two years next spring. 35 gallon patio pond with a homebred school of white clouds... I took a chance by overwintering them outside with a de-icer for frozen temps... They survived!! and bred again.. In summer, they jump and catch gnats flying at the surface... like lil trout
It’s so interesting how much goes into fish care that I’ve never even considered, which is part of the problem. Just because your fish is alive, doesn’t mean it’s thriving.
Ben, I'm really new to all this, as I only got my first tank in March this year, so your comment about your fish "thriving" made me smile. Why did it make me smile? Because I'm trying to deal with five Polar Parrot pairs spawning at the same time and, rightly or wrongly, I take my population explosion as an indication that my fish are doing more than just "surviving". As a beginner, I'm very fortunate to have an extremely experienced fish keeper, and eco-system creator close by and they have taken me under their wing which is what I attribute my success to, particularly when they've given me more plants to see if I've improved in "not killing them" to help build my eco-system.
The number of customers I talk to who tell me that thier goldfish lived for ten years in a bowl and that they want a new one- Give me strength. You could probably live for ten years in a cupboard if someone dropped food in every day, but you wouldn't be happy! I use the surviving, not thriving motto on a near daily basis.
Problem is, a lot of people don’t seem to care if a fish “thrives,” they just want a pretty fish to swim around and amuse them. They don’t see them as seriously as a hamster or a dog, even though they rely on us more heavily (you’re in control of the very “air they breathe”). When I do get customers who listen to me because they’re concerned for their fish, it makes me so happy ❤
"Start with a garden" YES YES YES YES YES. I was forced to learn patience when I went away from my tanks for a month long trip. I carefully planned a barebones feeding schedule, made sure tanks were as heavily planted as possible before leaving, and when we got back we hadn't lost ONE fish. Since then, I relish the wait it takes to mature an aquarium. I love planted a garden, adding some snails, and seeing that ecosystem slowly settling into itself. I'm not so hasty to stock fish anymore, there's SO much more to enjoy about the aquarium process!
O my word!!! This reminds me of when we had our neighbors take care of our animals while we were away. I had her put some fish food in my 5 gallon tank with no fish cause I was trying to get ammonia in there and she asked me what she was feeding in that tank. I said.... "good bacteria" should of seen her reaction!!!
When I set up my shrimp tank, watching it season before I added any shrimp was actually such an enjoyable experience, especially when I started seeing the little microorganisms swimming around in there. I 100% agree with you about setting up environments to thrive. It's so much more than watching the colors change in three test tubes.
@@victorbryan8269 I put down substrate (soil capped with sand), set up sycamore sticks fory hardscape, and planted a bunch of plants. Then I let it sit and season for a while (I think it was a couple months, but I don't remember exactly how long) before getting shrimp. At some point before the shrimp I also added a few snails.
Honestly, it was my love for plants that have helped me with my aquariums. I also don’t like using “man made things” to get rid of ammonia spikes and such things like that. I literally just thought about how I propagate plants in water to grow roots and then thought about putting them in my aquarium along with underwater plants. I was busy trying to find out how to get rid of ammonia, meanwhile I have pothos plants in my house that I have grown in water to get them to reduce the ammonia and no harsh chemicals were involved! Plants literally fix so much in new and old aquariums
Most of our basic aquarium issues can be traced back to an excess of what are essentially plant nutrients in the water - how do you fix eutrophication? Bioremediation: more plants, Dilution: water changes, Elimination: stocking and feeding. It's that simple, people get too stuck in the details.
I actually did a little experiment. Took a potho’s cutting (2 leaves) and grew it out my fish tank. I water all my house plants with my fish tank water but for this experiment the original potho’s I took the cutting from got only tap water. 1 year later that little cutting is more than double the length of the original plant and the leaves are twice the size too!
I had a 200 African cichlid tank where I fought nitrates for years. I converted it to an Amazon biotope, added plants, fertilizers (no nitrigen), angels- among others. Over a year the plant growth exploded and the tank looked stunning. Recently my plants started to get some browning leaves while still growing well. Discovered my nitrates were zero and the plants were starting to starve. Now I am adding Seachem nitrogen to supplement fish waste nitrogen. An established aquarium is an ever changing environment
That original “Is your tank cycled” video was enormously helpful to me. Observing how your tank balance shifts over years is a humbling, intriguing part of the journey. It’s probably the part I enjoy most!
My 2 cents is that a lot of beginners see the amazing tanks that others have and want that asap. The idea that it takes a lot of time and is a slow process is really discouraging for a lot of folks. I believe that the one thing that youtube has been a disservice for is that you see all the success a lot of people are having in an instant picturesque way but not the process of getting there and keeping it there for years on end. If you dig around (you have to put effort into it) you find the channels that really show you seasoned tanks and the journey they went on...but that's not the norm. Usually it's a quick video of an amazing setup with what went into the tank & equipment, but doesn't really break down the time to keep it going optimally long term. I think it's leading people to the idea that if you don't have perfection, it's not worth keeping the tank.
I would argue that the vast majority of picturesque tanks you see on youtube and magazines etc have only been setup for a few weeks and likely taken down not much longer after. These tanks are usually set up for competitions and contain few fish or are not even suitable for fish due to commercial substrates releasing ammonia etc. What you actually don’t see is how ridiculously difficult these tanks are to maintain and keep in balance. They are not true representations of the fish keeping hobby but more planted tank hobby. It does take a long time to season a tank but the work involved to achieve a beautiful set up is far less than these fake tanks with huge amounts of fertilisers and co2.
Most of the aquascaped tanks you see on TH-cam are set up for 6 months (just long enough to do an update on the tank), maybe even up to an year, and then broken down so the youtuber can do another scape for 6 months. They never become seasoned tank and in fact you'll often see on updates that the tank owner suffers with algae and has to constantly mess with the tank to fix things.
I’ve attempted fish tanks off and on for 20+ years. I always ended up giving up on them. Why? The constant maintenance and changing numbers. Almost 3 years ago, I came across your channel and I decided to give it a go again. But this time the main difference was, I decided to use live plants. It changes the entire dynamic. Is there still maintenance? Yes. Is it as often? Nope. Am I chasing numbers like ph? Nope. I just make sure it’s stable. In my humble opinion, live plants is the key. It makes balancing the tank so much easier and quicker. Thank you for all you do.
My 90 gallon aquarium is now 8 months old and it is just NOW beginning to thrive as its own ecosystem. The plants have grown, the substrate is finally able to feed the roots, the fish that I've added all along the way (and NONE at the beginning) are happy and the maintenance cycle continues to work but it's a moving target, and I know that. I watch my nitrates every week. I spend time nearly every day sitting and just watching. I look at the plants, their leaves, their growth and where the light and shade falls. This all changes. I watch the fish and where they swim. I watch the food fall and all the fish eat and observe where this all goes. Keeping a tank is so much more than cycling, as you mentioned, and I credit my understanding of that to you and a few of the other experienced authorities who promote this hobby. The fish, the plants and their ability to be happy and thrive matter to me. It clearly matters to you too which is why I follow you and also why I buy all my plants from you! I would buy my fish there too, but I'm 3.5hrs away and Snoqualmie is a nightmare this time of year:) Your channel is a beacon to those interested in this hobby. I hope that it helps them understand the long term, delicate and enjoyable nature of this hobby and drives them to learn more about how and why these ecosystems work. It is not for those who want a quick result or a chance to brag about what they have. It's a way to learn about water and air, plants and fish and the science that explains why these details matter. Thank you for continuing to post videos like this. Long time fan here, and grateful for all you do.
In the saltwater world they are discovering that the reason new tanks get the “ugly stage” is that micro biome in the aquarium is basically non existent and that when compared to an aquarium that’s been set up for longer with less disturbance the micro biome is so much more diverse. You’re 100% correct in what you’re saying.
I set up a tank for a family member. Told him, you can add fish after 4 weeks or once you start seeing algae. He added fish in the second week and they all died 🤦🏻 He then added fish after seeing some algae and the fish have been fine ever since 😆 Thanks for all you do Cory
STT! Seasoned Tank Time! My heart goes out to folks who are struggling to "cycle" new tanks. It's so much work and worry! But it's difficult to engage with them in forums/FB groups because they're just so dead-set on working through the process. They like the idea of a step-by-step with quantifiable goals, and I get that. I personally like the "plonk some plants in there and see what happens" method, but when I was newer to the hobby I wanted proof that I was doing the right things. Watching the ammonia/nitrites drop and the nitrates climb is more reassuring than "yay, algae! But what kind? Is it diatoms? Those are bad, right? Is it black beard? I've heard that's impossible to get rid of! WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS TANK?!?!?"
I never intentionally knew what I was doing when I cycled my tanks lol, even my first one. I just put plants and one of those bioballs in, let it run for 3 weeks, then tested the water to make sure it was safe once I saw nematodes and other microbes swimming around :) Maybe i should have spent more time fussing with the parameters and checking each of the steps, but i'm a fan of the low-maintenance natural method lol. My cycles seem to go much faster that way.
I can't express how grateful I am for your work over the years. Despite losing a couple betta fish and other critters, I've never lost a whole ecosystem and with time, patience and your videos to help inform my carefully chosen changes my tanks have only been getting better and more stable. Currently I am enjoying some Neon Tetra friends and they're doing well in a tank that's been up for a few years already. My old aquarium garden is much more energetic with them.
This subject applies to Vivariums and Paladariums as well. So many people plant their Vivas and Palas, and after a week or two, they introduce their animals if they even wait that long. I have seen people introduce their pets the same day as they finish their Vivas and Palas and wonder why their pets start doing badly and/or dying within a week. I used to build Vivas and Palas as my job for years, and I got the same questions. Why are my animals doing so bad in my Viva or Pala? Why did all my animals in my Viva or Pala die? My first question was always: How long has your Viva or Pala been set up? Second, always was: Did you wait at least 4 weeks after setup before introducing springtails and other cleanup crew species? Did you wait at least 2 weeks after introducing your cleanup crew before introducing your animals? If the answer to any of these questions was no. That could most likely be the problem. Your Viva or Pala needs time to establish itself before you add anything else. Once the plants start to show signs of new growth, then you can look at adding your cleanup crew. If you use isopods or other like insects, you want to wait until you start seeing babies before adding your main animals to your Viva or Pala. There is a big difference between meeting the basics for a Viva or Pala and letting it mature for a while before adding your animals. Some animals are hardy and may be able to weather the "Storm" of the settling stages of your Viva or Pala, but most won't and will become sickly and/or die in a short time.
