Just a few questions please

[Kiara]

Ok, I've been reading the forums, and I've come to discover that I have done many things wrong. I have a 55 gal tank, that my husband and I set up last Sunday. We had all of our fish in there by Monday afternoon. As of now, the Nitrite, and Nitrate are at 0, the ammonia is at .25, the ph is around 7.8 I haven't done any water changes yet because at the pet store they said I didn't need too...but my tank smells a little like (sry no other way to describe it) cat urine whenever I open it to feed them....what can I do to get rid of the smell, and what is a siphon? I read here that you need one for the water changes, I have a gravel vacuum, but the lady said all I had to do was suck it out a little, is this recommended? Sorry for all the questions and thanks in advanced for all the help

 

[platyfreek]

ask your fish or petstore employee to show you a siphon. any mediocre fish store employee should know what it is.

 

[JDS]

Im guessing the urine smell is the ammonia ??
(Unless you actually have a naughty cat )

It's still early days in your cycling process and theres loads of info on this site about it, but generally the cycling will turn the ammonia into nitrites and then nitrates over the next few weeks.
Water changes will reduce the ammonia (but extend the cycling process)

Hope this helps til someone posts something more comprehensive

Oh and my "Syphon" is just a long tube that you suck a bit of water though from out of your tank, this should then cause a flow of water, providing the tank is higher than the bucket (or whatever) you are draining into.

 

[dwarfgourami]

You can use the gravel vac for syphoning out the water, that's what I do. Just pump it up and down in the water to get the suction going, with the other end stuck in a bucket (and be careful not to syphon up your fish). If you keep it down by the bottom once the water is flowing it will also vaccum up any loose-lying poo.

Remember that the replacement water needs to be dechlorinated, and ideally of the same temperature as the water in the tank (I use litre from the kettle to 9 ltrs of cold tap water+ add the dechlorinator to the bucket before I put it in the tank).

As has already been said- read up on the cycling process (pinned topics above).

What fish have you got in there?

Im guessing the urine smell is the ammonia ??
(Unless you actually have a naughty cat )

It's still early days in your cycling process and theres loads of info on this site about it, but generally the cycling will turn the ammonia into nitrites and then nitrates over the next few weeks.
Water changes will reduce the ammonia (but extend the cycling process)

Hope this helps til someone posts something more comprehensive

Oh and my "Syphon" is just a long tube that you suck a bit of water though from out of your tank, this should then cause a flow of water, providing the tank is higher than the bucket (or whatever) you are draining into.

[snapback]903508[/snapback]​

 

[Kiara]

I have a gravel vac, that's what she told me to use at the pet store thanks for all the help....I just have one question though...you know how when you do the water changes, you put the water in a bucket and add the declorinator, do you also add the bacteria starter to the bucket? or do you add it in later, or not at all I was also wondering about the temperature differences. How do I get the water in the bucket the same temp as the water in the tank, or does it matter? Thanks again in advanced

 

[paulioo]

I cant answer the question about adding the bacteria starter thing because i've never used it before.

But to get the temperatures the same just use your hand to determine if both are the same. It doesn't need to be an exact match. The amount of water your adding is little compared to the amount thats already in the tank, so a little temperature difference wont make any difference.

Paul.

 

[tishygirl]

I dechlorinate... Re-fill, and then add bacteria starter for however many gallons I replaced into the main tank....

As far as temp goes, I just use my fingertips to get it right..

I've heard as well, dont over vacuum when you are cycling.. you need to leave some poo in there for the bacteria to eat and start growing.. Just do water changes for awhile to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low.

 

[Kiara]

so maybe around a 10% water change each day, or less, or more? and for how many days?

 

[tishygirl]

for me.. I did 20% daily until my ammonia and nitrite were zero. I started out with 10% daily, and that didnt seem to be keeping the levels low enough for happy fish.. so I bumped it up to 20% . After your nitrite and ammonia are zero and stay there for a few days, then its probably safe to do 10% a week, or 20% every two weeks or so..

Get yourself one of the nice testing kits, I dont reccomend testing strips... Get the kind where you use the little vials and collect water, then add drops of chemicals to get your results. They are a little spendy, but real good for you to keep an eye on your water and analyze if you are changing enough water or not. Test daily at first. If not more often.... and you will see the cycling process and how its coming along... You'll see your ammonia spiking up, and then your nitrites.... then slowly those should come down, and you'll end up with some nitrAtes. Keep your ammonia and nitrite below .50 if you can possibly help it... Eventually , they should be zero, and then your water should be healthy.

 

[Kiara]

Ok I did a water change today, and the fish look a little happier, which means I definatly trust you guys wwaaaay more then my local pet store, they said I didn't need to do a waterchange for a month....which probably contributed to the death of my silver dollars... So I do the water changes everyday until the ammonia goes back to zero and stays there (my ammonia is at .25 atm) Also, my ph went way up before I did the water change it's at the max (sry I have the test strips atm) My pH is at 8.4 and the alkalinity(sp?) is at 300 (both max on test strips) also my ammonia spiked to .5 today.

Btw these were before my first waterchange.

So to fix it so far all I have done is the water change, what else should I do.

My fish don't seem to upset, I just want to make sure they stay like that.

They're pretty tough. Thanks again

 

[flips]

this is just kind of a useless reply as many others have been able to assist greatly already. but i wanted to add that when i do water changes, to get the temperature as close as i can i hold the thermometer under the water for a while until it's the right temp (same as in tank) and is staying the right temp

good luck !

 

[Wit]

this is just kind of a useless reply as many others have been able to assist greatly already. but i wanted to add that when i do water changes, to get the temperature as close as i can i hold the thermometer under the water for a while until it's the right temp (same as in tank) and is staying the right temp

good luck !

[snapback]905701[/snapback]​

Ye I use same method but I have also been told it does the fish no harm being just a little bit lower than the required temp as this will liven the fish up also(not to low though)

 

[boozybears]

so maybe around a 10% water change each day, or less, or more? and for how many days?

[snapback]905119[/snapback]​

I cycled with fish too ) and did 10-15% water changes every day until the cycling was complete. It makes the process take a little bit longer (took my 25 gallon just over 6 weeks to finish cycling) however in the long run your fish will be MUCH happier and have a greater chance of surviving.

good luck! This is the hardest part..the rest is just fun

 

[rdd1952]

this is just kind of a useless reply as many others have been able to assist greatly already. but i wanted to add that when i do water changes, to get the temperature as close as i can i hold the thermometer under the water for a while until it's the right temp (same as in tank) and is staying the right temp

good luck !

[snapback]905701[/snapback]​

Ye I use same method but I have also been told it does the fish no harm being just a little bit lower than the required temp as this will liven the fish up also(not to low though)

[snapback]905849[/snapback]​

I do something similar. I stick a digital thermometer in the tank and check the temp there (I use digitals on all my tanks but they vary so I don't simply go by what the one in that particular tank says as sometimes there is a degree and a half difference in the readings on 2 different digitals - cheap ones) and then run tap water in a cup and keep adjusting until it is within a degree of the tank temp. It definitely doesn't have to be perfectly the same temp and if you're using a python or hose to fill straight from the tap, the temp coming out of the hose will probabl change some while you're refilling, especially on a large tank where you may be replacing 15+ gallons.