Very Noob Aquarium Owner!

[CharlieP]

Hi All!

I aquired an established tank yesterday but appear to have made some errors already!

It's a 60cm x 30cm Elite tank
An Elite heater set at 26 degrees
An elite stingray filter

We emptied the tank of about 3/4 of the water for transportation and moved the fish in the tank.
When we got home, we cleaned out the filter sponges of all that nasty smelly stuff under a running
cold tap! Ooops! and then replaced it and the heater after filling the tank back up with tap water
with Nutrafin conditioner ( 2 capfulls )

Today I have used the test strips (API 5 in 1) and these are the results..

GH - 180 - Basically top of the scale so could be more!
KH - 240 - Again top of the scale!
pH - Hard to read, around 7ish..
No2 - 0
No3 - 40-80 impossible to know where in between though!

I don't have anything to test for ammonia! but intend to buy something later.

So, any thoughts on the values etc would be useful.

and is there any other equipment that would help to keep the tank clean (airstone?) , help the cycle etc (additives?),
plants that are beneficial ?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm so a noob But reading lots of info... some conflicting too though!

Thanks for your thoughts in advance!

Charlie.

 

[mark1979]

cleaning the sponges in tap water wasnt the best thing to do,but surely some of the media will still contain alot of the bacteria you need!!

them test strips are pants IMHO, use the liquid Api master test kit, i use it and find it a doddle and easy to read/use

are there any fish in there? and what and how many if you have?

 

[Bobtastic]

When we got home, we cleaned out the filter sponges of all that nasty smelly stuff under a running
cold tap! Ooops!

That may have been a extremely damaging error... The filter is basically the place where all the benefitial "good" bacteria live. You need them to process the Ammonia (extremely toxie to fish) in fish waste into nitrites (also extremely toxie to fish) and then another type of bacteria into Nitrates (no a toxic). You may have just bumped off all of them and might have to start Cycling the tank again (Fishless or Fish-in) and washing it under standard city water supply (containing chlorine) may have killed off the bacteria...

Today I have used the test strips (API 5 in 1) and these are the results..

Most ppl will tell you that the strip tests are next to useless. You're better off getting yourself a good liquid test kit (API or Nutrafin Master Test Kits), they'll test for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH.

and is there any other equipment that would help to keep the tank clean (airstone?) , help the cycle etc (additives?),
plants that are beneficial ?

You'll need to get hold of something to syphon water out of the tank to do water changes and clean your substrate. Airstones are not essential and are more for the look than anything. You don't really need any additives other than water conditions, that you already have. It is up to you if you add plants, they can be real, silk or plastic, fishies don't seem to mind.

You're probably best having a read through Beginners Resource Center as a start.

Hope this helps!

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, excellent post by Bob there and I agree with all the conclusions.

By far the top priorities for you will be to get a good liquid-reagent-based test kit, as Bob mentioned, and to learn good water changing technique. Your goal should be to quickly understand about the biofiltration aspect of your filter and determine that its doing its job. The test kit is used to determine this.

If the biofilter is not doing its job then good water changing technique must be used by you to manually do the job of the filter. Hopefully this will not be the case though, as if the colonies of beneficial bacteria were well established on your sponges and other media then some fraction of them will have survived the tap water cleaning.

Once you have figured out these two important things and determined that things are ok, then you can move on to things of lesser importance. As mentioned above, the ways you're going to figure out about testing/biofilter/cycling are via the "fish-in" (since you have fish in the tank) cycling article and other articles on the nitrogen cycle and by asking questions here in your thread. Its also fun and helpful to read other people's threads and perhaps comment as that's what a forum is all about.

Good luck and Welcome to TFF!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[CharlieP]

Thanks for the help and words of encouragement

an update on the testing etc..

I just got a Nutrafin NH3/4 test kit and I didn't notice any colour change so guess it's near 0

I'd call this lucky.... so I hope the indications from the tests I've done mean the cycle is kinda still ok and I didn't
break it much

I do also have a long tube thingy, with hose... real name of this gadget ? lol for the syphoning out of the
water whilst cleaning the gravel etc at the bottom, not sure when I should do this after the move!

I also got a thermometer, which has given me another cause for concern lol!

So, my current queries are...

Because of the move and the way we did it, we did 3/4 water change yesterday..... When should I do another one? Should I leave it
to settle a little ?

The thermometer is showing 29 degrees... althought the thermostat shows 26 degrees and the led is on! Should I turn it down, or not worry too
much for now and check it later ? or is my £3 floating thermometer fit for the bin ? It is a hot day in Sunny Kent!

Thanks again for you help and your welcome to the wonderful world of Tropical Fish!

P.S I'm still to identify the fish, there's 12 of the little buggers in there I think.... they don't stand still for long to count! lol

 

[gaz gun man]

I do also have a long tube thingy, with hose... real name of this gadget ? lol for the syphoning out of the
water whilst cleaning the gravel etc at the bottom, not sure when I should do this after the move!

that'll be a syphon bobtastic was referring to in his post.

Have you got a liquid test kit yet, or are you still using strips?

I'd reccomend you get yourself to pets at home and get the API test kit. It'll allow you to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and P.H alot more accurately than the strips.

Then check your water stats twice a day to check you are'nt cycling again. If you see any ammonia or nitrite, do a water change (25-50%) then retest the water, if you've still got ammonia/nitrite, leave it for an hour and do another water change.

