New Piranhas

[Curiosity101]

How many fish did the other person have in it?

How long was the filter media out of water for?

How long was it before the filter had an ammonia source?

The bacterial bloom can only have been cause because there is ammonia present in the water. And just because it has gone doesn't mean the tank is now fully cycled.

The fish may not be being shy due to water conditions. But you have to be aware of any ammonia or nitrites in the water as they are harmful to the fish.

 

[timbruun]

the other person said they had quite a few but when i picked up the tank he was down to 2 and some small loaches hiding under everything. took me 1/2 hour to get it home and cleaned a bit but we didn't empty all the water from the filter. and by ammonia source you mean what?

 

[Curiosity101]

I mean ammonia source, either fish or bottled ammonia.

Put it this way, from when you got it home to when the fish were put in did you add any ammonia?

If not, how long was it before fish were added to the tank?

 

[timbruun]

only thing i added was some water fizzing tablets. have to check what they said they'd do again. probably an hour or 2 before fish were in the tank. had them in the bag in the tank for 30 mins once the temp was right

 

[Curiosity101]

That's ok then. I was just checking, if it was only a matter of hours between you setting the tank back up and adding the fish then there wont have been much die back in the filter.

But it still may not have enough bacteria to cycle all their waste quickly enough.

 

[timbruun]

i'm testing my water in the morning and at night when i get home until i'm sure the water is good. i have higher ph which i've been reading is not worth trying to fix. so we'll see how it goes slowly. i've been looking into a better filter but would like to find one used since they aren't that cheap new. so far the top fin 60 is doing pretty good. and i realize they will grow quickly so i'm ready to make the investment when i have to.

 

[timbruun]

would adding another top fin 60 be good enough then? instead of getting an expensive external?

 

[Tropical_Decade]

When you say its 'not a new tank', did you add fresh water?

If so then even with an already used filter it needs to go through a proper cycling process.

Just because the glass tank has already been used it doesnt mean you dont have to cycle the water!

 

[timbruun]

that's like saying if you do a 50% water change then you need to do a 50% cycle. the bacteria is in the filters and the rocks is it not? you do water changes to remove the nitrates since i don't have live plants to do that for me. when i picked up the tank it was still full. we had to drain most of it and i tried to keep as much intact as possible. and i hope we can get off the whole cycle thing since that was not the original question. don't get me wrong i really appreciate the help and quick answers from everyone. but from what i understand, time is goign to be my best option right now. and just keeping an eye on everything. i'm testing the water at least once a day. try to do it twice. and making sure i don't overfeed since they are not eating much and making sure to remove anything later on.


but back to the last question. is 2 top fin 60 filters good in a 55 gal tank? that'll be 600gph

 

[Tropical_Decade]

Im not sure what those filters are, will have to have a look at them.

What are you water parameters? PH, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia?

Your right in saying that the bacteria is in the filter yes, but adding a full tank of un-cycled tap water will not automatically mean the water is cycled, this would take quite some time IMO.

 

[Curiosity101]

Sorry tropical decade but the water has basically no bacteria in it.
It doesn't need to 'cycle'. The only problem you can get from adding 100% new water, is not dechlorinating it properly, so any chlorine left in it could kill the bacteria.

I would also like to know water stats.

And from my experience HOB filters aren't anywhere near as good as external canisters (which you will need for the pirahnas anyways), I personally would keep running the top fin 60 until you have the money to buy a good sized external canister.

Plus after reading reviews on the top fin 60, everyone is saying it's quite a cheap poorly made filter. So I'd be worried about it breaking.

 

[Tropical_Decade]

I stand corrected!

It just didnt sound very good to me adding 100% new water.

Fair enough though.

Still post your water test results though please.

 

[jonny_dw]

I stand corrected!

It just didnt sound very good to me adding 100% new water.

Fair enough though.

Still post your water test results though please.

If the water added is dechlorinated and at the same temperature of the water that was in the tank then you could do 100% water change no problem. Its just not very practical and obviously stressful for the fish.

 

[timbruun]

so if i was to get an external, which one would be best option. and can someone recommend a good air setup. the one i have is a little small. i picked up a rena 300 last last night. reviews seem pretty good.

or could i go with 2 aquaclear filters instead, actually here are my options. petsmart seems to have most of the brands. running 2 top filters looks cheaper than 1 external. so then it's a brand thing. either aquaclear, emperor, marineland, penguin, rena, eheim, magnum, fluval. so let me know
thanks

Edit. Oh and my pH is high right out the tap at 8.4 or so. Nitrite is 0, Nitrate is between 5 and 10, Ammonia is 0.25.
I don't have to worry about chlorine since i'm running well water. but my water is very hard and has lots of iron which i dont' think the iron harms much. correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[always4lora]

Chlorine is in your water supply normally in little ammounts not enough for us to taste but enough to damage fish . TBH even if you dont think you have it which id be suprised if you dont buy a bottle of declorinator its only a few £ and gives you peace of mind . As for filteration you might as well go for the filter you will be using when you upgrade the tank, this way it saves you buying one now then another in a year or so when you upgrade. The main brands are : Teratec , fluval, eheim and Rena so i'd go with one of them . For the fluval i'd go with the fx5 as this would do you for this tank and the next / possible a fluval 405 and a internal filter to help out . For the eheim i'm not sure someone else will offer advise on them .