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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| breaking in my tank question
hello all! i am new to these boards as well as a newbie to the world of owning my own aquarium. i picked up a 30 gallon tank from a thrift store for 20 bucks and bought a filter, pump, undergravel stone and 2 regular stones on each side of the tank, a rock, and i found a javelina skull where i live and put that in there... i look forward to being a member to these boards and having a new hobby..
so i have a couple questions before i start...
i was wondering if it would be alright if i just added a couple feeder gold fish or something to break in my tank, if they die i could just leave them in there until the tank was done cycling.... or would this method make it take months as people are saying if you use fish when you cycle.. seems like this method is the same as putting a piece of shrimp so i was thinking this method would work... and if the fish lives through it then cool..
also i have Kordon NovAqua water conditioner and kordon AmQuel which removes nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chlorine, and chloramines... and my question is should i not be using these since i want the tank to develop good bacteria that gets rid of that stuff for me  and what about the water conditioner? it contains Echinacea, Vitamins, and Anti-Virus Protection.. and detoxifies tap water and breaks down chloramines.... should i just throw these away or what use do they serve to me if i want a healty, natural environment for my fish??
Last edited by riverwood; April 1st, 2008 at 03:39 PM.
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by riverwood  i was wondering if it would be alright if i just added a couple feeder gold fish or something to break in my tank, if they die i could just leave them in there until the tank was done cycling.... or would this method make it take months as people are saying if you use fish when you cycle..
also i have Kordon NovAqua water conditioner and kordon AmQuel which removes nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chlorine, and chloramines... and my question is should i not be using these since i want the tank to develop good bacteria that gets rid of that stuff for me and what about the water conditioner? it contains Echinacea, Vitamins, and Anti-Virus Protection.. and detoxifies tap water and breaks down chloramines.... should i just throw these away or what use do they serve to me if i want a healty, natural environment for my fish?? | welcome to fishlore!  if you havent gotten fish, DONT!! cycle it without fish and just have patience... goldfish dont wanna be poisioned anymore than an expensive clown fish... heres the link for cycleing and just shop in the meantime while waiting for things to put in it...goodluck!! http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
|  WELCOME TO FISHLORE, RIVERWOOD!
Two ways to go....
#1. Fishless cycle - read the exact directions under the link shawnie gave you...either ammonia- 100% pure, added every 12 hours until your tank is cycled - can be speeded with addition of tank filter media from an established tank...OR fish food every 12 hours to feed natural ammonia production,....OR a chunk of raw fish placed in tank creating natural ammonia.....
#2. THE ONLY safe cycle with FISH - Use ONLY dechlorinator in water as you are setting up your tank, and add - BIO-SPIRA and a very few fish. Follow the directions and do not do water changes until the cycle has been accomplished.....Please don't use prime, or the product called cycle as these just mess up the cycle process with bio-spira.
I would recommend you getting an API Master test kit, (liquid) to keep close tabs on your water chemistry. Make a log so you can track just how long the process takes and you might want to read through the link below from calinb who did some interesting experiments. http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/aq...bio-spira.html
Good LUCK, take it slow, and enjoy the planning of your new tank! | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by riverwood hello all! i am new to these boards as well as a newbie to the world of owning my own aquarium. i picked up a 30 gallon tank from a thrift store for 20 bucks and bought a filter, pump, undergravel stone and 2 regular stones on each side of the tank, a rock, and i found a javelina skull where i live and put that in there... i look forward to being a member to these boards and having a new hobby..
so i have a couple questions before i start...
i was wondering if it would be alright if i just added a couple feeder gold fish or something to break in my tank, if they die i could just leave them in there until the tank was done cycling.... or would this method make it take months as people are saying if you use fish when you cycle.. seems like this method is the same as putting a piece of shrimp so i was thinking this method would work... and if the fish lives through it then cool..
also i have Kordon NovAqua water conditioner and kordon AmQuel which removes nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chlorine, and chloramines... and my question is should i not be using these since i want the tank to develop good bacteria that gets rid of that stuff for me and what about the water conditioner? it contains Echinacea, Vitamins, and Anti-Virus Protection.. and detoxifies tap water and breaks down chloramines.... should i just throw these away or what use do they serve to me if i want a healty, natural environment for my fish?? | Wow, excellent questions. Already you've won half the battle with out knowing it.
