Questions about water conditioner and salt for a freshwater tank

Ok, just retested the nitrates. It had a very slight orange tint, but not enough for me to say it was much over 0. And I shook for all I was worth both times (30 seconds and 1 minute). My arm feels like jello lol.

 

Haha, at least you got a good workout today. I'd dose a larger amount of Stability regardless and continue dosing until you're cycled.

 

Yeah, I don't think I'll use my weights today lol. How much of a larger dose? Should I dose for a 40 gallon instead of a 29g, or would that be too much?

 

CindI has mentioned that a larger dose of maybe 1/3 or 1/4 of the bottle every other day would get things going faster. I do agree with her and you definitely can't overdose the stuff so it's worth a shot.

 

I think its a good idea too. I'd use 1/4 of the stability every other day until its gone. This will seed your tank and help it cycle faster.
Just monitor your ammonia and nitrites and nitrates daily.

 

What size of bottle of Stability? I think there were two sizes when I got the one I have now, and I got the smaller size because I only had the 10 gallon at that time. Also, won't switching the 2 platies to the 29 gallon increase the bioload too much (there will be 5 platies altogether)? Or will I be ok as long as I use the Prime and Stability?

 

Yeah you're increasing the bio-load but the tank is much larger and having 5 platies in the 29 gallon is about perfect for cycling. Plus your going to move over the filter from the 10 gallon at the same time which will have growing bacteria on it even though you don't see much happening yet.

The smaller bottle, I would put in half of it today, shake it well. See where things are over the next two to three days and then if you need to do a water change, add in the other half after that. The bacteria find surfaces to adhere to within 48 hours so any bacteria you added should be in the 10 gallon filter padding still.

Feed sparingly, just once a day.

 

How much Stability do you have left in your bottle?

You have a good amount of bioload with the 5 platies to cycle the filters in the 29g. And yes, since you have Prime and Stability you'll be able to cycle and keep the fish safe.

 

The smaller bottle, I would put in half of it today, shake it well.

I only have about 50 mls left of my small bottle. Should I get a new bottle or just use what I have left?

 

Use what you have left and see where the 29 gallon is at in a few days after moving the platies and filter over.

 

Sorry for not giving an update until now. We just move the fish to the 29 gallon today. Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates were all still 0 (nitrates may once again have had a slight orange tint, but not enough for me to say its much over 0). I wanted to get another test in before I moved them. Everybody seems to be doing well, no signs of stress. I added prime and about half of the stability I have left. Any other thoughts? Thank you again for your help and advice. You have been awesome

 

Sounds great so far. I'd just test again tomorrow and get another bottle of Stability to add per Cindi's instructions.

 

I got a new bottle today. I also got more "plants" so they could hide if they needed to, since they were going into a tank with fish that had been there a while. I had read that newcomers can sometimes get picked on. So far so good, but I figured I'd better be on the safe side.

 

Do you ladies know much about internal parasites and how to treat them? One of the platies has really stringy, white poop right now. I've read that it could be caused by stress or internal parasites. I tried to find some threads regarding this, but nothing came up.

 

Hi, I would use PrazI Pro (praziquantel) for parasites made by Hikari. It is gentle and safe for all fresh water fish and inverts. But make sure to remove any carbon if you have any. Do you have a combo filter pad? carbon and floss? If so, just cut a slit in it and dump the carbon out.

 

Its a carbon and floss. We've been looking at the bio balls and sponges to use instead, but we haven't made a decision on that yet. We'll get some PrazI Pro today. I had also read about Seachem's MetroPlex. Are you familiar with it? If so, is it comparable to the PrazI Pro?

Update on the 29g: I couldn't figure out why I was still getting 0's for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Realized today that we got the Aqueon filter that has a cartridge that reduces ammonia levels. Took it out and I'll see how I'm testing tomorrow.

 

I would leave your cartridge in because it will have nitrifying bacteria on it. I have aqueon filters and they don't have anything that directly removes ammonia on them. Just the nitrifyers that grow reduce ammonia levels. Either way, I would leave it in.

Yes I am familiar with MetroPlex but I'd still go with praziquantel over metronidazole. Metro treats protozoan parasites like ich and also anaerobic bacterial diseases. You want prazI pro which will treat internal parasites. If you can't find it then purchase API General Cure which has both praziquantel and metronidazole in it.

 

Thanks for the info on the meds. In regards to the cartridge, the ammonia reducer cartridge is in addition to the carbon filter. Do you still think I should put it in?

 

Oh ok. I don't think it will hurt anything but you can leave it out for now.

 

I wasn't able to get PrazI Pro, but I was able to get the API General Cure. First dose was given last night.

My 29 gallon is still testing 0 for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. As of today, it has been set up for 7 days and tomorrow it will have had fish in it for 7 days. I have been adding the Stability as you suggested, CindiL. Should I be concerned?

