I've made ALL the mistakes!

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Vinegar will still take care of it:) bleach is just too volatile imo... You really have to wash the crap out of anything you scrub with it
 
I am about to go get some sand for my tank. How many pounds would I need (do you guys think) for a 55 gallon tank? I'd like it to be at least 3 inches deep...deeper in some spots....
 
Territoons said:
hahah... I got 150 pounds of sand. I guess I'll have plenty, eh?
Click to expand...

Lol... Wow... You did get a bunch of sand! Have you put it in yet?! Lol. More pictures are also a requirement. (unless there's photographic evidence, it never happened!) lol.
 
no, i haven't even got the sand out of the car yet. :) Spent most of the day soaking and scrubbing, and reinforcing the strength of the new aquarium stand. I'm really excited how well that vinegar removed all of that ugly salt and deposits and stuff....

and the lights still work! Both of them! WooHoo!

and I will take some more pix tomorrow... :)
 
i am assuming I need to rinse the sand out before I put it in the tank, yes? and special sand instructions? I've never used sand before...
 
Territoons said:
i am assuming I need to rinse the sand out before I put it in the tank, yes? and special sand instructions? I've never used sand before...
Click to expand...

Use an old (thoroughly rinsed) pillowcase. Put the sand in and rinse with a hose until the water runs clear. You'll obviously have to do multiple batches, but that's the best way.
 
good morning my fishie friends! Question....is there any way to lower ph in water BESIDES adding RO water to it? My RO water dispenser is incredibly SLOW to dispense..and, while i could do 50 50 RO and tap water in my 10 gallon tanks, and even the 30 with not to much problem, I think I would rather not have to rely on that for the new 55 gallon tank....
 
ahh I'm sorry, rodi is reverse-osmosis, de-ionized water....in short its pure water, all the metals and impurities are removed. Its highly-recommended for tanks but not 100% necessary. If your water holds steady at 8.5, I wouldn't mess with it, If you start adding chemicals to try and change the ph..its prob gonna just de-stabilize it, and that's what kills fish, the swings
 
if I put 50% RO (rodi) water in the tank the ph goes down. That was no problem with the smaller tanks
but I really don't think it would be practical for me to use rodi water in the 55 gallon, consistently
8.5 is ok?

I'll check the levels in a little while, and post the real numbers...I'm working on memory, here.
 
Well, I got the tank filled, with 3 inches of rinsed out sand at the bottom..an aqua clear 70 filter running and doing it's thing, and all decorated with plastic and silk plants and decorations. It's still a little cloudy from the sand, but clearing up fast.

So...if I wanted to get some fish tank LIVE plants, how do I know that I am not bringing in bad diseases with the plants? Do you quarantine plants, too? How can you tell if plants are healthy, or carrying anything? I mean, plants don't get the same diseases as fish. So what do I do and what do I look for?

The tank came with a hood that has two sections, each with an 18 inch fluorescent lamp in it. They are 15watt T8 bulbs.

Do I have what it takes to grow plants? Or should I get different bulbs? I don't want fancy plants. Just live plants. Honestly, though, I don't know the difference between a fancy plant or a simple plant. :)

I haven't added any ammonia into the cycling tank, yet. And I haven't added any of the old filter media from my currently running healthy tank, yet, because I am still a little unsure of the whole cycling process. I have read the long article on fishless cycling TWICE..and I kind of get it..but I guess I am a little unsure of exactly how to START. Is the ammonia to be added in ADDITION to the used filter media? Or is it an either/or thing? How much ammonia? I know that after I put the ammonia in I test the water to see what the ppm is, but are we talking a about initially adding a capful or a cupful?

How often do I have to check the chemical levels while I am cycling the tank? I've read that if I add the filter media from my currently set up tank, the cycling process can be much faster.

The article about cycling was very good, and I understand the WHY of it all, now. But I am sure I understand the HOW, exactly. I figured the tank could just run, fishless, until I understand...

Thank you to all my new BFF's (Best Fishie Friends), especially Homedog!
 
In my 20g fw planted tank I simply just put the plants directly in my tank..never had an issue, with your 55 it should be the same but you're prob gonna want to lean more towards tall plants rather than wide, if there's a single (8 bulb on each side,in a 55, you're prob gonna have to go with low- maybe mid light plants, high-light plants won't live on a dual t8 setup, atelast in a 55. In terms of cycling, what I would do is add the old est filter pads to the new tank, let it settle for atleast a few hour and get some readings, then test it the next day, once you get some readings for us we can help guide ya in the right direction. During cycling you're gonna most likely be testing everyday, once the tanks cycled and est down the road a bit, the testing will slow down a good bit. The ammo dosing, make sure its 100% pure ammo....can't have a single additive. And you'd have to measure the tank water and adjust to how much ammo it takes to dose up to 4ppm. Hope this helps
 
yes, it helps, thank you. However, I think I'll wait until tomorrow to start adding used filter media and ammonia to it. I'm just SPENT today and don't want to start a lot of testing. It'll hold until tomorrow...

I still don't quite understand the STEPS to this, tho. Do I put in the used filter media and then let the tank run for an hour or so and then check the ammonia levels? And then start adding ammonia as needed? What level of ammonia do I WANT, at this stage?

Or ammonia first and then add the used filter media?

I'm sorry to be so dense about all this.....

:)
 
Lol you're not dense:) questions are good, ultimately as you read, fish waste and excess food break down into ammo, which feeds your beneficial bacteria, at that point it goes ammo<nitrites<nitrates..... In order for your cycle to start, you're gonna want to see some ammo in the water.... 4ppm is the general number you want to shot for...when it drops to 1-2ppm, you'll simply dose back up to 4ppm...as the cycle progresses you'll notice niTRITES starting to creep up, then finally you'll see niTRITE conversion to NiTRATE.... And by the end of your cycle you'll be able to dose up to 4ppm and within 24h it'll be back to 0..... Just get the tank filled and toss in the media, then get some readings:) tomorrow of course
 
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