Help New User

[waterdrop]

Hi Jill,

The test kits are easy to learn to use. I like and use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. It has a strong color change when the poisons get down to a zero reading, which is nice, and many here recommend it. A kit like this is a really nice bit of basic equipment for a beginner to have, along with the filter it is providing tests for!

The conditioners work almost instantly, so you can either put the dose into buckets of tap water prior to refilling or you can directly dose the tank if you are filling it from a hose to make it easier.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[murph123]

hi all, i have carried out a 50% water change yesterday and will be doing 20%for next few days is this right i have done a water test with nutrafin test and if i read t right nitrate 0.1 and ammonia 0.6 am i on the right track also am i ok having gravel or is sand better although i dont think i can change it now because this will upset the cycle again wont it.
thnks jillxx

 

[OldMan47]

The ammonia is a bit high at 0.6 ppm. It would be better if you were able to keep it closer to zero but we generally say to keep it below 0.25 ppm.

The mix of hot and cold water is not a problem with modern plumbing. I have read that some places in the UK use a boiler to heat the water and use systems with unlined tanks to store the hot water. With that kind of system you should probably use a kettle to add hot water to cold from the tap. It is a bit more trouble but will help you avoid any metals that might dissolve in the water. With modern plumbing you will have a fiberglass lined hot water tank and there is no problem at all using a mix of hot and cold from the tap. I have no idea what kind of system you have, only you do.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi Jill,

Re your question "50%..20%.. is this right?" here's what I would say:

The test kit is your new tool to use and you have to be like a detective to figure out your own water change percentage and frequency. Your goal is to get both ammonia and nitrite(NO2) as close to zero as possible, go away to sleep, work, school, kids, whatever, and then 12 hours later test again and hope that it has not risen above the slightest measure (on the API tests the first color shade is 0.25ppm, on then Nutrafin its 0.60ppm I believe, so "the best you can tell" is slightly different) and based on this follow-up result you modify your percentage water change bigger or smaller to zoom in on the good pattern you want to get.

So does this make sense? Most people measure some time in the morning and sometime in the evening and do water changes at one of these or both, depending. Sometimes it seems to take multiple water changes initially to kind of get the tank down at zero but then does not seem to take so many thereafter to maintain that, you just have to test and see. Its safe to do another water change as soon as an hour after a previous one. Ammonia or nitrite(NO2) creeping above that first shade is not good, the ammonia causes permanent gill damage and the nitrite causes suffocation and permanent nerve damage and either can kill the fish pretty quickly, depending on species.

You do not really need to spend time doing nitrate(NO3) tests at this point, you are most concerned with the main two toxins of ammonia and NO2. It usually takes about a month to fish-in cycle a tank but sometimes longer, depending on conditions.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[murph123]

hi all, i have sadly lost another fish, i did the water test last night following my 50% water change the day before. and it was worse than when i did it the day before. i also dont think my filter is working as good as it sholud i think it is a tetra filter it goes on the side of the tank and has four spponges all together two in the top part and two below the top part. i will test the water again today and just keep hoping it works out soon, is it possible for me to do water more than once a day would this work any better. thanyou jill

sorry i have just read over messages again i will do it more frequent thanks again xx

 

[LauraFrog]

Can you please tell us how big the tank is (dimensions or the volume is fine) and what fish are in it, the pH of the tank water, and could you also test your tap water for ammonia. Some councils add ammonia as well as chlorine to your water supply, and this could be causing the deaths and also slowing down your cycle.

0.6ppm is too high and it definitely means the tank isn't cycled. Everybody's giving you good advice about that. It's enough to kill really sensitive fish, but I can't imagine it knocking off anything that can survive in an LFS tank long enough to be sold.

What do the fish do before they die? Do they flick in the water, rub themselves on objects or gasp at the surface?

