Some Questions After A Bad Start

[torres]

Hello people, its my first post and I will ask some questions that I've been building up after alot searches and tell what happen to me until now with fish keeping.

When buying my first tank, the guy said i had to set everything up then i could add the fish after 2 days...
So i bought some fishes after the second day, and from that time it was a cycle with fish unfortunately, because of bad information from the seller.

Im doing about a 15% water change everyday with Seachem Prime. With 1.5ML as my tank is 60 Litres.
Im doing alot searches and I have seen that Prime will last for about 24 hours in the water, and after that time any ammonia produced by the fish will be harmful .
Im feeding my fish every other day to get my cycle done as fast as it can.
As far as i know, Prime will remove Chlorine and Chloramine and make it a non-toxic Ammonia/Ammonium right?
I've tested my tap water and it have no ammonia, so thats my guess for having ammonia after the water change.
All my fishes look healthy, and eating.
I've done a water change couple hours ago and the results from my water were:
Ammonia : really hard to figure out, it was around 0.50 and 1ppm.
pH: 7.6
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20

So if I keep doing everything that I just said, I will get my cycle done in couple weeks right?
I started this in about 8 days ago.
Please if Im doing something wrong tell me.I see that alot people say that they have lose their fishes because tank wasn't cycled and stuff like that, so Im really happy looking my fishes healthy even when i started wrong.
When i do water changes, my filter gets uncovered from the water for couple of minutes, there is nothing wrong with that isn't it?

I just saw 'SEACHEM STABILITY' when i was looking for bacteria and i ask you: Will it help me to get my cycle done faster?(If it does, can i use it in my water change even with my fish already in the tank?) As i started in the wrong way by getting bad information, i want to do everything to keep all my fishes in a good condition.

Thanks for reading and sorry if it was too long, I accumulated some of my questions, and could not remember all, after start writing I forgot some stuff

 

[reefdiver]

Your on the right track with the water changes. What are you using to test your water? Allways keep your filter media wet. If you have any one else that has a aquarium maybe you can get some media from the to help you cycle. I never have used bacteria in a bottle so I can't help there.

 

[blert]

Welcome to AA! You are doing great.

The Prime will detox the ammonia for about 24 hours.

Bottled bacteria are more of a marketing scam than a helpful tool. They can also harm your efforts as they are usually not the right type of bacteria that you are trying to foster.

If you can find some old filter media from a friend or a LFS that will help greatly.

Keep up with your daily testing and do a PWC to keep ammonia and nitrites under 0.25. Soon your ammonia and nitrites will stay at zero and you will be good to go. Then you can slowly raise your stock if you want.

Rinse your filter media in old tank water. Never use tap water to rinse your filter media. Always keep your filter media wet and don't throw it away every month like the directions say, keep reusing it until it falls apart.

 

[torres]

Your on the right track with the water changes. What are you using to test your water? Allways keep your filter media wet. If you have any one else that has a aquarium maybe you can get some media from the to help you cycle. I never have used bacteria in a bottle so I can't help there.

Thanks for replying!
My test kit is API Master, I see that people say that it can maybe have conflict with Prime giving positive false ammonia reading, as API will give reading for any ammonia find in the water isn't it.
None of my friends have an aquarium so i have to do all on my on and do loads of search =)

 

[blert]

Thanks for replying!
My test kit is API Master, I see that people say that it can maybe have conflict with Prime giving positive false ammonia reading, as API will give reading for any ammonia find in the water isn't it.

Which is a good thing as the ammonia is only detoxed for about 24 hours. You still need to know its there.

 

[torres]

Welcome to AA! You are doing great.

The Prime will detox the ammonia for about 24 hours.

Bottled bacteria are more of a marketing scam than a helpful tool. They can also harm your efforts as they are usually not the right type of bacteria that you are trying to foster.

If you can find some old filter media from a friend or a LFS that will help greatly.

Keep up with your daily testing and do a PWC to keep ammonia and nitrites under 0.25. Soon your ammonia and nitrites will stay at zero and you will be good to go. Then you can slowly raise your stock if you want.

Rinse your filter media in old tank water. Never use tap water to rinse your filter media. Always keep your filter media wet and don't throw it away every month like the directions say, keep reusing it until it falls apart.

x) cool, thanks man.
so i will just forget about bacteria bottle, i dont know anyone that have aquarium too.
i will keep my daily water changes until i get ammonia and nitrites at 0 hopefully it wont take long.
And sure, now i will always leave my filter underwater when i do the water changes and will keep him always

someone has told me to do a 50% water change everyday, isn't that alot?