@cyndifalk Most welcome. Yeah, it's not something most Viva and Pala builders/keepers on TH-cam talk about. It's not something that will get them views. Most people on TH-cam have a quantity over quality look to their channel. It can take weeks to months to build a small to medium Viva or Pala. So they could get a couple of videos out of the build portion, maybe one or two out of the setup process. After that, they want to show it with the pets in it. You are looking at three or four weeks of filming at this point. Then they have to edit all that into videos and get it out as fast as possible, least they lose viewers because there is too much time between videos. So instead of 6 months or more from start to animal introduction, they drop out the months of seasoning time and get going on to the next project. But what they should be doing is having multiple projects going at one time and should be filming months in advance. Sort of like how TV shows are done. This way, they can give all the different steps a couple of videos each and inform people the proper way of setting up their Vivas and Palas. Or, in the case of this video, fish tanks.
Don't beat yourself up too much over this. Most of the responsible Fish Tubers have told us the same thing. Use filter media from another aquarium, use the quick starters from different companies, only start a new tank with a very small amount of fish, check the water every day for a week in the beginning, look for algae to form, use live plants... You're doing a great job, and I'm so glad I discovered you and Rachel and Prime Time Aquatic when I was restarting with aquariums a few years ago. I now have 4 nano tanks with happy healthy prolific fish and happy blooming plants which give me joy every day.
I hope this message gets out there far and wide because THIS is what people need to know about the hobby. You've done so many wonderful and helpful videos over the years, but this might be one of the most important. Thank you.
Cory - your videos always make so much sense. No fluff, just info that is easy to understand and delivered in a way that seems attainable to a majority.
I’m a beginner on a budget who just started months ago. I have a 3 gallon tank with lots of beginner plants in it (Bacopa, Water Wisteria, Java Moss, Frogbit, and a literal Pothos cliping). Before I introduced my shrimp in it, I made sure that the plants were growing well and since they’re fast growing, I never had problems with them. After a month and a half of introducing my shrimps, I now see baby shrimps (pothos grew 4 inches as well!) I never had an algae bloom or anything, algae actually only grow on my HOB filter which I harvest and give to the shrimps as a snack. Once the shirmplets are all grown up, I plan to relocate them to another tank with my first ever fish to take care of (thinking of neon tetras) I read about the nitrogen cycle and tank cycling but I honestly failed at it because I heard that you need at least 3 weeks before introducing anything to the tank whereas I only waited a week and a half. None of my shrimp died and they’re multiplying even. I think the moral here is that there is actually no exact formula for success (actually might be my plants lol). A first timer like me did it and anyone can do it too if they stick to the basics and continue learning.
You’re right. As a seasoned aquarist I know that a complete nitrogen cycle is just the first step toward a mature aquarium. I sadly have to admit that I have not been a great communicator of this truth as I help new hobbyists along. I will do a better job of explaining that we need an ecosystem to keep our fish healthy long term. Thanks for stepping on some toes. It was needed.
Personally I've found 4 to 5 weeks is when things start to get quite stable. However 6 months seems to be the sweet spot for tanks becoming an ecosystem.
I agree. Mine really hit its stride around 6-8 months in. Now that it’s 18 months in it’s really become resilient. I can add or remove lots of plants without it having issues. Heck, I even take half of the filter media out sometimes for my quarantine tank and it doesn’t even seem phased. My plants are also a huge part. I started off with only rooted plants and always had some algae issues. Once I added in floating plants, that went away too. I also barely vacuum my gravel.
@@Banditomojado A very similar story with me. Plants are key! They do all the heavy lifting on my end I have a decent sized canister filter but if that were to stop the plants would take care of things pretty well regardless. I just like the extra clear water a canister filter provides.
I wish I had found your channel when I first started 4 years ago! You’re great at explaining things plainly, why you feel they work, showing the behind the scenes, your failures and successes. A lot of other sources act like everything they do was perfect the first time, every time and you’re obviously doing things wrong if you don’t have the same results.
I'm not a tech guy, don't own computer, therefore I had never heard of cycling a tank before I found Aquarium Co-op's channel... I guess mine have always been well seasoned because I generally get all my plants planted and let them 'grow in' for at least 1 month, usually two... And I always start my 'new' tanks with old tank water... Thanks again for another great informative video...! Keep it up...!
Man this is such a great conversation. For the longest time it seemed like people didn’t focus on the fact that this is a habitat you’re creating. I run a reef tank and I am still constantly dealing with stability issues a year and a half in. I just keep working at it though knowing that it will continue to mature and get better.
This is the absolute best video I've seen you make. I retired and moved to Colombia 3.5 years ago. Here there is a much larger emphasis on establishing a biosphere since we have the largest bio diversity in the world. So I have to prepare my wife when we setup our first aquarium (waiting to move into a larger home) that the aquarium will only have plants and wood and leaves for about a month before we add the discus. Though we may add a handful of tetras to feed the bacteria. Before we even bought it I tested the water so that we know what we need in a setup. No surprise here it is below 6.4 pH! Our city water comes from the various tributaries that feed the Rio Negro. And I also told her that when we get the fish they may be juveniles but we need to stick to set numbers. We may have many people asking why the tank is so empty...but we can just tell them to wait and see.
I set up my 29 gallon aquarium 11 months ago. Having done this previously about 35 years ago, I knew that I love a well-planted aquarium with a focus on a balanced ecosystem. It's taken a few wrong turns to find out what plants grow the best for my aquarium, getting the right lighting, proper feeding, etc. It is now lush and beautiful with tons of thriving plants, and my fish love it as well.
I had a tank set up for 3 years without any real issues. I moved and bought a bigger tank, they were good for about 6 months and I had an ammonia spike and lost half my fish before I figured out what I was doing wrong. I appreciate your videos and all the people on your team. It was really helpful to refer to when I had fish dying daily and didn't k it what else to do. You and your team's calm, common sense approach was awesome. Thank you
A mistake I made was thinking my aquarium would be cycled and ready through my move. I set up my aquarium and started having fish die. Come to find out my new tap water was extremely hard compared to my old place. It had a ph above 8.5, my old place had a flat 7. It completely changed the biology of my tank and made it unstable. Anyway thank you for the upload.
Great video, so many people get confused when it comes to starting an aquarium. It’s not about “cycling” the tank it’s about creating a miniature ecosystem. Starting a tank with live aquatic plants is a great idea. Problem is many people who first get into the hobby have no patience and want instant gratification.
I'm actually lucky that I was afraid to add fish to my first tank for around six months. It was important because I learned along the way. What's this algae that's growing? What's that little worm? What's that brown stuff? How do I grow my plants? I became educated about many things without the fear of it harming my fish. And while I was learning, I was growing a seasoned tank that's been running smoothly ever since. Right now it's handling an accidental overstock of guppies, which it adapted to with no problems. Watching your past videos about cycling is what helped me so much. Thank you to all at Aquarium Co-op!
I am new to the hobby and I have one tank that I started setting up in August. Animals added in October. Additional plants (I had some at the start and kept adding) just arrived from y'all this week. :) I say "animals added in October" because that's when I brought home my betta and two snails, but I first had detritus worms and copepods show up, have me totally panic about it, do some googling, and realize ...oh, those are okay, whew! LOL. I am grateful for your videos, because you're like, the voice of reason compared to The Fish Police who condemn me for using test strips instead of the API kit (to which I have more than once replied, "Cory from Aquarium Co-op says test strips are fine, so I'm going with that"). I've learned a lot about trying to make it a balanced ecosystem from y'all, so thank you! Additionally, I've been learning about my new friends, their personalities, and what they like and don't like. My betta flares at one of the snails (pretty much always the girl and almost never the guy) too much, so I've been adding more plants, a floating betta log, and a ball in there to try and give him more to do and the snails more places to be out of his sight. The snails are nerites so they don't like a lot of food offerings I've tried and they've done a great job clearing up the algae, but they'll eat catappa leaves, Kat's Aquatics calcium chips, unsalted green beans, and white sweet potato (not garnet, lol). It took a lot of trial and error to find foods they would eat! I keep learning new things every day and I don't imagine that's going to stop anytime soon.
Hi there! I am trying to do as much research as I can on a planted tank for my goldfish, and your videos have been a huge help! A little background, I won this fish at a fair, (I had ZERO intention of actually getting one and felt terrible about the animal cruelty I contributed to immediately after). We've had him since October 14th and is doing swimmingly, thanks to the help of an excellent fishkeeper friend who gave us a 10 gal tank (we need a bigger one, I know) substrate, multiple used filters, food, and tank decorations. Lil Buddy has grown significantly and we've learned a ton about fish care, but are far from experts yet. Just wanted to thank you so much for all the videos you've put out, helping novices like me to do the best we can by our fish. I am in love with the hobby and am so, so excited to get my planted tank started. I definitely want 50+ gallons with gravel at the bottom, black sand on top, and a lucky bamboo forest with moss balls and river rocks. (Not sure if lucky bamboo is okay for goldies yet, still have to research) but I can't wait to share. Thanks again for all your tips! We appreciate you so much!!!
Again, outstanding. Been in the hobby for 11 years and have NEVER encountered this very sane philosophy. Looking forward to less anxious fussing with my tanks, more planting, more patience.
I set up my first aquarium in ages AFTER watching all of your videos about seasoning, etc.... and let me just say, I will NEVER do it any other way! My plants (which I also bought from Aquarium Co-Op) and my fish are incredibly healthy - my testing levels are perfect - and I have never had a tank become so healthy and stable! Started back in May of this year!
I absolutely loved this video. I've followed Cory for 4 or 5 years know. I've learned so much and shared the joy with friends and family. It felt great to inspire my brother and friend to start their own tanks. Right now I've currently got 5 tanks and my brother has 2 . I moved 1,700 miles from my brother but we always keep in touch due to our love for aquariums. All thanks to you Cory!!
