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[Rummynose]

okay thanks a lot for that info !

and 'rummynose' i try to do water changes weekly with about 25% water change, thanks also for the info

How did you cycle the tank? I am asking because some people are told by their LFS or pet store to just run the filter on the tank for a couple of weeks. That won't cycle your tank.
If your tank is not cycled, then 25% water change weekly is way too little!!! You would need to at least 25% daily to keep the ammonia level down.
That's why it is important to have a test kit!!! Sometimes you may need to do 2 consecutive 50% water changes. But you would only know to do that if you know the exact level of ammonia in your tank.

 

[kylealastairlove]

i brought a book, guiding me through the whole set up of the tank and cycling and the nitrogen cycle also contains a mini encyclopedia of tropical fish, when i cycled my tank i set everything up, added my first few live plants. connected up the filter and heater and lighting. every two days for 7 doses, i dosed my tank with the appropriate amount of a filter start liquid to help build up the friendly bacteria within the filter. i hope this was the right thing to do ?

 

[Rummynose]

i brought a book, guiding me through the whole set up of the tank and cycling and the nitrogen cycle also contains a mini encyclopedia of tropical fish, when i cycled my tank i set everything up, added my first few live plants. connected up the filter and heater and lighting. every two days for 7 doses, i dosed my tank with the appropriate amount of a filter start liquid to help build up the friendly bacteria within the filter. i hope this was the right thing to do ?

If you didn't add any ammonia to feed the bacteria then your tank was never cycled!

 

[This Old Spouse]

+1

The "bottled bacteria" is usually no good to start up a tank. There have been endless discussions here about this very thing, but the only way to really cycle a tank is by daily dosing with ammonia, per the instructions in the beginner's section (you can click the link in my signature). Otherwise you can "seed" your filter media by getting some mature filter media from an established tank.

 

[Man of fish]

How do you seed a Fluval Chi. Guess I'll figure out some way when it comes.

 

[This Old Spouse]

You add some mature filter media to the Fluval Chi filter media.

 

[kylealastairlove]

so my tank isn't cycled properly then ? i never knew about adding ammonia and it didnt mention it in the book hmm
i was gonna ask, i read through my filter instruction manual today and it said the black carbon filter sponge needs replacing every 3-6 weeks because of something about what it contains dyes down and will not filter properly after so long, so i was thinking maybe that was the reason my fish were dying, but i guess its probably because my tank is not properly cycled. should i be worrying that im keeping fish and my tank isnt properly cycled ?

 

[Cazgar]

From what I've learned here, you don't need the carbon..
Take it out & replace with extra sponge.
Looks like you're in a fish cycle now & will need to do regular water changes.
Look on the beginners section for help, & ask questions, the people here are very helpful

 

[kylealastairlove]

okay thank you very much for the advice i do water changes weekly, changing about 25% will i have to do it more regular or is that okay ?

 

[Cazgar]

You'll have to do regular water tests &water changes accordingly

 

[This Old Spouse]

okay thank you very much for the advice i do water changes weekly, changing about 25% will i have to do it more regular or is that okay ?

I do 50-60% weekly water changes, and clean out the HOB filters and canister filters every couple of months. I don't have gravel, but when I did I'd vac the gravel with every water change.