New 29 Gallon Tank

[dortiz24]

I already have a 10 gallon tank that I've completely screwed up! For Christmas I got a 29 gallon tank to start over with. I've filled it up, the filter is running. I put about 1/2 a gallon of the water from my 10 gal in the new tank. It has a very high lvl of ammonia. I also put a 'netful' of gravel from that tank as well as new, cleaned gravel. I did a reading after I got the filter going, but before I put any treatments in. Ammonia lvl was .5. I added 6 tsp of the AquaSafe watertreatment that came with the kit. 6 capfuls of Cycle. I also added 6 tbsp of freshwater salt for the guppies. Directions said to add 1 tbsp per 5 gallons. I have not done another reading after adding the treatments. Figured I'd give it over night.

Have I already screwed up? lol I hope not. I could not find pure ammonia anywhere! So I figured with the high lvl of ammonia that is in my other tank I'd give it a shot using that water.

I was also thinking about adding the fake plants from my 10 gallon and my beta for the cycling process. What are your opinions?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Hollymolly4]

Sounds to me you're doing a good job. As for ammonia, I found some at Ace Hardware. I looked everywhere including Home Depot and stores alike. Seems Ace was the only one that had it around here. Just remember to make sure it's Pure ammonia. No fragrances.

The fake plants will have some bacteria on them so that is good. Can you use the filter also? Just replace it with a new one on your smaller tank. I didn't know guppies liked salt?

Good luck!

 

[Chrispixx]

It's best to read the ingredients on the back of the ammonia bottle..even if its fragrance free, some ammonia still has "Surfactants" in it. The ingredients should say Purified water + Ammonium Hydroxide, something to that effect and thats all.



Surfactant (ser-fāk'tent)
"A substance that, when dissolved in water, lowers the surface tension of the water and increases the solubility of organic compounds. Surfactants are used in inks to increase the effects of capillary action; detergents are surfactants that help remove organic compounds from a substance by making them dissolve more readily in the water in which the substance is washed."

Source: Dictionary.com