How Do I Clean The Bottom Of My Tank?

[Angel98]

No she didnt she just said it was perfect and that ive done well! I wish i asked now!

Well i couldnt vac properly cus the end of the vac is quite big so you cant really get in2 corners and it takes out so much water so quick! Thats the 1st time ive used one aswell!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

No she didnt she just said it was perfect and that ive done well! I wish i asked now!

Well i couldnt vac properly cus the end of the vac is quite big so you cant really get in2 corners and it takes out so much water so quick! Thats the 1st time ive used one aswell!

you'll get the hang of it don't worry.

it frustrates me that lfs's do that. I always take a pen and paper and note down the results if I have to get water tested there.

well you'll have your own test kit soon and then we can work on deciphering the results!

 

[Dutchie]

Totally agree with Miss Wiggle.......I've got API and works a treat.

Now in your signature you have two Angel Fish and Neon Tetras.......
From previous reading I think the Neons will end up on the dinner plate once your Angels start to grow....

 

[Angel98]

Yeah hope so lol

Yeah i dont know y i didnt i was just so glad it was ok lol

I bought one yesterday but didnt see the point in doing it as the lady in the shop already done it. It looks so confusing aswell lol, i will have to read up on it tonight!

By the way when vac'in you end up taking a lot of water out, do you just replace it with cold water from the tap? I filled the bucket up with cold water then a bit of hot out of the kettle so it was about the right temp for my tank, then added some Biotap in then poored it in, is that right?

Totally agree with Miss Wiggle.......I've got API and works a treat.

Now in your signature you have two Angel Fish and Neon Tetras.......
From previous reading I think the Neons will end up on the dinner plate once your Angels start to grow....

I knoooow i didnt know about that either until the lady told me in the shop! They are quite big neons, none of them are really small. I got the biggest ones! My Angels take no notice of them at the moment! Will my frog be ok aswell?

 

[Dutchie]

Not sure about your frog though............I suspect that you may need to move the Angels out eventually and either put them in a larger tank.(ie 50 UK Gallons) or you may need to return them to LFS.

Do other members agree??

 

[Angel98]

Im not getting a bigger tank it wont fit in my bedroom LOL the floor will go through

They will take a little while 2 grow any way wont they? They are quite small!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah the angel will need a larger tank when it grows up.

do the api tests and post the results for us. It's pretty easy when you get the hang of it.

start with pH, it's easiest

get 5ml of water in the test tube, add 3 drops of pH solution, shake vigoroulsy, compare it to the colour chart and get your reading.

ammonia is slightly more complex, get 5ml of water, add 8 (i think) drops of ammonia solution 1, cap and shake the tube, add 8 (i think) drops of ammonia solution 2, cap and shake the tube, give it 5 mins to develop and compare it to the colour chart.

and so on. leave the nitrate one to last, it's trickiest and you must follow the instructions exactly.

but don't get confused just do one at a time and it's dead easy.

the colours you want to see are

ph - bluey purple
ammonia - yellow
nitrite - blue
nitrate - yellow/orange

 

[Angel98]

Excellent thank you very much miss wiggle, i will do the tests tonight and post them tomorrow too see what you all think this website is so helpful!

 

[Dutchie]

Perhaps you should just hang on to the fish you have now. you could always add a couple cories, and make sure you keep the tank plenty clean all the time. Everybody gets along with cories, and they're friendly, and funny to watch.


Since you can't really add much of anything else to your tank without causing problems with your other fish, just hold on to the Neons.

Could'nt agree more..........learnt so much over the past 8-10 weeks..............good members too.......

 

[Angel98]

Did i fill the tank up properly after i vac'ed? No1 answered, Thanks

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Excellent thank you very much miss wiggle, i will do the tests tonight and post them tomorrow too see what you all think this website is so helpful!

no problem, check the instructions on the cards cos i might have it wrong, just working from memory. but i think that's right and they really are easy.

while we're on the subject of water tests, just to make sure, do you know what all the tests mean, what the different chemicals you test for are and do you know about the nitrogen cycle in the tank? cos it's all well and good us telling you if it's Ok or not but the best thing to do is to learn how to work it out for yourself.

Did i fill the tank up properly after i vac'ed? No1 answered, Thanks

yes you did, congratulations you've just done your first water change

 

[Angel98]

Erm not really, sort of. Ive been reading your posts on cycling and stuff, just gets soooo confusing!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ha ha OK

this topic starts off covering the basics of how a tank cycles, what roles ammonia, nitrite etc play and what your test results should be.

then it goes into what to do if you have fish and are getting dodgy readings, sadly i suspect this may be what you end up doing but don't worry about it until you've got some readings and we'll go from there.

 

[Dutchie]

Yep, been there and done that as well............

If it was'nt for Miss Wiggle and others, I would have gone mad, returned the fish and tank and started knitting...!!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Yep, been there and done that as well............

If it was'nt for Miss Wiggle and others, I would have gone mad, returned the fish and tank and started knitting...!!!

well... what are you waiting for, i'm after a nice beanie type knited hat......