60 Litre Tropical tank?

Question

Set up my new 60 litre tank over the past two days..... Finnished planting it up about 12 hours aro. Added the water treatments TetraAqua Easybalance and Aquasafe. Also added a few flakes to get the cycle started..... noticed there seems to be alot of white specks in the water. is this just due to the fact that the water has not had time to filter?...

Also one more question After a week. And allowing my tank to pass the tests that im going to do in 7 days. would it be a good idea to buy 5 small neons and maybe a bottom feeder as my 1st fish and leave them for a week or so.. then add the likes of guppies and other fish?

yes i will be using tests before i add fish.... i have got a voucher worth £5 so i will just buy the 5 Neons and a bottom feeder. a Small feeder not sure on breads and stuff yet but will look it all up. amd if they die at least it wont have cost me a arm and leg.... The bloke in the shop said a tank as big as mine could hold alot of fish.. around 15 medium sized and a bottom feeder. but im not sure. Thanks for the info about the white bits... its what i thought it would have been to be fair.

Answer 1

First, the little white specks are probably dust/residue from your substrate. That will all filter out and settle. Next, it takes 4-6 weeks, sometimes longer, for a tank to completely cycle, so I wouldn't be expecting much after only one week. It usually takes a good two weeks at the very least to just get the nitrites to spike. If you want to do a cycle with fish, you can follow that routine, yes, but be prepared for some, maybe all of the fish you buy to die, because that is often what happens, which is why the fishless cycle was invented. Are you testing your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates so that you will know when your tank has cycled? Testing should be done daily while cycling a tank. You don't have room for a bottom feeder in that small tank, unless you got only one cory, which isn't suggested either as cories like to be in groups. For a 60 liter tank, you can only have about 10-12 tetras or like sized fish so, keep that in mind when buying your fish.

Answer 2

the little things floating around are probably stuff that is in the gravel. a 60 litre tank will hold about 15 small fish -- you can't cycle a tank without some marine life unless you use cleaning ammonia so any wait period isn't necessary. a troop of neons should be fine for cycling. i am not big on recommending cleaning fish because people think they clean. some fish will help keep algae down. they need to be fed and cared for like any other fish though. a new tank will have no algae so any algae cleaners would need algae pellets. i would just stick with the neons.

Answer 3

Because of the food you added the bacteria is "Blooming" This is the stage when your 15 gallon tank (Most people use gallons) is being filled with beneficial bacteria that is eating and multiplying by the minute! This is clouding the water and it should calm down in a few days.
Don't use a clearing product it can harm your future fish. After the neons and a bottom feeder your almost overstocked. Add a trio of guppies and then your probably done.
Hope this helps!

Answer 4

dont add neons for the fish to cycle the tank. they are sensitve and die too easily. get some platies or feeder goldfish too cycle, but then take them out and back to the store when its done. its not cruel if the fish is hardy like the two i mentioned. your tank is cycled when you ammonia and nitrites are 0 and your nitrates read below 40ppm. more than 40 and you need to do a water change about 20-30 %
stock slowly or you will recycle your tank. and be screwed.

Answer 5

One week is not enough time to cycle a tank.If you are in a hurry do fishless cycling and add about two drops of plain ammonia(no soaps or other additives) and then do your testing,it will take several weeks to complete the cycle,but it's the humane way to do the job.