LaRockera

Hi, I'm doing a lot of research over the internet on how to maintain the cycle of a freshwater aquarium. On 2-15-10 I bought a 55 gallon deluxe kit. Comes with a 55g tank, submersible heater, hood lights, bio filter with some type of bacteria that comes in it and etc. I also bought aquarium salt, stress zyme and coat and added as directed. Right after that my husband decided that it was okay to add my 10 yr old plecostomus fishes in (2 of them) He believed that maybe it would help speed up the cycle.. I kept an eye on them and they seemed stressed at first, but them started acting normal. We do not know much, and this is my first time ever owning a freshwater tank. Today is the 5th day the tank has been setup. Fishes seem okay. And I also added bubble curtain, and live freshwater plants. I also did a 25% water change 2 days ago and added stress zyme, coat, and salt as directed. The reason I did this was because there is white cloudness in the water, which I believe is ammonia? I bought tests kits for pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, hardness etc. Everything is great except for the ammonia lvl.. Yesterday I bought the ammonia clear tablets, it says that it will remove ammonia fast. I have not added them in yet, because I don't want to mess up anything, like the cycle.. I was thinking of waiting for the 7th day to do a 25% water change and add these tablets, and the stress zyme which comes with live bacteria which I am to add on the 1st, 7th, and 14th days. Any tips or advice on what to do? I know I must have patience, but I wanted to know if I am doing okay.

I recorded my tests on the 18th:
-Nitrate:0
-Nitrite:0-.5 ?
-Hardness: 150
-alkalinity:80
-Ph 7.2

2-20-2010
-Ammonia:3.0

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!
unfortunately this link will help http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/aq...ling-fish.html you need to find one of those, and start doing daily partial 30% water changes until you have 0 for ammonia/nitrites and under 20 ntirates...plecos and salt do not mix so you at least want to start the water changes asap to get the salt out....I wouldnt continue to use stress zyme as its a bacteria that isnt aquatic and will eat up the good bacteria you need to cycle the tank properly....at this point the water changes with one of the detoxifiers in the link, is whats best for the safety of your fish.......good luck!

Lucy

Welcome to FishLore!!

I'm sorry to say, Stress Zyme will not have help cycle your tank.
Most bacterial additives contain the wrong kind of bacteria. It's not aquatic and will die off quickly. This usually prevents the benefical bacteria from developing.

With your ammonia reading, it would be a good idea to start doing daily water changes until the tank finishes cycling.
If you use Prime, it will detox the ammonia for 24 hours between water changes.
What were the plecos in before this? Did you add anything from that tank to this new one?

Shawnie! lol

LaRockera

So I should do a 25 or 30% water change every day? And they used to be in this 20-30g fish tank along with 3 other goldfish, one goldfish thats big, another is like a different type of goldfish with two tails and a rosy red. Which I bet had waay more ammonia. I never really knew how to take care of fishes until i got the 55g and started doing research. I'm scared to put the pleco back in the other tank because its small and i don't want to stress them even more. And would the ammonia clear help drop the ammonia lvl?

Shawnie

other than the 3 in that link i gave you, I wouldnt mess with any other additives.....it can stall/hurt the process.....I would do 30% a day with the huge waste producers like plecs....if you can cut some media off the other tank (if it was established) and put it in the new filter, that will help it along also....but no salt and using a detoxifier is a must for the safety of the fish
ALLOT of us started out the same way and its hard but once completed, its very rewarding

LaRockera

Man I wish you were here to help me lol this is soo hard. But I like it because of the science. Where can I get Prime??!? I'm mad that I spent money on that lol Stress zyme. Is stress coat okay? And I wanted to make a freshwater community, is it okay to add the aquarium salt then? Sorry for so many questions but I really need help I want to make this a success and hopefully my new hobby

Shawnie

see if the store will exchange it.....in the link you can use prime or amquel+ .....one or the other.....sometimes it has to be ordered online and http://www.kensfish.com/ or http://www.drsfostersmith.com/ carries it...among other places...but those are the best online prices IMO....stress coat and stress coat+ works great for water conditioners but doesnt do anything for ammonia/nitrites .....which are the deadly part as you know.the prime or amquel+ will keep the ammonia available for the tank to cycle, but will detox it to make it safe for 24 hours until another water change......no salt in a FW tank is needed..its more of an old school method and just stresses fw fish and makes them overproduce their slimecoat.....stress coat+ will help with that and is more natural ....dont be sorry for questions again allot of us started this way and we have some great members who love helping...

Lucy

You'll get it, hang in there! Like Shawnie said, many of us started out this way!

No to the salt if you've got pleco, any sort of catfish or inverts like snails.
Most community fish do well without it.
Prime should be available at most stores. If you can't find it, you'll want to use a conditioner that detoxifies the ammonia.

Don't be sorry about asking questions, that's what the forum is for!

Dang Shawnie, your quick! LOL

Shawnie

sowwy ill sit back and

LaRockera

THANKS SO MUCH GUYS!!!! I don't know why it was recommended to me, the fish expert at petco told me it will be okay for plecos, and I did ask her before I bought it. But anyways. I guess I will follow your advices. If I have any questions I will go to either of you

Shawnie

the one thing ive learned since joining fishlore, is that the awesome members here make no money off the advice we all share..and MOST LFS are out for the almighty dollar....which is very sad because allot of fish pay the price ....im sure they will still try to sell you a ton of stuff and again, id return both the salt and stress zyme and see if you can get credit or some fish foods or something and your welcome

EDIT: just noticed also, you are using the 5-1 test strips im sorry to say again, but the test strips arent reliable and can give you false tests consistantly .....I know its probably not something else you need to hear, but wanted you to know this ....API makes a master liquid test kit thats much more reliable, has everything you need, as well as you can do 100s of tests....

LaRockera

I will do that tomorrow, good thing I have the receipts. I'll tell them that it's hurting my fishes.

LaRockera

Oh, okay. Thanks once again ! I will listen to your advice lol you have a lot of experience. Good thing I found this site =D I also wanted tips on how to decorate, how to make a comfortable habitat for these fishes and new fishes to come.

yallyall1

Too true shawnie! when I was going to get my fist tank (10g) not so long ago, they said that a pleco could live in there all its life,and I believed them, until I found Fishlore!

Prime is the best product for conditioning! try to get some of that! however, I can't get any amquel here, but that will work also!

Your test strips are very unreliable, and you should probably get an API master as Shawnie suggested.

I hope all goes well! Good luck!

yallyall1

Also, For your Pleco, don't forget to put some driftwood in there as they love it!

Do you have fertiliser? if not, it will help. A good brand is Seachem(they also make Prime!) and its called Flourish, and you can use them in conjunction with some Fertiliser tabs.
I love real plants!

also, check out this page, I found it very useful! (http://www.fishlore.com/aquascape_ideas.htm )

However, it depends on the needs of your fish. Be sure to do some research! ie. for cichlids, have caves!

Tips on picking fish:
Pop down to your local fish shop, and see what you like!
Research!
Check the compatibility!
Also look at the conditions in which they thrive in and do your best to mimic that!

There are Hundreds of fish that could do well in that tank! There are endless combinations as well!

Good Luck!

LaRockera

Thanks, I wen't and bought driftwood yesterday with little live plants on it. and they went on it quick lol i tried moving the driftwood and they would chase after it, well not really chase after it but go to it. I think its really cool. thanks for the advice!