I Am New! Here's What I Got! Lol

[Cantbesaved]

Hey all! I am new to the hobby, and the site! I have a 20 gallon tank (24x12x16), with a Marineland Dolphin filter. I have 4 neon tetras as the tank cycles. I used to have a gay 2 gallon tank, but I quickly realized that was not big enough! LOL. I was researching stuff, and stumbled upon this site. So I had to join! =) I definately enjoy my new hobby so far, and I think this is something I will do for the rest of my life! =)

 

[truetotexas]

dude im new too! i havent even put any fish in my tank yet hahah... its just sitting in my filled up and everything... im just waiting on my heater and a response to my post hahah

 

[dnn3]

get ready to get hooked i started with a 30 gal then got a 60 gal and now i want a 90 gal.

 

[Ian H]

Firstly welcome

Sadly i dont think neons are the ideal choice to cycle a tank with. They are normally quite crap in regards to dying for no reason never mind in the middle of a cycle! platties would have been a better choice. Although if they do all die please consider a fishless cycle

 

[Cantbesaved]

Firstly welcome

Sadly i dont think neons are the ideal choice to cycle a tank with. They are normally quite crap in regards to dying for no reason never mind in the middle of a cycle! platties would have been a better choice. Although if they do all die please consider a fishless cycle

Yea, well as I said, I had a 2 gallon tank, and I had these neons in there, but that tank was nowhere near the proper size... That is why I have them while I cycle. I am monitoring the chemical levels closely, and they seem to be very vibrantly coloured, and very happy and active, though I know happy doesn't necessarily mean they are perfect! If they do die, I will likely get another fish better for a cycle, but I think they will be ok! =) I am keeping ammonia levels to a min, and right now I am working on getting the tank to a ph of 6.5-6.8 for them (got the sulphuric acid today - "ph Down")

I feed them blood worms and flakes mixed (soaked for about 10 min before I drop it in, so they don't get constipated)

 

[Ian H]

whats your normal ph? unless its REALLY high i wouldnt bother, adding chemicals normally makes things worse!! also with the food, i've always just thrown it in and its been fine!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah pH adjusting chemicals are rubbish and generally fish are quite adaptable.

what is your natural pH? I'd only advise you to try to bring it down if it's near 8.

 

[Corleone]

Even near 8 isn't bad. My tap water is 7.7-9, and I don't adjust it. Unless you're planning on highly sensitive fish like discus, there's usually not much point in playing with your pH, and when you need to, the bottled stuff is the worst way to do it. It tends to make your pH unstable, and an ideal pH that wavers slightly is far more likely to kill fish than a stable pH well outside ideal.

 

[tangokitty]

I agree those chemicals used to alter pH fluctuate badly! It is way stress full for the fish and can be deadly.

 

[Cantbesaved]

Oh. Well my ph is around 7.6... If the chemical is really that bad I wont add any more. The bottle was only 4 bucks, so I don't mind =P Thanks for the heads up =) Only used it twice, but I will discontinue use.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah 7.4 is totally fine, just leave it as it is.

 

[shelaghfishface]

hi, the tank looks great, i dont suppose the neons will last,you should have a read up on fishless cycling anyway.. just so you know what its about.

mad signature by the way

shelagh xxx