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So hi guys and here is my family's first tank, when my father in law moved out he left it downstairs with like 6" of water in the bottom, and a dead cichlid so I called him up and asked if we could keep the tank. As soon as he said yes I was off to the pet store! I purchased some tap water conditioner, a pH tester, and a gravel vacuum. I sucked all the nasty water out and lugged the behemoth upstairs and outside, I pulled out everything except the gravel and under gravel filter. I used the hose and a new sponge to clean up the glass and I rinsed the gravel in a big bowl. I did all of this without knowing about the nitrogen cycle, and what chlorine did to all the poor lil bacteria in that gravel , I also soaked all of the other stuff (except the large rocks) in very hot water >< I re-assembled it upstairs and used the garden hose to fill it up. I added the suggested amount of conditioner and let it cycle for 2 days.
I then added my fish. 6 neon tetras, 4 platies, 2 mollies. They were all very happy and showed no signs of stress! I constantly monitored my ph, it stayed @ 7.0. over the next week I read and read >< should have done that first, but I guess I lucked out because it has been about three weeks and they are all still doing great! Since then I added the cory cat, 3 albino glo tetras, 4 tiger barbs, and a bamboo plant. I took a water sample up to my fish store and tested it, ammonia was at 1 PPM, nitrite at 20 ppm! nitrate at 5 ppm, ph 7.1, He suggested to add acid buffer till I get the ph to 6.8 and that they should be fine, after reading more about that I understand why, so I now have my ph steady at 6.8, and everything is going well, I assume this is all due to the rocks that I never cleaned, maybe they jump started the nitrogen cycle? Either way I am having a blast. My fish have such neat personalities!
Future mods, I think I am going to add a bio-wheel filter, do away with the under gravel and change the floor to gravel and sand, and add more plants and some snails. I was thinking about changing the gravel out in a three stage process over the course of a month, any thoughts?
Hello and Welcome to Fish Lore. I would like to recommend that you stop using the acid buffer. This can make your pH very unstable and could possibly cause your pH to crash and then you could lose all of your fish. Most fish will adapt to the pH levels in our tap water (with chlorine removed). I suggest doing daily water changes of 35 to 50% until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 5-10 nitrates.
I would also like to suggest that you purchase an APItest kit. With this kit it has everything you need to test your water chemistry.
Add some Prime or Amquel + with each water change to detoxify the ammonia for about 24 hours until your next water change. These two conditioners turn the ammonia into ammonium which is not toxic although you will still get an ammonia reading until your tank is cycled.
You have a beautiful tank! It's going to take some work on your part to keep your fish alive but it will be worth it in the long run.
Changing the under gravel filter is a wonderful idea. Too, as you suggested change only 1/3 of the gravel or substrate at a time.
In case you need to understand further why you should follow aquarist48's advice you might want to read about the nigtrogen cycle. I believe he gave you great advice.
Best of luck and welcome to FishLore.
Be sure to ask as many questions as you need and as they arise.
There's always someone around to help you out!!
Beth
If you speedy up the process of cycling your tank, there are products to help you do so. I used SuperBac with mine and it cycled my tank within 2 weeks. There is another product called Tetra SafeStart but it is very hard to find. It is better buying it online. These products will really help cycle your tank faster.
I'm afraid it may be too late to add TSS into the tank that is currently running. Acid buffers have been added and may inhibit the bacteria process. I don't have scientific information to prove this though. Let's see what some others have to say. TSS really should be added to a freshly filled tank, then add a few fish for the ammonia to build and start creating the cycle. There may be too much ammonia in the tank as it is for the TSS to get a good start.
Such prompt responses, i love this forum already! Thank you aquarist48, question tho, do you think it is ok to do a water change already? it is at the end off week 3, god i feel so bad for not reading first, I just took advise from family... on a positive note, my fishys seem very happy, however the platies and mollies seem to be exhibiting what looks like courting/mating habits >< lol! Also, I will take your advise on the test kit asap.
Last edited by Ezdelaft; June 8th, 2009 at 11:07 PM.
I suggest doing daily water changes of 35 to 50% until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 5-10 nitrates. Add some Prime or Amquel + with each water change to detoxify the ammonia for about 24 hours until your next water change. These two conditioners turn the ammonia into ammonium which is not toxic although you will still get an ammonia reading until your tank is cycled.
I did a partial water change last night, about 12 gallons of water, only have 3 new buckets, waiting for store to get some more, I conditioned them with my API tap water conditioner, and they sat for more than 24 hours.I also did another 12 gallon change and vacuumed gravel today.
After this I noticed that my two black mollies were acting a little funny, and I noticed pop eye, so i jumped in to gear, i could only think of one solution and that was to find a container temporarily to separate them in, I cut the top off a couple of two liters and rinsed them thoroughly, then added water from the tank, a bit of gravel, and gave them air from a seperate pump, I also added a very small amount of epsom salt, one of the two was not looking well, and as expected did not make it through the night, the other however is showing marked improvement, also when I got home from work I drained 90% of the water from the 2 liter and refilled with water from the main tank. I am going to set up a hospital tank tomorrow, I suppose I should start it with water from my main tank? any suggestions there? or should I continue with what I have?
Aside from that, the rest of my fishys are doing great, they seem a lot happier( maybe it is just me) after the water change. I also purchased the test kit and amquel+ today, as well as another air-stone! fun fun, here are some new pics, yes I know I am a dork. If you think this is bad you should see how anal I have been about my daily journal for these lil critters! lol
Talk to ya later!
p.s. I stopped the acid buffer.
Last edited by Ezdelaft; June 9th, 2009 at 11:18 PM.
http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...ish-popeye.htm
Above is some information concerning pop eye disease. Instead of using water from your aquarium I suggest new water with the chlorine removed. Pristine water conditions are crucial in treating pop eye. Also be prepared for water changes in the quarantine tank as well. Use the Amquel + with each water change (quarantine and main tank).
Glad you stopped the acid buffer! Keep us posted.
Edit
Keep in mind your pH levels when transferring fish from one place to another. You do NOT want to take a fish from let's say a pH level of 8.0 down to 7.0..the results could be fatal. You can take a fish from 7.0 into an 8.0 and shouldn't be a problem. (You don't want to go from a high pH to a low pH, but you CAN go from a low pH to a higher pH. They might be a little stressed but it shouldn't be fatal)
Last edited by aquarist48; June 10th, 2009 at 09:42 AM.
The tank looks great, I love all of your rock structures and I'm sure that your fish will too
Just one word of caution, for the bamboo to stay alive it needs to have part of it above water, since it is actually a bog plant, and not a plant that grows completely submerged.
and here is my family's first tank, when my father in law moved out he left it downstairs with like 6" of water in the bottom, and a dead cichlid 
so I called him up and asked if we could keep the tank. As soon as he said yes I was off to the pet store! I purchased some tap water conditioner, a 
, I also soaked all of the other stuff (except the large rocks) in very hot water >< I re-assembled it upstairs and used the garden hose to fill it up. I added the suggested amount of conditioner and let it cycle for 2 days.
