Alright we will look into some different fish then the balas. and maybe a few more silver dollars.
New Fish Owner Need Stocking And Other Advice
- Thread starter ryanvb13
- Start date
erk628
Fish Herder
There are many types of flakes and frozing foods that are made up vegetables. Feeding them meat like bloodworms and things like that once in awhile are find but the majority of there diet should consists of vegetables. You can also feed them people vegges like lettuce and stuff like that.
Ok this is going to sound dumb but what is the best way to go about doing water changes. Do I just take out 20 % and replace that with tap water mixed with small amounts of Aqua Safe and Aquarium Salt. What is the general opinion on Bacteria Supplements. Also what is the best way to clean the gravel and should I do this at the same time?
ok Should I continue the Tetra flakes or just scrap those and go for something better.
erk628
Fish Herder
Take your hose or vac or what ever you use and siphon the water out. If you have gravel you will want to vac it at least the first time dont do it everytime. With your ammonia being that high I would be doing around 40 to 50% to help keep those down. Do not add salt your pelcos cant tolrate it. The only theing you need to add to the water is conditoner to remove chlorine and such. When your ready to fill the tank back up take your bucket add enough conditoner to it for the size of the bucket then fill it up and the water will stir it up. If you wait to add the conditoner tell the tank is full you will need to add enough for 55 gallons. As far as the bacteria in the bottle I wouldnt waste my money on that your more then likely buying a bottle of dead bacteria.
As for the flakes it depends on the ingreditents.
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
No,no,no, that ugly brown gook in the filters is the good stuff! 
Whatever you do don't replace your filter media! Now it may be that we'll decide you should gently squeeze out the sponges in tank water (never tap water!) and dunk and swish any loose media in mesh bags or trays. This is you you "clean" a filter. You're just trying to get rid of the loose clogging debris, not the valuable beneficial bacteria that live on the filter media surfaces.
OK, excellent that you happen to already have the right type kit. Now I can trust your numbers enough. Also, its at least nice that PetSmart has Seachem Prime for conditioning, even if they don't seem to carry many other Seachem products anymore unfortunately. Prime is, in my opinion, the best conditioner you can put your hands on.
The most important function of a conditioner (for this function, more or less any conditioner product will be as good as Prime) is to remove any chlorine or chloramines that your water authority has added to kill bacteria in the town pipe system. It should be used in all the fresh tap water that gets added to your tank because chlorine/chloramines are harmful to both fish and plants and of course to bacteria. Prime, though, is also especially good at several extra functions like converting harmful ammonia into harmless ammonium and binding up heavy metals to remove their toxicity. In your situation you should dose prime at 1.5x or 2x the suggested dose but not more than 2x. You should dose per the size water you are adding back after a water change or for the whole tank if you are using a hose to directly fill the tank.
The LFS is incorrect in telling you to use Prime as a way to "bring down the ammonia and nitrate(NO3) levels." The conversion of ammonia to ammonium is only short and temporary and not intended as the way of removing ammonia from a tank. Prime is not used in nitrate(NO3) control at all. The workers are generally innocent but the standard advice in virtually all the LFSs is to "wait a week for any problem and then please come back and buy fish!" I recommend a policy of being friendly and establishing a good relationship with retail establishments but to not take any advice at all, just keep them in good shape for when you need fish and supplies locally.
Did all the water get changed when you transferred the tank to your house?
~~waterdrop~~
Whatever you do don't replace your filter media! Now it may be that we'll decide you should gently squeeze out the sponges in tank water (never tap water!) and dunk and swish any loose media in mesh bags or trays. This is you you "clean" a filter. You're just trying to get rid of the loose clogging debris, not the valuable beneficial bacteria that live on the filter media surfaces.OK, excellent that you happen to already have the right type kit. Now I can trust your numbers enough. Also, its at least nice that PetSmart has Seachem Prime for conditioning, even if they don't seem to carry many other Seachem products anymore unfortunately. Prime is, in my opinion, the best conditioner you can put your hands on.
The most important function of a conditioner (for this function, more or less any conditioner product will be as good as Prime) is to remove any chlorine or chloramines that your water authority has added to kill bacteria in the town pipe system. It should be used in all the fresh tap water that gets added to your tank because chlorine/chloramines are harmful to both fish and plants and of course to bacteria. Prime, though, is also especially good at several extra functions like converting harmful ammonia into harmless ammonium and binding up heavy metals to remove their toxicity. In your situation you should dose prime at 1.5x or 2x the suggested dose but not more than 2x. You should dose per the size water you are adding back after a water change or for the whole tank if you are using a hose to directly fill the tank.
