Tons Of Questions!

[eaglesaquarium]

Tstone,

I see you are getting frustrated. That was not my intention. So, I apologize for that. I'm not sure why the link doesn't work for you. I did for me, but its beside the point. It was just a plan piece of clear tubing.

To refill the tank you could attach a hose directly to a spigot (either the shower as mentioned above, or a sink). I got a regular garden hose for about $10, and a spigot adapter for my kitchen sink for about $5. That's all I need to refill my tank. To siphon, I use the same hose as mentioned above, a clear piece of tubing about 5 feet long with a hose attachment clamped on. All this was purchased new for about $20. The "python" you pointed out is at least double that, if not more. If you are willing to spend that much for it, go for it.

Personally, I'm a little cheap and figured that I could get a system that works for me, uses less water and costs far less. And unless you are getting gravel, the gravel attachment is a real waste of money. Sand is best cleaned with a finer touch by using just the hose end close to the surface. In the end, you need to do what works for you. I can only advise what I have done. The products you mentioned will both work. They just weren't my cup of tea.



Here's what I posted in another thread about my water change method:

I get a syphon on my hose by a trick I invented myself due to my extensive knowledge of fluid dynamics and fluid pressure.

First, I have a 5 foot piece of hose, that I attached a female hose coupling to. This is placed into the tank and filled with water. Then, while that is submerged I attach a 25 foot piece of garden hose to it (the end of the 25 foot hose is now INSIDE the tank water as well, but barely). THen, I place my thumb over the end of the short hose (so that no water can escape) and with the other hand, I lower the connection of the short hose and the long hose into a 5 gallon bucket (in case of a small leak) with my other hand. Now, inside the 5 foot hose is water, which is going to flow DOWN according to the pressure differential. I move my thumb from the end of the short hose and voila, instant syphon without getting any water into my mouth! The other end of the 25 foot hose is run into my flower garden in front of my house ahead of time and the water flows as quickly as I want it to. The 5 foot of hose is enough that I can still get down to the bottom of the tank, while the other end is still in the bucket. This allows me to do a thorough vaccing of my sand while syphoning out the water.

(I do have to confess that one time while my eyes were diverted, one of my glofish did get sucked up and out into my garden and I found it too late. I've been extremely careful about that since that time and haven't had any issues. Fingers crossed now of course.)


To refill I attach the same hose to my kitchen sink and turn it on (being careful of course to dechlorinate for the full volume of my tank, not just the amount being replaced).


A python is a device you attach to a spigot (like your kitchen sink) and has a garden hose attached to it. When you turn on the water and open all the valves, the water flowing through the device creates a suction and pulls water out of your tank. Then, when you want to refill your tank, you just switch the lever on the bottom so that it stops water from flowing through, and the water from your sink is diverted through the hose into your tank.

So you guys are recommended I just get a basic garden hose, hook it up to my showerhead and siphon water INTO my tank that way.....


Now what would you recommend for getting water out of my tank and out of my window?

Well, that really wouldn't be a siphon, but yes that's what we are recommending. Just remember to dose dechlorinator for the entire tank volume of water, not just what you are adding.

 

[Tstone]

Whoa! I am not getting frustrated! lol. I'm just a little confused.. So basically get a hose that goes from my showerhead to my tank.. and then another hose that is 5 feet or so?

the long hose, say 30ft, will put water from my showerhead to my tank......

and then I can get the short hose, say the 5 feet as you mentioned, and do what you do "First, I have a 5 foot piece of hose, that I attached a female hose coupling..etc" and that method will syphon water from my tank, and out my window.. correct? && it will clean the waste/food out of my sand once I get the syphon started?




Also, in about an hour or two, i'll be heading out to do my shopping... my list is as follows..
Filters
heaters
sand
pure ammonia
medicine droppers
a liquid test kit
thermometer
algae scraper
hose
dechlorinator

Any thing i'm forgetting?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Whoa! I am not getting frustrated! lol. I'm just a little confused.. So basically get a hose that goes from my showerhead to my tank.. and then another hose that is 5 feet or so?

the long hose, say 30ft, will put water from my showerhead to my tank......

