Newb Questions About Water Changing

[kcobean]

Hi all,
We have recently set up a 29 Gallon tank. We made the newbie mistake of too many fish too fast in the beginning and killed off the entire first round of fish (ammonia went through the roof, at which point we found a good pet store where a nice employee talked to me for about 45 minutes about biofilters, tank cycling, etc.) Lived and learned and now seem to have a relatively stable tank housing 5 guppies, a pair of Mickey-mouse Platys, a ghost cat-fish and an African Dwarf Frog.

I have a few questions for you pros out there...

1. Our tank is now 8 or 9 weeks old and we've been testing Ammonia, Ph, and Nitrites regularly. Ammonia is near 0, but nitrites are high. We're doing weekly water changes (about 3-4 gallons per week). Are we overfeeding, or do we need to do something to get Nitrite levels down?


2. When I do water changes, I use a standard gravity-feed syphon vaccum and will usually gently stir the gravel to get the waste and uneaten food up in the syphon pipe. After the water change though, the water is nasty (cloudy and lots of stirred up debris) and takes awhile to clear. Every other water change, I change the carbon filter, clean the filter intake tube and impeller, and just gently agitate the biofilter in a bucket of just removed tank water. What can I do clean the crud out of the water during the water change? I can't help but think the fish are 'inhaling' this stuff, and it can't be good for them.

3. How often should I be removing/cleaning tank decorations?

Thanks very much for any help!

 

[Will91]

Hi and welcome.

You didn't mention how or if you cycled the tank. Check the sticky section for more information. It appears you may have attempted cycling with fish and the beneficial bacteria that process nitrites have not yet fully colonized. When the tank is fully cycled, your ammonia AND nitrites will be at zero and nitrates are always on the rise but maintained by your weekly partial water changes. If the nitrites don't drop soon, you might want to consider locating some BioSpira by MarineLand Labs, this should help.

For your water changes, it is not unusual that the water will be cloudy afterwards but it will get better as you get a routine going. I gravel vac most every week and in the process drain 20-30% of my water in my 26 USG bowfront tank. The water IS a little cloudy afterwards but filtration and settling out clears it up pretty quickly. Some folks run their filters without any activated carbon but I like it. I use MarineLand Black Diamond carbon and I feel it does make a difference in water clarity.

 

[kcobean]

Thanks Will.

As for how we cycled the tank, we had a couple of fish in a small 2 gallon tank prior to setting this one up. We set this tank up and let it sit for 48 hours and then put those 2 fish and a couple of others in there from the local pet store. In retrospect, it was a dumb thing to do because there was 0 bacteria growth in the bio-filter, so we were basically signing the death warrant of those poor goldfish (which are dirty fish anyway). But we're more educated about things now, and our fish seem to be doing well. I haven't checked Nitrites in a few days, but ammonia is good and the fish seem healthy. I want to make sure I understand you, are there two types of bacteria at play in a tank...one that consumes ammonia and another that consumes nitrites?

Also, you mentioned 20-30% water change per week....is 10% in a tank this size too little water to change to keep the tank healthy? How much is too much water to change at one time?

Also, a quick sizing question...if we stick with small fish like guppies and platys and maybe add an algae eater or two, how many fish should we limit the tank to?

Thanks for your help!

 

[*Fishkies*]

one that consumes ammonia and another that consumes nitrites?

Yes,

is 10% in a tank this size too little water to change to keep the tank healthy?

Yes,

As your tank is still cycling you should consider doing 30% water changes. Twice a week and maybe vaccum the gravel once a week.

Also, a quick sizing question...if we stick with small fish like guppies and platys and maybe add an algae eater or two, how many fish should we limit the tank to?

Think of it this way...1 inch of adult fish per gallon of water. This is a great guide for beginners and for everyone who is unsure of what they want to put in their tank but aren't sure if it will fit.

 

[SJ2K]

Eek, do water changes DAILY untill the levels drop both to 0, 10% a day is reasonable.