First, I wouldn't cycle the tank with fish unless you're REALLY experienced at keeping ammonia levels non-toxic, which can be really tricky. And if you decide to use fish, Zebra Danio's are supposed to be the best at handling it. As for the water conditioner, I'm not positive about AmQuel itself, but AmQuel Plus is supposed to convert the amonia and nitrites, etc without actually removing them, so the bacteria can still develop. | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Quote:
Originally Posted by riverwood i picked up a 30 gallon tank from a thrift store for 20 bucks and bought a filter, pump, undergravel stone and 2 regular stones on each side of the tank, a rock, and i found a javelina skull where i live and put that in there... i look forward to being a member to these boards and having a new hobby.. |
Several additional observations...what kind of filter and pump?
You need to size them to fit the tank. The rule of thumb here is 10 X the gallons of tank, turn over...so a 30 gallon tank would require a HOB filter to process 300 gallons of water per hour.
Did you get a heater and thermometer? You will want to heat your tank. Also most people add air, is the "pump" you got an air pump?
Any rocks, stones, wood, or decorations you put in your tank need to not contain metal, or substances that will change your water chemistry. You will have to boil any of these objects to kill any bacteria etc that might be on them. Items like bone, or skulls are not a good idea as they do discintegrate quickly in water and change the pH....I love to use "found" objects, glass is usually a safe bet if it isn't LEAD GLASS.
Once your tank is all set up, cycled and ready, what kind of fish are you interested in? | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| thank you shawnie, susitna-flower, and Jim.
i have a aqueon power filter 30, which is for 30 gallon tanks, the flow rate is 200 gallons per hour... dont have a heater and temp gauge yet but will get that stuff tomorrow.. and yes i do have an air pump with a gang valve to split off in 3 directions... do skulls really disintegrate?? im gonna have to remove that then... dam that was really cool looking... is there anyway to seal the skull so i can put it in there
and Jim i do have the AmQual+ Plus so thank you for your information, i think ill use them afterall... the lady at the pet store said i would be able to add fish after 48 hours of adding the water with the conditioner and amquel plus and then more once i add fish, i will get the test kit so i know when to add these things...
im not sure what kind of fish i want susitna-flower, there wasnt that many ones that were eye opening when i went to the petco so im going to try petsmart tomorrow, but eventually once im more experienced i want to get clown fish with a Bubble Tip anemone.... would those fit in a 30 g tank?? how many clown fish do you think i could have in there | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by riverwood thank you shawnie, susitna-flower, and Jim.
i have a aqueon power filter 30, which is for 30 gallon tanks, the flow rate is 200 gallons per hour... dont have a heater and temp gauge yet but will get that stuff tomorrow.. and yes i do have an air pump with a gang valve to split off in 3 directions... do skulls really disintegrate?? im gonna have to remove that then... dam that was really cool looking... is there anyway to seal the skull so i can put it in there
and Jim i do have the AmQual+ Plus so thank you for your information, i think ill use them afterall... the lady at the pet store said i would be able to add fish after 48 hours of adding the water with the conditioner and amquel plus and then more once i add fish, i will get the test kit so i know when to add these things...
im not sure what kind of fish i want susitna-flower, there wasnt that many ones that were eye opening when i went to the petco so im going to try petsmart tomorrow, but eventually once im more experienced i want to get clown fish with a Bubble Tip Anemone.... would those fit in a 30 g tank?? how many clown fish do you think i could have in there | oops..when you said add goldfish, I thought you were doing a freshwater tank..but a clown and anemone arent freshwater...hmmm which are you doing ?? dont take much to confuse me btw  | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Fish Lore Newbie
| right now im doing freshwater, i was saying in the future i was going to convert to salt but with the amount of experience under my belt im not doing that until later... | |
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April 1st, 2008
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| | Master Of Fish Poo!
| Welcome to Fishlore. 
It is better to cycle without fish. You can turn the heater to maximum and run aeration in the tank. Use fish flakes or pure ammonia to cycle the tank. I'd just use the NovAqua+ for the water conditioner while you're cycling the tank. | |
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