iloveengl

EDIT: OH! Yes, soap is serious bad news. Take your fish out, if you can, and put them in a container that has never been through the dishwasher or the sink. Now rinse, rinse, rinse, rinse your tank, decor, etc. Does your filter have bubbles? it may need rinsed too and since you don't have a cycle, it's okay to rinse your filter this time. Rinse with warm clean regular water. Once you are done rinsing, refill with water, add your conditioner, acclimate the fishies to the new temp, and they should be fine for the day.

If you ever need to clean something, a touch of regular vinegar mixed with conditioned water is the way to go, but most of us don't "clean" our tank with any chemicals. Once your tank is cycled, it will look nice all on its own.

Here is a picture of Prime - I know petsmart carries it:
http://www.petsolutions.com/default....04380&SID=NXTG

If your store is out of stock of that, Ammolock works too:
http://www.southernagriculture.com/s...=5269_AmmoLock

These are different than normal conditioners because not only do they get rid of chlorine and chloramine, they ALSO neutralize ammonia for 24hrs so that your fish aren't poisoned by ammonia. Depending on the size of your tank affects the dosage. You immediately treat the whole tank. Then, the next day, you change 30% water and add just enough Prime to dose the new water you are putting back in. You do this once a day for a few weeks.

No - your tank will not be immediately cycled - that will take weeks. But it will allow your remaining fish to be happy and healthy while it's cycling.

Quickest possible review of the nitrogen cycle: When ammonia is neutralized, but still present, it allows your tank time for bacteria to eat the ammonia. When that bacteria eats ammonia, it becomes nitrites. A new bacteria then has to eat nitrites and that becomes nitrAtes. Nitrates are easy to control with once-per-week water changes, so that's why it's ideal to have a cycled tank. Once you are cycled (this can take as long as a month), you only need to change 20% water once a week. That's it.


Trust me - nearly all of us have made these kinds of mistake. We're all just here to help each other out. You never need to apologize for asking a question or looking for help. We're SO happy to help out you and your fish.

Lol. Okay one more edit: Can you tell us what size your tank is. Also, I saw that you have a brackish tank for your mollies. That's really cool - I have the same for mine. When you do get a test kit (we're all big fans of the API Master test kit), you will want to make certain that your test kit reads SALTWATER. It's weird, I know, but that's what us brackish folk have to use.

iloveengl

...I know that was a ridiculous amount of information I gave you, so don't feel bad about asking for clarification on something.

marisaaa

Thank you thank you thank you!

You relieved me.

My tank is only 5 gallons, because I had it. I have a turtle that I'm getting a larger tank for, and I'm thinking of transferring the mollies into my turtles old one, which is 15 gallons. Is this still too small for my 2 remaining mollies?

Also, how will I know when my tank is fully cycled?

I'm going to rinse everything and buy the Prime tomorrow, because I'm expecting company any minute. :P

Thanks again!

marisaaa

No, don't apologize, it's okay.

Thank you for your help.

iloveengl

Yeah, 5 gallons is really just too small for mollies because they produce a lot of waste and they get about 3" each. Transferring the two you have to the 15 gallon would be a great size for them. Once your tank is cycled, you could even add a third.

You will know your tank is fully cycled when ammonia = 0, nitrItes = 0, and nitrAtes = less than 20.

A Saltwater test kit will tell those numbers for you.

marisaaa

I couldn't find any Prime at the store, and I was wondering if I could use a substitute.

It's called Wardley Safe 20. On the front is states:
Eliminates Chlorine & Chloramines
Neutralizes Harmful Ammonia
and regulates pH to 7.0

Do you think this is okay or do I need the Prime?

marisaaa

I couldn't find any Prime at the store, and I was wondering if I could use a substitute. I need it because I added fish before the tank cycled. I need to make sure it cycles completely.

It's called Wardley Safe 20. On the front is states:
Eliminates Chlorine & Chloramines
Neutralizes Harmful Ammonia
and regulates pH to 7.0

Do you think this is okay or do I need the Prime?

marisaaa

couldn't find any Prime at the store, and I was wondering if I could use a substitute.