I stopped using my tap water conditioner (dechlorinator) over a month ago because the tank seemed to get a little sluggish whenever I did. Now I just top off my tank with tap water that hasn't been conditioned at all, and so far everything is fine. I have a filter in my tank with biomedia, and the filter just picks up any dirt that the plants don't or can't deal with, and makes the water move enough to avoid the tank being stagnant. I have mystery snails and ramshorn snails to do the big waste clean up, and inherited some acroloxus snails and ostracods from the plants that help with algae removal and bottom feeding. There are some bladder snails in the tank too, I had more but their population became too large too quickly so I removed them and am gonna sell them to my local pet store. I'm keeping some because they are adorable and are also helping with the waste management. I did have a fungus issue in the tank two weeks ago, and my betta did start white spot disease. The fungus actually died/disappeared on its own as fast as it appeared, my guess is the snails took care of it, and I treated the betta with pimafix. The tank handled the pimafix fine, there was zero clouding of the water. The betta cleared up super fast too, probably because I caught the white spot disease early. I do trim the plants to avoid overgrowth, and occasionally remove the water lettuce if it started to prevent the UV light from penetrating the surface. Otherwise I leave the plants alone. They are helping to balance the tank more than anything else in there. The way I have always seen it, is that you have to let things do what they are meant to do, and not try to control or force things to function differently. I think some hobbyists are control freaks and care so deeply about the aesthetics of the tank that they forget about the actual health and stability of the aquarium. Also, "Is your tank cycled?" is an unanswerable question. There's really no way to determine if a tank is cycled. You can determine it is balanced by watching the ecosystem thrive, you can test the water to determine if the pH, ammonia and nitrate and nitrite levels are appropriate, but you cannot define "cycled".
I take sort of a hybrid approach. I take a bunch of frogbit and dwarf water lettuce from my established tank and throw it in the new (in my case quarantine) tank along with a double dose of easy green. Then I give it about a week for the plants to settle in since they tend to lose a few roots and get stressed when transferred. Then I take one of the two sponges from my established Sicce 400 and stick it in the new tank filter. I usually change the water a couple times the first week after adding fish just to be safe. Even when ammonia and nitrite look okay. I use easy green to keep the nitrate around 10 ppm for the plants.
Learning ecology in highschool gave be a fair starting point to enter the aquarium hobby, but the hobby has taught me far far more than my school teachers ever could, about ecology, biology, animal behavior, botany, and even philosophy. It's a surprisingly magical hobby, it's so connected to nature yet so transcendent of it, the balance of the natural and artificial, we learn so much about ourselves and our role on this planet, keeping fish has actually given me new perspectives on socialising with humans, it has taught me some skills that help with handling my mental health and I believe made me a little bit better as a friend and citizen.
Phenomenal video! This really hit home for me. When I was first starting out, if I asked questions, the first response was, "Is your tank cycled?". I was getting frustrated with this question because my issues were never being solved. I think you've hit the nail on the head about creating an ecosphere and not just making sure tanks are cycled. It took me a long time to really learn this point. I'm in love with fish keeping and will continue trying to help my fish thrive. Also, as a side note, your teeth look great! This is the first of your videos that I've watched in months, and I didn't know you had gotten braces. I bet that is going to feel so great when it's time to take them off. Good luck with everything! I love and appreciate the time and effort you put forth in your videos! Keep it up!
This makes so much sense! I am a newbie, but no one is messing with ponds out in the wild, some thrive some don't, but many that are thriving are not being manipulated by people!
This video is amazing and more people need to hear it. Keeping fish is so complex and full of learning and growing. I wish I heard this message sooner 😅 I see so often people struggling to cycle their tanks, but seasoning one seems like a way less stressful solution. AND THE GROWING A GARDEN FIRST THING is amazing advice. A lot of beginners get scared off by live plants, but it really is the way to go. This is why I LOVE the fishkeeping community, or at least the genuine side of it. I’ve kept fish for a good couple years and thought I knew pretty much all I need to, and yet I stumble on videos like this that just click.
This was honestly exactly what I needed to hear. I'm new to the hobby, got a 1.5 gallon tank that I planted heavily and used active substrate. Added a gold inca snail, then a veiltail betta male, and finally an albino cory catfish. Then I continued researching the hobby and realized that wasn't enough space for them, got a 5 gallon and beautifully scaped it with live plants and spiderwood to transfer them. I've worried about transferring them too early, and now seeing this video I know I should wait. Even though all the current animals settled well in to their less than ideal space, I want to make sure the transfer to the bigger tank goes as smoothly as possible.
This is why I am still subbed to you! You’ve been the one and only that’s been true and honest in the hobby, and not like the aquascape community - whom I despise… I rarely put people up there on the top, but you sir are among the few there! If I ever in my lifetime do a trip again to America, I’ll be sure to visit you! Thanks for what you’ve done and still deliver to the community, respect and Godspeed to you, your family and colleagues! Love and hugs from Sweden!❤ My oldest tank is only 3 years old. Had a break for over 25 years until I got back into the hobby, 38 right now.
Nothing has given me more patience than setting up a marine tank. Such a slow process, but so rewarding. It's only two months old and still has so far to go before it'll be a fully functioning ecosystem- but seeing the shrimp and copepods flying about gives me endless entertainment.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, I have learned so much since I’ve started this hobby because of people like you! I love every product I’ve purchased from aquarium co-op and I will continue to do so. You’re 100% right, nearly every website online says “0 Ammonia, 0 nitrite, some nitrate means your tank is cycled” but there is so much more to it than just the BB.
As someone who works in a big box pet store I wish this was more common knowledge a fish tank should run like an ecosystem and that takes a lot longer and a lot more work than just running a filter for 5 days, keep doing your thing and inspiring others
Thank you thank you thank you. My aunt has wanted to follow what I've been doing with my two aquariums, but she refuses to listen to my advise because I am only 19 and she feels that I'm too young to be listened to. She has already killed quite a few fish and it absolutely breaks my heart. Thank you for sharing this, I'm going to send it to her in hopes that she will listen to you.
I'm in the process of setting up my first tank. I've got it in my head that I will plant it and cycle the tank for two to three months before introducing livestock. Think I may have conflated the water cycle with a larger process so I was a bit confused watching the video at first. lol
The number of times I see people on forums asking why their fish are dying when "all the parameters are good", with no other context about what they did with their tank...
Very well said. I've always tried to ask questions like this to customers for the exact reasons you mentioned. I also try to tell others on reddit they need to rethink how they try to help... still working on that front, but people often bring you up in discussions so hoping this helps others help better.
Videos like this are why I've been Subscribed to Aquarium Co-Op for years. Love these videos and how truly educational they are, and the love for the hobby AND the fish that is expressed through these videos. It's also thanks to these types of videos that I've managed to keep a beautiful tank for so many years. Thanks for everything you guys do Cory and all those at Aquarium Co-Op! Keep up the great work!
I couldn't agree more! A cycled tank for me are the ones that have been set up for a year. I learned the hard way when i went back to fishkeeping and lost a number of fish when i added more livestock in a 3-4 month old aquarium. After such i didn't buy any fish until it reached 1 year and everything went smoothly. No fish death and water parameters were all good.
It's all about balance. I now see myself as a bacteria keeper. The whole picture of nature is really hard to show someone that's never been in nature. We have these pristine aquariums, but when you go to a creek it looks filthy . It's the way nature works.
I’ve primarily been a reptile keeper, but I really got into aquarium keeping when I rescued a neglected betta fish. I have all my reptiles in naturalistic ecosystems so the experience there really helped me get into this. Still only have my betta, but he’s an old guy, his time is nearing, I still want to do more when he’s gone. I credit this channel and other like it heavily for my success here.
I dont own an aquarium, nor I am thinking of getting one, but I admire people that strive for better conditions for animals and pets, even if I’m not in the community thank you for this video
Cory, please never stop trying to help hobbyists. I know there are haters out there but I have learned sooooo much from this channel and more specifically from your videos & chat. Wendy g you love an support from Scotland. ( get her self over here, I can take you wild collecting for minnows 😁 )
I have learned so much from you. I have followed but it’s my first time commenting. My oldest aquarium has been set up for 2 years now (75 gallon). Thanks for all the great content. I really love the hobby, it has been my outlet since I set them up. !
This is SO helpful to me as a beginner. I'm doing a lot of research to set up my first tank so that I don't jump the gun and bring fish into an unstable home. I do see experienced fishkeeprs adding fish pretty quickly after setting a tank up with added bacteria and a used filter sponge. But since I lack experience, that intimidates me. I assume that they have the knowledge to tell if something is wrong and can act quickly. I don't have that skill yet, so I'd rather take it slow and get the tank to a place where it is stable before adding animals. I'd like to hear more about the pros and cons of really deep substrate! I saw your interview with Ocean Aquarium that talked a little about it, but have struggled to find any more detailed information on it in my searches. Of course all the big TH-cam aquascapers prefer thier thin in the front, deeper in the back substrates. None of them go as THICK as Ocean Aquarium does though. I'd like to know what situations to use it.
I have learned a lot from your channel, and I just learned one more thing! I am planning to set up a 20 gallon planted aquarium and trying to decide what to use in the substrate. I'm so glad you said that about the soils having ammonia in them. I have two other aquariums that have gravel substrates, so building a planted tank is a new thing for me.
I set up my tank (14 gallon) three month before with aqua soil capped with gravel, an old filter pump, many different hardy plants, duck weed, frog bite and bladder snails. Some weeks later I added cherry shrimp and also some ostracods from water in a glass that I had filled in a nearby river two years before (basically a ecosphere). I read the book of Diana Walstead beforehand and understood a good part of what and why I was doing while building the tank. All turned out well, I never had any algae or some of the other problems I keep hearing about beginner tanks. I don't even have to do water changes and the shrimps even take care of whatever accumulates between the gravel so I don't have to clean. Only maintenances is cutting the roots of the froh bite weekly as they grow like crazy. It's just beautiful to witness how everything balances itself out if you care to provide a diverse range of species in the tank. Even if I'm kind of overfeeding it doesn't do anything to the water parameters as the frogbite just sucks every eccess nutrients up like nothing and the bladder snails simply mutiply and eat away any leftovers quite quick. And now shrimps are breeding and first babies have hatched :) Also some hydras appereard. I discover something new every week in there!
My tank has been set up for about 5 months, but 2 months with fish. My water is soft as we use a water softener. Ive put in 1/2 tsp of equilibrium from seachem for 2 water changes. My fish dont seem to like this and 2 of my platys sit on the bottom of the tank for several days afterwards - still hungry and will come out to eat, but hiding and stressed and just not acting normal. Can I put egg shells in my tank to get calcium for my fish and plants without drastically changing the PH and hurting the fish?
We also need to change the "water change" mindset in the hobby. People on the interwebs... including very popular fish keepers ... use water changes as a crutch for poor fish keeping practices. Or... they believe water changes are the cure all for every problem. They don't want to actually investigate the cause of the problem, they just want a quick fix that makes them believe they've solved the problem.
