Newb Tank Setup Questions

[solarsnowfall]

Hello. I've just setup a 25 gallon tank (going for as big as my budget would allow). I relied primarily on the pet store people to get me started as I was not aware this site existed yet. She was very helpful and seemed quite knowledgeable, but she was also very busy and often distracted by demanding customers. This is why I think I made it out of the store with just about everything to get started except water dechlorinator.

So I setup my tank, add water, gravel, fake plants, two rocks and a piece of drift wood. I thuroughly rinsed all of the decorations, and boiled the wood for an hour before leaving it to sit in water over night (to make sure it wouldn't discolor). I added a pouch of Bio-Spira and let the tank sit with filters running for 24 hours. On the second day I realized that I needed to dechlorinate my water since it came from the tap. I do so, and let the tank sit for another day.

My question is, would dumping he Bio-Spira into regular tap water have killed the bacterea?

Here are my test readings:

pH: 7.2
Ammonia: 0-0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: ~10 ppm

Additional note: The water has a very faint sulfury smell.

 

[mike47517]

i dont know but welcome to the sight.

 

[bluerose]

Are you testing with strips?

It looks like your bacteria are doing *some*thing as you have nitrates but I am not inclined to think so because you didn't mention adding an ammonia source.

 

[verucaproduce]

Chlorine can kill the bacteria in your water which is why you should always add declor even when rinsing out your filter media.

Some may have survived depending on your water source.

 

[solarsnowfall]

Are you testing with strips?

No, I've got a liquid dropper test kit.

Chlorine can kill the bacteria in your water which is why you should always add declor even when rinsing out your filter media.

Some may have survived depending on your water source.

Then I suppose, as a precautionary measure, it wouldn't hurt to suppliment with more bacteria at this point?

 

[bluerose]

If you're willing to wait and continue with your fishless cycle (what I'm assuming you're doing) you don't need to add more- you can if you wish.

Your bacteria however will die without an ammonia source (raw shrimp/prawns, straight ammonia without surfactants, even fish food will do).

 

[diogenes]

My question is, would dumping he Bio-Spira into regular tap water have killed the bacterea?

yes.

 

[Sahabo]

Welcome to AA!

"bio-spira contains the actual living bacteria responsible for nitrification in an established tank." In other words, you are adding beneficial bacteria to your tank to cycle it. Unless there are fish in your tank already, you'll need to start adding an ammonia source to keep the cycling process going and so the good bacteria don't die of starvation. Are there fish in your tank? Was the bio-spira you purchased properly stored in a refrigerator at the pet store and at your home? If not, it probably won't work.

It would be a great idea to do some research on the nitrogen cycle and on fishless cycling.

 

[cmcmullen]

with oue 55gal we just put some $0.25 feeder gold fish to start the cycle. it worked good now the fish are in the neighbors pnd doing wonderful

 

[cmcmullen]

is doing a partial water change nessesary? I know a couple of People that never change the water and their tank is going good. mine is starting to cloud up some. we just added some more fish a few days ago.

 

[cmcmullen]

oops i thought i was in a different room

 

[JohnPaul]

You need to get some fish in there. Pronto. As someone else mentioned, Bio-Spira contains live bacteria. If it was a good batch, then you will have a complete "cycle" within 24 hours. However, if you don't have an ammonia source, all those good bacteria will die and you'll be back at square one, as if you had never added Bio-Spira at all.

In general, with Bio-Spira you add that plus your fish to the tank at the same time. I'm worried that, 24 hours later, your bacteria are already dying. If you don't know exactly what fish you want to put in the tank yet, then add pure ammonia (as if you were doing a fishless cycle).

Of course, all of this could be a moot point if your tap water has sufficient levels of chlorine or chloramine, in which case the bacteria would have likely been killed anyways. The good news is that often ambient levels of chlorine are low enough that you won't wipe your bacteria; it varies from location to location. Still, getting a water dechlorinator is the way to go. I highly recommend Seachem's Prime, which removes both chlorine and chloramine, as well as detoxifies ammonia, nitrite, and heavy metals.

If you don't mind the expense of buying another batch of Bio-Spira, then what I would recommend would be to go to the store and buy a small bottle of Prime, another dose of Bio-Spira, and a few (3-4) small fish. Come home, and...

1. Add the dechlor to the tank, stir it up a bit.
2. Add the packet of Bio-Spira.
3. Add the fish.

Of course, when I say "add the fish" I mean float the bag for ~ 20 minutes to let the temp equilibrate, then open the bag and slowly add some tank water to the water in the bag, then finally net out the fish into your tank. Never dump pet store bag water into your aquarium--all kinds of nasty stuff can get in your tank that way.

Good luck.

 

[DallasFish]

x2 what John Paul said.