Need help with new tank

[stickhutch]

Hi there,

As of yesterday, I added in some fish and plants into my new tank. I was soon to realise that it was not a good idea to add all the different fish in at once alongside plants. I ran some tests today for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels and they came out as; Ammonia - 0.25ppm, Nitrate - 2.5ppm and Nitrite - 0ppm.

Before I bought my fish and plants, I had left my filter on for around 2 months and used Tetra AquaSafe and all the tests came back that the water was safe. Does that count as cycling a tank?

I am incredibly worried that I am going to kill the fish as they are experiencing the nitrate cycle? This is my first time setting up an aquarium.

The fish I have are:
3 German Blue Rams
4 Guppies
1 Gold Ring Butterfly Loach
1 Sterbai Cory

 

[KevinZ]

How big is your tank?
What kind of Plant do you have in there ?
And Any Corys need to be kept in group of 6/more
Did you mistaken Nitrate & Nitrite ?

 

[stickhutch]

How big is your tank?
What kind of Plant do you have in there ?
And Any Corys need to be kept in group of 6/more
Did you mistaken Nitrate & Nitrite ?

I have a 10 gallon tank but I'm not sure what type of plants I have. I will take a photo.
Doesn't Ammonia get broken down into Nitrite then into Nitrate?

 

[stickhutch]

I have a 10 gallon tank but I'm not sure what type of plants I have. I will take a photo.
Doesn't Ammonia get broken down into Nitrite then into Nitrate?

 

[seangee]

Do a 75% water change using de-chlorinated water a similar temp to your tank every time you have an ammonia or nitrite reading that is not 0. Unfortunately this may need to be every day until it sorts itself out. This is urgent and can't wait until tomorrow.

There are some pretty significant stocking issues but right now lets focus on keeping those fish alive. It would be useful if you could let us know the hardness of your water (GH) in numbers and units, as well as the tank dimensions. If you have test strips they should give an indication - but the info will be available on your water company's website.

Since you only bought them yesterday is there any chance of returning them for a refund? It may be a lot less stressful to do this and start again if it is an option.

 

[stickhutch]

Do a 75% water change using de-chlorinated water a similar temp to your tank every time you have an ammonia or nitrite reading that is not 0. Unfortunately this may need to be every day until it sorts itself out. This is urgent and can't wait until tomorrow.

There are some pretty significant stocking issues but right now lets focus on keeping those fish alive. It would be useful if you could let us know the hardness of your water (GH) in numbers and units, as well as the tank dimensions. If you have test strips they should give an indication - but the info will be available on your water company's website.

Since you only bought them yesterday is there any chance of returning them for a refund? It may be a lot less stressful to do this and start again if it is an option.

The shop that I purchased them from has just shut so I would have to wait until tomorrow morning. For the water change, I take out 25% right?

The GH of my water can be seen from the image.
My tank dimensions are 40x30x50cm and is a 47 litre tank (10 gallons)

 

[KevinZ]

For the water change, I take out 25% right?

No. Take out 75% of the Water and change it.
You have to check it daily to make sure there's no Ammonia left. Use Dechlorinator,

Or another option is if the ammonia doesnt Goes up to 0.75 ppm then you can try Ammonia Detox. I always use it if my parameter show 0.5 Ammonia. Clear in 3 hours.

 

[stickhutch]

No. Take out 75% of the Water and change it.
You have to check it daily to make sure there's no Ammonia left.

Alright, I will do that now. Thanks for the help.

 

[stickhutch]

No. Take out 75% of the Water and change it.
You have to check it daily to make sure there's no Ammonia left. Use Dechlorinator,

Or another option is if the ammonia doesnt Goes up to 0.75 ppm then you can try Ammonia Detox. I always use it if my parameter show 0.5 Ammonia. Clear in 3 hours.

I have this. Would this be of any use?

 

[KevinZ]

I have this. Would this be of any use?
View attachment 109215

I am not really that sure. I can't give any Advise if i didn't use it myself, sorry.
For now the best thing to do is water change and see how it goes. Good luck!

 

[PheonixKingZ]

I have this. Would this be of any use?
View attachment 109215

I would say if you have it, use it.

Although, I have no experience with that specific product.

 

[seangee]

Unfortunately you have been given some really bad advice by the fish store - sadly this is quite common as they just want to make a sale. Here are the reasons why I suggested you try for a refund if possible.