 

Depending on how long the carbon cartridge has been in, I would cut a slit and dump the carbon out so it doesn't remove the meds.

No, I wouldn't be concerned as long as ammonia and nitrites are at 0. 5 platies in a 29 gallon just isn't a huge bio-load but if ammonia and nitrites are 0 then the bacteria is doing its job.

 

Sorry. I forgot to mention that we dumped the carbon. Sorry about that

 

Well, I'm finally getting trace amounts of nitrites in the 10g. So relieved! And the 29 gallon is still sitting at 0 for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. I'm still adding the Stability and the last dose of meds was given last night. Tomorrow, I'll do a large water change and add carbon back in the filter.

The waiting is killing me!Lol! We have been discussing what we're going to have as a "showcase" fish. Now that we've decided... Well, let's just say its tough hahaha

 

Update on the 29 gallon. Still no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates. Two nights ago, we did our after- medication water change and put carbon back into the filter. Everyone seems to be happy and healthy. Today, we got a new filter; a Fluval C3. It is running with the Aqueon QuietFlow 20 right now and we plan on having them both run together for about a month to make sure the bacteria gets seeded into the new filter.
The 10 gallon is sitting at ammonia 2ppm, nitrites trace, and nitrates 0. Hopefully it'll decide to cycle soon, but at this point, my priority is the 29 gallon because that's where the fish are.

 

My gut feeling is that you would be seeing ammonia but because you're not you are cycled for this small amount of fish and not enough of a bio-load to increase nitrates at any measurable parameter with the API test.

Its always good to have more than one filter running as a backup so you don't need to remove it unless there is a reason you want to?

 

We were discussing keeping both filters after I posted last night. We will be keeping both filters; we now need to find a hood that has two openings to accommodate them both. I knew I'd talk him around to my way of thinking lol

Do you think I should add more fish? I have a tentative stocking plan that I've been working with a couple of people on the forum on. Mainly TexasDomer, but Catfish12345 has helped, too. Should I choose one of the fish on my list and add them to the tank?

 

If its been a week since you moved them with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites I think you can add more fish. TexasDomer can tell you how many she thinks you should add in at once, just make sure to watch your parameters (which I know you will), use Prime, do water changes if necessary.

You could always just get a versa top-glass hinged lid/top with a plastic piece you can use and cut out the right openings or if you don't have jumpers then just leave the plastic piece off along the back and put your filters wherever you want. Petsmart sells them in the store for most tank sizes.

 

I think a lid is a necessity in this house lol. I have a 3 year old and two cats. I'll check into your suggetion. Thanks

 

Can you post your current stocking and your final stocking plan again?

 

Can you post your current stocking and your final stocking plan again?

Currently 5 platies. Two of them are going to be going back to the 10 gallon once it has finished cycling. Then plan is:
3 platies
10 serpaes
1 dg
pair of apistos (species to be determined)

 

I would add half of the Serpaes next!

 

Excellent, thank you! We'll get the Stability today and get that started. And no water changes until the ammonia and/or nitrites are up to 1. I appreciate all of your advice, el337. You've been a huge help

el337 is a great source of knowledge. He has saved my fish from a horrible death. x

 

el337 is a great source of knowledge. He has saved my fish from a horrible death. x

**She

 

**She

OOPs, so sorry el337 My mistake. No disrespect intended.

 

OOPs, so sorry el337 My mistake. No disrespect intended.

No worries. And thank you.

 

Update: I was cycling my 29 gallon (fish in: 5 platys) and after 3 weeks of having 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 0 nitrates, I added my school of serpae tetras (total of 10, added in 2 groups of 5 about a week apart). After I added the last of the tetras, my ammonia spiked. (I've decided that it just took 3-4 weeks to really start cycling for some reason). Used Stability with no results. Ammonia got up to between 1 and 2 ppm and nitrites were 0 to possibly a trace. So I decided to try the TSS+ and got results almost immediately. I added the TSS+ Saturday morning and when I tested today, ammonia was down to .5 and nitrites were .25. All of the fish are doing well and don't seem stressed. Hopefully, we're making progress.

We decided to completely redo the 10g, since we weren't having any luck getting it cycled. We switched from gravel to sand and changed the decor a bit (we did this Thursday). On Saturday, we added TSS+ and moved 2 of the platys over from the 29g. I haven't tested the water yet but the fish look like they're doing well so far.
CindiL, I still have one of the filter cartridges from the 10 gallon in the 29g. Should I still put it back in the 10's filter in a few days?

 

Whats in the 10 gallon now?

 

Whats in the 10 gallon now?

The 2 original platys. If you recall, you had suggested moving them from the 10 gallon to the 29 gallon because the 10 was being a pain about cycling

 

Oh sorry, I meant for the filter ha ha.

 

Oh sorry, I meant for the filter ha ha.

Lol! Just another of the cartridges that fit the 10. There is enough room to squeeze the one that's in the 29 into the 10's filter (if that makes sense)