The LFS is incorrect in telling you to use Prime as a way to "bring down the ammonia and nitrate(NO3) levels." The conversion of ammonia to ammonium is only short and temporary and not intended as the way of removing ammonia from a tank. Prime is not used in nitrate(NO3) control at all. The workers are generally innocent but the standard advice in virtually all the LFSs is to "wait a week for any problem and then please come back and buy fish!" I recommend a policy of being friendly and establishing a good relationship with retail establishments but to not take any advice at all, just keep them in good shape for when you need fish and supplies locally.
Did all the water get changed when you transferred the tank to your house?
~~waterdrop~~
No when we transferred we kept about 35 gallons of the old water and made the rest. Am I understanding right that I should never replace a filter or should I squeeze all the good stuff into the tank and then replaceNo,no,no, that ugly brown gook in the filters is the good stuff!
OK, excellent that you happen to already have the right type kit. Now I can trust your numbers enough. Also, its at least nice that PetSmart has Seachem Prime for conditioning, even if they don't seem to carry many other Seachem products anymore unfortunately. Prime is, in my opinion, the best conditioner you can put your hands on.
The most important function of a conditioner (for this function, more or less any conditioner product will be as good as Prime) is to remove any chlorine or chloramines that your water authority has added to kill bacteria in the town pipe system. It should be used in all the fresh tap water that gets added to your tank because chlorine/chloramines are harmful to both fish and plants and of course to bacteria. Prime, though, is also especially good at several extra functions like converting harmful ammonia into harmless ammonium and binding up heavy metals to remove their toxicity. In your situation you should dose prime at 1.5x or 2x the suggested dose but not more than 2x. You should dose per the size water you are adding back after a water change or for the whole tank if you are using a hose to directly fill the tank.
The LFS is incorrect in telling you to use Prime as a way to "bring down the ammonia and nitrate(NO3) levels." The conversion of ammonia to ammonium is only short and temporary and not intended as the way of removing ammonia from a tank. Prime is not used in nitrate(NO3) control at all. The workers are generally innocent but the standard advice in virtually all the LFSs is to "wait a week for any problem and then please come back and buy fish!" I recommend a policy of being friendly and establishing a good relationship with retail establishments but to not take any advice at all, just keep them in good shape for when you need fish and supplies locally.
Did all the water get changed when you transferred the tank to your house?
~~waterdrop~~
? I want to be a good fish owner which is why I am asking so many questions thanks for all the help. Ok so I am fixing to get started on changing out some of this water to bring down the ammonia I am going to remove about 50% I don't need to add the salt but I do need to add the chemicals to remove chlorine. At this time do I also need to add the Prime at this time. Whew looks like I have a fun job ahead of me
!
erk628
Fish Herder
The prime is the conditoner, so yes add that to each bucket of fresh water you put in. Do as watedrop suggest with adding more then recommended to each bucket for now. Prime does the same when it comes to removing chlorine and other harmful things but prime has a few extra bells and whistles that it does like neturalizing ammonia for 24 hours.No when we transferred we kept about 35 gallons of the old water and made the rest. Am I understanding right that I should never replace a filter or should I squeeze all the good stuff into the tank and then replaceNo,no,no, that ugly brown gook in the filters is the good stuff!
OK, excellent that you happen to already have the right type kit. Now I can trust your numbers enough. Also, its at least nice that PetSmart has Seachem Prime for conditioning, even if they don't seem to carry many other Seachem products anymore unfortunately. Prime is, in my opinion, the best conditioner you can put your hands on.
The most important function of a conditioner (for this function, more or less any conditioner product will be as good as Prime) is to remove any chlorine or chloramines that your water authority has added to kill bacteria in the town pipe system. It should be used in all the fresh tap water that gets added to your tank because chlorine/chloramines are harmful to both fish and plants and of course to bacteria. Prime, though, is also especially good at several extra functions like converting harmful ammonia into harmless ammonium and binding up heavy metals to remove their toxicity. In your situation you should dose prime at 1.5x or 2x the suggested dose but not more than 2x. You should dose per the size water you are adding back after a water change or for the whole tank if you are using a hose to directly fill the tank.
The LFS is incorrect in telling you to use Prime as a way to "bring down the ammonia and nitrate(NO3) levels." The conversion of ammonia to ammonium is only short and temporary and not intended as the way of removing ammonia from a tank. Prime is not used in nitrate(NO3) control at all. The workers are generally innocent but the standard advice in virtually all the LFSs is to "wait a week for any problem and then please come back and buy fish!" I recommend a policy of being friendly and establishing a good relationship with retail establishments but to not take any advice at all, just keep them in good shape for when you need fish and supplies locally.