OMG THANK YOU!!!!!!!! My aquariums have been doing well with minimum "cycling", by using substrate from an established tank, water from an established tank and lots and lots of live plants. A bit of murkiness sets in for a few days and then it clears - and I usually "use" them as water gardens instead of aquariums, and they are going without anything but snails for months and sometimes even years... I'm moving continents and will be needing to set up a tank without my trusty borrowing of soil from an established tank, not looking forward to that, tbh
4 tanks at home, fish in day 1 on all 4 and never an issue. But boy did i do some research and plenty of the information was thanks to you good sir. You need to be prepared to give them plenty of attendance.
On one of your older videos I have left a long rambling comment basically wanting crazy details so I don’t screw up my soon to be created 10 gallon planted tank. I over think everything. Just wanted to say THANK YOU for this video. I’m listening. I’ll do my best. And I’ll learn.
my friend just had to move cross country so now i have her betta. i have been obsessively watching this channel to make sure i dont drop the ball. ty for these vids all of them have been great
This is so right on.. I used to have a big aquarium, and only used to top up water and maintain filter and rarely did even a major water change. Filter had 2 sponges, only cleaned one at a time to keep the bacteria.. Had lots of fish and plants, and removed plants now and then to to remove the nitrate they had absorbed. The aquarium basically became more robust over the years, as you say...
On some of my Planted tank social media groups, I am constantly hearing about adding ammonia to a brand new tank, testing twice a day, values of ammonia and nitrite and nitrate, adding more ammonia, testing obsessively again and again, freaking out about variations in ammonia and nitrite (you keep adding ammonia... what do you expect?). A lot of the advice is about adding more ammonia, and more testing, more expensive test kits, etc. I have NEVER added ammonia to a tank. I have however added gravel and/or filter media from a well aged, cycled tank, purchase live aquarium "soil" products, or additives that contain a mixture of live bacteria, etc. Waited 4-6 weeks before adding fish to a planted tank. Using a couple of cheap fish to "cycle" a tank, and watching their health to see if balance is being achieved. This video is a welcome reminder to "Just calm the hell down and do some research" Thanks, I will be linking it in response to panicked cries for help in some of the groups I belong to. Thanks
Thank you for a great presentation Cory. I am still new... and, I have so much to still learn. My 6.6G Betta Kit Tank is doing great... started in October. I am starting a 50G Community Tank Room-divider, along with a 20G Long to move my Betta and his few friends to once they are ready. I have 1 5G Quarantine Tank and 1 10G Quarantine Tank. I just started another 5G and another 10G Quarantine Tank. I am looking for 3 to 5 Bronze Cory Cats to make a small shoal to get started. The Betta has been getting along with these 2 Bronze Cory Cats and 2 Chocolate Kuhli Loaches, plus 4 Nerite Snails. I have 5 Chocolate Kuhli Loaches in one of the Quarantine Tanks and last month picked up 5 Brown Bristlenose Plecos at the local Aquarium Club. They will eventually go into the 55G after it matures and is stable. And, I'll be moving Taylor and his friends to the 20G long once it matures and it is stable. I am retired and recovering from a serious fall... so I have the time and I am in no hurry to rush as I did my first tank setup. When I moved Taylor from his first 1.7G Betta Starter Kit Tank to this 6.6G tank, I had learned a lot and was not in a hurry... and seeded this 6.6.6G with Plants, Rocks, Driftwood, Water-Filter media, a few handfuls of gravel from the existing tank, and some water. My thoughts were to create a similar environment to what he was already in, but just a bit large. I started to set up this 10G Aquarium the same way, but then learned that I could move Taylor and his friends into a 20G Long Aquarium without stressing him by making him swim higher to reach the top of the water column for air. Originally, I was planning to move him into this 55G, but realized that with his long tail, that that would not work. If I make this 20G as heavily planted as it is and give him the caves and rock tunnels that he has in this smaller tank, that he'll find it to be just as safe and fun as he has now. This is what I have been thinking about. Besides, with me being 70, having doctors appointments, and being on a limited budget, I have to go slowly with the aquascaping. Good thing that I had been buying Rocks and Driftwood 2 years before I bought my first tank back in October days before I turned 70. It was the start of a commitment... the first step. You spoke about tap water. The one young man at the local pet store suggested to bring in my water to test. I did. The levels over and above the Chlorine shocked me. I am still Filtering my drinking water and cooking water for decades, now. This is the same filtered water that I give my dog and plants... and now fish.
I don't think there is right or wrong... It is a matter of being a dedicated aquarist or a pragmatic beginner... It all depends on the type of owner, regarding setup-time and care-time...
This was such a refreshing outlook on beginner questions to ask, I hate the term Cycled tank, In my eyes a tank never truly cycles, As you said it's an "Eco System" a snippet of a river taken and therefore will "ALWAYS" be evolving and growing....My 2 x 60ltr cubes I set up cycled put a few fish in loads of plants and haven't cleaned out for months and they are running Beautifully. Ok occasional algae removal from glass but that's about it. Oh and water level top ups........ Very refreshing outlook and video. lets change the term for good. Nice video..... Seasons greetings from the U.K. (England)
I've followed this channel for a while now on this account and my old one. I've watched pretty much all of the videos. I think this is my favourite of all of them. While you've put out an amazing amount of wonderful, educational videos and I don't want to diminish the value of them on individual topics - I think this really speaks to the "heart" of the hobby as a whole. I was just nodding along and going, "Yes, this!"
I've been selling cherry shrimp on my local Facebook marketplace and I agree, you really need the story behind their hobby and the tanks the fish or plants are destined for. I used to ask more technical questions to ensure the shrimp had a good chance of surviving outside of my home (I really don't like the thought of them going somewhere to suffer or die), but you get weird answers. The story is key, because more often than not you can extrapolate really useful information (and it's a lot friendlier, too). I've come across quite a few people hoping to add shrimp the same week or even day they're putting a tank together.
THANK YOU. I have watched a million videos about "cycling" and, despite having a Master's Degree, I'm still confused. Your video makes BY FAR the most sense. Now I feel like I need to start my fish journey from a totally different place than I originally thought.
THIS is exactly why I ask the "how long has your tank been set up?" question every single shift at work. I work at p*tsm*art and every fish sale I do begins with "how big is the tank" and "how long has the tank been set up" because that matters more than if it's cycled, and most times customers don't even know what cycled means yet. It cuts right to chase about whether or not I should be selling the person a live animal, and I won't sell it if I can't guarantee the animal will be Live in a few hours/days
I need some freshwater clams for my tank... lots of particulates after all the critters eat. Just built an anti-crayfish baby fish and plant section... but every add-on adds a new problem to fix... Clams and some more guppy grass seed is what I need! And probably a 25% water change today.
I'm new to fish keeping. Thanks for educating me on this hobby. I'm teaching my students about aquariums and we are starting a planted aquarium. They keep asking me when we will add fish and i just tell them im teaching them patience!
I don't just like this video, I appreciate that you've taken the time to say this! Thank you for always being an awesome, caring & thorough instructor!! ❤️ I've watched your videos more than I'd like to admit 😂
Such a wonderful video! Thank you!! I started keeping fish back in 2020 and I can’t really say any of them have been successful. I was always running into different issues wether it be super cloudy water, hair algae, “random” deaths and at one point all my fish died but my corycats are completely fine???? I now how a 30 gallon tank just sitting in my basement empty because I felt like a failure or maybe I just can’t get a good tank going but this video really gave me some perspective and a spot to start again so thank you!!
I love this video, especially the conversation it brings up and what it stands for. Interestingly enough tho if you have everything in the fish tank that it needs to thrive you can add fish the very next day. Most people just dont have nearly enough bacteria and organic matter to handle there tanks bioload so they have to cultivate for possibly months but even after that time they still dont have ENOUGH. You have to introduce bacteria into your tank if you want fast results. it wont develop on its own in the amount of time an impatient hobbyist is willing to wait for, i.e a year or two P.S. you’re the best Cory! And all of aquarium coop included
You're so well spoken. You put into words what I feel like I never can. I love keeping extremely natural tanks filled with plant debris and substrate I collect from the wild (I always cross my fingers that there aren't any parasites, but I've had to pluck a few planaria out of my tanks 😓), and I always feel privately bummed when I see people desperately trying to rid their aquariums of every trace of the things that create a thriving ecosystem, e.g. algae, detritus, duckweed, snails, small crustaceans.
Sharing your appreciation. I had the pleasure one evening of discovering a "diving bell beetle" in my living room tank. Especially watching it surface for air without being detected by my cichlids! My girlfriend named it "Ringo" ...
This was amazing! I got fish and followed the fish stores advice of having the tank for only 2 weeks! I struggled in the beginning and although my fish are fine now! I want them to have the best life possible! I am so glad I came across this video! Will be going back and trying to fix the mistakes! A question I have is... what can I do now to make an ecosystem if I already have the tank with fish in?...
*Out of all your current aquariums, how long has your oldest tank been set up?*
Almost two years(my mini ponds)!
Around 2 years!
Over 4 years. Heavily planted with lots of surfaces.
I don't do water changes. I only add water.
two years next spring. 35 gallon patio pond with a homebred school of white clouds... I took a chance by overwintering them outside with a de-icer for frozen temps... They survived!! and bred again.. In summer, they jump and catch gnats flying at the surface... like lil trout
I had an 80 gallon going for 10 years but had to upgrade to a 180 for the common plecos sake, so 10 months now.
It’s so interesting how much goes into fish care that I’ve never even considered, which is part of the problem. Just because your fish is alive, doesn’t mean it’s thriving.
Ben, I'm really new to all this, as I only got my first tank in March this year, so your comment about your fish "thriving" made me smile.
Why did it make me smile? Because I'm trying to deal with five Polar Parrot pairs spawning at the same time and, rightly or wrongly, I take my population explosion as an indication that my fish are doing more than just "surviving".
As a beginner, I'm very fortunate to have an extremely experienced fish keeper, and eco-system creator close by and they have taken me under their wing which is what I attribute my success to, particularly when they've given me more plants to see if I've improved in "not killing them" to help build my eco-system.
Your absolutely right! Surviving isn’t thriving.
The number of customers I talk to who tell me that thier goldfish lived for ten years in a bowl and that they want a new one- Give me strength. You could probably live for ten years in a cupboard if someone dropped food in every day, but you wouldn't be happy! I use the surviving, not thriving motto on a near daily basis.