 

[torres]

Which is a good thing as the ammonia is only detoxed for about 24 hours. You still need to know its there.

yes, hopefully my bacteria will take it all out soon

 

[blert]

cool, thanks man.
so i will just forget about bacteria bottle, i dont know anyone that have aquarium too.
i will keep my daily water changes until i get ammonia and nitrites at 0 hopefully it wont take long.
And sure, now i will always leave my filter underwater when i do the water changes and will keep him always

someone has told me to do a 50% water change everyday, isn't that alot?

50% is largish but it's not a problem. So long as you match the temp to with a couple degrees the fish will be fine. You can do larger water changes without issue also. Remember, if your ammonia is at 1ppm and you do a 50% water change your ammonia will then be at 0.5ppm. If you then do another 50% your ammonia will be at 0.25ppm.

I do a 50% water change once a week. Some people do more, much more.

 

[jlk]

x) cool, thanks man.
so i will just forget about bacteria bottle, i dont know anyone that have aquarium too.
i will keep my daily water changes until i get ammonia and nitrites at 0 hopefully it wont take long.
And sure, now i will always leave my filter underwater when i do the water changes and will keep him always

someone has told me to do a 50% water change everyday, isn't that alot?

50% pwcs is not alot & will be necessary as your tank cycles to keep your fish healhty. Anytime your ammonia or nitrites rise to .25ppm (or higher), you will need to do pwcs to lower these levels. It may take more than one 50% water change to lower your amm//nitrite levels if they are very high. Dont hesitate to ask more questions, we are here to help!

 

[torres]

50% is largish but it's not a problem. So long as you match the temp to with a couple degrees the fish will be fine. You can do larger water changes without issue also. Remember, if your ammonia is at 1ppm and you do a 50% water change your ammonia will then be at 0.5ppm. If you then do another 50% your ammonia will be at 0.25ppm.

I do a 50% water change once a week. Some people do more, much more.

all right, Im going to do a larger change today due I've only done about 20 or 15% the whole week. About the temperature, its always at same or almost same temperature as the tank water, i dont have a thermometer that stay's in the aquarium but one that i use whenever i want so i always check it before changing the water.

 

[jlk]

Sounds good! Temperature matched water (doesnt have to be exact but within a few degrees) is necessary so you dont shock your fish. Make sure you dose water conditioner for your entire tank & not just the amount you are changing. Please keep asking questions & keep us posted!

 

[torres]

50% pwcs is not alot & will be necessary as your tank cycles to keep your fish healhty. Anytime your ammonia or nitrites rise to .25ppm (or higher), you will need to do pwcs to lower these levels. It may take more than one 50% water change to lower your amm//nitrite levels if they are very high. Dont hesitate to ask more questions, we are here to help!

Thanks for replying!
My ammonia was at 4ppm couple days ago, good to know that the higher it is a bigger water change i need to do..
So to make sure im doing everything right, should I test my water before I change it? and after the change test again? how long after the change would you advise me to to check again?

 

[torres]

Sounds good! Temperature matched water (doesnt have to be exact but within a few degrees) is necessary so you dont shock your fish. Make sure you dose water conditioner for your entire tank & not just the amount you are changing. Please keep asking questions & keep us posted!

My water is normally around 24 or 25 degrees, the water that i put in is normally around that too.
I use 1.5 ML from my Prime, I did my maths and thats the right amount i guess because they say: Use 1 capful (5ML) for each 200L (50 gallons) of new water.
I have a 60 Litres tank, its 16 US Gallon and 13 UK Gallon if im not wrong =)

 

[jlk]

Thanks for replying!
My ammonia was at 4ppm couple days ago, good to know that the higher it is a bigger water change i need to do..
So to make sure im doing everything right, should I test my water before I change it? and after the change test again? how long after the change would you advise me to to check again?

4ppm is really high-stay on top of your water changes & dont be afraid to do back-to-back 50% changes to bring these numbers down. Yes, test daily to see where you stand before doing your wcs. For example, if your amm is 1ppm, a 50% wc will only bring it down to .50ppm (still too high). A 2nd wc will bring amm down to .25ppm (better) & a 3rd will bring it to .125ppm (even better). Wait atleast 1/2hr after a wc to test to give your water a chance to circulate around your tank. Fish-in cycling takes alot of patience & alot of water changes but its a necessity for the health of your fish. Keep up the good work!!

 

[torres]

4ppm is really high-stay on top of your water changes & dont be afraid to do back-to-back 50% changes to bring these numbers down. Yes, test daily to see where you stand before doing your wcs. For example, if your amm is 1ppm, a 50% wc will only bring it down to .50ppm (still too high). A 2nd wc will bring amm down to .25ppm (better) & a 3rd will bring it to .125ppm (even better). Wait atleast 1/2hr after a wc to test to give your water a chance to circulate around your tank. Fish-in cycling takes alot of patience & alot of water changes but its a necessity for the health of your fish. Keep up the good work!!