Did all the water get changed when you transferred the tank to your house?
~~waterdrop~~
Ok so I am fixing to get started on changing out some of this water to bring down the ammonia I am going to remove about 50% I don't need to add the salt but I do need to add the chemicals to remove chlorine. At this time do I also need to add the Prime at this time. Whew looks like I have a fun job ahead of me
Awsome thank ya'll so much for the help looks like I better go get started.The prime is the conditoner, so yes add that to each bucket of fresh water you put in. Do as watedrop suggest with adding more then recommended to each bucket for now. Prime does the same when it comes to removing chlorine and other harmful things but prime has a few extra bells and whistles that it does like neturalizing ammonia for 24 hours.No when we transferred we kept about 35 gallons of the old water and made the rest. Am I understanding right that I should never replace a filter or should I squeeze all the good stuff into the tank and then replaceNo,no,no, that ugly brown gook in the filters is the good stuff!
OK, excellent that you happen to already have the right type kit. Now I can trust your numbers enough. Also, its at least nice that PetSmart has Seachem Prime for conditioning, even if they don't seem to carry many other Seachem products anymore unfortunately. Prime is, in my opinion, the best conditioner you can put your hands on.
The most important function of a conditioner (for this function, more or less any conditioner product will be as good as Prime) is to remove any chlorine or chloramines that your water authority has added to kill bacteria in the town pipe system. It should be used in all the fresh tap water that gets added to your tank because chlorine/chloramines are harmful to both fish and plants and of course to bacteria. Prime, though, is also especially good at several extra functions like converting harmful ammonia into harmless ammonium and binding up heavy metals to remove their toxicity. In your situation you should dose prime at 1.5x or 2x the suggested dose but not more than 2x. You should dose per the size water you are adding back after a water change or for the whole tank if you are using a hose to directly fill the tank.
The LFS is incorrect in telling you to use Prime as a way to "bring down the ammonia and nitrate(NO3) levels." The conversion of ammonia to ammonium is only short and temporary and not intended as the way of removing ammonia from a tank. Prime is not used in nitrate(NO3) control at all. The workers are generally innocent but the standard advice in virtually all the LFSs is to "wait a week for any problem and then please come back and buy fish!" I recommend a policy of being friendly and establishing a good relationship with retail establishments but to not take any advice at all, just keep them in good shape for when you need fish and supplies locally.
Did all the water get changed when you transferred the tank to your house?
~~waterdrop~~
Ok so I am fixing to get started on changing out some of this water to bring down the ammonia I am going to remove about 50% I don't need to add the salt but I do need to add the chemicals to remove chlorine. At this time do I also need to add the Prime at this time. Whew looks like I have a fun job ahead of me
Sounds like you are on the right tracks.
I have not yet changed my filter media in the 3 years I've had fish, I rinse it in tank water once every few weeks or if the filter seems slow. (telling you to change media is a manufacturers/LFS ploy to get you to part with money).
Prime is my dechlorinator of choice as it is very good value however I don't use it on cycling or mini-cycling tanks as it can give false ammonia readings because ammonium still reads on the API test. In your situation I'd use the cheapest shops own brand until your Ammonia and NitrIte are at zero then look for the one that suits you long term.
Hopefully it will not tank you too long to reduce the ammonia, just be prepared for a lot of water changes over the next couple of weeks. This gives you time to research fish and stocking.
I have not yet changed my filter media in the 3 years I've had fish, I rinse it in tank water once every few weeks or if the filter seems slow. (telling you to change media is a manufacturers/LFS ploy to get you to part with money).
Prime is my dechlorinator of choice as it is very good value however I don't use it on cycling or mini-cycling tanks as it can give false ammonia readings because ammonium still reads on the API test. In your situation I'd use the cheapest shops own brand until your Ammonia and NitrIte are at zero then look for the one that suits you long term.
Hopefully it will not tank you too long to reduce the ammonia, just be prepared for a lot of water changes over the next couple of weeks. This gives you time to research fish and stocking.
If I cleaned the water today when should I check the ammonia, PH, and Nitrate levels again
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
Its NitrIte(NO2) you're checking, not nitrAte(NO3). Nitrite(NO2) is a deadly toxin to fish, causing nerve damage, even in small amounts. Nitrate(NO3) is not harmful to most fish until it gets to quite high levels, even though its something we generally want to reduce in our tanks. Its fine for it to hang around until the weekly water change under normal circumstances.
