New to Aquariums- First Setup Feedback

okay, apparently we can't PM each other till you have a certain # of posts.. :/ darn! oh well!

 

okay, apparently we can't PM each other till you have a certain # of posts.. :/ darn! oh well!

OH.... well that explains why I couldn't find the button! I guess I'll keep posting then

Good, I don't feel bad about changing most of the water then, it seemed to help calm the fish down after the initial freakout of changing the water and my ammonia dropped down to nothing

 

OH.... well that explains why I couldn't find the button! I guess I'll keep posting then

Good, I don't feel bad about changing most of the water then, it seemed to help calm the fish down after the initial freakout of changing the water and my ammonia dropped down to nothing

haha, I know- I went and looked and I was like "um, where is the PM button?" then I realized oh yeah you have to have a certain # of posts (can't remember the #) and yes LOL keep posting, that's what I did lol almost to 200 which is just crazy lol! One way I got my post count up was to go to the picture section and comment on all the photos lol, probably a weird idea but that's what I did lol!

My danios were acting strange when I first got them too, they were swimming in weird patterns all over the tank and it took them a while but I think they were just stressed, and I just did a 50% water change on friday and they seemed to calm down more too so maybe they do better with that? Idk though. are you still going to get Zebra danios (that's what I have, they are so cute!)

 

haha, I know- I went and looked and I was like "um, where is the PM button?" then I realized oh yeah you have to have a certain # of posts (can't remember the #) and yes LOL keep posting, that's what I did lol almost to 200 which is just crazy lol! One way I got my post count up was to go to the picture section and comment on all the photos lol, probably a weird idea but that's what I did lol!

My danios were acting strange when I first got them too, they were swimming in weird patterns all over the tank and it took them a while but I think they were just stressed, and I just did a 50% water change on friday and they seemed to calm down more too so maybe they do better with that? Idk though. are you still going to get Zebra danios (that's what I have, they are so cute!)

Yes, actual fish are to come in the future I just got the red minnows to cycle the tank with TSS per Mamajin's input on just using ammonia hehe

 

Yes, actual fish are to come in the future I just got the red minnows to cycle the tank with TSS per Mamajin's input on just using ammonia hehe

awesome!! can't wait to hear about it once you do, I was so excited about my tank, that I could barely wait to get the actual fish lol! I am SO impatient lol!

 

awesome!! can't wait to hear about it once you do, I was so excited about my tank, that I could barely wait to get the actual fish lol! I am SO impatient lol!

I am impatient too, I think that is why I chose to do TSS with fish. It took me a month to get all the supplies and then e were moving. So had to wait till we got the new place ect.

 

okay, apparently we can't PM each other till you have a certain # of posts.. :/ darn! oh well!

Once a member has 50 posts, PMing becomes available.

 

It actually does not take that long. I got fifty in a day or two by asking questions kind of like your doing and responding back.

 

Once a member has 50 posts, PMing becomes available.

okay that's what I thought- and panzerkiller13, just totally disregard the fact that I send you a vistor message saying you had to have either 50 or 25 posts before you can PM people.. I so didn't see your reply till just now, jdhef lol!

 

Once a member has 50 posts, PMing becomes available.

At this rate I'll pass that in no more than a day!

One more class, then it's back to the fish tank for me

New Question: What about food? I'm feeding the minnows with the tetramin flake sample I got with my kit and will use the marineland flakes once I run out, but I want to get some GOOD food and variety too. Any suggestions?

 

New Question: What about food? I'm feeding the minnows with the tetramin flake sample I got with my kit and will use the marineland flakes once I run out, but I want to get some GOOD food and variety too. Any suggestions?

New Life Spectrum. Hands down one of the best brands you could feed your fish. Learning about the nutritional needs of your fish and how to read the labels of fish food is great knowledge to have. Grab a drink and something to snack on, there's lots to read here; (blue links are the Index!)

Brine Shrimp is a natural laxative, can prevent Bloating (constipation), and is very nutritious for your aqua babies. Most LFS have this in their frozen fridge. Feed a little bit of Brine Shrimp once a week (no other food on that day, just this).

I use a few drops of GarlicGuard and 1 or 2 drops VitaChem on flake food every day.