Problem is, a lot of people don’t seem to care if a fish “thrives,” they just want a pretty fish to swim around and amuse them. They don’t see them as seriously as a hamster or a dog, even though they rely on us more heavily (you’re in control of the very “air they breathe”). When I do get customers who listen to me because they’re concerned for their fish, it makes me so happy ❤
I was considering a fish tank since I've been without one for over 10 years. I'm now thinking maybe a dog instead, less work, and I'm really old.
"Start with a garden" YES YES YES YES YES. I was forced to learn patience when I went away from my tanks for a month long trip. I carefully planned a barebones feeding schedule, made sure tanks were as heavily planted as possible before leaving, and when we got back we hadn't lost ONE fish. Since then, I relish the wait it takes to mature an aquarium. I love planted a garden, adding some snails, and seeing that ecosystem slowly settling into itself. I'm not so hasty to stock fish anymore, there's SO much more to enjoy about the aquarium process!
O my word!!! This reminds me of when we had our neighbors take care of our animals while we were away. I had her put some fish food in my 5 gallon tank with no fish cause I was trying to get ammonia in there and she asked me what she was feeding in that tank. I said.... "good bacteria" should of seen her reaction!!!
T his is where I am going to start from, plants before fish...
@@Roo.eq21 - how much food to put in and how often, if I may ask? I’m a newbie. ☺️ I have a handful of plants in my 20g tank I just set up yesterday.
@@owlbestitching8839 Are you trying to cycle your tank, or feed your plants? I think I did like a pinch of food every day
When I set up my shrimp tank, watching it season before I added any shrimp was actually such an enjoyable experience, especially when I started seeing the little microorganisms swimming around in there. I 100% agree with you about setting up environments to thrive. It's so much more than watching the colors change in three test tubes.
I also loved seeing all the microorganisms and finding out what they each were. It was and is so interesting.
@@UnderPresser Apologies for messing up on terminology. I simply meant they were tiny.
@@jenmqkeeper we all knew exactly what you meant, no need to apologize!
How did you set up your tank, before adding the shrimp?
@@victorbryan8269 I put down substrate (soil capped with sand), set up sycamore sticks fory hardscape, and planted a bunch of plants. Then I let it sit and season for a while (I think it was a couple months, but I don't remember exactly how long) before getting shrimp. At some point before the shrimp I also added a few snails.
Honestly, it was my love for plants that have helped me with my aquariums. I also don’t like using “man made things” to get rid of ammonia spikes and such things like that. I literally just thought about how I propagate plants in water to grow roots and then thought about putting them in my aquarium along with underwater plants. I was busy trying to find out how to get rid of ammonia, meanwhile I have pothos plants in my house that I have grown in water to get them to reduce the ammonia and no harsh chemicals were involved! Plants literally fix so much in new and old aquariums
Most of our basic aquarium issues can be traced back to an excess of what are essentially plant nutrients in the water - how do you fix eutrophication? Bioremediation: more plants, Dilution: water changes, Elimination: stocking and feeding. It's that simple, people get too stuck in the details.
I actually did a little experiment. Took a potho’s cutting (2 leaves) and grew it out my fish tank. I water all my house plants with my fish tank water but for this experiment the original potho’s I took the cutting from got only tap water. 1 year later that little cutting is more than double the length of the original plant and the leaves are twice the size too!
@@began8674 interesting thank you for sharing!
I had a 200 African cichlid tank where I fought nitrates for years. I converted it to an Amazon biotope, added plants, fertilizers (no nitrigen), angels- among others. Over a year the plant growth exploded and the tank looked stunning. Recently my plants started to get some browning leaves while still growing well. Discovered my nitrates were zero and the plants were starting to starve. Now I am adding Seachem nitrogen to supplement fish waste nitrogen. An established aquarium is an ever changing environment
I've had 0 nitrates for years. I still don't bother to feed the plants though. The fish ammonia and snail poop does that.
@@giftofthewild6665 that worked for me until the plants took over and their nutrient requirements exceeded what could be provided by feeding, etc.
@@HalfManHalfCichlid you probably have higher lighting than I do then
@@giftofthewild6665 CO2 and dosing nutrients are driving the plant growtj
Cory is fast becoming legendary status in the aquarium industry and hobby by putting out videos like this.
That original “Is your tank cycled” video was enormously helpful to me. Observing how your tank balance shifts over years is a humbling, intriguing part of the journey. It’s probably the part I enjoy most!
My 2 cents is that a lot of beginners see the amazing tanks that others have and want that asap. The idea that it takes a lot of time and is a slow process is really discouraging for a lot of folks. I believe that the one thing that youtube has been a disservice for is that you see all the success a lot of people are having in an instant picturesque way but not the process of getting there and keeping it there for years on end. If you dig around (you have to put effort into it) you find the channels that really show you seasoned tanks and the journey they went on...but that's not the norm. Usually it's a quick video of an amazing setup with what went into the tank & equipment, but doesn't really break down the time to keep it going optimally long term. I think it's leading people to the idea that if you don't have perfection, it's not worth keeping the tank.
I would argue that the vast majority of picturesque tanks you see on youtube and magazines etc have only been setup for a few weeks and likely taken down not much longer after. These tanks are usually set up for competitions and contain few fish or are not even suitable for fish due to commercial substrates releasing ammonia etc. What you actually don’t see is how ridiculously difficult these tanks are to maintain and keep in balance. They are not true representations of the fish keeping hobby but more planted tank hobby. It does take a long time to season a tank but the work involved to achieve a beautiful set up is far less than these fake tanks with huge amounts of fertilisers and co2.
Most of the aquascaped tanks you see on TH-cam are set up for 6 months (just long enough to do an update on the tank), maybe even up to an year, and then broken down so the youtuber can do another scape for 6 months. They never become seasoned tank and in fact you'll often see on updates that the tank owner suffers with algae and has to constantly mess with the tank to fix things.
I’ve attempted fish tanks off and on for 20+ years. I always ended up giving up on them. Why? The constant maintenance and changing numbers. Almost 3 years ago, I came across your channel and I decided to give it a go again. But this time the main difference was, I decided to use live plants. It changes the entire dynamic. Is there still maintenance? Yes. Is it as often? Nope. Am I chasing numbers like ph? Nope. I just make sure it’s stable. In my humble opinion, live plants is the key. It makes balancing the tank so much easier and quicker. Thank you for all you do.
My 90 gallon aquarium is now 8 months old and it is just NOW beginning to thrive as its own ecosystem. The plants have grown, the substrate is finally able to feed the roots, the fish that I've added all along the way (and NONE at the beginning) are happy and the maintenance cycle continues to work but it's a moving target, and I know that. I watch my nitrates every week. I spend time nearly every day sitting and just watching. I look at the plants, their leaves, their growth and where the light and shade falls. This all changes. I watch the fish and where they swim. I watch the food fall and all the fish eat and observe where this all goes. Keeping a tank is so much more than cycling, as you mentioned, and I credit my understanding of that to you and a few of the other experienced authorities who promote this hobby. The fish, the plants and their ability to be happy and thrive matter to me. It clearly matters to you too which is why I follow you and also why I buy all my plants from you! I would buy my fish there too, but I'm 3.5hrs away and Snoqualmie is a nightmare this time of year:)
Your channel is a beacon to those interested in this hobby. I hope that it helps them understand the long term, delicate and enjoyable nature of this hobby and drives them to learn more about how and why these ecosystems work. It is not for those who want a quick result or a chance to brag about what they have. It's a way to learn about water and air, plants and fish and the science that explains why these details matter.
Thank you for continuing to post videos like this. Long time fan here, and grateful for all you do.
In the saltwater world they are discovering that the reason new tanks get the “ugly stage” is that micro biome in the aquarium is basically non existent and that when compared to an aquarium that’s been set up for longer with less disturbance the micro biome is so much more diverse. You’re 100% correct in what you’re saying.
I set up a tank for a family member. Told him, you can add fish after 4 weeks or once you start seeing algae.
He added fish in the second week and they all died 🤦🏻
He then added fish after seeing some algae and the fish have been fine ever since 😆
Thanks for all you do Cory
STT! Seasoned Tank Time!
My heart goes out to folks who are struggling to "cycle" new tanks. It's so much work and worry! But it's difficult to engage with them in forums/FB groups because they're just so dead-set on working through the process. They like the idea of a step-by-step with quantifiable goals, and I get that. I personally like the "plonk some plants in there and see what happens" method, but when I was newer to the hobby I wanted proof that I was doing the right things. Watching the ammonia/nitrites drop and the nitrates climb is more reassuring than "yay, algae! But what kind? Is it diatoms? Those are bad, right? Is it black beard? I've heard that's impossible to get rid of! WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS TANK?!?!?"
I never intentionally knew what I was doing when I cycled my tanks lol, even my first one. I just put plants and one of those bioballs in, let it run for 3 weeks, then tested the water to make sure it was safe once I saw nematodes and other microbes swimming around :)
Maybe i should have spent more time fussing with the parameters and checking each of the steps, but i'm a fan of the low-maintenance natural method lol. My cycles seem to go much faster that way.
I can't express how grateful I am for your work over the years. Despite losing a couple betta fish and other critters, I've never lost a whole ecosystem and with time, patience and your videos to help inform my carefully chosen changes my tanks have only been getting better and more stable. Currently I am enjoying some Neon Tetra friends and they're doing well in a tank that's been up for a few years already. My old aquarium garden is much more energetic with them.
This subject applies to Vivariums and Paladariums as well. So many people plant their Vivas and Palas, and after a week or two, they introduce their animals if they even wait that long. I have seen people introduce their pets the same day as they finish their Vivas and Palas and wonder why their pets start doing badly and/or dying within a week. I used to build Vivas and Palas as my job for years, and I got the same questions.
Why are my animals doing so bad in my Viva or Pala? Why did all my animals in my Viva or Pala die? My first question was always: How long has your Viva or Pala been set up? Second, always was: Did you wait at least 4 weeks after setup before introducing springtails and other cleanup crew species? Did you wait at least 2 weeks after introducing your cleanup crew before introducing your animals?
If the answer to any of these questions was no. That could most likely be the problem. Your Viva or Pala needs time to establish itself before you add anything else. Once the plants start to show signs of new growth, then you can look at adding your cleanup crew. If you use isopods or other like insects, you want to wait until you start seeing babies before adding your main animals to your Viva or Pala.
There is a big difference between meeting the basics for a Viva or Pala and letting it mature for a while before adding your animals. Some animals are hardy and may be able to weather the "Storm" of the settling stages of your Viva or Pala, but most won't and will become sickly and/or die in a short time.
