New Tank With Fish..no Cycle Started....advice

[loadsaaaTOP]

A started a new tank on saturday got the temperature right and put the fish straight in. Silly mistake i know, but i need help on sorting it.

I got 2 bottles to add to the water, one is for bacteria i think and the other to dechlorine it. Its a fluval2+ filter anddoes seem quite strong. Just looking for advice to get the water "safe" as quick as possible.

How strong should the water flow be. It is almost too strong for the guppies at the exit of the filter and blows them down the other end.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

have a read of this, is explains how to get you through cycling with fish in http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...eady-have-fish/

what is the brand nad name of the products you have. you'll definately need to add the dechlorinator so do that straight away. the bacteria, depending on what brand it is, may be worthless, may be helpful. tell us what it is and we'll give some further info

 

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Hi
Thanks for that. Ill check when i get home.

Ive got a fluval 2+ filter. the water started gettin cloudy within a day. I turned the outflow up full and it does seem quite strong. ive also added the black carbon filter in between the 2sponges. Do i keep it there permenetly or do i change it to the other white finer sponge and keep that in?

Ive also got 3 real plants in it. Will they help? Ive already lost 2 wee neons and a female guppy!

 

[loadsaaaTOP]

Hi again,

Dont know if it helps but ive got 6 small neons, 5 guppies, 3 mollies, a siamese fighter and 2 algae eaters.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

you don't need to use carbon at all. it's main use is chemical filtration, this is to remove toxins and medication from the water when you need to. generally you just add it to the tank that needs cleaning up, leave it for 24hrs then remove it and throw it away.

It won't be doing anything helpful now really so i'd say remove it and replace it with something like bio balls.

the water getting cloudy is part of the cycling process, it's a bacteria bloom, it doesn't mean the filter's not functioning. so if you feel the flow is too strong you can turn it down. some fish do prefer a nice strong flow though, watch the fish closely then turn it down and watch them closely again, see what they do.

the plants will help but it'll be negligable. Plants will 'eat' ammonia which the fish are producing in waste. but 3 plants (unless they're particularly massive) won't make much difference to anything, you'll only see a difference if the tank is literally crammed with plants which are flourishing.

 

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Hi again

Thanks for all your help.

One last question re the filter....ill remove the carbon one 2nite. Should i replace it with the white one that comes with my fluval 2 or should i leave it and just use the 2 sponges that are in it? The water is def a lot clearer now...fish still alive jumpin all over the place going a bit mad by the looks of it! Hope they are just enjoying themselves!

I do keep loosing neons but i guess they are so small they find it hardest to survive!