Fish journey (Really open to advise)

Prime does nothing to protect your fish from ammonia.

What should I do?

 

Dilute the ammonia to safe concentration (as shown on the pH vs ammonia chart) by changing out the water for fresh. You can change the water faster than the tank can make ammonia. You are part of the ecosystem.

 

Dilute the ammonia to safe concentration (as shown on the pH vs ammonia chart) by changing out the water for fresh. You can change the water faster than the tank can make ammonia. You are part of the ecosystem.

Water change coming right up
Also here’s my ph as well
Readings:
pH little darker than: 7.6
HIGH RANGE pH: Between 7.4 and 7.8
Just changed 25% to 30% of my water I’m going out for dinner and I will test when I get back hopefully it’s in range till atleast tmmr

 

Just because it’s not always obvious and if no one tells you don’t always know , you can do 2 x 50% water changes in a day. One in the morning and one in the evening. Just temp match the water so you don’t shock your fish and always remember to plug your heater back in

you can do 50% daily if needed to keep that ammonia low for now. Add prime to the bucket before you add the water back, not the tank .

Great job on the plants too. They look amazing

 

Just because it’s not always obvious and if no one tells you don’t always know , you can do 2 x 50% water changes in a day. One in the morning and one in the evening. Just temp match the water so you don’t shock your fish and always remember to plug your heater back in

you can do 50% daily if needed to keep that ammonia low for now. Add prime to the bucket before you add the water back, not the tank .

Great job on the plants too. They look amazing

Is a heater really recommended? I live in hawaii and my temp gauge/thermometer always reads 80-83F in the tank

 

No , not always ! I’m from the U.K., if it gets above 60F we put our shorts on Apologies , I should have said don’t forget to plug all equipment back in ! It’s generally a good idea to match new water as closely as possible to tank water so you don’t shock the fish with large temp swings.

This isn’t the case for breeders etc but I’m just saying in general .

 

Hey,

water changes, a lot.

So let's say your pH is 7.5.
I would start changing water as soon as ammonia hits 1.5 ppm, at latest when it hits 2.

The simple explanation is, the NH4 you measure is not very dangerous to your fish. However, part of it transforms to NH3. The higher the pH, the more % of your NH4 concentration transforms. And NH3 is bad.

Now you also need to be on guard. You're reading ammonia, but no nitrites and no nitrates. That 99% means that your N-Cycle just started. The next step will most likely be nitrites, which you also want to look out for and counter with water changes.

 

Hey,

water changes, a lot.

So let's say your pH is 7.5.
I would start changing water as soon as ammonia hits 1.5 ppm, at latest when it hits 2.

The simple explanation is, the NH4 you measure is not very dangerous to your fish. However, part of it transforms to NH3. The higher the pH, the more % of your NH4 concentration transforms. And NH3 is bad.

Now you also need to be on guard. You're reading ammonia, but no nitrites and no nitrates. That 99% means that your N-Cycle just started. The next step will most likely be nitrites, which you also want to look out for and counter with water changes.

Can I use tetra safe start I’ve been seeing a lot of positive reviews with it. But I also seen a lot of ppl saying don’t use it with prime cause it fails to make a Colony. I already have prime in my tank tho, do I wait a certain amount of time then use tetra safe start? Or am I completely screwed on using tetra safe start. If anyone knows can I have a detailed breakdown of how to use them.

 

Hey,

you can try it, it might help, it might not.
Just wait 3-4 hours after dosing Prime and you should be good to go.

Can you get your hands on the Microbe-Lift products? I found Special Blend and Nite-Out II to have the best performance ... that comes with a price though. Literally.

Only topped (or equaled) by Amtra Clean Procult ... but those are rare to get and I'm not even sure if they exist outside of EU.

 

Hey,

you can try it, it might help, it might not.
Just wait 3-4 hours after dosing Prime and you should be good to go.

Can you get your hands on the Microbe-Lift products? I found Special Blend and Nite-Out II to have the best performance ... that comes with a price though. Literally.

Only topped (or equaled) by Amtra Clean Procult ... but those are rare to get and I'm not even sure if they exist outside of EU.