Interesting - I didn't know that. I've watched videos and have never seen that info.Thank you!
@cyndifalk Most welcome. Yeah, it's not something most Viva and Pala builders/keepers on TH-cam talk about. It's not something that will get them views. Most people on TH-cam have a quantity over quality look to their channel.
It can take weeks to months to build a small to medium Viva or Pala. So they could get a couple of videos out of the build portion, maybe one or two out of the setup process. After that, they want to show it with the pets in it. You are looking at three or four weeks of filming at this point. Then they have to edit all that into videos and get it out as fast as possible, least they lose viewers because there is too much time between videos.
So instead of 6 months or more from start to animal introduction, they drop out the months of seasoning time and get going on to the next project. But what they should be doing is having multiple projects going at one time and should be filming months in advance. Sort of like how TV shows are done. This way, they can give all the different steps a couple of videos each and inform people the proper way of setting up their Vivas and Palas. Or, in the case of this video, fish tanks.
Don't beat yourself up too much over this. Most of the responsible Fish Tubers have told us the same thing. Use filter media from another aquarium, use the quick starters from different companies, only start a new tank with a very small amount of fish, check the water every day for a week in the beginning, look for algae to form, use live plants... You're doing a great job, and I'm so glad I discovered you and Rachel and Prime Time Aquatic when I was restarting with aquariums a few years ago. I now have 4 nano tanks with happy healthy prolific fish and happy blooming plants which give me joy every day.
I hope this message gets out there far and wide because THIS is what people need to know about the hobby. You've done so many wonderful and helpful videos over the years, but this might be one of the most important. Thank you.
Cory - your videos always make so much sense. No fluff, just info that is easy to understand and delivered in a way that seems attainable to a majority.
I’m a beginner on a budget who just started months ago. I have a 3 gallon tank with lots of beginner plants in it (Bacopa, Water Wisteria, Java Moss, Frogbit, and a literal Pothos cliping). Before I introduced my shrimp in it, I made sure that the plants were growing well and since they’re fast growing, I never had problems with them. After a month and a half of introducing my shrimps, I now see baby shrimps (pothos grew 4 inches as well!) I never had an algae bloom or anything, algae actually only grow on my HOB filter which I harvest and give to the shrimps as a snack. Once the shirmplets are all grown up, I plan to relocate them to another tank with my first ever fish to take care of (thinking of neon tetras)
I read about the nitrogen cycle and tank cycling but I honestly failed at it because I heard that you need at least 3 weeks before introducing anything to the tank whereas I only waited a week and a half. None of my shrimp died and they’re multiplying even. I think the moral here is that there is actually no exact formula for success (actually might be my plants lol). A first timer like me did it and anyone can do it too if they stick to the basics and continue learning.
You’re right. As a seasoned aquarist I know that a complete nitrogen cycle is just the first step toward a mature aquarium. I sadly have to admit that I have not been a great communicator of this truth as I help new hobbyists along. I will do a better job of explaining that we need an ecosystem to keep our fish healthy long term. Thanks for stepping on some toes. It was needed.
Personally I've found 4 to 5 weeks is when things start to get quite stable.
However 6 months seems to be the sweet spot for tanks becoming an ecosystem.
I agree. Mine really hit its stride around 6-8 months in. Now that it’s 18 months in it’s really become resilient. I can add or remove lots of plants without it having issues. Heck, I even take half of the filter media out sometimes for my quarantine tank and it doesn’t even seem phased.
My plants are also a huge part. I started off with only rooted plants and always had some algae issues. Once I added in floating plants, that went away too. I also barely vacuum my gravel.
@@Banditomojado A very similar story with me. Plants are key! They do all the heavy lifting on my end I have a decent sized canister filter but if that were to stop the plants would take care of things pretty well regardless. I just like the extra clear water a canister filter provides.
I wish I had found your channel when I first started 4 years ago! You’re great at explaining things plainly, why you feel they work, showing the behind the scenes, your failures and successes. A lot of other sources act like everything they do was perfect the first time, every time and you’re obviously doing things wrong if you don’t have the same results.
I'm not a tech guy, don't own computer, therefore I had never heard of cycling a tank before I found Aquarium Co-op's channel... I guess mine have always been well seasoned because I generally get all my plants planted and let them 'grow in' for at least 1 month, usually two... And I always start my 'new' tanks with old tank water... Thanks again for another great informative video...! Keep it up...!
Man this is such a great conversation. For the longest time it seemed like people didn’t focus on the fact that this is a habitat you’re creating. I run a reef tank and I am still constantly dealing with stability issues a year and a half in. I just keep working at it though knowing that it will continue to mature and get better.
It's great to see these conversations being had.
This is the absolute best video I've seen you make. I retired and moved to Colombia 3.5 years ago. Here there is a much larger emphasis on establishing a biosphere since we have the largest bio diversity in the world. So I have to prepare my wife when we setup our first aquarium (waiting to move into a larger home) that the aquarium will only have plants and wood and leaves for about a month before we add the discus. Though we may add a handful of tetras to feed the bacteria. Before we even bought it I tested the water so that we know what we need in a setup. No surprise here it is below 6.4 pH! Our city water comes from the various tributaries that feed the Rio Negro. And I also told her that when we get the fish they may be juveniles but we need to stick to set numbers. We may have many people asking why the tank is so empty...but we can just tell them to wait and see.
I set up my 29 gallon aquarium 11 months ago. Having done this previously about 35 years ago, I knew that I love a well-planted aquarium with a focus on a balanced ecosystem. It's taken a few wrong turns to find out what plants grow the best for my aquarium, getting the right lighting, proper feeding, etc. It is now lush and beautiful with tons of thriving plants, and my fish love it as well.
I had a tank set up for 3 years without any real issues. I moved and bought a bigger tank, they were good for about 6 months and I had an ammonia spike and lost half my fish before I figured out what I was doing wrong. I appreciate your videos and all the people on your team. It was really helpful to refer to when I had fish dying daily and didn't k it what else to do. You and your team's calm, common sense approach was awesome. Thank you
A mistake I made was thinking my aquarium would be cycled and ready through my move. I set up my aquarium and started having fish die. Come to find out my new tap water was extremely hard compared to my old place. It had a ph above 8.5, my old place had a flat 7. It completely changed the biology of my tank and made it unstable. Anyway thank you for the upload.
Great video, so many people get confused when it comes to starting an aquarium. It’s not about “cycling” the tank it’s about creating a miniature ecosystem. Starting a tank with live aquatic plants is a great idea. Problem is many people who first get into the hobby have no patience and want instant gratification.
I'm actually lucky that I was afraid to add fish to my first tank for around six months. It was important because I learned along the way. What's this algae that's growing? What's that little worm? What's that brown stuff? How do I grow my plants? I became educated about many things without the fear of it harming my fish. And while I was learning, I was growing a seasoned tank that's been running smoothly ever since. Right now it's handling an accidental overstock of guppies, which it adapted to with no problems. Watching your past videos about cycling is what helped me so much. Thank you to all at Aquarium Co-op!
I am new to the hobby and I have one tank that I started setting up in August. Animals added in October. Additional plants (I had some at the start and kept adding) just arrived from y'all this week. :) I say "animals added in October" because that's when I brought home my betta and two snails, but I first had detritus worms and copepods show up, have me totally panic about it, do some googling, and realize ...oh, those are okay, whew! LOL. I am grateful for your videos, because you're like, the voice of reason compared to The Fish Police who condemn me for using test strips instead of the API kit (to which I have more than once replied, "Cory from Aquarium Co-op says test strips are fine, so I'm going with that"). I've learned a lot about trying to make it a balanced ecosystem from y'all, so thank you! Additionally, I've been learning about my new friends, their personalities, and what they like and don't like. My betta flares at one of the snails (pretty much always the girl and almost never the guy) too much, so I've been adding more plants, a floating betta log, and a ball in there to try and give him more to do and the snails more places to be out of his sight. The snails are nerites so they don't like a lot of food offerings I've tried and they've done a great job clearing up the algae, but they'll eat catappa leaves, Kat's Aquatics calcium chips, unsalted green beans, and white sweet potato (not garnet, lol). It took a lot of trial and error to find foods they would eat! I keep learning new things every day and I don't imagine that's going to stop anytime soon.
Hi there!
I am trying to do as much research as I can on a planted tank for my goldfish, and your videos have been a huge help!
A little background, I won this fish at a fair, (I had ZERO intention of actually getting one and felt terrible about the animal cruelty I contributed to immediately after). We've had him since October 14th and is doing swimmingly, thanks to the help of an excellent fishkeeper friend who gave us a 10 gal tank (we need a bigger one, I know) substrate, multiple used filters, food, and tank decorations.
Lil Buddy has grown significantly and we've learned a ton about fish care, but are far from experts yet. Just wanted to thank you so much for all the videos you've put out, helping novices like me to do the best we can by our fish. I am in love with the hobby and am so, so excited to get my planted tank started. I definitely want 50+ gallons with gravel at the bottom, black sand on top, and a lucky bamboo forest with moss balls and river rocks. (Not sure if lucky bamboo is okay for goldies yet, still have to research) but I can't wait to share.
Thanks again for all your tips! We appreciate you so much!!!
Heck yeah, here’s to watching lil buddy grow up.
Again, outstanding. Been in the hobby for 11 years and have NEVER encountered this very sane philosophy. Looking forward to less anxious fussing with my tanks, more planting, more patience.
I set up my first aquarium in ages AFTER watching all of your videos about seasoning, etc.... and let me just say, I will NEVER do it any other way! My plants (which I also bought from Aquarium Co-Op) and my fish are incredibly healthy - my testing levels are perfect - and I have never had a tank become so healthy and stable! Started back in May of this year!
I absolutely loved this video. I've followed Cory for 4 or 5 years know. I've learned so much and shared the joy with friends and family. It felt great to inspire my brother and friend to start their own tanks. Right now I've currently got 5 tanks and my brother has 2 . I moved 1,700 miles from my brother but we always keep in touch due to our love for aquariums. All thanks to you Cory!!
I stopped using my tap water conditioner (dechlorinator) over a month ago because the tank seemed to get a little sluggish whenever I did. Now I just top off my tank with tap water that hasn't been conditioned at all, and so far everything is fine. I have a filter in my tank with biomedia, and the filter just picks up any dirt that the plants don't or can't deal with, and makes the water move enough to avoid the tank being stagnant. I have mystery snails and ramshorn snails to do the big waste clean up, and inherited some acroloxus snails and ostracods from the plants that help with algae removal and bottom feeding. There are some bladder snails in the tank too, I had more but their population became too large too quickly so I removed them and am gonna sell them to my local pet store. I'm keeping some because they are adorable and are also helping with the waste management.