Sorry. The bucket after bucket... comment made me think you were frustrated. Its hard to tell with printed words.

and then I can get the short hose, say the 5 feet as you mentioned, and do what you do "First, I have a 5 foot piece of hose, that I attached a female hose coupling..etc" and that method will syphon water from my tank, and out my window.. correct? && it will clean the waste/food out of my sand once I get the syphon started?

It takes a little practice to get the syphon going (which is why fishless cycles are the way to go! Water changes can take as long as necessary and are stress free. Plus, you don't have to worry about the fish getting sucked up for the first few times you do it!

This will clean the sand, the same way that a handheld vaccuum cleans your rugs. If you put it close enough to suck stuff up, it will. It won't pull stuff from across the tank, but within an inch or so it will pull up just about anything. It's even uprooted my elodea/anacharis plants on occasion. Not a big deal though, I just give them a rinse and put them back in place!

Also, in about an hour or two, i'll be heading out to do my shopping... my list is as follows..
Filters
heaters
sand
pure ammonia
medicine droppers
a liquid test kit
thermometer
algae scraper
hose
dechlorinator

Any thing i'm forgetting?

Filters, heaters, test kit, thermometer, algae scrapper and dechlorinator should all be readily available at your LFS. Make sure you know the size of your tank. It's better to not buy something than to buy the wrong thing, IMO. If you aren't sure about something. WAIT and come back later for it after you've done a bit more research!

Pure ammonia can be found at ACE Hardware in the US. Look carefully at the ingredients. It should say: water and ammonium hydroxide. If it says anything in addition to that, it is the wrong stuff, put it back and try again! The sand and hose should also be able to be purchased here as well. Take your aerator (or showerhead) with you to find a piece that will fit on to your spigot that will allow you to connect a hose to it... the aerator and the adapter will fit on the same way. Talk to a clerk to ensure you find the right bit. Make sure they understand that you need to fit a HOSE on to the spigot and need an adapter that is exactly the same shape as the aerator. Don't buy one that fit INTO the aerator, that's the wrong type.

(for the smaller hose, i use a clear one, so that I can see how much sand I am pulling up, but that isn't necessary - this tube can be purchased at the LFS easily, but you will need to get a hose repair kit to find a hose clamp and male or female end to fit onto one end of that tube.)

The medicine droppers will definitely be at a pharmacy. Try to get ones with as small a scale as possible. You'll really only NEED a 5 mL syringe (get two!). While you may need to dose more ammonia than that, you can just do it in more than one go. You will want the small scale so that you can easily do half-doses, etc. as needed without a lot of guess work. You will also want to get two so that one can be dedicated to your test kit, and the other for dosing ammonia. Using the same syringe for both can lead to false readings.


So, it looks like you are off to a few stores. While at the LFS, start to look at the fish and think about what fish you want to keep. Ultimately, that is why you are doing everything. Another reason is that if you see that the tanks aren't well maintained you may want to purchase elsewhere. Remember, if bad LFS are patronized, they stay in business. But, if a good LFS is not, it folds. Make sure your money goes into keeping a good one going! While there talk to some of the sales people in the fish department. Get a sense for them. Are they fish people or are they just working there. Never take what they say as gospel and always do your own research before buying something on their recommendation. (They are probably going to try to sell you a bottled bacteria product. Just mention that you prefer to do a full fishless cycle, as you believe you will learn more about the hobby from that experience, and see what they say. If they laugh at that idea, they aren't really into fish. Knowing how your biological filter works is one of the most important lessons in fish keeping! Ultimately, we are just as interested in the bacteria that helps sustain our fish as we are in the fish themselves!!!)

 

[Tstone]

Could I just use a funnel for the showerhead to hose connection?

And for the hoses.. get my long one, my short one, and then a clamp to clamp them together?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

It depends. If you get just a tube as I did for the short one, then yes. If you just buy two hoses, it should come with the attachment to put them together.


As for the funnel... I doubt it. Gravity would work for you, but the water wouldn't be pushed through the hose the same as if it were physically connected to the shower. It is a little more effort to find the piece that matches exactly and to unscrew the head and then attach the hose, but in the long run, it will be worth it. If you are using this funnel method, you'll need two people to refill your tank. One to hold the funnel in the bathroom and ensure the water doesn't end up everywhere and another to monitor the water going into the tank and know when to shut it off and keep an eye on the temp, etc. Its far less trouble to find the right pieces and then you can do it all leisurely alone with no one standing with their arms in the air! Remember, the end of the hose the water is coming from must be higher then the end the water is leaving to in order for it to work, UNLESS you have water pressure from your spigot.