Depending on your fish, some like blanched veggies as treats also. Google this to find out what kind of veggies your particular fish like to eat and how to prepare them properly.

 

New Life Spectrum. Hands down one of the best brands you could feed your fish. Learning about the nutritional needs of your fish and how to read the labels of fish food is great knowledge to have. Grab a drink and something to snack on, there's lots to read here; (blue links are the Index!)

Brine Shrimp is a natural laxative, can prevent Bloating (constipation), and is very nutritious for your aqua babies. Most LFS have this in their frozen fridge. Feed a little bit of Brine Shrimp once a week (no other food on that day, just this).

I use a few drops of GarlicGuard and 1 or 2 drops VitaChem on flake food every day.

Depending on your fish, some like blanched veggies as treats also. Google this to find out what kind of veggies your particular fish like to eat and how to prepare them properly.

At Finatics the owner of the store introduced me to a new brand of fish food(I think it's new) It's called NorthFin and it has the same stuff as NLS, and costs a lot less. I got that instead, he said NLS is overrated and that he's getting rid of it from his stores because he doesn't want to rip people off

 

That's cool if it has the same ingredients, but I'm sure he buys NLS wholesale. Which means he can either charge a lot, or charge the same as other competitive brands. Nothing wrong with a high end product charging more.

 

New Life Spectrum. Hands down one of the best brands you could feed your fish. Learning about the nutritional needs of your fish and how to read the labels of fish food is great knowledge to have. Grab a drink and something to snack on, there's lots to read here; (blue links are the Index!)

Brine Shrimp is a natural laxative, can prevent Bloating (constipation), and is very nutritious for your aqua babies. Most LFS have this in their frozen fridge. Feed a little bit of Brine Shrimp once a week (no other food on that day, just this).

I use a few drops of GarlicGuard and 1 or 2 drops VitaChem on flake food every day.

Depending on your fish, some like blanched veggies as treats also. Google this to find out what kind of veggies your particular fish like to eat and how to prepare them properly.

I didn't know this either.. that's pretty cool about the brine shrimp! and the other types of food to feed them. I feed mine Tetraflakes and my cichlids get cichlid flakes and also aqueon cichlid pellets (mini) but have never seen that article before, will have to read that. I sometimes give my fish brine shrimp crushed some (since they are too big for both my cichlids and my danios)

 

That was a lot of information. I read all of it though I'm pleasantly surprised that a comapany went to THAT much of an extent to educate their customers and consumers! Now I just need to figure out if anywhere around here carries this branc. Which food would you recommend? I'm assuming the small fish pellets would be the way to go?

I also need to have some secondaries I can rotate in to make the NLS or other good food last a little longer since it seems pretty pricey, and if this food can only be ordered online it'll take a while to get more, etc. What other foods should I consider that I could find easier locally or somewhere like Petsmart/Petco? Are the Tetra, Marineland, or even some store brands worth considering? Should I ALWAYS try to opt for pellets instead of flakes?

What about brine shrimp/ bloodworm/insert-name-hereworms? I know I need to HAVE some to feet the fish, but is there much of a difference between frozen and freeze dried? Or even live?

 

That was a lot of information. I read all of it though I'm pleasantly surprised that a comapany went to THAT much of an extent to educate their customers and consumers! Now I just need to figure out if anywhere around here carries this branc. Which food would you recommend? I'm assuming the small fish pellets would be the way to go?

Small pellets for small fish.

I also need to have some secondaries I can rotate in to make the NLS or other good food last a little longer

Not necessary. I bought a 3 oz jar 6 months ago. I still have half a jar, and this jar has been used to feed 2 main tanks and the quarantine tank. Cheap fish food has a lot of fillers and little nutrients. High end fish food like NLS contains little fillers and a ton of nutrients. Due to this fact, you do not need to feed as much of the NLS as you would if you fed (example) Tetra food. Less fillers mean less fish poop because the fish are taking in all of the nutrients and only pooping out the fillers. Cheap fish food means more poop because you're feeding more of it. Trust me, NLS will last you a very long time. Just remember not to feed too much of it.

