10gal tank with fishies, just found this site, cycle/general questions

[allaboutfish]

he's thinking of when your done cycling right now you wanna decrease ammonia as in if you have 4ppm then a 50% water chage brings it to 2ppm and then another 50% brings that to 1ppm ad so on and you have to have it at .25 or lower or it can cause ammonia burns. and your lucky my petco didnt eve have the api master kit im about to order it

 

[nohika]

I know that...from what I've read, anyways. But my family (I thought my Mom would be more on board...) is convinced that the internet is a bunch of liars, despite the start-up guide /agreeing/ with me. I just...I hate when people disapprove.

Am I doing the right thing, defying her and getting the API kit and testing the water? I haven't opened it yet (I'm starving), but I plan to test things tonight and figure out how to change water if necessary - I've never done it before.

 

[eco23]

Just went and got the api kit...getting a lot of eye-rolling from my Mom, since the petco person disagreed with what I was doing, says to not do a PWC of more than 10% a day, etc, and (according to my brother and mother and everyone else in the house) the PETCO person knows far more than the internet.

I'm just a little upset at this point, and not exactly sure where and what to believe. I want to do the best for my fish and future to-be fish.

No, the Petco guy doesn't want you to large pwc's because of two reasons. Number one, the guy doesn't care if your fish live or die...we do. Number two, technically a tank will cycle faster with fewer pwc's, but this is deadly for the fish because it causes the ammonia to spike and force the bacteria to grow while the fish suffer burning gills from ammonia poisoning. The "Internet" in general is not necessarily a good source of info...but the members of us on AA are true hobbyists, fish enthusiasts and experts in many areas of fish keeping.

 

[siva]

Just went and got the api kit...getting a lot of eye-rolling from my Mom, since the petco person disagreed with what I was doing, says to not do a PWC of more than 10% a day, etc, and (according to my brother and mother and everyone else in the house) the PETCO person knows far more than the internet.

I'm just a little upset at this point, and not exactly sure where and what to believe. I want to do the best for my fish and future to-be fish.

The beneficial bacteria you are growing is in your substrate and in your filter media..it is not in your water. There is absolutely no harm in the water changes. I know it's frustrating when the people around you aren't truly understanding...hang in there.. you're doing the right thing.

I also agree that a 10 gal is not a suitable home for black skirts, they get far too large and active. It is also too small for a full grown bristlenose pleco They get about 4" long and are big waste producers.. I would go with 29 gals and up for them.

 

[eco23]

Doing a water change is easy. Its as easy as getting water out, and putting new in. You just need to make sure you add a dechlorinator to all the new water. Do you have a gravel vacuum? That makes it really simple. PWC's need to be performed anytime the ammonia level reaches .25 because this is where the ammonia will begin burning and scarring their gills. Another other option would be to return the fish to the store and cycle the tank without fish. That might be a good middle ground to avoid any conflict or disagreements in your family and not potentially harm the fish.

 

[nohika]

That's what I tried to explain to her...and my brother. I tend to ignore him because he's an arsehole. I'd bet that most of the fish people have no tanks and have no experience with them. I tried to explain that the ammonia is going to build up, and what's going to happen, etc, but...

I do plan to transfer them, we just aren't able to at the moment...they probably won't be in my "final" tank set-up. What would you guys recommend?

Edit: We have a gravel vac...just not sure what to put the water in since I'm not sure where a bucket or anything is.

 

[eco23]

A bucket would obviously be ideal, but maybe use a cooler or a water pitcher if you need.

 

[siva]

I think it would be best, now that you have that test kit, if you put those tetras in your moms tank and get a bottle of pure ammonia (super cheap) and do a fishless cycle

 

[siva]

That's what I tried to explain to her...and my brother. I tend to ignore him because he's an arsehole. I'd bet that most of the fish people have no tanks and have no experience with them. I tried to explain that the ammonia is going to build up, and what's going to happen, etc, but...

I do plan to transfer them, we just aren't able to at the moment...they probably won't be in my "final" tank set-up. What would you guys recommend?

Edit: We have a gravel vac...just not sure what to put the water in since I'm not sure where a bucket or anything is.

If you can get some, the dollar tree usually has 2 gal buckets. Just rinse them with hot water and never put any soap or chemicals in.