 

[Tstone]

Whew. Okay. My report after the first day...

Funnel thing didn't work.. at all......
Ended up using my garden hose but I won't be able to use that during the winter soooo i'll be heading to Lowe's to pick up a connector for my showerhead to hose...

Ummmmmm... what else.... /:

My tank is super murky from stirring up all the sand when putting water into it.. kinda bummed about that I'll have to wait a day to finally see it with clear water..
Once all the sand has settled, i'll start the good ol cycling process!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I can just imagine you doing that with the funnel! Sorry, but that had to be a vision to see!


Yeah, putting the water in with sand when it is empty can be a problem. Did you rinse the sand out well first? I think I forgot to remind you of that step.


If you didn't, it should be ok. The lightest sand will be on the top, and you can actually siphon out that and practice your technique for when you have some fish poo in the tank. Just a real gentle swirling motion about an inch or two above the surface of the sand will kick up on the lightest stuff, and it will mainly be pulled right into the siphon.



Next... turn the heater in the tank on and raise the temp to 84F or so. The bacteria will grow best in those higher temps. You will lower it when the fish come (and you will do a full water change as well). Then you want to add some baking soda to raise the pH of your water. A pH of 8.0 -8.4 is the "sweet spot" for the bacteria. Doing this will also increase your kH (basically the water's ability to buffer itself). This is important because as the cycle goes on, nitrates will build up which will eventually crash the pH. When the pH crashes, the cycle can stall.


Start dosing to get 4-5 ppm ammonia. Test and dose at the same time every 24 hours. (Don't dose ammonia though, until it drops to zero.) This will be phase 1. It will take a while. Once you start to see the ammonia dropping start to test for nitrite as well as ammonia, again every 24 hours. When the ammonia reaches zero and the nitrite goes up (called the nitrite spike) this is the start of phase two. Phase two will last a while. You will continue to dose ammonia, but lower the dose to 2-3ppm to give the n-bacs a chance to catch up. Continue testing every 24 hours, and dose ammonia only when it reaches 0. Eventually your nitrite will fall back to zero. This marks the start of phase three. THen you continue to dose, but slowly raise the dose back up to 4-5ppm. Start testing every 12 hours. When you hit double zeros in 12 hours, you start your "qualifying week". The qualifying week is seven consecutive days of double zeros at 12 hours. Once this happens you are fully cycled and receive the greatest reward of all! A 100% water change and then you can pick up your fish. Acclimate them properly and you are ready to go! All this should take about 6 weeks or longer. There's no way to be sure how long it will take.

 

[Tstone]

Would it be possible to put just like 1 "suckerfish" in there right now? Haha I just want to have some fish now! I don't plan on putting any

thing in there though


And thank you very much for all of that ^ you've helped me tremendously in the past couple days and I greatly appreciate it

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Get a fish sticker. It will be a "sucker" on the glass for you!

You are very welcome. Start a thread when your cycle starts. The folks around here will help to keep it working the correct way.

 

[Tstone]

I was reading the fishless cycle thread.. and it's saying to add ammonia to get it to 4 or 5.. How do I know how much ammonia to use to get it where I want it?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That thread has a link to a calculator.

Here.

 

[Tstone]

It says 9.5% of ammonia required.. so does that mean 9.5% of 110 gallons? Which is 10.45... So would that be 10.45 mL of ammonia into my whole tank?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What ammonia do you have?

If you have a 110 gallon tank (minus the substrate and decor volume of course) using 9.5% ammonia solution (which is probably what you have) then you would need to dose almost 22 mL of ammonia.

 

[Tstone]

http/www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Ammonia-64-oz/13023511

And I have no decor in the tank as of right now.. All I have is sand, water, 2 heaters, and 2 filters..

So with that info I just gave you.. Can you tell me how much ammonia I should use?

 

[fluttermoth]

That ammonia appears to be 2.5% ammonia, so you'd need to change the '9.5%' bit in the calculator. Can you have a look on the actual bottle and see what % it says?

Looks to me, from the calculator, that you'd need 87 or 88mls; I'd start with half that and do an ammonia test and see what concentration that's given you.