Fish-in Cycling Help!

[Manic Fury]

I am relatively new to this hobby and have gone through a long learning process with my buddy, Pontus (fancy fintail goldfish).

Some of you may have seen my past threads about Pontus, but if you haven't, you can go can go back to see the hell I went through to get Pontus to his happy, healthy state that he's in.

(Just want to say, to those of you who have helped me, I really really appreciate everything you have done to make sure I have a healthy fish. You guys are awesome people and are what makes this site the place that it is now!)



Now, to the point of this thread



I just received a 10 gallon aquarium today from Petsmart. (Picture included)

Here's what I got:

-Tetra 10 gallon tank w/hood and light
-Tetra EX 45 Power Filter (I decided to get the big one because I can use this one in my 30 gallon. Plus, there's no such thing as too much filter! )
-A few decorations
-Melafix
-Medium sized airstone
-Air pump

Is there anything else that I need? Is there anything that I shouldn't include?

I didn't get any gravel because I couldn't find any that looked appealing or that were in my price range. Should I be using gravel in the very beginning, or can it wait until I find some that I am willing to buy?

I'm going to rinse out the tank and decorations and fill my tank up and get everything going for a 24 hour leak test. I'm going to test my pH and ammonia levels in my regular tap water tonight. And tomorrow after the leak test I will test again to get my true pH and ammonia content to know where my true pH and Ammo are at so I know how to dose my dechlorinator.

Since I am doing a fish-in cycle, is there anything that I need to do before I add my fish to the tank?

I'm very excited to get my friend out of his "shanty house" 3 gallon tank and into his "studio apartment" 10 gallon tank.

But I don't want to rush it, I want to be absolutely prepared for anything/everything that can potentially get thrown my way.

 

[aquandrew]

I am relatively new to this hobby and have gone through a long learning process with my buddy, Pontus (fancy fintail goldfish).

Some of you may have seen my past threads about Pontus, but if you haven't, you can go can go back to see the hell I went through to get Pontus to his happy, healthy state that he's in.

(Just want to say, to those of you who have helped me, I really really appreciate everything you have done to make sure I have a healthy fish. You guys are awesome people and are what makes this site the place that it is now!)



Now, to the point of this thread



I just received a 10 gallon aquarium today from Petsmart. (Picture included)

Here's what I got:

-Tetra 10 gallon tank w/hood and light
-Tetra EX 45 Power Filter (I decided to get the big one because I can use this one in my 30 gallon. Plus, there's no such thing as too much filter! )
-A few decorations
-Melafix
-Medium sized airstone
-Air pump

Is there anything else that I need? Is there anything that I shouldn't include?

I didn't get any gravel because I couldn't find any that looked appealing or that were in my price range. Should I be using gravel in the very beginning, or can it wait until I find some that I am willing to buy?

I'm going to rinse out the tank and decorations and fill my tank up and get everything going for a 24 hour leak test. I'm going to test my pH and ammonia levels in my regular tap water tonight. And tomorrow after the leak test I will test again to get my true pH and ammonia content to know where my true pH and Ammo are at so I know how to dose my dechlorinator.

Since I am doing a fish-in cycle, is there anything that I need to do before I add my fish to the tank?

I'm very excited to get my friend out of his "shanty house" 3 gallon tank and into his "studio apartment" 10 gallon tank.

But I don't want to rush it, I want to be absolutely prepared for anything/everything that can potentially get thrown my way.

glad to hear about the new tank again looks good to me, though your going to want to get a sponge to put over the intake on the filter. any goldfish with long fins can easily get sucked in and it will damage their fins.

 

[Manic Fury]

glad to hear about the new tank again looks good to me, though your going to want to get a sponge to put over the intake on the filter. any goldfish with long fins can easily get sucked in and it will damage their fins.

What kind of sponge would I need to get?

 

[aquandrew]

What kind of sponge would I need to get?

i just use aquaclear foam, they have it at petco/petsmart and most other lfs. here is what it looks like http://www.aquacave.com/AquaClear-5...n-P1661.aspx?gclid=CIeq37efzboCFc2h4Aod5XIAnw

 

[Manic Fury]

I tested my tap water for pH and ammonia and these are the results:

pH-7.4
Ammonia-0 ppm

I filled a cup with water and I'm going to let it sit overnight and test again.

I'll post again tomorrow!

 

[Manic Fury]

i just use aquaclear foam, they have it at petco/petsmart and most other lfs. here is what it looks like AquaClear 50 (200) Foam Cartridges 1/pack by Hagen - AquaCave.com

So the foam goes around the intake of the filter? Do I need to get this right away before I put my golfish in? The problem is I live 30 mins away from the nearest Petsmart/Petco. Are there any household items I can use that would be safe?