4ppm was getting me worried , Im going to do a big change today as i said and thanks for explaining the best way to do everything
I really dont mind doing the water changes and all, it keeps me busy and it keep the healthy of the fish, its all i want hehe

 

[jlk]

Good luck & keep us posted! Dont hesitate to ask any questions!

 

[librarygirl]

You're doing well.

Test the water before a water change; it'll tell you how much water you have to change out. For example if ammonia is .5, you'd want to do at least a 50% water change to get it down to <.25. If it's 1, you'll want to do 2-3 50% water changes to keep it under <.25. I'm afraid cycling is going to take more than a couple of weeks; more like a couple of months without seeded media from another tank I'm afraid. After the ammonia phase comes the nitrite phase and nitrites are as toxic to fish as ammonia so you'll want to keep up on water changes then too.

Don't be afraid to change out a larger amount of water at a time or do more than one water change per day if your levels are high.

There's a link below in my signature: new tank with fish. It'll guide you through the process.

Also what fish do you have?

 

[torres]

You're doing well.

Test the water before a water change; it'll tell you how much water you have to change out. For example if ammonia is .5, you'd want to do at least a 50% water change to get it down to <.25. If it's 1, you'll want to do 2-3 50% water changes to keep it under <.25. I'm afraid cycling is going to take more than a couple of weeks; more like a couple of months without seeded media from another tank I'm afraid. After the ammonia phase comes the nitrite phase and nitrites are as toxic to fish as ammonia so you'll want to keep up on water changes then too.

Don't be afraid to change out a larger amount of water at a time or do more than one water change per day if your levels are high.

There's a link below in my signature: new tank with fish. It'll guide you through the process.

Also what fish do you have?

So basically what you said was that before i do a water change, i need test the water, if its 1ppm or more than 1ppm im going to do, lets say a 60% water change, after about 2 hours i test the water again, if it still high at 1ppm, should i do another water change the same day? and if its around 0.50 i do one the next day right?
Im already giving a look in the link that you told me.
Thanks for the help too.

 

[librarygirl]

So basically what you said was that before i do a water change, i need test the water, if its 1ppm or more than 1ppm im going to do, lets say a 60% water change, after about 2 hours i test the water again, if it still high at 1ppm, should i do another water change the same day? and if its around 0.50 i do one the next day right?
Im already giving a look in the link that you told me.
Thanks for the help too.

Pretty much yes. The threshold I recommend is .25 so any toxin readings over .25 need a water change(s); depending on how high above .25 it is you may need to do more than one. So just try to keep ammonia (and then nitrite when you get it) under .25; .5 is the highest I'd let it go before doing a water change. Also waiting about 30-45 minutes after a water change is sufficient before testing again; this gives the water enough time to circulate through the filters a few times so you can get an accurate reading.

 

[torres]

Pretty much yes. The threshold I recommend is .25 so any toxin readings over .25 need a water change(s); depending on how high above .25 it is you may need to do more than one. So just try to keep ammonia (and then nitrite when you get it) under .25; .5 is the highest I'd let it go before doing a water change. Also waiting about 30-45 minutes after a water change is sufficient before testing again; this gives the water enough time to circulate through the filters a few times so you can get an accurate reading.

cool thanks.
i forgot to write the fishes that i have in the last post, so here you go:
4 Neon Tetras, 3 Red Eye Tetras, 2 Mollies, 1 Pleco and 1 Bala shark.

Last 2 that i bought were pleco and Bala shark, i went to a new pet shop that have the most beautiful fish in a pet shop i even seen, could not resist to get Bala shark when i saw him, and pleco i think they are cool ;p
Bad thing was that i told the guy in the store that my ammonia was abit high, and he didnt said i could not take any fish while i was already doing fish in cycle.
He did tell me that the pleco was going to get big, because there was a huge pleco, but about the Bala shark, he said they could live alone, and he didnt told me they can get bigger than 15 cm's....
After some search's i saw that bala shark need to be in group of 6 or more.....

Anyway, they are all doing fine, Bala shark looks VERY STRESSED sometimes, at least not only mine, ive seen people saying they are stressed. I did sent an email to the guy to see if i could take him back, but got no answer yet, i think i need to get down there.

When they all get bigger, i will need to give them to someone if i could not get bigger a tank until there.

I had to say everything that happen because in another forum, people were almost killing me about the fishes, and they didnt knew what was happening..