Africans like Brichardi might work.And some of the smaller ones like the Julidichromis group will breed readily in that kind of water. Another choice might be the Rainbow fishes from Australia or New Zealand or Indonesia. Another group of fishes that will thrive in your water are the Live-bearers from Mexico and Central America.--------It's much easier to let the water choose your fish,than to constantly battle with changing water numbers and stressed out fish. I hope you won't see this as bad news,it is better seen as an opportunity to keep some interesting and unusual fish.People that live in soft water areas would love to have water that is as stable as yours. Please try fish-less cycling,it's really more humane.-------PeeTee

Answer 5

I would do a fishless cycle. This will not harm any fish and is easier. You can add like a frozen shrimp in there(or a few) and as it decays the bactiria will grow and feed on it. Then you can take it out and safly add fish. Test every few days with a liquid test kit
You should have ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate like around 10
This will take a few weeks
Then add a few fish at a time and keep testing your water

Answer 6

fishless cycling is the most cruelty-free way of cycling a tank.
there's an excellent beginners guide linked below.

Answer 7

Get a product called Cycle.