I am a noob

[Josepi]

Hello,

My name is Joseph, 36 and decided I need to learn some patience. Lol what better way then to impulsively buy a fish tank after going to a restaurant that had one. My daughter wanted a fish so I bought a 20 gallon all in one. It came with the filter and light. I spent some money and bought the quarter inch rock. I bought a whole mess of fake plants and some fake coral. I googled some sites while in line and found out I couldn't put fish in right away so I didn't buy fish for 24 hours. I decided to buy 4 danios' (sp) to help cycle the tank. I also bought a freshwater master test kit some spiruluna fish food and some seed bacteria. I am almost two weeks and my ammonia levels are at .50ppm, my nitrites are at 5.0ppm , my nitrates are at 20ppm with a ph around 7.6. I am getting a good lesson in patience, everytime I check my tank I want to get the levels right. I keep going on sites and some say to change anywhere from 20% to 50% of the water while other sites say not to Change the water. I have learned a lot here and just wanted I introduce myself to the community.

 

[shellieca]

Welcome. I have 3 tanks, 1 cycled & the other 2 in the process of fish in cycling. Patience & consistency seem to be key. If I'm not mistaken the PWC % depends on your levels, the higher the ammonia level for instance would mean a bigger water change & how consistent the reading is would determine how often. Best of luck, I'm finding the best advice comes from those who have been through the experience which is AA.

 

[butterfly_koi]

Welcome to AA! What your tank is going through is a fish in cycle, my best advice on fish in cycles are water changes and keeping a close eye on the levels and on the fish. Water changes will not hurt the cycle because the BB is stored in the filter not the water. Here's a great article if you have not read it yet


http://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-just-learned-about-cycling-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now/

 

[Josepi]

Thanks Shellieca I will keep testing and readdress once I have a couple days of reading in a row. The levels spiked once I went to San Diego for this past weekend and asked my roommate to feed the fish. When I came back they were up. I dongle that's what the tank is supposed to do.