What other foods should I consider that I could find easier locally or somewhere like Petsmart/Petco? Are the Tetra, Marineland, or even some store brands worth considering? Should I ALWAYS try to opt for pellets instead of flakes?

If you go to a mom and pop type of fish place you will more than likely find NLS as it's quite popular. Omega fish food is good also, but in my tanks it caused a lot of oily residue on the top of the water column. This is only my personal experience with Omega, so it may or may not be the same for other aquarists. Weather you get pellets or flakes will depend on your fish and what they're willing to eat. Some fish don't care how the food is prepared, they just wanna eat! Others are a bit more picky so you'll need to experiment.

What about brine shrimp/ bloodworm/insert-name-hereworms? I know I need to HAVE some to feet the fish, but is there much of a difference between frozen and freeze dried? Or even live?

Frozen is the way to go according to my research. There have been quite a few reports of people having an allergic reaction to freeze dried bloodworms, so that is also something to consider. With live food you run the risk of nasties (google this).

Offer them either NLS (remember this has a natural parasitic), or Omega. Frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms (both come in cubed frozen form. Cubes are MUCH easier to deal with than a solid frozen sheet of goo that you have to hammer to break up into pieces). HikarI and San Francisco Bay are a few of the good brands. There is also veggies which I mentioned in a previous post. That's three or four things you can give them, and don't forget the GarlicGuard and VitaChem!

 

didn't know any of this either.. I am going to get some NLS also when I can- glad I read that post too!

 

Small pellets for small fish.



Not necessary. I bought a 3 oz jar 6 months ago. I still have half a jar, and this jar has been used to feed 2 main tanks and the quarantine tank. Cheap fish food has a lot of fillers and little nutrients. High end fish food like NLS contains little fillers and a ton of nutrients. Due to this fact, you do not need to feed as much of the NLS as you would if you fed (example) Tetra food. Less fillers mean less fish poop because the fish are taking in all of the nutrients and only pooping out the fillers. Cheap fish food means more poop because you're feeding more of it. Trust me, NLS will last you a very long time. Just remember not to feed too much of it.



If you go to a mom and pop type of fish place you will more than likely find NLS as it's quite popular. Omega fish food is good also, but in my tanks it caused a lot of oily residue on the top of the water column. This is only my personal experience with Omega, so it may or may not be the same for other aquarists. Weather you get pellets or flakes will depend on your fish and what they're willing to eat. Some fish don't care how the food is prepared, they just wanna eat! Others are a bit more picky so you'll need to experiment.



Frozen is the way to go according to my research. There have been quite a few reports of people having an allergic reaction to freeze dried bloodworms, so that is also something to consider. With live food you run the risk of nasties (google this).

Offer them either NLS (remember this has a natural parasitic), or Omega. Frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms (both come in cubed frozen form. Cubes are MUCH easier to deal with than a solid frozen sheet of goo that you have to hammer to break up into pieces). HikarI and San Francisco Bay are a few of the good brands. There is also veggies which I mentioned in a previous post. That's three or four things you can give them, and don't forget the GarlicGuard and VitaChem!

I'll stop by the shop here tomorrow and see what they have! If the prices are okay I'll get some, if it doesn't justify waiting a few days to get some shipped to me, I can wait. It'll be a few weeks/days before I can safely add fish anyway I did read up on the live food, and yeah you're right, it doesn't seem worth the risk if you can get mostly the same effect with frozen food! Is that effect still present if I bought the eggs and raised them myself though? You should seriously open your OWN fish store with all that you have piled away in your mind I really appreciate your and everyone else's help here a LOT! I'd be dead in the water without you guys hehe

Adding TSS now

 

Should I consider getting a python? I see a lot of talk about them, but I don't really know if that would be worth it. If it is, does the brand really make a difference?

 

Should I consider getting a python? I see a lot of talk about them, but I don't really know if that would be worth it. If it is, does the brand really make a difference?

I don't have one, actually never heard of one (I know I guess I am weird lol). I might actually get one too- that sounds pretty cool- I just use a gravel vacuum and a bucket and do it that way, about once a week or so, but that can be a pain because water gets everywhere, so I need to look into the python too.. I thought you were talking about a snake for a second haha!

