Father and Son Noobs

[cactusbbq]

I was reading up on the kit and looking at the numbers. I think amonia, nitrites, and nitrrates could have been zero. Not the ph. It kinda pissed me off becuse right then I knew he was lying. He seemed taken aback when I asked him what they were.

I just hope now the fish will be ok. The shark swims around and then hides in one of the caves and the cory cats are all over the place at times. We keep seeing one that will go into the current of the filter and stop swimming and he shoots down to the bottom. Then he swims upto the top and does it again. I will not say it looks like a fish is playing, Im just saying. LOL

 

[LyndaB]

The manager of all people dips a strip in it for like 2 seconds and says "looks good to me you can get more fish". I asked well what did the numbers look like I woulld like to know? His response was "zero".

yep, this is exactly what we expected.....

 

[cactusbbq]

I didnt expect that from the manager and this place does all kinds of custom tanks and their place is great. JUst totally surprised me.

 

[librarygirl]

Welcome. Lynda is giving you good advice. With fish in an uncycled tank, you'll want to do daily water changes at least until your test kit arrives. Ammonia can build up quickly and hurt the fish. I'd do a minimum of 50% water change daily with the Prime (it makes tap water safe for fish, it doesn't do anything for the cycle) -- make sure you try to match the temp of the tap water as closely to the tank water as you can get it (feel both with your hand).

When the test kit arrives, test your water daily. Any time ammonia and nitrite are over .25, do a water change to get them down. This may mean more than one water change per day. For example, if your ammonia is 1, a 50% will only get it down to .5 which is still toxic, so you'll need to do another 60%+ water change to get it down under .25. This will be going on for some weeks, so be prepared. After ammonia rises and falls, nitrite will start to build, and it'll build fast, so testing and water change are important. Again the process is going to take 3-8 weeks on average.

There's a link in my signature called "new tank with fish;" read it and it'll give you some good info. Good luck.

 

[joy13]

One thing you can do to keep jump start the cycle is to get some used filter media from someone and then use live plants if your lights are good enough. Something low light like java moss, java fern and anubia are easy.

Make sure who you get your filter media from has a healthy tank.

 

[cactusbbq]

Just did a 50% water change and used prime in the bucket that I used to refill. Temp in tank only went up 1 degree. Figure I will do the same thing after work tomorrow.

And I found the mobile app!! Woot Woot!!

 

[steez]

Just remember that those stores need sales..

 

[cactusbbq]

Still rocking water changes. Kit should be here Wed. Then I get to see if it is all helping.

 

[sillygirl423]

Hi! Welcome to AA!!! You're gonna get some great advice from aquarists that have been doing this a long time. The greatest thing is: no matter what you're going thru with your fish, someone here has too and can help. So my advice is follow these guys advice and one thing I didn't see mentioned, don't buy anymore fish until the tank cycles and is established for a little while. Welcome

 

[cactusbbq]

I told my son that. We need to get it fixed and then we can figure out more fish asfter that. I am not too worried about the shark size and stuff for now. In the summer I will be upgrading all my tanks so they will end up in a 55 gallon

Thanks for the welcome. I will be doing another change tonight and that kit should be here soon.

 

[sillygirl423]

Good, its so nice to meet people trying to do the right thing for their fish keep up the good work also for water changes you may want to look into a aqueon water changer. Sure beats buckets!

 

[cactusbbq]

I got a siphon/gravel vacum. I had a python before and loved it. Now I am in an apt. and the kitchen sink has one of those funky hoses as the faucet.

 

[cactusbbq]

Ok
API master test kit. Looks like it is tagged this year. I did a 50% water change last night and the 2 nights previous.
Here's my numbers.
Ph-7.2
Ammonia- it was clear
Nitrite and nitrates at - 0
Is that right? Went by the directions.

 

[cactusbbq]

Water is a little cloudy.

 

[Phranque]

Ok
API master test kit. Looks like it is tagged this year. I did a 50% water change last night and the 2 nights previous.
Here's my numbers.
Ph-7.2
Ammonia- it was clear
Nitrite and nitrates at - 0
Is that right? Went by the directions.

Ammonia test shouldn't be clear... even at zero, it should be yellow (though not as bright as the yellow on the card). With 5 fish being in your tank for a week, you should be seeing at least a light shade of green by now.

 

[cactusbbq]

Two Weeks. I have been doing daily 50% water changes as advised on here. It was clear. Started out yellow, once I shook it according to directions it went to clear.
Should I stop with the water changes over the weekend? Water was still cloudy this morning.

 

[LyndaB]

Cloudy in this case is good. It's a bacterial bloom. Hold off on the water changes today and let's see what kind of readings you get towards the end of day.

 

[cactusbbq]

Thanks for all your help. We are trying real hard.
I will test tonight and let you all know.

 

[cactusbbq]

Ph 7.0/7.2
Ammonia- 0.25
Nitrites and nitrates 0
Still got the cloudy water, but was told it is ok. Bacterial bloom.
I'm figuring I shouldn't do a water change, but if anyone thinks I should let me know and why.
Thanks