I'm a bit out of my league....

[Dogfish]

I set up a 90 gallon tank three months ago, and I'm a little out of my league....

I was told to start out with 6 fish and added 6 more every three weeks. Now I have 1 plecostomus, and a handful of gouramis, swordtails, tiger barbs, clown loaches and a couple mollies. I think we have a total of 18-20 fish in there now....

Anyway, I was originally lead to believe that this was no more involved than "Get tank, fill with water, gravel, places to hide and fish. Set up filter, heater and air supply and throw some food in on occaision. Drink a beer.". Well, I was wrong....

The water is a bit cloudy (white) and I've been doing a LITTLE studying, but I still don't know enough to be dangerous.... I'm thinking I should probably start doing weekly water changes of 20-25%, but, other than that, I'm clueless (I've done ONE 25% water change, as I was told to start doing them MONTHLY, but no more frequently. I'm thinking this was a little off the mark, as far as frequency???). People have suggested adding salt??? What's up with that? I originally filled the tank with softwater, from the tap, and that's it. Won't salt kill my fish???

I know that I have to mind my ammonia and nitrate levels, but I don't have a clue what is considered "good", let alone, how the heck to measure them or what to do to change them...

Anything you guys can advise me on would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

PS: This set up was given to me by my mom as she quit using it a number of years ago. She can't recall how she kept her water so clear, but I remember it being crystal, all the time...

 

[thatlouguy]

Hi:

I don't know if this would help but if you want something to read while you wait for a reply from some of the generous and very knowledgeable people on this site, you can read the threads with my screen name in the freshwater - general discussion and this forum. I was basically in the same place you are now a week ago and these folks have been great. Maybe you could use some of the great advice they've given me. Good Luck!

 

[loganj]

You need to get some test kits. Ammonia, nitrite, pH, and nitrate. I'm going to guess that your tank, given the amount of time it has been set up, has cycled already. You may have some lingering ammonia/nitrite due to the last batch of fish that were added though. Your levels should be as follows:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
pH- 7.0-7.6 should be good for the fish you listed
Nitrate-less than 30
25% water changes monthly is acceptable...I prefer to do a slightly smaller change every two weeks, but that is personal preference.
I don't use salt in my FW tanks, but again, that is personal preference. Some FW fish are intolerant of salt while some seem to thrive with small additions of salt. Whatever you do, don't use table salt. Use FW aquarium salt or pure (no additives) rock salt. You might want to check out the "articles" link on the home page. There are some very informative articles in there that would help you out.

 

[brendan]

Salt won't kill your fish, you may think this strange, but the amount that you'll be adding isn't anywhere near the amount that salt water aquariums have. For some fish it's benifitial that they have salt. You can buy it at you LFS and directions are usually given as for how much to add.

However, before you add the salt do some research on what fish need salt and which don't. I now know that guppies need salt, but Neon Tetras shouldn't have it (although in keeping these two species together and adding salt I haven't noticed the tetras minding it).

HTH

 

[Dogfish]

Thanks a lot for all the advice.... I really appreciate it. I have a few more questions.

Is Nitrate and Nitrite the same thing?

When you say my tank "has cycled", what does that mean? Are there different stages in a cycle? Is it a good thing for a tank to cycle? Is there anything I need to do before, during, after or to instigate a cycle???

What changes amonia and nitrate levels? Water changes, I'm guessing?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[Fruitbat]

Dogfish....

Read the article on the Nitrogen Cycle in the link below and take it to heart. Understanding the relationship between Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates is one of the most important things an aquarist can do.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21

 

[deli_conker]

When you add fish to a tank they start putting ammonia into the water. Food that doesn't get eaten will add ammonia to the water as it decomposes.

The bad news is ammonia isn't good for the fish. If it gets too high then they will suffer from it and maybe even die.

The good news at that as the ammonia levels get higher, bacteria will grow that eat the ammonia. The ammonia levels will then start to drop.

More bad news. The byproduct of these little ammonia bacteria is something called nitrites (kinda like nitric acid, me thinks). Too much nitrite will also be harmful for the fish...

More good news. A different type of bacteria then start to grow. They like to eat nitrites. The byproduct of this exchange is nitrate.

Too many nitrates is bad for your fish. But live plants or water changes keep this in check. When you get to the point where you are seeing nitrate readings, that means that you have enough bacteria to eat the ammonia and the nitrites and your tank has successfully gone through the nitrogen "cycle".

After this, you just want to be careful about disturbing your "biological" filter (the bacteria). Disturbing the gravel is one way to kill them off. When I vacuum my gravel (coral in my case), I only do a small section so as not to disturb them that much. I do a different section next time.

You'll see that everybody does it a little differently as far as how they maintain thier bacteria, but as long as your water parameters are good then you must be doing something right...

Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
pH- 7.0-7.6 should be good for the fish you listed
Nitrate-less than 30

Those are what you want to see. I personally keep my nitrates down a lot lower, but I do a 10% water change once a week (plus I have different fish with different needs). I use the "old" water to water my house plants. Like I said, plants eat nitrates.

There are a lot of good articles on this site as well as many others. Try this one for starters...

http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

Good luck and keep us posted...

 

[Dogfish]

Thanks again everyone. I feel a lot better about it now....

How long does it take a new tank to cycle for the first time? And will this take care of the slightly clouded water, once it's done?

 

[BrianNY]

Cloudy water can be caused by a lot of things. Might be a bacterial bloom which is common. 90 gal is a good size tank. What kind of filter do you have, and what media are you filtering with? Was it always cloudy? Did it suddenly appear, or was it a gradual thing?

BTW, if your tank has been set up for 3 months it's probably cycled. It usually takes a week but will vary on how many fish you add and when. It's a balanced environment and every changes the balance.

 

[Dogfish]

I guess I don't really know if it's always been slightly cloudy. As you look through the tank front to back, it's not noticable. If you look through it lengthwise (close to 3.5 feet or so), it appears to be cloudy. I've done one 25% water change (last week) and I thought at the time that the cloudiness decreased a bit... It appears to be back to how it was prior to the water change now.

Am I being too picky, or can a tank be crystal clear no matter the amount of water you are looking through?

As far as a filter goes, it's a Magnum 350 upright canister filter. I was told to put Ammo-Carb activated carbon and ammonia resin (or somethign like that) in it.... Is that what you mean by "what media I'm filtering through"?

The more I learn the more I'm thinking I need to just be patient until I eventually get the # of fish in the tank I want, and let it cycle itself to a nice balance.... Start doing weekly water changes of 10-15% and call it good. Oh yeah, monitor my ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels as well as PH....

Thanks again, you guys are very helpful!!!

 

[oscarbreeder]

You may want to try running another filter with the one you already have.(like a hang on back filter)
You never can have to much filtration.
That may help in clearing up your cloudy water.
Also you can try diatomaceous earth in your magnum 350 that will polish your water and make it crystal clear.
HTH

 

[AJ]

If you are having cloudy water then you need to do probably daily water changes for a little while to get the water looking clear. Adding another filter is a good idea - you can get a little quickfilters which attach to powerheads at the pet store and they filter out particles down to 1 micron. I personally do weekly water changes all the time, no matter what. You can also buy chemicals which I have heard can work good to get rid of cloudy water, but you'll see majority people around here despise chemicals.

You'll find once everything gets established, then you'll be drinking your beer and paying little attention but for the first while a tank will need some of your time because there is always something going wrong it will seem to you.

As for salt.....I wouldn't bother with the fish you have in there, the only ones that truly like salt are mollies. The only time I have used it is in disease situations.

AJ

 

[deli_conker]

How often do you change the ammo-carb? If you do it fairly often then your tank may not have cycled...

The ammo part of it eats ammonia. If there is no ammonia in the water, then the bacteria that use it as food will not grow. Without those bacteria your tank won't complete the nitrogen cycle.

If you haven't already, get that test kit and let us know what the results are.

Just so you know going into it, most test kits will just give you a ballpark idea of what the water parameters are. Sometimes the colors they use to differentiate different levels of whatever you are testing for are very simular. You'll have to use your best judgement as to what the actual results are.

I use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Freshwater Test Kit. It has ammonia, nitrite, normal and high range ph, and general hardness tests. I had to buy the nitrate test seperately though. Total cost for all was about $35.

 

[BrianNY]

IMO every tank should be crystal clear. OK, I think I see a prob. Yes, dogfish that's what I meant by filter media. Cannister filters should be cleaned on a monthly basis and that particular media changed. It sounds to me that you've got a bacterial bloom caused by your ammo carb, which has probably been there since you set up the tank. If I'm correct, the solution is simple.

Replace the carbon. rinse or replace the filter sponges. Use tank water when rinsing anything in your filter as this will not kill off the nitrifying bacteria which keeps your tank cycled.

 

[Deitta]

I wish I knew about this site in my begining! All I had was books! The two best were Aquariums for Dummies. (I know, I know... the title. But really it covers all the basic info and terms that some aquaium people take for granted.) The second was my favorite because it was a little more practical than trying to do everything JUST right. The Simple Guide to Freswater Aquariums by Boruchowitz. I found both at Borders Books. Grab a book, grab a latte, grab some time. My favortie way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
At least you were told about slowly stocking your fish! I was sent home with every thing and every one.... no small wonder all my fish died within a week! thus the tag...