 

[aquandrew]

So the foam goes around the intake of the filter? Do I need to get this right away before I put my golfish in? The problem is I live 30 mins away from the nearest Petsmart/Petco. Are there any household items I can use that would be safe?

you can get some panty hose and a rubber band for now, though i am personally not a fan of that look lol. i would put something around it asap, better safe than sorry

 

[Manic Fury]

you can get some panty hose and a rubber band for now, though i am personally not a fan of that look lol

I might have to do that until I can get the sponge things. Thanks for the info!

 

[Rivercats]

A healthy goldfish won't need any cover over the intake. But that tank I hope is not going to be the GF permanent home as it is not suitable size wise. Also be sure none of the holes in those decorations are big enough for the GF to get stuck in. They tend to get themselves into places they can't get out of.

 

[Manic Fury]

A healthy goldfish won't need any cover over the intake. But that tank I hope is not going to be the GF permanent home as it is not suitable size wise. Also be sure none of the holes in those decorations are big enough for the GF to get stuck in. They tend to get themselves into places they can't get out of.

It won't be. I have a 30 gallon tank that I can't set up right now due to school reasons. He was in a 3 gallon tank. That's why I got a 10 gallon. Just to keep him healthy until I can get him in.

 

[frank98284]

Ok so now that i am on the right tread you can put the filter media for the 3 to the 10 Test the water on a regular basis do regular water changes goldfish produce a lot of waste so keep an eye on the ammo level also has your prime arrived yet. The API test kit is good but can give you some false readings because it gets old but I have not had that issue myself but others have posted
also when you test for nitrate you use two bottles in the instructions it tells you to shake the #2 bottle for I believe 30 seconds well we have found that that is not long enough i would shake for at least a minute and a half if not two minutes.

 

[Manic Fury]

Ok so now that i am on the right tread you can put the filter media for the 3 to the 10 Test the water on a regular basis do regular water changes goldfish produce a lot of waste so keep an eye on the ammo level also has your prime arrived yet. The API test kit is good but can give you some false readings because it gets old but I have not had that issue myself but others have posted
also when you test for nitrate you use two bottles in the instructions it tells you to shake the #2 bottle for I believe 30 seconds well we have found that that is not long enough i would shake for at least a minute and a half if not two minutes.

Thanks for moving!

I will set up the filter with the old media soon after I am done with classes.

I'm going to add my airstone to the tank as well.

Then my goldie will be added to his nice big(ish) tank!

I'm excited!

After I add him I will post a picture and also do a water test and post those results here.

 

[Manic Fury]

Okay! So I added the filter media from his old tank to the new tank and got that going.

I tested the water quality. Here's the results:

pH-8.2
Ammonia-0 ppm
Nitrite-0 ppm
Nitrate-0 ppm

I also tested the pH for the tank that he's in right now and it's 8.2 as well.

So I think that's the go ahead to add him to his tank.

Here we go!



I'll post pictures later of the tank with him in.

 

[frank98284]

Good we can not wait to see him

 

[Manic Fury]

And he's in!



He seems to like it already. He's been swimming around and checking out his new home. I posted some pictures for everyone to see.

Is there anything else I need to do tonight?

I'm going to check his water quality tomorrow morning to see if anything has changed. I don't thin it will.

Also, is his 8.2 pH a big problem? Should I start trying to lower it slightly over time because I've read that goldfish can sustain and be healthy in anywhere between 7.2-8.2. Is that correct.

Anyways, let me know what you think!

 

[frank98284]

I think you are ok at 8.2 IMO as long as it does not get any higher did you test it twice and had to use the high range test ???

 

[rmiller]

As long as it is steady it should be fine. Fluctuation in pH will cause you more problems that too high or too low.

 

[Manic Fury]

Checked his pH again today and it's still at 8.2. I think I'm okay there. I've been testing Ammonia and Nitrite daily since I put him in.

Yesterday:
Ammonia-.25
Nitrite- 0 ppm

Today:
Ammonia- .50
Nitrite- 0 ppm

Ammonia is slowly rising. When should I do a PWC? Now or once it goes up to around 1 ppm?

 

[rmiller]

You'll want to keep it at .25 to keep Pontus safe. Go ahead and do 50% water change. and check it again tomorrow.

 

[Rivercats]

All you have to remember is anytime your Ammonia or Nitrite gets above .25ppm you need to do a WC. You never want either above .25ppm. Then daily testing and your good.