It's called Wardley Safe 20. On the front is states:
Eliminates Chlorine & Chloramines
Neutralizes Harmful Ammonia
and regulates pH to 7.0

Do you think this is okay or do I need the Prime?

Butterfly

I have never used that but would be leery of anything that messes with the pH. Most fish will acclimate to what ever your pH is and a stable pH is better than one fluctuating from chemicals.
Carol

bmxer193

Thats a little different from prime, that stuff you add to tap water before you add it to the tank to make the water safe for fish. I believe prime has good bacteria in it as well as other things to jump start/speed up cycling, But you DO need that stuff if you dont already have a water conditioner. Put the recommened amount into tap water before its added to the tank.

marisaaa

I already have Aqua Safe Water Conditioner. So should I return this and get the Prime? Or should I use the Wardley. Kinda confused.

bmxer193

You can keep the Wardley as a back up in case you run out of your Aqua Safe Water Conditioner (their the same thing), but you should get prime

CHoffman

I'm with Carol..I wouldn't use it at all because it changes the PH. Any sudden change in PH is very stressful to fish, fatal even. I have never used chemicals to adjust PH and in my opinion there is no reason to. Prime is a water conditioner it does not help cycle the tank at all but Prime is better then most water conditioners because when you are cycling with fish it makes the ammonia and nitrites less harmful to the fish for 24 hours. Most members suggest using Prime and doing 50% Waterchanges when ammonia or nitrite is present (during cycling). If you can't find Prime I would use a regular Water conditioner instead of product that your describing. Good luck cycling!!

iloveengl

I have to respectfully disagree with a part of bmxer's advice. Prime does NOT contain good bacteria needed to immediately cycle a tank (that's a whole nother ballpark and usually can only be ordered online. It's called TetraSafeStart).

Prime is important beyond other regular water conditioners because it neutralizes ammonia while still keeping it in the water to feed the bacteria. But Prime is not the only one that does this. There is also Ammolock by API, which also conditions and neutralizes ammonia as well as the Prime. Apparently so does this "Wardley Water Treatment SAfe 2.0" (I just looked it up to double-check), but I've never heard of it before now. Is that the same thing (exactly) on your bottle? If so, then it does go above and beyond normal AquaSafe water conditioner.

However, my major concern is that it says it changes the Ph to 7.0. We are very wary in these parts about affecting Ph chemically -- it can make the water wonky and most fish don't need it changed so drastically. They adapt on their own.

Update Yep I would avoid this Wardley stuff because of the Ph thing. Dang! I thought you'd found a perfect substitute. I highly suggest returning it - it's not even safe for your normal water changes later on. Swift Ph changes can easily kill fish.

Did your store have Ammo-Lock? Looks like this: http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Pr...x?ProductID=45
That's the only other product that is like Prime that I know of (without affecting Ph).

It would be safer to do 50% daily water changes with your regular conditioner rather than use that Wardley stuff. Sorry.

lorabell

Nothing for nothing...I've never had any good results with Wardley products ...lol...not even their turtle food...u could maybe try (tetra) AquaSafe or API Stress coat.....in a pinch...they are also available usually at wallmart too....I someimtes have a hard time getting prime at times too...so I keep one of these 2 around just in case

marisaaa

I do have the Aqua safe, but I don't think it eliminates the ammonia and stuff.

iloveengl

I posted this in your other thread, but I'm not sure you have it... Ammo-Lock by API does the same thing as Prime.

The two products that loarbell mention are not for cycling your tank and do not neutralize ammonia. AquaSafe is the normal conditioner you know about and the API Stress Coat is supposed to put electrolytes in the water to relieve fish stress, but I'm not certain how effective that is.

The only instant cycle product that I know of is called TetraSafeStart. You add one bottle and the tank is good to go, never have to add it again. Products like "Cycle" that claim to do the same thing as TetraSafeStart are really just a marketing scheme because you have to buy a new bottle every few weeks and your tank never cycles.

marisaaa

Thanks for telling me about the pH changes! I didn't know that swift changes can kill them.

I only went to Petsmart, I'll try to check Petco for Prime or Ammo Lock as soon as I can.
I wish I can go there all the time, but the nearest Petco & Petsmart is 40 mintues away.
But they are building a Petsmart right now about 10 minutes from my house.