Am I Ready For Fish?

[nijohnnyuk]

Hi all

My NH3/NH4 is 0 ppm with a ph of 7.5 and No2 of less than 0.3 ppm which gives me a CO2 conc of 7 according to the chart I am ready for fish - any help?

I have had the aquarium running fishless ofr about 3 weeks now

Any recommendations on what to get (I am a first timer!!)

cheers in advance 8)

 

[mark.w.jones]

Hi all

My NH3/NH4 is 0 ppm with a ph of 7.5 and No2 of less than 0.3 ppm which gives me a CO2 conc of 7 according to the chart I am ready for fish - any help?

I have had the aquarium running fishless ofr about 3 weeks now

Any recommendations on what to get (I am a first timer!!)

cheers in advance 8)

Your nitrIte NO2 should be zero before adding fish. Are you adding ammonia solution to tank to help cycle it?

Id advise that you read all the articles at the top of the beginners forum before going too much further. Its also worth doing the same in the tropical chit chat and plant forums as well to give yourself a good overview of everything. If you havn't already your best bet then is to fishless cycle your tank with ammonia solution. Ideally with some media + sponge from an already established tank. This link is the simplest and easiest to follow on here. Just follow the add and wait method:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...3861&hl=methods

You'll need.

1. A medicine dropper (in most fish meds)
2. Freshwater master water test kit with tests for ammonia NH3, nitrIte NO2 and nitrAte NO3. Aquarium Pharmaseuticals is good. http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/Z124268.asp £18.15 at bottom.
3. Ammonia solution. (In the UK, Homebase DIY store household cleaning section.)
4. Patience (Takes about 3 - 5 weeks, research fish while youre waiting).

It looks complicated by I was a complete beginner 6 months ago and did it fine.

Good Luck and welcome to the best fish forum on the net!!

 

[dwarfgourami]

If you have just been letting the tank sit without fish in it and with no other source of ammonia- then, no. You could carry on doing that till Doomsday and you still wouldn't grow any beneficial bacteria. The good bacteria that will deal with your fish waste need food=ammonia, so you can either add a very few hardy starter fish (cycling with fish) or (much better!) add small quantities of household ammonia- see the links and explanations provided by jonesy above.