Advice Needed :)

[freddie21]

several months ago due to a severe power cut my tropical tank had to remain switched off with all my fish having to be given to local pet shop. Now i feel that i would like to re setup my tank but i am a bit worried as previously i have NEVER successfully been able to keep certain fish such as weather loach and angel fish ( both my favourite fish} longer than a few weeks and then they die.
All the angel fish i have had i bought when they were really small and only lasted a few weeks where as my mother in law buys them and they grow huge and last for ages - without EVER testing PH.
i really dont know what to do next - i really want to wash my current gravel and start again but am worried it wont work out. Can anyone offer advice on what i should do and how long i should leave the tank set up before adding fish? should i this time get substrate for plants??
thanks

 

[mattyd1701]

several months ago due to a severe power cut my tropical tank had to remain switched off with all my fish having to be given to local pet shop. Now i feel that i would like to re setup my tank but i am a bit worried as previously i have NEVER successfully been able to keep certain fish such as weather loach and angel fish ( both my favourite fish} longer than a few weeks and then they die.
All the angel fish i have had i bought when they were really small and only lasted a few weeks where as my mother in law buys them and they grow huge and last for ages - without EVER testing PH.
i really dont know what to do next - i really want to wash my current gravel and start again but am worried it wont work out. Can anyone offer advice on what i should do and how long i should leave the tank set up before adding fish? should i this time get substrate for plants??
thanks

hi there
How big is your tank?
from a line you said before "without EVER testing PH." and "how long i should leave the tank set up before adding fish?" PH is not your main worry with the tank your main worry is Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite do you know how to cycle your tank before adding fish?

when you where adding angel fish to your tank how did you go about doing it did you just fill the tank with water, substrate, decor etc and then just put the fish in afterwards?

 

[mike455555]

the fish cycle:

fish poo contains NH3 (ammonia-this is harmful to fish)- bacteria in your filter turn NH3 into NO3 (nitrites) which is a little less harmfull to your fish but still damaging - another set of bacteria turn NO3 into NO2 (i think...) nitrates- theses are plant food,they are still harmfull to fish but not as much as ammonia or nitrites

your filter needs a bacteria or it cant cope with the fish poo , leading to high levels of harmful substances which end up killing your fish

 

[rgatt74]

several months ago due to a severe power cut my tropical tank had to remain switched off with all my fish having to be given to local pet shop. Now i feel that i would like to re setup my tank but i am a bit worried as previously i have NEVER successfully been able to keep certain fish such as weather loach and angel fish ( both my favourite fish} longer than a few weeks and then they die.
All the angel fish i have had i bought when they were really small and only lasted a few weeks where as my mother in law buys them and they grow huge and last for ages - without EVER testing PH.
i really dont know what to do next - i really want to wash my current gravel and start again but am worried it wont work out. Can anyone offer advice on what i should do and how long i should leave the tank set up before adding fish? should i this time get substrate for plants??
thanks

Don't give up, whatever you do. Maybe try some hearty fish so they can withstand the New Tank Syndrome you might encounter. I usually feed the tank for a while and start with a fish like Danios. Then slowly build your community tank around them. Try to change a portion of the water once a week to help with nitrate removal. I also use my filter bags for as long as possible without changing them as they will be chock full of bacteria. That's why I wouldn't go crazy cleaning the gravel as you said. With my latest tank I ran the tank for about 3 weeks before adding any fish. I added two goldfish early on so that their biological processes would help speed the cycling and the creation of bacteria. Then after 3 weeks I removed them and added some tiger barbs for now. So far everything has been ok.