What does the special blend and note out 2 do? Is it the same concept as the tetra safe start?

 

Or let those floaters absorb the nitrogens and get back to work.
Just a crazy thought, I know.

 

Or let those floaters absorb the nitrogens and get back to work.
Just a crazy thought, I know.

I’m just scared my nitrogen cycle is crashing
Do you think I’ll be okay?

 

It's a lot more complex than this. Plants make it complex. The more complex your tank, the more resilient it becomes. This is the main premise of biodiversity.

Plants take in NH4 and give off H+ in return, thereby lowering the pH, which favors other "cycling bacteria" than those favored by your tap water. The ammonia concentration in your tank is lower (due to the plants) than in your tap water (otherwise you would not have a 2 ppm reading), which favors different "cycling bacteria" also.

Your 3 gourami's give off 0.01 ppm ammonia per day at most.

When you get some feeling of the complexity, you come to a point where you give up and let nature take care of itself. Pretty much all issues in tanks are caused by human interventions.

Make sure dissolved oxygen levels are up, feed your fish sparsely the first month, and try to enjoy the tank.

 

It's a lot more complex than this. Plants make it complex. The more complex your tank, the more resilient it becomes. This is the main premise in biodiversity.

Plants take in NH4 and give off H+ in return, thereby lowering the pH, which favors other "cycling bacteria" than those favored by your tap water. The ammonia concentration in your tank is lower than in your tap water (otherwise you would not have a 2 ppm reading), which favors different "cycle bacteria" also.

When you get some feeling of the complexity, you come to a point where you give up and let nature take care of itself. Pretty much all issues in tanks are caused by human interventions.

Make sure dissolved oxygen levels are up, feed your fish sparsely the first month, and try to enjoy the tank.

So really all ur saying is continue as normal and do daily water changes and don’t touch/add anything else? I just really hope I have bacteria at all tbh.

 

If you worry, take a bucket, add your source water, add 2 floaters, give the floaters light and let them soak in the ammonia. Then use the ammonia depleted water for water changes.

Also, plants compete with bacteria over ammonia. This makes perfectly sense, but it has also been studied (some studies seem useless ).

So what if you only have 7000 nitrogen oxidizing bacteria at the moment?

I'd worry more about the genetics of your fish and the high temperatures of your water.

+++++

Also, our hobby is about probability management. You can also focus on the nitrogen cycle and apply chemicals and do your measurements. That's fine also.

Follow Zer0Fame's advice.

Choose whatever makes you feel most comfortable.

 

Hey,

as you see, in our hobby there usually is no right or wrong way (well if you don't go to the extremes).

Ruud's way will work, my way probably, too.

All we can offer is our personal experiences.

 

Native freshwater fish of Hawaii are fascinating creatures.

http://www.nanfa.org/ac/native-stream-fishes-hawaii.pdf

You are lucky to live in such a place. The native freshwater gobies are intelligent, advanced creatures. They climb rocks. Probably make plans and think about their future too.

 

Hey guys it’s been a couple days ik, buttttt I’ve made my first break through and I'm genuinely happy to see results ).
I’ve also pick up a new filter it’s a Fulval aqua clear. The old filter media doesn’t fit in the new filter but I’ve done my research and just decided to leave the old media floating in the tank for a week so the new filter has time to build new BB. Hopefully it works
Left tube: Yesterday's ammonia test
Right tube: Todays ammonia test
I will be testing for nitrites soon will keep this updated

 

Can you leave both filters running at the same time ? Or cut up the old media so it does fit ?

 

Can you leave both filters running at the same time ? Or cut up the old media so it does fit ?

I heard you shouldn’t cut it up idk why something about stuff coming out of what Evers in it? Idk lol. But I could leave both running sure but only problem is that lid won’t fit if I do so. Am I doing something wrong with leaving the old media in the tank floating?

 

Your seeding method is working and your cycle has started to work. Ammonia going from green to yellow.

So now you have to look at nitrites and keep the nitrites below the toxic level by changing water to dilute as needed. Your fish will begin to be poisoned at around 2 ppm nitrite. So dilute accordingly.

