new tank 1st water chg?

[bartender_in_ny]

i have a new 20 gal long tank its 17 days old i have 14 healty fish in it added in 2 stages...when should i do my 1st 255 water chg? and clean filter media, i have a PENGUIN 170 MY PH IS THE BLUEest + my amonia is zero it did spike a cpl days afer i added 6 fish i lost 1 barb and one of those dyed clear fish..now all are healty, i have checked amonia every day and today it was a tiny shade almost un noticable btwn clear + 1st shade of yellow but al is well..i have realitivley small fish 8 glowlite tetras lil over an inch, 3 tiger barbs 1.5 " 2 cory cats bronze 2 otocinclus algea eaters 1.3/4 " + 2 serpae tetras 1.5" we have well water tha ti treated with the basic drops and my ph remains darkest blue...i have tank at 79 temp..all artifical plants..i want to get in the habit of the water chg and need to know when to do 1st then there after i was planning on a vac + 255 chg monthly im told by my dealer........any help would be greatly appreciated thank you!!!

 

[marks69]

first you change your water every couple of days in a new tank.your tank is also way overstocked for a new tank, amonia isn't the only thing bad for fish, you also have to check for nitrates and nitretes.i would take a sample to the lfs tomorrow and get it checked, change about 40% of your water to be safe tonight.and don't add any more fish for a while.
it would help if you could list types and sizes of fish, filtration, water params, this will get you better answers.also do a search here about cycling a tank.
gl
mark

 

[bartender_in_ny]

lol i did detail the fish.......thx

 

[jams.alaskan]

Hi newyork!
Yeah, you are a little over stocked for such a new set up. Frequent water changes will really help your fish through it. Best of luck.

ALASKA

 

[Spat_si]

Water changes ever other day will help a lot.

 

[bartender_in_ny]

thx alot to all so much info in a these books i been reading i think some times the tech stuff in books can scare ya...they sem to make it more complicated than it is...so our u guys talking a 25% water chg? by the way in my other posts i meant *25%* for somereason i or this msgr thing put*255* sry and im a horrible speler ll bare w/me..thx a ton!!!! im having coffee right now watching my fish..

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[bartender_in_ny]

spat si? how do ya get your tank fish in blue on tghe btm of your posts? i have seen this on others and created my species in *editing my profile* i fig tha twas how??? thats nice to see who has what kind

 

[bartender_in_ny]

i fig it out !!!!

 

[semper fi]

if your tank is 17 days from set up, then it is just going through the cycling process. cycling with fish could cause fish loss. fish cannot handle the large amounts of toxins that will create the beneficial bacteria. during cycling you want the toxins to build so you do not do water changes. water changes will slow the cycling process which can take up to 6 weeks.

carbon should be replaced every three weeks. carbon only has a life of 3 weeks. after that it becomes inactive and will start to leach the toxins back into the tank.

sf

 

[bartender_in_ny]

well the prob i have with a carbon chg is i have a penguin bio whel 170 not sure if your familar w/um but the carbon is in the media cartridge + i dont wana scrw with tha tfor several weeks, my dealer says wait till its almost glooged then rinse btm a few times or top forgot which for a few times b4 replaceing this has all the god bacteria on it but the bio wheel is sopose to be the host as well so im not sure how this would effect bacteria in a new tank removine the cartridge i have heard so much on carbon..jezzzz some say remove when treating some say it dont mater lol im just gonna let it go i think and see what happens so much info!!! jezz lol but thx!!!!!!

 

[semper fi]

when the filter is clogged it should be rinsed with tank water. if you are using carbon it does need to be changed. when medicating fish you whould remove the carbon. the carbon will remove the meds from the water. after treatment is done, replace the carbon to remove any meds that may still be in the tank.

if you look in the manual that they provided with the filter it should tell you how to change the carbon. like i said it should be replaced every three weeks or you run the risk of poisoning your fish. don't replace the biowheel. if need be they can be rinsed in tank water also. rinse it i8n some of the tank water during a water change.

sf

 

[pendragon]

Welcome to fishkeeping, bartender_in-ny!

I *strongly* encourage you to spend some time with this Beginner's FAQ. You can believe every word in it. Particularly important to you right now is the section on cycling a new tank, found here.

Getting your fishy education is important. Believe me, your fish will thank you for it!

Best of luck! - and post here when you have questions or problems. Just remember that even though there are many excellent aquarists here, we do sometimes have differences of opinion. Sometimes you just have to consider the facts and "filter" the information you are given yourself. But learn as much as you can!

pendragon!