In your situation you need to establish a morning and evening time (preferably 12 hours apart) to run your ammonia, nitrite (and pH every other day or so) tests. Remember, your goal is to be a bit of a detective, figuring out what percentage and frequency of water changes will get you moving between zero ppm ammonia and maxing only to 0.25ppm of ammonia. Personally, it doesn't bother me that most of the conditioners (like Prime) give a combined reading of ammonia and ammonium, I still use prime as the conditioner and work on getting the level down as above because the ammonia to ammonium effect is so short-lived.
Agree with the others. Good biomedia (ceramic rings, ceramic gravel, sponges) will last a lifetime or nearly a lifetime. The bacteria look like a brown stain on the surfaces and are tightly latched on. The loose brown stuff is mostly organic debris in the process of being broken down by heterotrophic bacteria into ammonia.
~~waterdrop~~
In your situation you need to establish a morning and evening time (preferably 12 hours apart) to run your ammonia, nitrite (and pH every other day or so) tests. Remember, your goal is to be a bit of a detective, figuring out what percentage and frequency of water changes will get you moving between zero ppm ammonia and maxing only to 0.25ppm of ammonia. Personally, it doesn't bother me that most of the conditioners (like Prime) give a combined reading of ammonia and ammonium, I still use prime as the conditioner and work on getting the level down as above because the ammonia to ammonium effect is so short-lived.
Agree with the others. Good biomedia (ceramic rings, ceramic gravel, sponges) will last a lifetime or nearly a lifetime. The bacteria look like a brown stain on the surfaces and are tightly latched on. The loose brown stuff is mostly organic debris in the process of being broken down by heterotrophic bacteria into ammonia.
~~waterdrop~~
I just retested the PH, the NO2, NO3, and Ammonia and these were my results
My previous results tested on 12/31 were:
PH : 6.4
NO2 : 0ppm
NO3 : 20 ppm
Ammonia : 2.0 ppm
My new result taken 15 min ago are:
PH : 7.0
NO2 : .5ppm
NO3 : 20ppm
Ammonia : .5ppm
I think these are pretty good results from one 50% water change. However what are the best results for getting down the NO2 and when should I retest.
I used Prime to condition the water and did not add salt so as not to hurt my algae eaters, though I am curious because in my little booklet that came with my test kit it says to use Aquarium Salt to get down the Nitrite
My previous results tested on 12/31 were:
PH : 6.4
NO2 : 0ppm
NO3 : 20 ppm
Ammonia : 2.0 ppm
My new result taken 15 min ago are:
PH : 7.0
NO2 : .5ppm
NO3 : 20ppm
Ammonia : .5ppm
I think these are pretty good results from one 50% water change. However what are the best results for getting down the NO2 and when should I retest.
I used Prime to condition the water and did not add salt so as not to hurt my algae eaters, though I am curious because in my little booklet that came with my test kit it says to use Aquarium Salt to get down the Nitrite
erk628
Fish Herder
Well your amonnia sure did jump up. The little book you have doesn't know you have plecos and pelcos can't tolrate salt. Time and water changes is the only thing you can really do. If you can get your hands on some mature filter media that would speed you cycling process up dramaticly
waterdrop
Enthusiastic "Re-Beginner"
Yes, agree with erk, you shouldn't be using salt in your aquarium. Its a useful thing for the fishkeeper to have on the supply shelf as there are a few cases where it gets used as a temporary medicine, but you don't want to use it with the trops on a regular basis.
Salt got its start in aquariums way back decades ago with the nitrogen cycling was not yet fully understood. People were not performing water changes and would get symptoms caused by this lack of maintenance. Salt reduced some of these symptoms I believe and once the retail industry got used to having something else they could sell on a regular basis, they've never stopped pushing it. Even the idea that mollies need it is essentially incorrect, as what they really need is very hard water, at least most types of mollies.
~~waterdrop~~
Salt got its start in aquariums way back decades ago with the nitrogen cycling was not yet fully understood. People were not performing water changes and would get symptoms caused by this lack of maintenance. Salt reduced some of these symptoms I believe and once the retail industry got used to having something else they could sell on a regular basis, they've never stopped pushing it. Even the idea that mollies need it is essentially incorrect, as what they really need is very hard water, at least most types of mollies.
~~waterdrop~~
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
341 -
200 -
155
-
141 -
123 -
123
-
104 -
98 -
94 -
83
-
81 -
76 -
75 -
70 -
A
55