Deacon211
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Good day all,
This is my first post here, though I've certainly combed through the site in my "fire brigade" attempt to start up a Baby Biorb (4 Gal).
I chose the Biorb because i have a very small condo and limited room. I, of course, made the common mistake of believing everything the nice (and sometimes not so nice) employees down at the Petsmart told me.
So, off I went home with a couple of Guppies and several Tetras.
After finding two of my Tetras down in the filter, the others went back before they suffered the same ignominious fate. I replaced them with two more Guppies, male.
It was the chasing around the tank that brought me here, but luckily, the free for all finally settled down after they decided who was who.
It was when exchanging fish that the "water scientist" told me: "Wow, your Ammonia level is pretty high". This, was my introduction to aquarium chemistry...
So, I went home, immediately cleaned the tank and changed 90% of the water. I then set about changing my filter cartridge (bad), adding another sachet of the Biofilter growth packet, and got myself a proper test kit.
The change was too late for one of my guppies which made me mad at both myself and the fish pushers, several of whom I consulted and NONE of whom even hinted at this stuff. Another of my original Guppies tends to the top of the tank. I'm afraid this is due to gill burn. He seems to be hanging in there, but I don't think the experience was easy on him.
As it stands now, I seem to be in a semi-stable state. Despite some monumental screw ups, my Ammonia is near zero, but my Nitrites are pretty high and my PH is a little elevated (7.5...just got the test kit last night). I changed 50% of the water with purified H2O, to temporarily bring down the levels, and am hoping that the tank has finally cycled.
From where I stand, I seem to have four questions:
1. Am I now fully stocked with three Guppies?
2. Does it sound like the tank has truly cycled and thus, should the Nitrite levels begin to come down?
3. Am I doing any harm by weekly changing out such a large percentage of the water? I understand that most of the bacteria lives in the rocks and filter.
4. I occasionally head out of town and have tried leaving one of those plaster fish feeders behind. Upon returning, the feeder does have some holes in it but both my most colorful fish (orange) looked very pale. Of course, with so many things going on in the tank, who knows what caused it. What food in general do you feed Guppies? Will flakes do? How do you feed them when you are away?
OK, that's more than four questions really. But I'd appreciate your help if you have any advice.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Deacon
This is my first post here, though I've certainly combed through the site in my "fire brigade" attempt to start up a Baby Biorb (4 Gal).
I chose the Biorb because i have a very small condo and limited room. I, of course, made the common mistake of believing everything the nice (and sometimes not so nice) employees down at the Petsmart told me.
So, off I went home with a couple of Guppies and several Tetras.
After finding two of my Tetras down in the filter, the others went back before they suffered the same ignominious fate. I replaced them with two more Guppies, male.
It was the chasing around the tank that brought me here, but luckily, the free for all finally settled down after they decided who was who.
It was when exchanging fish that the "water scientist" told me: "Wow, your Ammonia level is pretty high". This, was my introduction to aquarium chemistry...
So, I went home, immediately cleaned the tank and changed 90% of the water. I then set about changing my filter cartridge (bad), adding another sachet of the Biofilter growth packet, and got myself a proper test kit.
The change was too late for one of my guppies which made me mad at both myself and the fish pushers, several of whom I consulted and NONE of whom even hinted at this stuff. Another of my original Guppies tends to the top of the tank. I'm afraid this is due to gill burn. He seems to be hanging in there, but I don't think the experience was easy on him.
As it stands now, I seem to be in a semi-stable state. Despite some monumental screw ups, my Ammonia is near zero, but my Nitrites are pretty high and my PH is a little elevated (7.5...just got the test kit last night). I changed 50% of the water with purified H2O, to temporarily bring down the levels, and am hoping that the tank has finally cycled.
From where I stand, I seem to have four questions:
1. Am I now fully stocked with three Guppies?
2. Does it sound like the tank has truly cycled and thus, should the Nitrite levels begin to come down?
3. Am I doing any harm by weekly changing out such a large percentage of the water? I understand that most of the bacteria lives in the rocks and filter.
4. I occasionally head out of town and have tried leaving one of those plaster fish feeders behind. Upon returning, the feeder does have some holes in it but both my most colorful fish (orange) looked very pale. Of course, with so many things going on in the tank, who knows what caused it. What food in general do you feed Guppies? Will flakes do? How do you feed them when you are away?
OK, that's more than four questions really. But I'd appreciate your help if you have any advice.
Thanks in advance!
Cheers,
Deacon