More info on cycling setup.

[JCO]

I have a 4,000+ gal fish tank in my backyard that was initially filled with rain water and in which the water level is continuously maintained by rainwater both from the sky and from collection containers. It has been running continuously for about 12 years.

I do not dispute that rainwater contains no minerals, however I have added none and my breeder Japanese KOI ranging from 2' to 3' in length spawn each spring and I raise the fry to size for sale in that water and my grow bed veggies flourish with only the addition of calcium from egg shells.

[Apollo]

Thanks, JCO

I live in Phoenix AZ. where the water is not cheap and it contains a lot of sodium, chorine and other man induced chemicals that I'm trying to keep out of my FT.

Any comment on how many fish I should add to bring up my ammonia level?

Apollo

[JCO]

How many all depends on type, size now and how big they will get. I could house 1,000+ 1" KOI in my 4K setup but in 6 months they would be 4" - 5" and way too many for the system in addition to them dying like flies from over crowding.

What type of fish are you going for?

[Apollo]

Thanks, JCO

Sorry for all the questions.

I will be raising Tilapia, when you say "go ahead and add a few once the system has cycled for about a week". Can you be more specific? How large and how many? Not sure what I will find but I do know if their are small I will need more...maybe a dozen or two?

Apollo

[JCO]

I raised 20 Blue Tilapia in a 100 gal aquarium last year from 3" to about 8" with no problem. They are like little pigs, always hungry and even though I had two large sponge filter and a large wet dry filter running full blast, their water was always a dirty brown color so much so that you could not see them unless they were right up against the glass.

At 8" they got to splashy at feeding time to keep them in the aquarium anymore so outside they went into my swimming pool. At about 10 to 11 months of age, they all weight in at about 5 lbs live.

Take that into consideration and you be the judge.