I Need Help

[tigerchilly]

ive cleaned out my tank,put my gravel in got my filter ready,added tapsafe.what do i do now? ive got api master kit on order ....this is where im upto ,please any help would be appreciated..step by step...

 

[stanleo]

Under the heading "new to the Hobby Questions and Answers" is a beginner's resource center that has a lot of great information to get you started.

 

[tigerchilly]

i want a stepbystep guide by people on this forum...

 

[fluttermoth]

In very simple terms (there are extra technicalities, which is why we have the beginner's resource forum; it would take too long to type every piece of detail every time!)
 
You need to 'cycle' your filter. 'Cycling' just means growing a colony of good bacteria on the sponge or whatever's inside your filter. The bacteria eat the ammonia produced by the fish and turn it into less toxic substances; first nitrite, which is also toxic, and then nitrate, which is only toxic at very high levels, and which we keep low with water changes, in a cycled tank.
 
You'll need; your test kits and a bottle of household cleaning ammonia (probably easiest to get it online).
 
Add enough ammonia to give you a reading of 2 or 3 ppm (parts per million) on your ammonia test (we have a calculator on the top tab, so you can work out how many mls you'll need).
 
Then you wait, testing every day, until the ammonia starts to go down. Once that happens, you top up the ammonia and start testing for nitrite as well.
 
When both ammonia and nitrite read zero on your tests, 12 hours after adding the ammonia, your filter will be cycled and you can think about adding fish.
 
D'oh; I forgot to say; to the forum

 

[Fizzy77]

Literally everything is there and it's been made by the members ~ http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

 

[tigerchilly]

thanks guys .....ive got everything ready....im not using ammonia,just put fish food in there waiting that to give me a reading.......so when i do the nitrate water change do i have to put more of the tapsafe in with the new water.?
thank you again..
ps i love this forum.

 

[Sanjay]

Hi there. Tapsafe should be used whenever you do a water change.
I am in the 4th week of a fishless cycle - be patient - it will pay off in the end!!

 

[tigerchilly]

thank sanjay ....your the guy i need advice from coz your pretty much where i am .....im on my first week but i have no ammonia yet...is that normal. .

 

[eaglesaquarium]

When using fish food you have to wait for it to break down, that takes a while and can be unpredictable - which is why using ammonia solution is recommended.  Its there from the beginning and you can easily and predictably dose as necessary.  Doing it with fish food is fine, its just a little trickier to dose...

 

[tigerchilly]

ok cool...im finding it hard to get hold of pure ammonia...any brands you can think of...will appreciate any help.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yes, but they are only in the US.

 

[fluttermoth]

ok cool...im finding it hard to get hold of pure ammonia...any brands you can think of...will appreciate any help.

It is very difficult to find ammonia in the shops; online is probably your best bet.
 
Both eBay and Amazon have 'Kleen Off Household Ammonia'.

 

[Sanjay]

Amazon is where i got some from - you need kleenoff ammonia - its easier to do the fishless cycle with ammonia as fluttermouth has said - you can regulate the dosage and its in there from the word go

You need to work out the dosage according to your tank size - i have a 46 litre tank and i use 13 drops to get a level of 2ppm.
Test every day and when the ammonia drops to under 1ppm, redose and keep testing. You also test for nitrites at this stage.
The nitrite munching bacteria grow a LOT slower than the ammonia processing guys so be patient!!

 

[tigerchilly]

cool yeah i found amonnia by kleen off ...so my tank is about 120l....once i get the ammonia drop it in and check the levels..then what?
sorry people im no good at reading instructions.....i need stepbystep help.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Use the calculator at the top of the page - enter your tank volume and 2 or 3ppm (also enter the concentration from the bottle) for the value you want in the tank.  This will tell you how much of the ammonia solution to add to the tank - then wait for it to hit zero, and repeat.