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New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/2/2008 8:58:05 AM
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First off thanks a ton for the help, for some reason I didn't apply my knowledge of Bestbuy employees to the petstore realm...
I wish i could take pictures...but you were right I am without fish. So a few questions before I begin said 4 week cycling.
Should I clean everything out and get all the algae out and everything then refill, dechlorine, and start my 4 weeks?
What is the best way of reducing the algae situation?
Assuming my tank size, what is the appropriate number of 3-4 inch fish? How often should I do said 25-50% changes? Will the chlorine from that new water be toxic even if I immediately treat it? How often do I need to change the things in my filter (fluval 305), there are 6 compartments and I have it half charcoal bags and half these white porous tube thingies, and then the 4 spongie filter things on the side. I basically have 2 sets of everything and when I was cleaning out the tank I was rinsing those off and setting them out to dry (the aforementioned pet store guy said if they could completely dry out there was no need to keep buying new stuff). And finally, for now, how often should is reasonable for testing the chemical balance of the tank?
I will heed your words and keep you updated, thanks a ton.
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New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/5/2008 9:11:26 PM
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| First off, hi! You need a new fish store, or be armed with your own info before buying a thing! Never ever rinse your biological filtration (generally some sort of foam, pads, balls, whatever) in tap water. When this gets dirty, rinse it in the water you are removing from the tank, and immediately replace it in the filter. Don't let it dry out, or you will remove a good portion of your "good" bacteria. I wouldn't recommend doing a 100% water change...although it seems as if you are at the beginning of the cycle and it may not make much of a difference right now. Don't buy any fish right now. You should be doing water changes weekly, of 25-50%. I tend to do 30-50% once a week. Always use a declorinator, and don't try to adjust your ph. Most fish you will be interested in will adapt to your water a lot easier than to have your ph go up and down on them, stability is the key. I'm no expert on Cichlids, so I won't try to answer that question about stocking. As for algae, is your tank in sunlight? That tends to bring out the algae. Live plants will help with algae, but most Cichlids see that as something to destroy. A small algae eater may be your friend here, but again, Cichlids are aggressive, and may kill something small. You might just want to get an algae scraper, and manually remove it. Before buying any fish, you definitely need to cycle your tank. There are a lot of good articles on this forum about that, but basically you need a test kit and some form of ammonia or fish food. Your good bacteria needs to be able to control the ammonia, which is why you are having problems with your tank. Good luck!!
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Starting Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/22/2008 5:35:01 AM
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I don't know about the algae,never worried about it because I had fish that needed it and controled it for me. As for testing, I test twice a wk during cycling and then once a wk after,I also keep a written log so I can see if there any spikes or drops in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate or ph. I know testing can be a pain,but if you set a day for it and follow it, then it becomes second nature. I also test if I notice anything strange with the fish.A good set of test kits is not that expensive and the cost more than pays for itself on the money saved on lost fish.Like most of us you eventually end up with more tanks,more fish and testing can save fish and monet in the long run which means you have more to spend on other things:cool:.Just take your time, and be patient and things will fall into place.Loosing fish can be hard on a fishkeeper....stressed fish means sick fish means dead fish means stressed fishkeeper,not a happy cycle.Read books,magazines and the posts here, you will be a better and happier fishkeeper for it.We can't say you will not loose any more fish, but will be a heck of a lot less than you have been,besides, live fish are prettier and more fun to watch;)
Shakespere says...to be or not to be?Fish hobbiests say....To buy or not to buy! 
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Senior Member
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Last Login: 2 days ago @ 7:24:35 AM
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Like most, your pet store employee has the right information for the wrong business. Letting your filter media fully dry out kills off most bacteria. The thing is, you don't want to kill your bacteria, because your bacteria are helpful.
You don't need the charcoal and it won't last long anyway. I dump it, and maybe add more of the ceramic things, also known as "biomedia." These are what hold all your beneficial bacteria.
They were also correct that ammonia is bad, but incorrect in the way to get rid of it. You don't need chemicals, and you don't need filter inserts. Cycling your tank properly will take care of that.
When you are cycling your tank, you are growing populations of bacteria to take the ammonia that your fish produce as waste and process it into a less dangerous form. During the 4-6 weeks of cycling, you will first grow the bacteria that take the ammonia and convert it to nitrites, which are still dangerous to your fish. After that, you will start growing the bacteria that take the nitrite and convert it to nitrates. A healthy, normal aquarium should show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-20ppm nitrate or so.
If I read right, you don't currently have any more fish in the tank, correct? If so, you want to do fishless cycling, which you can do a few different ways. I would recommend searching the forum for the articles and topics on fishless cycling and the nitrogen cycle. The advantage of this is that you may cycle slightly faster, since you don't have to change the water, you don't stress or kill any fish during the cycling process, and you don't necessarily have to be testing every day.
Once your tank is properly cycled and stocked, your maintenance should consist of weekly water changes of about 25%, and you should test your water every week before changing it.
I wouldn't necessarily boycott your pet store because of the lack of knowledge there, unless you find another one around you that is crazy better. I would, however, let a manager know of your concerns and always make sure you do your own research on a topic or product before using it. There is a lot of misinformation out there, and many other stores won't have any more knowledge than this one.
20 gallon long
Lionhead - Kiko
Calico Lionhead - Little Bean
29 gallon
Fantail - Oliver
Black Moor - Damian
Calico Ryukin - Serafina
2.5 gallon
male betta - Pirate
10 gallon planted
minnow, betta, guppy
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New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 11/2/2008 8:58:05 AM
Posts: 9,
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| Before I start this one final question. Should I start the cycling process with my tank as is, or should i completely break it down and clean it all out to get any bad stuff out?
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New Member
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 10/5/2008 9:11:26 PM
Posts: 34,
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| Before I start this one final question. Should I start the cycling process with my tank as is, or should i completely break it down and clean it all out to get any bad stuff out? |
At this point it doesn't matter, you will have to start the cycle either way. If you feel better cleaning it, then do so. Just remember to dechlorinate the water you add, and no soap to clean. I have a few scrubbies and things for cleaning that I use no where else, so there are no chemicals or soaps. You can use a vinegar and water mix to clean, just make sure you rinse VERY well!
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