You got this!
YOU are the fish keeper. We are only your passing guides.

Ancient Chinese proverb: 'If you want to know what is up ahead, ask the people coming the other way'.

Fish-in cycling is very simple and not dangerous to fish. Just involves some water tests and some buckets.

 

I heard you shouldn’t cut it up idk why something about stuff coming out of what Evers in it?

Not sure where you’ve heard that but I guess it depends on the media . If it’s a simple sponge then no , you are fine to do this. If it has carbon inside then you can cut and discard the carbon and still use the fabric/ sponge part.

Am I doing something wrong with leaving the old media in the tank floating?

No , not necessarily. It works better if the media has flow through it but having said that I take an old sponge and squeeze all the gunk into any new tanks , messy for a little while But it works !

great news on the lowering ammonia ! You’re well on the way now

 

Is that Anubias you have planted? I'm not great with plants but if that's Anubias and it has what's called a rhizome which is a firm base/stem that everything grows from, that rhizome needs to be above the substrate. The roots are just anchors so they can and will attach to something, but if the rhizome is covered the plant will rot. That goes for any Rhizome plant (google them so you know what you're looking at). Others will be able to help you better because like I said, I'm not great. I've killed my fair share of plants and when I got my first Anubias I didn't know to keep it above the substrate and of course it rotted and died. Also, you might get some melting. Leaves just melt away. That's fine, don't panic, they're just adjusting to the tank. You should get new growth. Really hope this helps! It looks like everything is going well!

 

Hey guys been a while, but I’ve got a huge update and I’m so happy with the final product(s). My ammonia and nitrites are finally 0, I gave away my gouramis they were way too aggressive towards each other. I’ve gotten some hand me down filter media and have 2 tanks re stocked with fish.

First tank is the same 10g tank now stocked with 1 Giant betta and 3 kuhli louches.

second tank is a 5.5g stocked with 3 white cloud minnows and a baby betta.

I’m trying to get my hands on 1 mystery snail for each tank or some sort of fish poop eating pet (open to suggestions and objections).

On some final notes and thoughts I really hope my baby betta gets pretty colors like my giant, he’s gotten so big over a couple days.
My giant betta looks like it has a little bit of purple and I’ve heard that’s super rare or something like that but he looks great regardless.
alright that’s all for now

 

Hey guys been a while, but I’ve got a huge update and I’m so happy with the final product(s). My ammonia and nitrites are finally 0, I gave away my gouramis they were way too aggressive towards each other. I’ve gotten some hand me down filter media and have 2 tanks re stocked with fish.

First tank is the same 10g tank now stocked with 1 Giant betta and 3 kuhli louches.

second tank is a 5.5g stocked with 3 white cloud minnows and a baby betta.

I’m trying to get my hands on 1 mystery snail for each tank or some sort of fish poop eating pet (open to suggestions and objections).

On some final notes and thoughts I really hope my baby betta gets pretty colors like my giant, he’s gotten so big over a couple days.
My giant betta looks like it has a little bit of purple and I’ve heard that’s super rare or something like that but he looks great regardless.
alright that’s all for now

it's so pretty!

 

Hey guys been a while, but I’ve got a huge update and I’m so happy with the final product(s). My ammonia and nitrites are finally 0, I gave away my gouramis they were way too aggressive towards each other. I’ve gotten some hand me down filter media and have 2 tanks re stocked with fish.

First tank is the same 10g tank now stocked with 1 Giant betta and 3 kuhli louches.

second tank is a 5.5g stocked with 3 white cloud minnows and a baby betta.

I’m trying to get my hands on 1 mystery snail for each tank or some sort of fish poop eating pet (open to suggestions and objections).

On some final notes and thoughts I really hope my baby betta gets pretty colors like my giant, he’s gotten so big over a couple days.
My giant betta looks like it has a little bit of purple and I’ve heard that’s super rare or something like that but he looks great regardless.
alright that’s all for now

What a beautiful boy your Betta is! Your tanks look really nice.