Newbie Who Has Not Made A Good Start!

[danny_sims]

Hi
My name is Danny and me and the girlfriend (Lauren) picked up our first tank yesterday.
We have bought a second hand Aqua One Seamless tank. 103cm x 77cm x 41 plus the wooden stand that it sits on. The tank came with an aqua one cf 1000 filter, 300watt heater, lid with twin light, twin air pump with numerous connections, 3 x shipwrecked boats and a large fiberglass coral display, bog wood and enough gravel to fill the tank. + accesories
What price would you put on the above???

After getting the tank home after a 3 hour round trip we sett of cleaning everything with hot water. once this was done we piped all the filter/air/heater up ready and got the tank into possition and thn added the gravel and then filled to just below full and added the finishing bits. (Two air stones where installed along with the filter and heater.

I went to a local fish shop this morning to get some information on what to do next and when could i buy my frst fish. They told me if i was to condition the water with a 5 in one bottle (only a small bottle that would be enough for 275 litres) and also buy a ph tester kit with ph up and ph down, and then i could go back later that day and purchase my fish.

So i got the ph to stay at 7.2 after a little ph down. Then went back to the shop and was told i could buy any fish as the tan was ready. We bought the following,

1 x Small Angel fish
1 x blck rainbow shark 4-5cm
1 x Pair of black ###fin mollies

so i bought four fish and a few botles of treatments and a net etc for around 40 pounds, i then come oline and discver that i have to allow cycleleing of the tank. The fish so far seem really happy and tank looks clean possible slightly unsettled/cloudy (very slightly).

The question is what do you think i can do now and will i lose the above fish???

 

[CrystalClear16]

Hi Danny, welcome

Sorry, the shop lied to you.

Firstly, you really don't need ph down. In fact the only chemicals you should add to your tank are tap safe and medication when necessary - keep the chemicals to a minimum. You do however need a full test kit (Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite).

Also those 'instant cycle' bottles don't work

If you do a fish-in cycle casulties are to be expected. Have a read of the guides here as they are very useful

If you need any help then just ask here - everyone is really friendly!

 

[simonas]

at least you now realise after some research that a mistake has been made.

First thing is don;t add any more fishfor a good while

feed them sparingly and buy a test kit for nitrate, ammonia and nitrite and read up on cycling on here. I wouldn;t bother with the ph up or down either , I;d see what your natural parameters are let the tank settle andthen choose stocking that will do well in your water

regular water changes as well will help

Good luck

 

[Gilli]

to keep your fish alive read up on this link quick!

cycling a tank

 

[fluttermoth]

First of all, Danny; yes, you've done things all wrong, but this is not your fault

Everyone on here is used to dealing with stories just like yours; we wish we weren't, but we are.

As you have a decent sized tank with not too many fish, you may very well be able to keep them.

The trouble you will have is that fish produce ammonia, which is very toxic. In a 'cycled' tank, there will be bacteria in the filter that turn that ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate that are less harmful and that you can remove with water changes.

We recommend people to do a 'fish-less' cycle, where you add ammonia to a tank with no fish in to get those bacteria to grow.

But you will have to do a 'fish-in' cycle (unless you can/want to return those fish)

You will need; some dechlorinator; this removes chlorine and other nasties that can harm your fish from the tap water on no account should you put untreated tap water into your tank

Some test kits, that test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (some fish shops will test your water for you, but to be honest I wouldn't trust your shop...!)

You will need to test the water every day to see if there is ammonia in there, and if there is, you will need to change some of the water.

Everyone here will be happy to help you; you've been given terrible advice by your shop

I'm sure other people will be along with more advice shortly, but I hope I've helped for the moment!

 

[danny_sims]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes and information so far im reading through "GILLI" guide at the moment.
one note to add was that the filter that i got from the previous owner with the tank was nearly full of water and i forgot to clean this out it threw a few bits of dirtinto the tank when it was started up.
Does this affect anything.

 

[fluttermoth]

Thanks for all the warm welcomes and information so far im reading through "GILLI" guide at the moment.
one note to add was that the filter that i got from the previous owner with the tank was nearly full of water and i forgot to clean this out it threw a few bits of dirtinto the tank when it was started up.
Does this affect anything.