 

I love my python, so much I bought one for my friends. I wouldn't go back to my five gallon bucket water changes, climbing the step stool to pour into my 65 gallon.

20 gallon tank , well I'd suppose it's not as needed , two five gallon buckets is a 50% water change, plus you'll be using a gravel vac attached to the bucket I imagine? So one or two more trips there....yah, go buy a python lol.

Anyway if you do, I'm using the aqueon brand. It works great, just wish it was made of better materials..feels like cheap plastic looking for an excuse to break, so I'm real careful not to over tighten or pull on the hose if it's attached.

 

I love my python, so much I bought one for my friends. I wouldn't go back to my five gallon bucket water changes, climbing the step stool to pour into my 65 gallon.

20 gallon tank , well I'd suppose it's not as needed , two five gallon buckets is a 50% water change, plus you'll be using a gravel vac attached to the bucket I imagine? So one or two more trips there....yah, go buy a python lol.

Anyway if you do, I'm using the aqueon brand. It works great, just wish it was made of better materials..feels like cheap plastic looking for an excuse to break, so I'm real careful not to over tighten or pull on the hose if it's attached.

Yeah I kinda figured that out after having to swap out my water a few times the tub is only 6 or 7 feet away from my aquarium in my dorm, but that's definitely not always going to be the case and I can see it getting old fast. The biggest problem I'm having now is actually refilling though, the stand in shower has a head and water pressure and the sink isn't much more than a regular sink, not to mention that using measuring cups and pyrex bowls doesn't really move a lot of water in the first place xD I'll go check them out at petco now! I'm still in the hunt for some NLS food in town anyway lol

 

Good news! Petco DOES have NLS food! It's just a bit on the expensive side: 10 dollars for the 140g (5oz) container. I'm gonna just wait and order some off of ebay, I can get a 10oz container shipped for 15 dollars

 

If for some reason you cannot get your hands on a Python or similar vac... you can purchase an inexpensive water pump (any LFS or online) and some vinyl tubing from Lowe's/Home Depot. Dunk the pump in the bucket of water and the other end of the tube in the tank and plug that sucker in. That's how I'm currently doing it... patiently waiting for X-Mas (25FT Python is on my list.. Santa best not forget me cuz I been good!)

 

First test numbers coming today, just got my test kit in the mail, I'll post them once I can use it after class

New questions!
Will I need the KH/GH test kit in addition to the master test kit? Or is that of any concern at this point?

Can I add some more water to my tank while it is cycling? I've had a decent amount evaporate over the weekend and want my silent filters back ^_^

 

For just a general community tank, no you do not not need a KH/GH test. If you're keeping some really finicky fish then it might be a good idea, but tbh I don't have these kits and I have like 35 tanks going right now, so...

And yes, you can top off your tank while you are cycling. Use your dechlorinator.

 

For just a general community tank, no you do not not need a KH/GH test. If you're keeping some really finicky fish then it might be a good idea, but tbh I don't have these kits and I have like 35 tanks going right now, so...

And yes, you can top off your tank while you are cycling. Use your dechlorinator.

35?? Are you insane in the membrane? How do you keep up with the maintenance? Are you a breeder?

 

I don't want to hijack Panzerkiller's thread, but I have a fishroom and some tanks in my house as well, the link is in my signature if you want to see the crazy... I can answer any questions in my own thread.

 

First readings!


Ammonia is kinda high, but I still don't have any nitrite or nitrate. Is this normal after about 4 days with TSS in the tank?

 

. Today I have nitrate and a still high-ish ammonia level, but still no nitrite. Is that bad?

 

First test numbers coming today, just got my test kit in the mail, I'll post them once I can use it after class

New questions!
Will I need the KH/GH test kit in addition to the master test kit? Or is that of any concern at this point?

Can I add some more water to my tank while it is cycling? I've had a decent amount evaporate over the weekend and want my silent filters back ^_^

You only need to test for Ammmonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. A pH kit is nice to have but it's not something you'll generally use a lot. During the cycling process you do want to test pH as you want to keep it above 7 ppm. The KH and GH kits aren't really necessary for a community type of tank.

Try not to go test crazy with the kits hehe. Only test every few days, or if the fish are acting odd (stress related behavior).

