Hi Newbie

[antn1.b]

just thought I would sign up and say hi. I picked up a new fish tank two weeks ago and have been searching for some advice and this site kept popping up.

I have got a 60 litre marina elite tank as its about all I have room for, the tank will have been standing for 2 weeks Saturday and all levels are looking right so I think I am about ready for some fish this weekend.


cheers

Anthony

 

[Ashley1991]

Hey welcome to the forum before you add any fish you need to cycle your tank here are a couple of articles to explain it

fishless cycling : http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861

fish in cycling : http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=224306

 

[Jenste]

what do you mean by "levels are all looking good?"

do you have a freshwater liquid test kit?
have you been adding ammonia and doing water changes?

or have you just let your tank sit for two weeks with the filter running? if this is the case then you are no more closer to getting fish than you were the same day you set it up!


it takes much longer that 2 weeks to do a "fish-less" cycle... check out the beginners section for some great posts on how to start a fishless cycle!!! it is a great way to get the tank ready for fish, with out worrying about causing harm and death along the way

 

[Ashley1991]

by the way you may be more tempted to do a fish in cycle but trust me its a pain in the #14###

water changes everyday to begin with pretty much

Ash

 

[DuMScOuSe]

Hello! You would be better using ammonia and doing fishless way,leaving water in tank for 2 weeks wont make it redy for fish,the fish will sufer when they go in from poison

 

[antn1.b]

to be honest I am very new to this and a friend of mine has been dealing with every thing he's come round three times now (morning and evening) with a test kit and said that the levels are as they should be and that the bacteria are doing there job so to speak. he initially added a filter sponge from his established tank, so I would imagine this helps it along.
the tank went very grey/white cloudy for a couple of days about 5-6 days in but he said that's was normal and would clear itself which it has so all seems well.

I have only kept cold water fish so far in my sons tank, they have proved very easy to keep on top off with regular 20% water changes its kept clear and the fish all seem well.

here to learn so keep the advice and links coming very helpful!!

cheers

 

[Ashley1991]

if he put mature media in has he being feeding it with ammonia? if not the good bacteria will have died off ( i did not realise i had to feed my mature media to keep the bacteria alive hence im in a fish in cycke now )

Ash

 

[antn1.b]

will check exactly what he has and hasn't put in tomorrow and report back.
had a good read up this evening/morning so will start getting a bit more hands on so I know what he's up too.

site seems very useful loads of info!

 

[Ashley1991]

well goog luck hope you figure out whats being going on

ASh

 

[Assaye]

Here is your essential link for getting going.

Sounds like your friend is helping out but by the sound of things he might be a little behind in the fishkeeping world. Get the lowdown on what he's doing and what his game-plan is and match that up with the information in the Resource Centre. Hopefully you'll both be singing off the same hymn sheet soon!

I would strongly suggest you wait until you understand the information in the Resource Centre, especially the information on cycling, before you proceed with fish. Things move very rapidly in the fishkeeping world and the information that was considered "gospel" even a few years ago has changed so it's really important to keep up with the new developments. They can literally mean the difference between life and death for the fish!

Good luck and let us know how you get on. We're always here if you have any questions!

 

[antn1.b]

well after some extensive reading on here and a discussion today the friend has been sacked so to speak lol

I have done away with about 80% of the water and got myself a bottle of ammonia (Robert dyas) and a api master kit and am going down the fish less cycle route also got some more established filter media sorted for tomorrow so should help things along.

thanks again for all your help I feel I have learnt more about fish keeping in a few hours then I did about anything scientific with 11 years at school lol

 

[Assaye]

well after some extensive reading on here and a discussion today the friend has been sacked so to speak lol

I have done away with about 80% of the water and got myself a bottle of ammonia (Robert dyas) and a api master kit and am going down the fish less cycle route also got some more established filter media sorted for tomorrow so should help things along.

thanks again for all your help I feel I have learnt more about fish keeping in a few hours then I did about anything scientific with 11 years at school lol

Sounds good =D

Keep us updated

 

[Ashley1991]

well after some extensive reading on here and a discussion today the friend has been sacked so to speak lol

I have done away with about 80% of the water and got myself a bottle of ammonia (Robert dyas) and a api master kit and am going down the fish less cycle route also got some more established filter media sorted for tomorrow so should help things along.

thanks again for all your help I feel I have learnt more about fish keeping in a few hours then I did about anything scientific with 11 years at school lol

keep up the good work and you will have a beautifull tank in no time

Ash

 

[antn1.b]

well seems like some progress is being made.

got myself some nice live plants only 4 at the moment but seems enough for the size of the tank. I added the first dose of ammonia on Friday evening to take the level up to 4ppm and having checked just now its down to between 1 and 2ppm, also the nitrite is present only at 0.50ppm at the moment but all seems to be moving along in the right direction. my lfs had some little rubber star type things that sit in their system that they give to people as established media so I got a couple of those and a bit of established filter sponge. I managed to prise open the carbon/zeolite pods that where in the filter (stingray) and filled them with established sponge and the rubber things. don't know how much good that will do but cant hurt to try and speed the process up a little.

seems a long old process but glad I found out how to do things properly before any fish suffered!

 

[Ashley1991]

every bit of mature media helps

Ash