 

[murph123]

HI ALL i have just tested again the amonia is 0.6 the nitrate 0.3 and the ph 6.0. my tank is 70litres i have cold water mountain minow x2 dalmation mollies x2 guppys x3 plekq x1 sword tail x1 gourami x1 a group of 5 which i cant remember the name of. the tap water has no amonia in it. when the other have died previous they have been gasping for air and then disorientated. this latest one must have died in the night found it in the morning.i have done50% water change then 20%for the past few days although the amonia is 0.6 i would say its lower as the colour is not as stong as it was but it is not clar either. am i doing ok.

thankyou jill

 

[OldMan47]

Your tank is slightly overstocked for a tank that is just starting out. That means that you will need to be even more vigilant with water testing and partial water changes. The pH of 6 means that your bacteria will have a hard time becoming established in the tank. It is also a bit low for the guppies, swordtail and mollies. The rest of your fish should find that pH very nice. Do you have a pH reading on your tap water after it has been left out to degas for a few hours? If the pH is higher, it might be good to do water changes just to bring up the pH.
Usually water with a pH that low have very little buffering capacity so you will get large pH swings. They are just 2 things that often are found together. The build of nitrates that comes from ammonia being processed has an acidic effect so if your tap is higher, it may be that your KH is just low. It is not something we usually test for but could be the root of your problems. A KH test below 4 or 5 degrees hardness would mean the tank is subject to huge pH swings as the nitrates build. Unless you know it is needed, it is better not to go out and buy corrective chemicals but if the tests confirm a low KH, I would add some crushed coral or crushed shells to correct the KH and thereby stabilize the pH.

 

[murph123]

hi all, my amonia level is almost clear now and the nitrate is commin down good to should i still keep doing aprt water change until its clear. also how long should i leave it until i can clean the filter. my fish do appear more lively and almost appear to be flirting is this a good sign thanks jill xx

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, this sounds like good progress Jill and the behaviour of your fish is always a good thing to be looking at and using as a judge of water quality, besides measurements.

The test to know when you are finished with Fish-In Cycling is to be able to go two full days without water changes and see absolute zero for both ammonia and nitrite(NO2) for all 4 test sets for those two days. Then of course you usually continue that frequent testing for the rest of a week before beginning to ease down on the testing rate. Then you should still wait a few weeks before introducing any new fish and you should do it very slowly when you do do it. Good weekly gravel-clean-water-changes should be kept up thereafter.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Inchworm]

... also how long should i leave it until i can clean the filter.

murph123

Don't worry about cleaning the filter unless it's getting clogged up. As long as the water flows through it freely, it doesn't need cleaning. This will be the case even after the cycle is completed.

 

[murph123]

Hi all thanks for all your help its great to see my fish happy i have not seen such activity since i got them. when i clean the gravel is it best to use the sucking tube and then put more clean water in and how often should i clean it. is gravel ok or is sand better or does the gravel need to stay in forever now because it may cause me to have to cycle it again. hope im on the right track thinking this. thanks everyone much appreciated. xx

 

[Miss Wiggle]

there's a link in my sig called 'weekly maintenance' which will help you work out what you should be doing to maintain the tank once the cycle is finished.

the substrate can eb changed at a later date if you want to, btu i'd recommend you leave it alone until you're well out of the woods with the cycle as changing the substrate sometimes causes a mini cycle, the more mature the filter is the less likely you are to have a mini cycle. if you want to change it then post back nearer the time and we'll explain how to minimise the risk.

 

[waterdrop]

Completely agree with MW on the substrate change information.

The choice of gravel or sand is aesthetic and you will see a pretty wide range of substrate choices being used in tanks that all are successful tanks. The choice, however, is not one of those totally easy ones that's just pure looks. There are different skills (all "learnable") involved in the preparation, introduction and maintenance of gravel vs. sand. Basically, most of the differences come from sand, by definition almost, needing somewhat more fussy attention getting the dust out, getting settled in the tank without getting all in the filter impeller and most of all not getting sucked up during substrate cleaning. You have to develop a technique of stirring the debris up into the water off the top of the substrate and then perhaps opening your thumb off of a siphon tube to such up that debris during cleaning. But sand can help create such a beautiful aquascape that many consider the troubles well worth it. Its also a much more natural and forgiving substrate for bottom dwellers like the various catfish species. Personaly I still use gravel, as my son and I are still beginners more or less, but I really enjoy looking at the pictures of people's sand-substrate tanks.

~~waterdrop~~ quote of the day: "What do fish say when they hit a concrete wall?" "Dam!"

 

[Miss Wiggle]

~~waterdrop~~ quote of the day: "What do fish say when they hit a concrete wall?" "Dam!"