good to do pwc while cycling?

[krazymom]

I wasn't sure if it was a good thing to do pwc frequently while cycling. It seems maybe yes??? I made the mistake of adding (16 ) fish already to my 55 gal and it was only 1 week old so I am trying to help the fish out, is that the right thing to do? Maybe adding some water from a friend's tank might help too? The petstore tested my water today and said it looked great (??) , thanks!

 

[jersysman]

It seems that lfs (local fish stores) are always saying that the water looks great. What you need are specific numbers. The specific ammonia in ppm. The specific nitrites in ppm, the specific nitrates (if any) in ppm, anf finally the ph. Kh/Gh are helpful, but not necessary. Krazymom the first thing that I would do is invest in a test kit to test your own water. You will learn how to do this believe me. Right now, until we know the specifics of your water, it will be hard to give any advice. Yes, you will have to do frequent water changes because of the fish in your tank.

You will learn alot about water quality in these next few weeks and hopefully, there will not be any fish losses. But, please, invest in a test kit. Get the Master Kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. It is a very good kit.

 

[Andos99]

16 fish! 8O What kind of fish did you add? Jersysman really summed it up nicely....your tank is in for quite a wild ride for the next few months, a test kit of your own will help you to watch and learn. You're probably going to have to many pwc's as your ammonia and nitrite levels begin to spike to take some of the stress off. Keep us posted.

 

[bzbee]

Frequent PWCs will keep the fish alive, but will likely extend the cycle time. The advantage of fishless cycling is since no fish are exposed to the highly toxic nh3 and no2, you can have high levels of both for more rapid bacteria colony growth. Another option you have is to buy Biospira to cycle your tank. It's really the only thing that works in this kind of situation, but it's going to cost you.

 

[t27countryboy]

Good old local fish stores..Somebody really ought to write a letter in the paper to let everybody know what to expect when starting an aquarium.My local store told me that my water was ok too.But,When I bought my own test kit I found out the truth.My numbers were way off and my ammonia was at toxic levels and my fish probably would have died if it werent for this website.Please do everything that these people here at aquarium advice tell you to do and your fish might make it through this ordeal.You have a rough few weeks ahead.I hope you have a syphon hose because your gonna need it!!Get your test kit and make sure it is aquarium pharmacuticals master test kit.It is the best.Post your numbers as soon as possible and take all the advice here very seriously and your fish will benefit.Good luck!!!

 

[krazymom]

Ok, here are the poor little guys (pray for them)
2 gold loaches (they are so cool and fun to watch)
8 zebra danios
5 neon tetras
1 pleco

I will get that test kit and do frequent PWC.
Will it help to add the bottom water from my friends tank? I know it is a healthy tank. I have one more problem, my friend is moving and wants me to keep her 3 tetras (white with white fins??) in my tank for the next 8-9 months while her house is built. I can't put her tank up but I can use her water and maybe her filter too. My poor fish! She wants to bring them today and is moving Thursday. I know this is adding insult to injury but I don't have a stand for her tank, it was on a counter top and I don't have room and can't put it on the floor as I have tons of children here. Is this fishocide??????

I also have a beta (sparky) in his own 1 gal bowl.

Thanks for the help. I will order that test kit today from the website here.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The best thing to do would be to add her filter to your tank. The water won't help. It doesn't hold bacteria. The filter will speed up your cycle, if not put it to an end. I don't see why you couldn't add the Tetra's to the tank. It is a 55 gal, and you have the room. There's no need to set up her tank if she only has 3 Tetra's.

HTH

 

[krazymom]

Great news, I talked to my friend today to see if she had other options and she is going to put them in a tank at her work instead so I don't have to worry about them. I was feeling really terrible about adding more fish to the tank.

Thanks!!

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The addition of her filter to your tank would be perfect. Can you get her filter?

 

[krazymom]

I think she is going to set up her tank as soon as she moves into her inbetween home cause her tank at work is only 5 gallons with 1 other fish already there. She didn't want to set it up at first but now she has changed her mind. Maybe I'll talk to her again if you think it would be beneficial for my tank to have the filter and OK to have her fish, maybe she will do that. She is staying with her brothers family for the next months and I think space will be tight for them.

I did order that test kit from AquariumGuys.com just now. It is not expensive at all, only 15 bucks. I thought it was going to be way more. I also added bubbles to my tank to help aeration.

 

[krazymom]

Yes, just talked to her and I will pick up her filter and fish tonight. It is a double top filter, should be all full of bacteria. Hope the fish will all be ok. I'm going to do a pwc right now. Maybe I'll try to bring some bottom muck if I can.

 

[Andos99]

Sounds like you are doing everything you can which is awesome....goodluck!

 

[jersysman]

That filter will help out immensely. I wish you had that test kit so that you could test the numbers. Set up her filter as soon as you can. Don't let it try out and use the same filter media that she had in the filter. Do not clean it out. Put it in your tank gunk and all. Good luck!