I'm a new lady...

[Jaxi]

Hi fishy lovers! Got a tank end of june, second hand, absolute bargain off eBay. Will try to upload a picture for you to see. It is 4 ft with cabinet, Eheim pro external filter, power head plus other accessories. £26! We got it ready and left it for a week. Checked the nitrate/nitrite. All ok and added 4 tester mollies. All ok with fish but levels are up. Is this normal? Should I do a water change to help levels or is that going to disturb the natural goings on in a new tank. I have very mixed views about this. Any advice will be loved!

 

[Fishkeeper26]

Welcome to AA!!

Yes you should do water changes almost everyday, to keep the fish alive. You should have cycled your tank for longer than a week, however if you keep up with testing your water and doing water changes you should be ok.

What are you using to test your water?

Unfortunately I can't find the link, but someone will comment with it soon!

 

[absolutangel04]

to AA! Enjoy your stay!

 

[rich311k]

Welcome to AA!!!

 

[Jaxi]

Hi all, thanks for the warm welcome everyone. In reply, we spoke to our local aquatics store and they advised us to leave it a week so we followed their advice. As the levels were ok we got our fishies. This is another confusing area...can you get obsessed with this?...I've researched and it's anything from a few days to 2 + months before you should add fish. I'm using interpet tablets to test the water, again advice from store. You'll have to excuse my naivety on the subject but I'm learning. Can you explain the process when you do a water change as I get you're taking out said nites etc but are you not replacing it with treated chlorinated water and so creating another change. Please explain so I get it.

 

[alLexX]

welcome to AA,were niott fish lovers,were fish addicts

 

[eco23]

Welcome to the site

Unfortunately you're getting some bad advice from the pet store (no surprise there), but that's why we're here. Check out these guides on cycling your tank to get some info-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-Guide-and-FAQ-to-Fishless-Cycling/Page1.html

 

[Sparky74]

Can you explain the process when you do a water change as I get you're taking out said nites etc but are you not replacing it with treated chlorinated water and so creating another change. Please explain so I get it.

You have to get a dechlorinator, such as Prime. This will make the tap water safe.

Then just remove x amount of water and replace with tap water treated with Prime.

 

[Jaxi]

Just read your thread and that helps. I now know it's going to benefit the tank to do a water change so I'm off to do one now. Thanks for the advice.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA! Be sure to check out the links eco posted often, they'll help you even when setting up more tanks! More than often we here at AA get MTS (multiple tank syndrome!).

 

[Jaxi]

Love it...I'll stick to one tank for now! Thanks for the advice, I'll check it out.

 

[Jaxi]

Hi again. I've followed your advice and done the first water change. When should I next test the nitrite levels? I've also noticed a few snails in the tank. Are they ok to have in there? When I'm syphoning out water is it a good idea to put the syphon on the gravel to filter debris up while it's sucking. I have an old tight on the end. So many questions!

 

[alLexX]

snails are fine,as long as you dont overfeed they wont multiply

 

[Jaxi]

Ok thanks. I've seen 3 in there today. Do you just keep an eye on them and control if necessary?