# Switching from community tank to african cichlid tank



## casinhodges (Mar 29, 2014)

I have had my 55 gallon tank cycled for about a year now and I am ready to switch to african cichlids. I currently have 5 zebra danios, 1 bristlenose pleco, and one opaline gourami. I have one canister and two HOB's that are running close to 1000 gph. I need to know if I will be able to add all the cichlids at once. I wanted to do about 8 peacock/haps all around 2". There are no real breeders or retailers that I can buy from near me. I wanted to do an online order and was wanting to do them all at once, but I'm not sure if my bio load will go crazy or not. Thanks in advance!


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Are you planning on keeping the existing stock?


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## casinhodges (Mar 29, 2014)

No I have a friend that is going to take the danios and gourami. I will keep the bristlenose pleco.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Ok. It is possible your tank will experience a mini cycle with 8 new fish, if your max stock on the 55 was only a handful of smaller fish. You could wing it, and add the cichlids. Check water parameters daily. If you get a bump in ammonia, do a water change. This could go on for some time, and last several weeks before your bio catches up. Or you could give your friend the existing fish now, and dose your tank with ammonia per the fishless cycle article. This process would go quickly, as you already have established media.


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## casinhodges (Mar 29, 2014)

Okay.. I would like to do the fish less cycle with the ammonia, but I will still have the BN pleco in the tank. About how long would it take for it to cycle? I might could find him a temporary home if it is a short amount of time.


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## casinhodges (Mar 29, 2014)

Would I be able to add the cichlids and use SafeStart by Tetra? I've heard it works well when adding new fish.


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

I've heard it works as well but I have not used it. I have used Dr. Tims One and Only. That works but harder to find locally. Need to order it most likely. Hard to say how long a fishless cycle with let's say around 2 ppm ammonia would take in your established tank. Maybe a week. Maybe a few days. Or could be longer.


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## hose91 (Mar 5, 2014)

Conventional wisdom says that bacteria colonies potentially double in size every 12 hours under ideal conditions. Since you have both types of bacteria available, it should go fairly quickly. I think I would temporarily rehome the BN, and start with about 1 ppm of ammonia. The ammonia consuming bacteria seems pretty efficient, but if you overwhelm the denitrifying bacteria with too much nitrite, it will impact its growth. In a 55G with typical rockwork, and without doing a bunch of math, I think I'd put a about 1.5 ML of the pure ammonia into the tank, let it sit for 20 mins with the filters running, then test to see where you're at. If you hit about 1 ppm, then give it 24 hours and test. If not 0 and 0 after 24 hours, wait another 24 hours and then test again. I suspect you'll be able to process that 1 ppm within a couple of days, at the longest. I'd do that a couple of times, and the time to process should definitely come down quickly. I can't imagine more than a week, assuming your current tank is pretty healthy.


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## casinhodges (Mar 29, 2014)

I think I will dose it with the ammonia and make sure it can handle it. It's better to be safe than sorry. Especially when you are dealing with $150+ fish. What type of ammonia do you recommend? Where do you purchase it?


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Ace Hardware. Janitorial 10% ammonia


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

You will need to remove all the fish from the tank if you are planning on using the ammonia for cycling and you will need a test kit to check the levels.


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## casinhodges (Mar 29, 2014)

Yes I understand. I have a test kit as well.


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