Welcome to the forum, where in kent are you? I'm in Medway

 

[Bobtastic]

I do also have a long tube thingy, with hose... real name of this gadget ? lol for the syphoning out of the
water whilst cleaning the gravel etc at the bottom, not sure when I should do this after the move!

This is called... a gravel cleaner.

The thermometer is showing 29 degrees... althought the thermostat shows 26 degrees and the led is on! Should I turn it down, or not worry too
much for now and check it later ? or is my £3 floating thermometer fit for the bin ? It is a hot day in Sunny Kent!

I would try moving the thermometer in some cold tap water and see if the temperature changes.

I just got a Nutrafin NH3/4 test kit and I didn't notice any colour change so guess it's near 0

I would say leave it for the moment, but do another text tomorrow to see if the stats change. You only reall need up do water changes if the ammonia/nitrites are above 0.25 or the nitrates are through the roof.

I'm still to identify the fish, there's 12 of the little buggers in there I think.... they don't stand still for long to count! lol

I hope they are 12 little fishies... That sounds quite alot for a 60litre tank. Would you be able to take a picture of them?

 

[CharlieP]

Thanks again for the responses!

They are 12 little fish, most less than 1in long, althought there are a pair abot 1 1/2 in long, so I guess thats about 13 inches of fish, maximum!

and the tank is 60l which I believe is 15US gallons.... so about full it seems.

I got the Liquid Ammonia NH3/4 kit, but have the API 5in1 strips for the other tests, but I'll probably get the API master kit!

I set the heater to 24 degrees and it's still trying to heat the water with the temp gauge at 29

I'll be posting pics of the fish on here as soon as I can so maybe they can be identified..... I have no idea what they
are

 

[waterdrop]

Are there any members out there familiar with which models/cartridges of the elite stingray have Zeolite in them? The OP has an elite stingray and I'm wondering if we should see whether this is one of the ones that has the white zeolite chips mixed in with carbon chips in one or more of the cartridges.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[CharlieP]

ok, can anyone help with identification ?

I have 5 of these striped ones!
and 2 of the black/red ones

One of these very tiny things! top stripe is neon blue and the bottom red...

One of these

Two of these, bit bigger than rest of fish, like to stay away from the camera, lay low...

and one of these, biggest fish..

 

[Geoff1991]

ok, can anyone help with identification ?

I have 5 of these striped ones!
and 2 of the black/red ones

One of these very tiny things! top stripe is neon blue and the bottom red...

One of these

Two of these, bit bigger than rest of fish, like to stay away from the camera, lay low...

and one of these, biggest fish..

I can help slightly,

The top looks like harlequin rasbora
Second one looks like a cardinal tetra
Third looks like a betta
4th kinda looks like a penguin tetra but im unsure
Dont know about the 5th

 

[alchemist]

Are there any members out there familiar with which models/cartridges of the elite stingray have Zeolite in them? The OP has an elite stingray and I'm wondering if we should see whether this is one of the ones that has the white zeolite chips mixed in with carbon chips in one or more of the cartridges.

~~waterdrop~~

Yes - the stingray filters use two zeolite / carbon cartridges and have foam at the intake.

 

[loachman]

1. harlequin rasbora & zebra danio (the striped one)
2. Cardinal Tetra
3. Betta
4. False siamese algae eater, Garra taeniata (you can tell with the 2nd pic since the black stripe doesn't go all the way through the tail)
5. Diamond Tetra (I think)

 

[CharlieP]

1. harlequin rasbora & zebra danio (the striped one)
2. Cardinal Tetra
3. Betta
4. False siamese algae eater, Garra taeniata (you can tell with the 2nd pic since the black stripe doesn't go all the way through the tail)
5. Diamond Tetra (I think)

From looking at various web resources and the real fish

1 is definate
2 too
3 ok, but there are too many hits and I think varieties for me to do better than a general 'betta'
4 Yes! They are exactly this, although I'm not calling them false to their faces in case they get a complex!
5 Could be, although a very rough diamond if it is

So my 60l tank has

2 Harlequin Rasbora
1 Cardinal Tetra
5 Zebra Danio
1 betta in red
2 False Siamese algae eaters
1 Diamond tetra or similar looking fish!

What you think of this mix, and do I have a couple too many ?

Also, this does have cartridges as stated, but after reading this forum I think I'm better off removing, or just not replacing
with new ones....

 

[alchemist]

I was in your situation when I first got my tank and had to do a fish in cycle. Ultimately I decided to upgrade my filter to a different model - but if you decide to keep the stingray here is what I did.
As I didn't want to keep paying for cartridges I bought a box of floss media and stuffed that in where the cartridges were. When you remove the cartridges - you will get an ammonia spike as the zeolite is no longer in there taking out ammonia. To prevent the ammonia spike harming my fish I used API - ammo-lock.
Now you are in a fish in cycle with the ammo-lock acting as a buffer against ammonia spikes - so you need to keep a very close eye on ammonia and nitrite levels - daily water changes are required. Took me about 5 weeks until I was fully cycled. My wife thought I was totally mad doing the water changes every day.
You will definitely want to get an API master liquid test kit as you will be doing a lot of tests and the strips are not only expensive - but not very reliable.
Good luck!