I did have a fungus issue in the tank two weeks ago, and my betta did start white spot disease. The fungus actually died/disappeared on its own as fast as it appeared, my guess is the snails took care of it, and I treated the betta with pimafix. The tank handled the pimafix fine, there was zero clouding of the water. The betta cleared up super fast too, probably because I caught the white spot disease early.
I do trim the plants to avoid overgrowth, and occasionally remove the water lettuce if it started to prevent the UV light from penetrating the surface. Otherwise I leave the plants alone. They are helping to balance the tank more than anything else in there. The way I have always seen it, is that you have to let things do what they are meant to do, and not try to control or force things to function differently. I think some hobbyists are control freaks and care so deeply about the aesthetics of the tank that they forget about the actual health and stability of the aquarium.
Also, "Is your tank cycled?" is an unanswerable question. There's really no way to determine if a tank is cycled. You can determine it is balanced by watching the ecosystem thrive, you can test the water to determine if the pH, ammonia and nitrate and nitrite levels are appropriate, but you cannot define "cycled".
I really appreciate the recap of all these individual discussions! I have seen the individual videos and livestreams but having the recap is great!
I take sort of a hybrid approach. I take a bunch of frogbit and dwarf water lettuce from my established tank and throw it in the new (in my case quarantine) tank along with a double dose of easy green. Then I give it about a week for the plants to settle in since they tend to lose a few roots and get stressed when transferred. Then I take one of the two sponges from my established Sicce 400 and stick it in the new tank filter.
I usually change the water a couple times the first week after adding fish just to be safe. Even when ammonia and nitrite look okay. I use easy green to keep the nitrate around 10 ppm for the plants.
Learning ecology in highschool gave be a fair starting point to enter the aquarium hobby, but the hobby has taught me far far more than my school teachers ever could, about ecology, biology, animal behavior, botany, and even philosophy.
It's a surprisingly magical hobby, it's so connected to nature yet so transcendent of it, the balance of the natural and artificial, we learn so much about ourselves and our role on this planet, keeping fish has actually given me new perspectives on socialising with humans, it has taught me some skills that help with handling my mental health and I believe made me a little bit better as a friend and citizen.
Phenomenal video! This really hit home for me. When I was first starting out, if I asked questions, the first response was, "Is your tank cycled?". I was getting frustrated with this question because my issues were never being solved. I think you've hit the nail on the head about creating an ecosphere and not just making sure tanks are cycled. It took me a long time to really learn this point. I'm in love with fish keeping and will continue trying to help my fish thrive. Also, as a side note, your teeth look great! This is the first of your videos that I've watched in months, and I didn't know you had gotten braces. I bet that is going to feel so great when it's time to take them off. Good luck with everything! I love and appreciate the time and effort you put forth in your videos! Keep it up!
This makes so much sense! I am a newbie, but no one is messing with ponds out in the wild, some thrive some don't, but many that are thriving are not being manipulated by people!
This video is amazing and more people need to hear it. Keeping fish is so complex and full of learning and growing. I wish I heard this message sooner 😅 I see so often people struggling to cycle their tanks, but seasoning one seems like a way less stressful solution. AND THE GROWING A GARDEN FIRST THING is amazing advice. A lot of beginners get scared off by live plants, but it really is the way to go. This is why I LOVE the fishkeeping community, or at least the genuine side of it. I’ve kept fish for a good couple years and thought I knew pretty much all I need to, and yet I stumble on videos like this that just click.
this a video that has needed to be made for so long. thank you wish more of the people i see with tanks could have watched this earlier
I love this video style - voiceover with aquarium footage. Beautiful and effective.
This was honestly exactly what I needed to hear. I'm new to the hobby, got a 1.5 gallon tank that I planted heavily and used active substrate. Added a gold inca snail, then a veiltail betta male, and finally an albino cory catfish. Then I continued researching the hobby and realized that wasn't enough space for them, got a 5 gallon and beautifully scaped it with live plants and spiderwood to transfer them. I've worried about transferring them too early, and now seeing this video I know I should wait.
Even though all the current animals settled well in to their less than ideal space, I want to make sure the transfer to the bigger tank goes as smoothly as possible.
This is why I am still subbed to you! You’ve been the one and only that’s been true and honest in the hobby, and not like the aquascape community - whom I despise…
I rarely put people up there on the top, but you sir are among the few there! If I ever in my lifetime do a trip again to America, I’ll be sure to visit you! Thanks for what you’ve done and still deliver to the community, respect and Godspeed to you, your family and colleagues! Love and hugs from Sweden!❤
My oldest tank is only 3 years old. Had a break for over 25 years until I got back into the hobby, 38 right now.
Nothing has given me more patience than setting up a marine tank. Such a slow process, but so rewarding. It's only two months old and still has so far to go before it'll be a fully functioning ecosystem- but seeing the shrimp and copepods flying about gives me endless entertainment.
Yessss!!!! Thank You Cory so much for making this video. What you said needed to be said esp now a days in this hobby.
SERIOUSLY I follow you and have learned so so much. My plant order was submitted Friday and I am confidently proceeding. Slow and steady.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us, I have learned so much since I’ve started this hobby because of people like you! I love every product I’ve purchased from aquarium co-op and I will continue to do so. You’re 100% right, nearly every website online says “0 Ammonia, 0 nitrite, some nitrate means your tank is cycled” but there is so much more to it than just the BB.
As someone who works in a big box pet store I wish this was more common knowledge a fish tank should run like an ecosystem and that takes a lot longer and a lot more work than just running a filter for 5 days, keep doing your thing and inspiring others
Thank you thank you thank you. My aunt has wanted to follow what I've been doing with my two aquariums, but she refuses to listen to my advise because I am only 19 and she feels that I'm too young to be listened to. She has already killed quite a few fish and it absolutely breaks my heart. Thank you for sharing this, I'm going to send it to her in hopes that she will listen to you.
I'm in the process of setting up my first tank.
I've got it in my head that I will plant it and cycle the tank for two to three months before introducing livestock.
Think I may have conflated the water cycle with a larger process so I was a bit confused watching the video at first. lol
The number of times I see people on forums asking why their fish are dying when "all the parameters are good", with no other context about what they did with their tank...
Very well said. I've always tried to ask questions like this to customers for the exact reasons you mentioned. I also try to tell others on reddit they need to rethink how they try to help... still working on that front, but people often bring you up in discussions so hoping this helps others help better.
Videos like this are why I've been Subscribed to Aquarium Co-Op for years. Love these videos and how truly educational they are, and the love for the hobby AND the fish that is expressed through these videos. It's also thanks to these types of videos that I've managed to keep a beautiful tank for so many years. Thanks for everything you guys do Cory and all those at Aquarium Co-Op! Keep up the great work!
I couldn't agree more! A cycled tank for me are the ones that have been set up for a year. I learned the hard way when i went back to fishkeeping and lost a number of fish when i added more livestock in a 3-4 month old aquarium. After such i didn't buy any fish until it reached 1 year and everything went smoothly. No fish death and water parameters were all good.
This is a brilliant video. I work in a pet store and I have this conversation with people every day. Thank you.
It's all about balance. I now see myself as a bacteria keeper. The whole picture of nature is really hard to show someone that's never been in nature.
We have these pristine aquariums, but when you go to a creek it looks filthy . It's the way nature works.
Your first video about cycling a tank really changed the way I set up an aquarium. Planting first is so much more fun.
I’ve primarily been a reptile keeper, but I really got into aquarium keeping when I rescued a neglected betta fish. I have all my reptiles in naturalistic ecosystems so the experience there really helped me get into this. Still only have my betta, but he’s an old guy, his time is nearing, I still want to do more when he’s gone. I credit this channel and other like it heavily for my success here.
I dont own an aquarium, nor I am thinking of getting one, but I admire people that strive for better conditions for animals and pets, even if I’m not in the community thank you for this video
Cory, please never stop trying to help hobbyists. I know there are haters out there but I have learned sooooo much from this channel and more specifically from your videos & chat. Wendy g you love an support from Scotland. ( get her self over here, I can take you wild collecting for minnows 😁 )
I have learned so much from you. I have followed but it’s my first time commenting. My oldest aquarium has been set up for 2 years now (75 gallon). Thanks for all the great content. I really love the hobby, it has been my outlet since I set them up. !
This is SO helpful to me as a beginner. I'm doing a lot of research to set up my first tank so that I don't jump the gun and bring fish into an unstable home. I do see experienced fishkeeprs adding fish pretty quickly after setting a tank up with added bacteria and a used filter sponge. But since I lack experience, that intimidates me. I assume that they have the knowledge to tell if something is wrong and can act quickly. I don't have that skill yet, so I'd rather take it slow and get the tank to a place where it is stable before adding animals.
I'd like to hear more about the pros and cons of really deep substrate! I saw your interview with Ocean Aquarium that talked a little about it, but have struggled to find any more detailed information on it in my searches. Of course all the big TH-cam aquascapers prefer thier thin in the front, deeper in the back substrates. None of them go as THICK as Ocean Aquarium does though. I'd like to know what situations to use it.
I have learned a lot from your channel, and I just learned one more thing! I am planning to set up a 20 gallon planted aquarium and trying to decide what to use in the substrate. I'm so glad you said that about the soils having ammonia in them. I have two other aquariums that have gravel substrates, so building a planted tank is a new thing for me.
I set up my tank (14 gallon) three month before with aqua soil capped with gravel, an old filter pump, many different hardy plants, duck weed, frog bite and bladder snails. Some weeks later I added cherry shrimp and also some ostracods from water in a glass that I had filled in a nearby river two years before (basically a ecosphere). I read the book of Diana Walstead beforehand and understood a good part of what and why I was doing while building the tank. All turned out well, I never had any algae or some of the other problems I keep hearing about beginner tanks.
I don't even have to do water changes and the shrimps even take care of whatever accumulates between the gravel so I don't have to clean. Only maintenances is cutting the roots of the froh bite weekly as they grow like crazy.
It's just beautiful to witness how everything balances itself out if you care to provide a diverse range of species in the tank. Even if I'm kind of overfeeding it doesn't do anything to the water parameters as the frogbite just sucks every eccess nutrients up like nothing and the bladder snails simply mutiply and eat away any leftovers quite quick.