 

[nohika]

Annndd now she's playing with my test kit. Hecka moly. ...not exactly sure how to broach the subject with her, since she hasn't been very favorable to anything else (of transferring them and me doing a fishless cycle).

Edit: Yup, went like I thought it would. Fishies are staying in my tank.

We have a water pitcher I could use...if it's been washed, though, what should I do? Does it have to be not-washed recently?

 

[eco23]

Annndd now she's playing with my test kit. Hecka moly. ...not exactly sure how to broach the subject with her, since she hasn't been very favorable to anything else (of transferring them and me doing a fishless cycle).

I don't know if she's willing to take 5 minutes...but if you can get her to glance over my article in my signature...it'll show her the pros and cons of how to cycle a tank. It goes over what is required for both a fishless and fish in cycle, and explains what happens to fish during the process.

 

[allaboutfish]

i found it hard o find pure ammonia i couldnt even find it at Ace Hardwhere

 

[nohika]

Oh, I've showed her. I've showed her that one, I've showed her one that deals with fish-in cycling, etc. I've talked to her about how it works biologically. Everything.

She won't transfer the fish, and she thinks I'm quack-ish because the PETCO person doesn't know what the heck she's talking about.

 

[eco23]

At least you've tried your best to convince her. You're just gonna need to do 50% pwc's daily until the tank cycles to keep them alive. I can't remember if I linked the page for cycling with fish in this thread. I'll check, and if I haven't, I'll go find it.

*yeah, I linked it above. It's just gonna take some work on your part...but you'll feel good when you get the fish through the process.

 

[nohika]

She read about the Ammonium stuff that brings it down (Ammolock?) and is convinced I need to get that and not do the water changes. I think someone linked to it somewhere - I've read all ten pages. I /think/ my ammonia level is about .25. I'll re-check it on my own tonight...and then do the PWC of about 50% or so.

Edit: Yes, Mom, changing the water is going to stress them out, but so is rising ammonia levels. I don't need the "stress zyme" and other stuff mentioned in the book...

We did a 2-gallon (or so) PWC because that's all she'd allow me to do. Because it's "too much to do more." Bloody heck, woman...I'll re-test for Ammonia in an hour, right? She's trying to tell me to wait two days...

 

[siva]

Water changes really aren't going to stress them out that bad. I've never had a fish have an adverse reaction to a water change, personally.

It's hard to understand why she would insist on keeping them in there, since they should be in schools of 6 and are too big for your tank, sigh, but I guess it is what it is. Just do the best you can.

What dechlorinator do you use? Prime is the best...you can add prime to make ammo harmless to your fishies..only thing is I'm not sure how long that will last, and I don't know if anyone can really say for sure. Bottom line is water changes is how you save fish from ammonia and nitrite. Adding more "stuff" is usually bad news.

 

[siva]

Can you take some filter media out of her 29 and put it in your 10? This would speed up your cycle tremendously!

 

[siva]

Annndd now she's playing with my test kit. Hecka moly. ...not exactly sure how to broach the subject with her, since she hasn't been very favorable to anything else (of transferring them and me doing a fishless cycle).

Edit: Yup, went like I thought it would. Fishies are staying in my tank.

We have a water pitcher I could use...if it's been washed, though, what should I do? Does it have to be not-washed recently?

It should be never been washed.

Rinse the holy heck out of it with the hottest water you can.

 

[nohika]

Her 29 is about as far along as my 10, if that - hers hasn't progressed as far.

I'll pick up a 2-gallon bucket at dollar tree tomorrow on the way home from school, or before school, or whatever. Again, something else she doesn't pay attention to...Gods (no offense), if everything here is true, I'll be surprised if she doesn't kill my fish. Or her fish.

And I use the Aqueon that came with my tank...we also have the tetra-safe stuff. Is the Prime something I could find at like Petsmart? I'm really, really short on cash at this point, and...ugh. This is hard...

 

[Yeahitstrue]

Don't be discouraged! After this, the hard part is over. I'm glad you had the courage to try and do what is right for tour fish. If your mom thinks were liars, loom at tank pictures of those of us who try to be humane. They are more
Beautiful and lively than burying you could ever achieve without this. And mystery mom, if your reading this, give your son
A chance, and look at the science, not what a random pimply teenager at the LFS says. You will have a great looking tank if you keep trying like you are!