Since you are using TSS, no. Do not add any new water. Dechlorinator will kill the TSS cycle. As long as you haven't lost 20% or more of the water due to evaporation, you should be OK to squeek by without topping off until the 14 days are up.

 

I skimmed through the thread and did not see that the OP was using TSS.

I get that one is not supposed to do water changes while using TSS (which is one reason why I wouldn't cycle anything this way), but not doing top offs? Any info on how dechlorinator kills TSS? If it is in fact the same bacteria that we depend upon to colonize our biological filter, does it not stand to reason that dechlorinated top off water shouldn't have any effect on it? If the bacteria in our tanks were that affected by dechlorinated tap water, should we not re-cycle with every water change?

 

I skimmed through the thread and did not see that the OP was using TSS.

I get that one is not supposed to do water changes while using TSS (which is one reason why I wouldn't cycle anything this way), but not doing top offs? Any info on how dechlorinator kills TSS? If it is in fact the same bacteria that we depend upon to colonize our biological filter, does it not stand to reason that dechlorinated top off water shouldn't have any effect on it? If the bacteria in our tanks were that affected by dechlorinated tap water, should we not re-cycle with every water change?

Theres litterally hundreds of posts here on the forums from varying people saying you must wait 24 hours after adding dechlorinator before you add TSS, otherwise it renders the product useless. That's one of the basic instructions for the product.

 

I've been around here since 2009 and have seen many of them. But I have yet to hear any explanation on how this works, if the bacteria in this product are indeed the same as what is in our tanks, then it makes absolutely no sense. I've seen it repeated hundreds of times, but haven't seen much actual information other than "the company said so". Forgive my curiosity/skepticism, I'd have done massive water changes already if I had a 2 PPM ammonia reading.

 

If I would have to guess.....it would have to do that the bacteria is free floating. It is not attached to your filter. It is hungry and probably weaker at first so chemical changes could kill it. For all instances declorinator is a chemical. In established tanks the bacteria is built up and heathier ........ that is just a guess

 

This is not the same as an established cycle where you can safely use dechlorinator. If you want to know exactly how it works, you would need to ask Dr TI'm (those people over on the Tetra Q&A forums seem useless at best). I'm sure there is more in the bottle than just bacteria, and I would guess those ingredients are what makes it work in 14 days. Whatever the reason, they make it pretty clear not to use dechlorinator with TSS. After the 14 day period you can, and in fact should do a water change with a dechlorinator added.

 

Well I DID add water, but I didn't add any dechlorinator because the water I added came from a jug of purified water. That should be okay, right?

I haven't changed the water either because I thought I wasn't supposed to with TSS and didn't want to ruin my cycle, and I thought that maybe the ammonia reading was high because some people said it's the NH4 or whatever is actually IN the bottle of TSS will spike your readings into the danger zone but won't harm fish.

 

If the bacteria is free floating, it shouldn't be for 14 days, and if it's hungry, there should be plenty of ammonia from the fish to feed it.

Perhaps if used with a smaller fish load, ammonia wouldn't get up to 2 PPM? Maybe then it's designed for a smaller fish load. Who knows. There are more predictable ways of cycling that don't involve not doing a water change with high ammonia.

At any rate, this is just a thread hijack now and it's neither here nor there. Apologies for the hijack but I won't be recommending the product.

 

Well I DID add water, but I didn't add any dechlorinator because the water I added came from a jug of purified water. That should be okay, right?

I haven't changed the water either because I thought I wasn't supposed to with TSS and didn't want to ruin my cycle, and I thought that maybe the ammonia reading was high because some people said it's the NH4 or whatever is actually IN the bottle of TSS will spike your readings into the danger zone but won't harm fish.

You should be ok with that bottled water since you didn't use it for a large water change, but I would not make a habbit of using it. I can't remember which of the bottled water types you can or cannot use.


This is one of the reasons why most here had gotten into the habbit of suggesting to not test the water parameters during the 14 day period. Those parameters are going to be all over the place. Visually watch your fish for signs of stress or ammonia poisoning.. this would be a great time to open up Google and do a bit of research on your own so that you'll know what the visual signs are.

 

They aren't always obvious, especially if you're new.