Struggling with tss....

I'm having a couple of problems with tss...well I think I am lol...I set up two 35l tanks one on Tuesday the other on Wednesday,
So tss and a couple of fish and a snail went in the first tank on Wednesday....and the same with the second tank on Thursday....am I expecting too much to get a reading of any description?
I just tested both tanks 0 ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates...now I'm not daft I'm not expecting the tanks to be cycled (although it would be good if they were lol) .....have I tested too soon or has something gone wrong...

 

Just watch the fish for signs of stress. TSS is supposed to be added with the fish and then you leave the tank alone for a week and half. Its hard to LOL I've just used it in my tank, granted my tank was seeded and the TSS was just help out... I've been resisting to urge to even test, even though my tank was established, and all I did was move everything over when I upgraded

Anyway, I think you're fine. Just keep an eye on everyone. If the need should arise to do something, then we can address it

 

Thank you the other small problem I might have is the tanks are the arcadia pod?? tanks with the acrylic lids...I'm getting loads of evaporation...can I top up the water? The fish could be left swimming in a couple of inches of water by the time two weeks have passed lol!!

 

Yes you can add more water. What water conditioner do you use? If it's prime, using too much can slow down the cycle so don't over dose.

 

Thank you its tetra aqua safe that I use now ....I'll top up both tanks later today....hadn't thought about evaporation when I bought the tanks but its terrible lol!!

 

you cannot use prime with TSS ....it will starve the bacateria...tetra aqua safe is more usable with it , but adding anything to the tanks after TSS was added, is taking of risk of failure before the 10-14 days are up...did you also buy a bottle of TSS for each tank? you cannot share a bottle as there's no way to tell how much bacteria goes in each tank .....

 

The reason it is suggested to do nothing to your tank once you have added TSS and the fish is because doing anything to it can cause the TSS to fail to cycle. Testing the water can give you some really wacky readings and cause you to do things like water changes that will most definitely cause the TSS cycle to fail. It is recommended by most that use TSS to cycle to do nothing for 10 to 14 days except feed the fish and enjoy watching them.

Now in your case of needing to top off the tank this is what I would do. I would draw water up in a bucket and hold it for 24 hours and only treat it with a water conditioner that only removes chlorine & chloramines. If you could aerate the water while you are holding it for 24 hours the chlorine would be removed naturally and the pH will stabilize at its true level. That water would be much safer to use than just topping the tank off with tap water.

You definitely don’t want to use any product like Prime or Amquel+ because the detoxified ammonia and nitrites will not feed the bacteria as well and might cause the cycle to fail completely.

 

The reason it is suggested to do nothing to your tank once you have added TSS and the fish is because doing anything to it can cause the TSS to fail to cycle. Testing the water can give you some really wacky readings and cause you to do things like water changes that will most definitely cause the TSS cycle to fail. It is recommended by most that use TSS to cycle to do nothing for 10 to 14 days except feed the fish and enjoy watching them.

Now in your case of needing to top off the tank this is what I would do. I would draw water up in a bucket and hold it for 24 hours and only treat it with a water conditioner that only removes chlorine & chloramines. If you could aerate the water while you are holding it for 24 hours the chlorine would be removed naturally and the pH will stabilize at its true level. That water would be much safer to use than just topping the tank off with tap water.

You definitely don’t want to use any product like Prime or Amquel+ because the detoxified ammonia and nitrites will not feed the bacteria as well and might cause the cycle to fail completely.

So if I just use an airstone for 24 hours in a bucket of water I won't need to use any water treatment at all??

 

Not unless you have chloramines. Those are a bit harder to get out.

 

How would I know if I have?

 

You should be able to call your utility company that you get your water from. Should be public information.

 

Ahhh thank you

 

Right have just rung my local water company and been assured that they do not add anything to the water and it does not contain chloramine...so will the airstone do it do you think?? I really don't want to risk putting anything in the fresh water and risk the tss failing

 

Yeah airstone will should work. There is going to be chlorine in your water, unless it's well water. Bowcrazy's method that he posted above should work good for you.

 

Good its only to top up the tank until the tss (hopefully) works its magic...we are getting so much evaporation I would be worried for the little fishies if I couldn't top it up lol...they would be swimming in a couple of inches after two weeks!!

 

That's a lot of evaporation. Do you have a lid on the tank?

 

I may be exaggerating slightly lol it has an acrylic cover like a nano tank cover so therefore lots of space for evaporation unfortunately...didn't think about that when I bought it...we've lost about an inch in the last week!!
These tanks won't last long we are going to upgrade to one large tank as all the fish I have will go together in a community tank anyway...

 

Depending on relative humidity that may be about right. I live in Florida where it is incredibly humid, and I still have to do 1/2-3/4 inch of water top-off in the 30G if I miss the scheduled water change due to working a weekend.

 

I live in a very dry climate and my 55 gallon loses tons of water.

 

They seem much happier now I've topped up the tank...I'll guage it now and see how much I lose over the next week...