Ooops

[aquafreak]

Hi.

I'm new to the whole aquarium gig so I wondered if someone could answer a few good questions.

1) I used a mild detergent to clean my aquarium pieces, and "rinsed them throughly" before their entry into the aquarium. How high is the risk of killing any fish once they are introduced? I've treated the water with neutralizer/chlorine balancer.

2) It is recommended to wait 6 weeks before adding in 'live' aquatic plants. I've already introduced mine (there are no fish yet). Do I need to remove it or should I let the Nitrogen Process Cycle normally?

3) Now that I have started the tank and it's 2 to 3 week preparation (Nitrogen Cycle), the water is very slightly cloudy. I have added the Right Start Neutralizer, also Stress Zyme, and 1 small live plant. Did I do anything wrong? Will the cloudy water clear itself naturally? Is it a bacterial bloom or a chemical inbalance?

ANY ADVICE IS IMMENSELY APPRECIATED Thanks in advance.

 

[Enki]

What do you have in the tank as a source of ammonia? It sounds like you are trying to cycle fish-less, but to do that you need to add ammonia, either from decomposing food or pure ammonia solution.

here is a good article on the 'cycle' in general. Here is another.

This article is a good one on fish-less cycling

Read, read, read is not always the most welcome advice, but IMHO it is the best. Good Luck and keep us updated

 

[BrianNY]

Detergent and aquariums are a bad mix. What kind of decorations? In the future I would suggest you wash anything like that with non iodized salt.

 

[aquafreak]

Thanks

So, to non-fish Cycle normally, I need to first add in Ammonia, then Stress Zyme, and let the process settle over 3 weeks?

They are (plastic I think) figurines. One is rather large with a cave in the center while the others are smaller. Do you think that I should change the water? Should I replace them or just rinse them again thoroughly?

 

[Guppyman]

Soap

Hi,

If you rinsed them thouroughly before putting them in the tank you will probably be O.K. I generally soak all of my plastic plants in a mild clorox solution, rinse them very well and then soak them overnight in fresh water. After that I air dry everything outdoors. YMMV. - Frank/Guppyman

 

[Enki]

To fishless cycle using ammonia, you need to add a little ammonia every day to simulate having fish in the tank. After a few/several weeks, the bacterial colony will grow to the point where the ammonia is being converted to nitrites and the nitrites to nitrates.

Unless you have an LFS close by that is willing to do a lot of water testing foe you, you will need a test kit. It is a good thing to have anyway IMO.

Do a google search on fishless cycling and you will find a bunch of articles, educating yourself is the key

 

[Calcifer10000]

When I was first starting my tank I got a lot of great advice here, but I didn't seem to have as much trouble or have to spend as much time/money as I got the impression I should've with cycling.

Fish are delicate, but not that delicate! I mean, they're probably one of the oldest lifeforms on the planet and they can adapt to a reasonable degree to a new environment. I cycled my 10 gal tank with 4 zebra danios; the water was cloudy for awhile, then slowly cleared; I did a partial change then I began adding fish Slowly, of course, but it's hard to be patient sometimes . Thus I didn't use a testing kit for nitrogen or anything like that.

It really wasn't a big deal; I didn't go out to buy BioSpira (it's not available where I live anyway), I didn't add dead shirmp or pour ammonia in my water, and the danios were perfectly fine. You don't have to do a live-fish cycle, but I thought it worked great. I have 2 tanks now (I cycled my new 29 gal with a common, unused kitchen scrubbing pad I stuck in with the normal filter of the original tank and after just a day or two had enough bacteria to cycle the new tank immediately!)

I'm not saying that you should be cheap and sacrifice your fish's health, but I also don't think a lot of things are necessary for a healthy tank. My water's pH is higher than normal, and the expensive pH Down medication I got doesn't do anything, and the fish are still fine. I'm not trying to put down kits and medications and such, because I think it's great there are better and safer ways to maintain a tank. I just want to say that if you choose not to go 'high tech,' you can do it and still have a happy tank!

Just as Enki said, look around for more info and you can make judgements based on your tank/fish/monetary needs. Good luck!