New Site, New Tank, Need Help

[sbenbow]

Another question, i went to lfs today and had a water check, they had no api test kits so i have to wait until saturday when new stock arrives but they said that you dont HAVE to do a cycle and that you can use chemicals for just as good results, is this true, i do know a few friends and my dad who had there tank and in the space of a week had first fish in tank and they never once had problems like ammonia or nitrite poisoning?
They also said they might have filter media for sale when i go on saturday, if i bought this what does it actually do? Thanks

 
I weighed up the pro's and con's of a test kit and decided against it - but I am also lucky enough to have 4 "pets at home" stores within 15 mins.  During the fishless cycle I got a different store to test every 3 or 4 days (so I wouldn't need to go back to the same store for about a fortnight in case they got fed up with me!).  Now that the tank has cycled, fish then introduced, and everything settled down to a steady state, I have gradually pushed this back to testing every 2 weeks (so a visit to each different store every 2 months). 
 
As soon as I spot anything going wrong (eg fish doing strange things, etc - but hopefully not for a long time!) I then plan to take a water sample to LFS (and probably get a liquid test kit at that time). 
 
It's hard when you are balancing wanting to do the best for your fish vs the costs involved - and a liquid test kit can cost £30 or so.  But you are also doing the right thing for your fish by being patient and waiting for the tank to cycle first.
 
I also believe you mentioned plants - basic live plants do not take too much care.  I took that step, and I have some that have straight tall leaves (the leaves do curl slightly).  All i need to do for them is when I do a water change every week I just take a pair of scissors and trim off (at the base) any leaves that are turning brown (probably when they are about 25% brown).  Takes an additional couple of minutes each week at each water change - but the fish love them and it's satisfying to see the plants produce little oxygen bubbles

. They also grow, and from my initial 3 stems, they have sent out shoots and now I have 5 plants from them.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Personally I would always want my own test kit.
Even though there is a P@H within 10 mins walk and Maidenhead Aquatics about 20 mins drive from me.

Several reasons, doing these tests personally and followed correctly will ensure you know that the result results are correct
(with the exception if possibly nitrates as test results for that can be inaccurate).
You cannot guarantee this with LFS and generally they will say "its fine" unless you specify for test readings.

What if you notice something wrong of an evening when LFS is closed, for example your ammonia or nitrite is climbing and obviously this will have a effect, knowing this sooner and doing a prompt water change can make the difference.
Relying on LFS is basically only good during office hours, there is no way for you to know what water parameters are until in the morning if LFS is closed for the day. Even just a few hours can make the difference between losing all your stockng and saving them.

Not a risk I am prepared to take really.

You can get API master kits online from about £16 to £25 generally. LFS obviously do charge more as you say around £35 if not on sale.
If that system of going 15 mins to any of your 4 P@H works for you and you are satisfied then by all means that's a fine system for you.
Unfortunately for a lot of people they may live further away from LFS or are unable to do this.

Just for the sake of about £25 or even for the full cost of £35 for a test kit or potentially losing your entire stocking, I know which one am gonna choose every time.

 

[blueboy1]

Went to fish store today and in tank got some media for my filter and they told me how to check it so should have fish in next week once I get another test! So happy, gunna get some black tetras and platy next week will post pics

 

[Ch4rlie]

Yaay, nice one.
 
Glad you managed to get some mature filter media from LFS, in what form is it in? Bio balls or something like that?
 
If you are lucky, then a week is possible, but you will need to dose with ammonia and test regularly to be absolutely sure before stocking with fish.
 
The link for cycling a tank guide still needs to be followed but instead of testing every 3 days, do tests every 2 days. 

 

[blueboy1]

Oh and another question, my heater has a on light that is orange but it only has the on light come on when I have the heat on 34* then it appears but if i turn it below that then the light isn't on, does that mean the heater is off?

 

[l_l_l]

Oh and another question, my heater has a on light that is orange but it only has the on light come on when I have the heat on 34* then it appears but if i turn it below that then the light isn't on, does that mean the heater is off?

Most heaters will have the light on only when the heater is in function. When it's off, it means the heater thinks your temp is at the right temperature.

 

[blueboy1]

Picked up 3 golden platy's and 6 black tetras, they seem to enjoy everything and are getting on well, no soigns of problems with fish or water but a few fish questions to anyone reading,
I have 1 male platy and 2 females they have been in for a few days now and one of the females has a swelled belly and it looks like black dots inside her stomach, is she pregnant i will add pic tomorrow when its daylight but i would have thought they would need more settled before breeding? How old do they need to be before breeding and actually give birth? Also one of my tetras seems to be the runt of the pack and is smaller then the rest, slightly, i am hoping to add 6 more soon but can i also add another kind of tetra like neons too?

 

[l_l_l]

Picked up 3 golden platy's and 6 black tetras, they seem to enjoy everything and are getting on well, no soigns of problems with fish or water but a few fish questions to anyone reading,
I have 1 male platy and 2 females they have been in for a few days now and one of the females has a swelled belly and it looks like black dots inside her stomach, is she pregnant i will add pic tomorrow when its daylight but i would have thought they would need more settled before breeding? How old do they need to be before breeding and actually give birth? Also one of my tetras seems to be the runt of the pack and is smaller then the rest, slightly, i am hoping to add 6 more soon but can i also add another kind of tetra like neons too?

Congrats on the babies!
Yes I am almost sure that what you are describing is a pregnant platy
I'm not sure how old the platy needs to be before breeding but I think it's really early. You can defenitely mix another kind of tetras (like neons) with the the black tetras, just remember that you always want them in packs of 6+ and you should be fine.
I was thinking about the same thing earlier this week but decided not to do it because I only have a 20galon, and I prefer having half an inch of fish per galon, because it won't stress my Betta as much

 

[ech0o]

blueboy, do you have test equipment to check the water?  ammonia/nitrite being most important.

 

[blueboy1]

yEP

 

[ech0o]

how are you parameters checking out today for ammonia/nitrite?

 

[blueboy1]

HELP ME!!!!!!!!!! 
I have 6 black tetras, 4 platies(there were six but fin nip finished them off), 3 guppies and a pair of gouramis.
I have had everything going fine in the tank until i noticed that 3 of my platies had nipped fins, two of them died in the space of 2 days as they couldnt reach the surface for air (i tried to help but they died in night) and i have 3 male guppies, 2 with slight fin nipping and 1 which has been severly fin nipped and separated from the rest of the tank, he had almost no tail and i have never been so shocked that one night i was sitting there watching the tank activities and i noticed that the tetra were mauling the guppy and literally thrashing it about in the tank, the gouramis occasionally joined in. WHAT DO I DO?
 i dont know if the guppy tail will grow back and i dont know if tetras are normally this agressive but they were absolutely fine until the guppies were added, do i remove the tetras? Will the guppy tail regrow or is it all but dead? The other platy that survived has fought on and is fine with the other three (any babies will be interesting) Do i add some more fish or something like a red tailed shark to keep them together as they spread out so much in the 200l tank? ANY help will be appreciated!!!