And now shrimps are breeding and first babies have hatched :)
Also some hydras appereard. I discover something new every week in there!
My tank has been set up for about 5 months, but 2 months with fish. My water is soft as we use a water softener. Ive put in 1/2 tsp of equilibrium from seachem for 2 water changes. My fish dont seem to like this and 2 of my platys sit on the bottom of the tank for several days afterwards - still hungry and will come out to eat, but hiding and stressed and just not acting normal. Can I put egg shells in my tank to get calcium for my fish and plants without drastically changing the PH and hurting the fish?
1 million thumbs up Cory! Thank you!
We also need to change the "water change" mindset in the hobby. People on the interwebs... including very popular fish keepers ... use water changes as a crutch for poor fish keeping practices. Or... they believe water changes are the cure all for every problem. They don't want to actually investigate the cause of the problem, they just want a quick fix that makes them believe they've solved the problem.
OMG THANK YOU!!!!!!!! My aquariums have been doing well with minimum "cycling", by using substrate from an established tank, water from an established tank and lots and lots of live plants. A bit of murkiness sets in for a few days and then it clears - and I usually "use" them as water gardens instead of aquariums, and they are going without anything but snails for months and sometimes even years... I'm moving continents and will be needing to set up a tank without my trusty borrowing of soil from an established tank, not looking forward to that, tbh
4 tanks at home, fish in day 1 on all 4 and never an issue.
But boy did i do some research and plenty of the information was thanks to you good sir. You need to be prepared to give them plenty of attendance.
On one of your older videos I have left a long rambling comment basically wanting crazy details so I don’t screw up my soon to be created 10 gallon planted tank. I over think everything.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU for this video. I’m listening. I’ll do my best. And I’ll learn.
my friend just had to move cross country so now i have her betta. i have been obsessively watching this channel to make sure i dont drop the ball. ty for these vids all of them have been great
This is so right on.. I used to have a big aquarium, and only used to top up water and maintain filter and rarely did even a major water change. Filter had 2 sponges, only cleaned one at a time to keep the bacteria.. Had lots of fish and plants, and removed plants now and then to to remove the nitrate they had absorbed. The aquarium basically became more robust over the years, as you say...
On some of my Planted tank social media groups, I am constantly hearing about adding ammonia to a brand new tank, testing twice a day, values of ammonia and nitrite and nitrate, adding more ammonia, testing obsessively again and again, freaking out about variations in ammonia and nitrite (you keep adding ammonia... what do you expect?). A lot of the advice is about adding more ammonia, and more testing, more expensive test kits, etc. I have NEVER added ammonia to a tank. I have however added gravel and/or filter media from a well aged, cycled tank, purchase live aquarium "soil" products, or additives that contain a mixture of live bacteria, etc. Waited 4-6 weeks before adding fish to a planted tank. Using a couple of cheap fish to "cycle" a tank, and watching their health to see if balance is being achieved. This video is a welcome reminder to "Just calm the hell down and do some research" Thanks, I will be linking it in response to panicked cries for help in some of the groups I belong to. Thanks
Thank you for a great presentation Cory. I am still new... and, I have so much to still learn. My 6.6G Betta Kit Tank is doing great... started in October. I am starting a 50G Community Tank Room-divider, along with a 20G Long to move my Betta and his few friends to once they are ready. I have 1 5G Quarantine Tank and 1 10G Quarantine Tank. I just started another 5G and another 10G Quarantine Tank. I am looking for 3 to 5 Bronze Cory Cats to make a small shoal to get started. The Betta has been getting along with these 2 Bronze Cory Cats and 2 Chocolate Kuhli Loaches, plus 4 Nerite Snails. I have 5 Chocolate Kuhli Loaches in one of the Quarantine Tanks and last month picked up 5 Brown Bristlenose Plecos at the local Aquarium Club. They will eventually go into the 55G after it matures and is stable. And, I'll be moving Taylor and his friends to the 20G long once it matures and it is stable. I am retired and recovering from a serious fall... so I have the time and I am in no hurry to rush as I did my first tank setup.
When I moved Taylor from his first 1.7G Betta Starter Kit Tank to this 6.6G tank, I had learned a lot and was not in a hurry... and seeded this 6.6.6G with Plants, Rocks, Driftwood, Water-Filter media, a few handfuls of gravel from the existing tank, and some water. My thoughts were to create a similar environment to what he was already in, but just a bit large.
I started to set up this 10G Aquarium the same way, but then learned that I could move Taylor and his friends into a
20G Long Aquarium without stressing him by making him swim higher to reach the top of the water column for air. Originally, I was planning to move him into this 55G, but realized that with his long tail, that that would not work. If I make this 20G as heavily planted as it is and give him the caves and rock tunnels that he has in this smaller tank, that he'll find it to be just as safe and fun as he has now.
This is what I have been thinking about.
Besides, with me being 70, having doctors appointments, and being on a limited budget, I have to go slowly with the aquascaping. Good thing that I had been buying Rocks and Driftwood 2 years before I bought my first tank back in October days before I turned 70. It was the start of a commitment... the first step.
You spoke about tap water. The one young man at the local pet store suggested to bring in my water to test. I did. The levels over and above the Chlorine shocked me. I am still Filtering my drinking water and cooking water for decades, now. This is the same filtered water that I give my dog and plants... and now fish.
I don't think there is right or wrong... It is a matter of being a dedicated aquarist or a pragmatic beginner... It all depends on the type of owner, regarding setup-time and care-time...
This was such a refreshing outlook on beginner questions to ask, I hate the term Cycled tank, In my eyes a tank never truly cycles, As you said it's an "Eco System" a snippet of a river taken and therefore will "ALWAYS" be evolving and growing....My 2 x 60ltr cubes I set up cycled put a few fish in loads of plants and haven't cleaned out for months and they are running Beautifully. Ok occasional algae removal from glass but that's about it. Oh and water level top ups........
Very refreshing outlook and video. lets change the term for good. Nice video..... Seasons greetings from the U.K. (England)
What plant is growing on the glass @3:58 ? Really curious
I've followed this channel for a while now on this account and my old one. I've watched pretty much all of the videos. I think this is my favourite of all of them. While you've put out an amazing amount of wonderful, educational videos and I don't want to diminish the value of them on individual topics - I think this really speaks to the "heart" of the hobby as a whole. I was just nodding along and going, "Yes, this!"
I've been selling cherry shrimp on my local Facebook marketplace and I agree, you really need the story behind their hobby and the tanks the fish or plants are destined for. I used to ask more technical questions to ensure the shrimp had a good chance of surviving outside of my home (I really don't like the thought of them going somewhere to suffer or die), but you get weird answers. The story is key, because more often than not you can extrapolate really useful information (and it's a lot friendlier, too). I've come across quite a few people hoping to add shrimp the same week or even day they're putting a tank together.
THANK YOU. I have watched a million videos about "cycling" and, despite having a Master's Degree, I'm still confused. Your video makes BY FAR the most sense. Now I feel like I need to start my fish journey from a totally different place than I originally thought.
THIS is exactly why I ask the "how long has your tank been set up?" question every single shift at work. I work at p*tsm*art and every fish sale I do begins with "how big is the tank" and "how long has the tank been set up" because that matters more than if it's cycled, and most times customers don't even know what cycled means yet. It cuts right to chase about whether or not I should be selling the person a live animal, and I won't sell it if I can't guarantee the animal will be Live in a few hours/days
I need some freshwater clams for my tank... lots of particulates after all the critters eat.
Just built an anti-crayfish baby fish and plant section... but every add-on adds a new problem to fix... Clams and some more guppy grass seed is what I need! And probably a 25% water change today.
Keep fighting the good fight! Thank you for teaching me to get started in aquariums. You were my first teacher, thank you!!!
I had to learn this the hard way but I now pride myself on my planted ecosystem!
It’s nice to see more advanced thoughts on what makes what I call a “mature” tank. Can’t exactly do a build except say time and patience.
I'm new to fish keeping. Thanks for educating me on this hobby. I'm teaching my students about aquariums and we are starting a planted aquarium. They keep asking me when we will add fish and i just tell them im teaching them patience!
I don't just like this video, I appreciate that you've taken the time to say this! Thank you for always being an awesome, caring & thorough instructor!! ❤️ I've watched your videos more than I'd like to admit 😂
Such a wonderful video! Thank you!! I started keeping fish back in 2020 and I can’t really say any of them have been successful. I was always running into different issues wether it be super cloudy water, hair algae, “random” deaths and at one point all my fish died but my corycats are completely fine???? I now how a 30 gallon tank just sitting in my basement empty because I felt like a failure or maybe I just can’t get a good tank going but this video really gave me some perspective and a spot to start again so thank you!!
I love this video, especially the conversation it brings up and what it stands for. Interestingly enough tho if you have everything in the fish tank that it needs to thrive you can add fish the very next day. Most people just dont have nearly enough bacteria and organic matter to handle there tanks bioload so they have to cultivate for possibly months but even after that time they still dont have ENOUGH. You have to introduce bacteria into your tank if you want fast results. it wont develop on its own in the amount of time an impatient hobbyist is willing to wait for, i.e a year or two
P.S. you’re the best Cory! And all of aquarium coop included
You're so well spoken. You put into words what I feel like I never can. I love keeping extremely natural tanks filled with plant debris and substrate I collect from the wild (I always cross my fingers that there aren't any parasites, but I've had to pluck a few planaria out of my tanks 😓), and I always feel privately bummed when I see people desperately trying to rid their aquariums of every trace of the things that create a thriving ecosystem, e.g. algae, detritus, duckweed, snails, small crustaceans.
Sharing your appreciation. I had the pleasure one evening of discovering a "diving bell beetle" in my living room tank. Especially watching it surface for air without being detected by my cichlids! My girlfriend named it "Ringo" ...
Great video. I’ve always kept planted tanks and always will. To me plants are as important as the water
I wish there was a love button for this. Such good advice. I am all about the eco system.
This was amazing!
I got fish and followed the fish stores advice of having the tank for only 2 weeks! I struggled in the beginning and although my fish are fine now! I want them to have the best life possible!
I am so glad I came across this video! Will be going back and trying to fix the mistakes!
A question I have is... what can I do now to make an ecosystem if I already have the tank with fish in?...
I agree 100% ! So much about our consumer culture wants instant gratification. And that isn't how mother nature works!
I have been using your methods and products fornthe last 3 years. My tanks are stable and enjoyable. Thanks for all the good advice.