• Guppies are hard water fish. Everything else that you list are soft water fishes. You have soft water based on the photo of your strips which means guppies would have a shorter than expected life
• Rams and your loach should be in tanks of at least 2'.
• 3 Rams in a small tank will lead to fighting and most likely death(s).
• German Rams need a minimum temperature of 27C. The loach should have a maximum temp of 24C. Guppies can be kept up to 28C but have shorter lives in higher temps - so those poor guys get a double whammy
• Sterbai cories are fine for your tank but they need to be in a group of at least 6 as they are sociable fish and will be stressed if they don't have more of their own kind.

A good site for information on species requirements is www.seriouslyfish.com
To answer your other question cycling a tank needs the growth of 2 types of bacteria to break ammonia into nitrite and then nitrite into nitrate as you say. These bacteria cannot survive without food (ammonia and nitrite), so just running the tank for 2 months won't do much unless there is a source of ammonia for these bacteria. Plants do help but I suspect that the plants you have can't cope with all those fish arriving at once. All things being equal you can overcome this by doing large water changes every day. This process can take as long as 8 weeks so it is a big effort - and with the compatibility issues listed above your best bet (IMO) would be to return them (if you can) as those things will need to be dealt with sooner rather than later anyway.

This is a good reference on the cycling process if you are able to return the fish

 

[stickhutch]

Unfortunately you have been given some really bad advice by the fish store - sadly this is quite common as they just want to make a sale. Here are the reasons why I suggested you try for a refund if possible.

• Guppies are hard water fish. Everything else that you list are soft water fishes. You have soft water based on the photo of your strips which means guppies would have a shorter than expected life
• Rams and your loach should be in tanks of at least 2'.
• 3 Rams in a small tank will lead to fighting and most likely death(s).
• German Rams need a minimum temperature of 27C. The loach should have a maximum temp of 24C. Guppies can be kept up to 28C but have shorter lives in higher temps - so those poor guys get a double whammy
• Sterbai cories are fine for your tank but they need to be in a group of at least 6 as they are sociable fish and will be stressed if they don't have more of their own kind.

A good site for information on species requirements is www.seriouslyfish.com
To answer your other question cycling a tank needs the growth of 2 types of bacteria to break ammonia into nitrite and then nitrite into nitrate as you say. These bacteria cannot survive without food (ammonia and nitrite), so just running the tank for 2 months won't do much unless there is a source of ammonia for these bacteria. Plants do help but I suspect that the plants you have can't cope with all those fish arriving at once. All things being equal you can overcome this by doing large water changes every day. This process can take as long as 8 weeks so it is a big effort - and with the compatibility issues listed above your best bet (IMO) would be to return them (if you can) as those things will need to be dealt with sooner rather than later anyway.

This is a good reference on the cycling process if you are able to return the fish

Thanks for this information, this really annoys me to hear as the man that recommended me to get these fish as a combination really seemed convinced that this was good. I highly doubt they will take them back as I asked yesterday for a refund and I was only offered advice about taking out 25% of the water everyday to lower ammonia levels. Is there anything I can do if they won’t take them back?

 

[Byron]

My advice is to return all the fish ASAP. Let the plants establish, then you/we can consider suitable fish.

As seangee pointed out, the fish are not compatible for reasons of temperature or tank size, and rather than risk them it is better to return them. The store may give you a credit; explain you will want fish soon. Once the plants are showing signs of growth, there will be no "cycling" issues. But the current mix of fish cannot work no matter the cycling/plants.

The tank size is confused. The dimensions indicate a 15 US gallon, not 10g tank, which equates to 56 liters.

 

[stickhutch]

My advice is to return all the fish ASAP. Let the plants establish, then you/we can consider suitable fish.

As seangee pointed out, the fish are not compatible for reasons of temperature or tank size, and rather than risk them it is better to return them. The store may give you a credit; explain you will want fish soon. Once the plants are showing signs of growth, there will be no "cycling" issues. But the current mix of fish cannot work no matter the cycling/plants.

The tank size is confused. The dimensions indicate a 15 US gallon, not 10g tank, which equates to 56 liters.

I will try to return the fish when the shop opens again tomorrow. I’m probably just going to sell the tank as well. This is all’s little too much for me.