You never know! You might be lucky and have a few bacteria growing in there already.
You may be really lucky and find that you have a fully functioning, cycled filter!

You won't really know until you get some test kits to find out what is going on. Lets keep our fingers crossed

 

[danny_sims]

Well i will have to go out first thing and buy the kits. Which kits do i need? is it 3 seperate or all in one?
thanks.
Would the below help things?
Some media in a stocking?
Some more used gavel?
Live plants?
15% water chges daily?

thanks for the help guys you may have saved my fish but i now got to explain to the better half why she cant buy moe fish tomorow....

 

[Gvilleguy]

They told me if i was to condition the water with a 5 in one bottle (only a small bottle that would be enough for 275 litres) and also buy a ph tester kit with ph up and ph down, and then i could go back later that day and purchase my fish.

Argghh!! It makes me sick when I hear stories like that! Bad advice from LFS.

Danny - you've come to the right place. Just follow the advice these members are giving you, and you will soon be into your "fish-in cycle" no trouble! Good luck with everything.

Oh, and in case you missed it in the flurry of posts - the general recommendation is to let your tank settle into its natural state in terms of pH. It's a lot easier to deal with natural pH levels than to constantly adjust it to an unnatural number. Constantly fluctuating pH is not good for your fish.

 

[fluttermoth]

You can buy the kits separately or as one 'master kit' that will do them all, and probably work out cheaper. Most people here use the API freshwater master kit; it's very good; avoid test strips; these are notoriously inaccurate.

Some (used) media in a stocking (but I'd put it into your filter, not just hang it in the tank) will help a lot

Used gravel will help, but maybe not so much.

Live plants are great and do absorb some nitrates; of some small use; and your fish would probably like them

You really can't do too many water changes; if it turns out that the bacteria in your filter are dead, you may need to do even more than 15%; as long as the water is dechlorinated you can do almost 100%; obviously you need to leave enough water for the fish to swim in!

Aww; you sound like a lovely caring guy; if you've chosen her as a girlfriend I'm sure she's equally as lovely and wants the best for the fish too

 

[danny_sims]

Thanks again for the fast responce.
Im going to go to Pier Aquatics tomorow in wigan (seem to have a very good rep)
Do you think they would give me/sell me and media? (what exactly is media?)
Will do plenty water changes (with water conditioner? recomendation) tank takes ages to fill.
Going to buy plenty live plants as i like the look of them over plastic.
Would a LFS sell me used gravel?
Will get the testing kit first hing and also post the results.
Thanks and lauren is great but a little blonde (no offense to anyone "she's a brunette")
thanks again all help much appreciated.

 

[fluttermoth]

Media is anything that goes in your filter; could be sponge or ceramic rings, or gravel or other things.

They might give or sell you some gravel, but unless they're running undergravel filters there won't be much point.

It doesn't really matter what water conditioner you buy, pond ones work out cheaper as they're more concentrated, but then it can be difficult to measure out the right dosage; the one I have right now only needs 1ml to treat 70l of water! Stick with a normal tank one for the moment

 

[danny_sims]

Hi
Did not buy the recomended testing kit as they did not sell it local but i did get the water tested at both pets at home in leigh and pier aquatics in wigan.
The results were good both assistants said that there coul possibly be a lack of ammonia which will slow down the cycle (advised to feed every day rather than every other)
I have to take another sample back in on tuesday to check again.
I am going to buy a full kit from ebay so it arrives tue/wed so i can then test myself.
Also bought glass magnets and also a 24 inch gravel cleaner suction pump.....

Neither place had any media for sale. How can i get some from a friends fish tank?
Really happy with the news so far and wuill keep updated....

We definatly want Albino Bristlenose Plecos (Advice on these please also)

 

[danny_sims]

bump

 

[fluttermoth]

If you have a friend with a fish tank, danny, all you need is for them to give you some of whatever they have in their filter and put it in yours. Sponges can be cut up without any problems.

Bristlenose plecs are lovely fish. They generally grow to about 4 inches, though some species do get a bit larger, but none of them get to the 20" plus that common plecs do! They're very peaceful and hardy fish and are great characters. They're also quite easily bred if you get a pair.