Help please A few questions

[ryansmom]

Hi Ive had my 55 gallon tank for 5 years Ive never done tropical fish.I got some fish a month ago I have a bala shark a silver dollar a big rainbow shark and a 4 lined cat and a sail fin molly. To many and wrong kinds they said that on another forum but they seem happy. My tank is almost done cycleing my ammonia is safe 0-1 ppm my ph is 7 my nitrite are now at 0 my nitrates are still high though how do i bring them down but my fish look great. I trusted the people at the pet store but now im researching and Im finding out they are not as knowledgable as i thought. So I decided that I would get my 10 gallon going I put the filter in, and in my 55 gallon where the filter comes it makes all the nice bubbles but the filter i bought for the 10 gallon doesnt make all the little bubbles in the water I was curiuos if they need those its moving the water but no bubbles. Do sail fin mollies like bracish water?What fish are best to start with I thought Id like blood parrots but are they bracish and are they mean?

 

[SCFatz]

Well..just so I'm clear....

The 55 has had fish in it for five years?

The 10g is new?

This population is the in the 55

I have a bala shark a silver dollar a big rainbow shark and a 4 lined cat and a sail fin molly

.?

Which has the high nitrates and how high is high?

Also,if you break your thoughts and questions uo with spaces between each it will make it much easier to read/understand.


Welcome to AA...you have found the place to learn,good job!

 

[ryansmom]

Yes the 55 has the population and the nitrates are 60 and the 10 gallon is new. also what is a good fish to start with in the 10 gallon. I had a couple of koi in the 55 that got to big they are in pond now. It was empty with just water for awhile the 55 gallon then I did 75% water change and started the tropical

 

[JustOneMore20]

You should do another water change if the nitrAtes are 60. That's too high. It most likely shows that you're overstocked.

I'm going to tell you like alot of other people have, bala sharks get up to 14 inches, they are shoalers (like other balas around), can be timid when alone, may hit their heads on the glass (on purpose), and need atleast a 125g. If you really care about this fish, either get it a bigger tank or take it to the LFS. It gets too big for a 55g tank!

Silver dollars are schoolers. They like friends also. There are two different types of fish called Silver dollars. One type, Metynnis hypsauchen stays around 6 inches, the other, Myleus rubripinnis, can get up to 11 inches. If you have the first one, then get about 4-5 more. They get pretty big for a 55g, but it will be fine for awhile.

The rainbow shark is fine...just watch other bottom feeders you add to the tank to make sure they don't get bullied.

I'm not sure what you mean by a 4 line catfish...a pictus cat maybe?

Either way, the bala should go, unless you are prepared to upgrade the tank and add more. The silver dollars would also enjoy a bigger tank.

I'm sure its not what you wanted to hear, but I'm thinking in the interests of the fish (since they can't talk for themselves).

 

[ryansmom]

The bala is my sons and I would love to upgrade but need to make sure I know what im doing first. Im waiting untill the cycle finishes to add more silver dollars. Eventually want a tank for just balas as my son who is 11 loves these.

 

[noncentric]

Just checking, but did you add a heater to the 55-gal when it changed from coldwater koi to tropicals? It should be at least a 200-watt heater and placed in an area where the heated water will be circulated throughout the tank, so that there aren't 'cold' and 'warm' areas in the tank.

My tank is almost done cycleing my ammonia is safe 0-1 ppm my ph is 7 my nitrite are now at 0 my nitrates are still high though how do i bring them down but my fish look great.

Reducing nitrates can be accomplished by water changes and adding live plants. The success of live plants will depend mostly on the type and wattage of lighting over your tank, and also on the type of substrate (but lighting is the most important factor).

So I decided that I would get my 10 gallon going I put the filter in, and in my 55 gallon where the filter comes it makes all the nice bubbles but the filter i bought for the 10 gallon doesnt make all the little bubbles in the water I was curiuos if they need those its moving the water but no bubbles.

What types of filters are you using (canister, hang-on-back, inside-the-tank) on the two tanks?

Did you use anything from the 55-gal to seed the 10-gal filter, which would help speed up the cycling process of the 10-gal?

Others have already commented about the bala and silver dollars, so I won't go over that again.

Good luck!

 

[ryansmom]

Yes the 55 gallon is heated the heater has always been in it I shut it off for the kois its 78 now. I am using power filters that hang on the back for the 55 its rated for a 60 gallon and has the two sides the water comes out of. for the 10 gallon the same type but smaller, it doesnt give the little bubbles its moving the water cause I see the plants moving.But not like the 55 gallon tank.

 

[noncentric]

The only reason I can think of to explain why there are less bubbles with the 10-gal is water level. The higher the water level is (the closer the water's surface is to the output of the HOB filter), then the fewer bubbles there will be as the water returns to the tank from the filter.

Oxygen will still be getting into the aquarium, even if there aren't any visible bubbles.

I wouldn't worry about it too much, but if the fish seem to go to the top a lot or are gasping for air - then you may want to add an airstone or lower the water level.

Hope that helps.

 

[ryansmom]

thank you for the good advice I went and got a bubble curtain so I hope that will help, and getting some live plants for my 55 gallon today.

 

[JRagg]

Reducing nitrates can be accomplished by water changes and adding live plants. The success of live plants will depend mostly on the type and wattage of lighting over your tank, and also on the type of substrate (but lighting is the most important factor).

Won't silver dollars eat plants? I didn't have a planted tank when I bought mine, but I thought I had read that they will eat them if they're in there.

 

[ryansmom]

Im not sure i'll let you know if he does.
I got a dwarf gourami and a glass fish to start on my 10 gallon.

 

[RoK]

Silver dollars will eat most plants.

 

[noncentric]

thank you for the good advice I went and got a bubble curtain so I hope that will help, and getting some live plants for my 55 gallon today.

Yep, as JRagg and RoK mentioned - the silver dollar will likely nibble on the plants (although I don't think they nibble on java ferns, something about java ferns tasting very bitter).

Anyway, do you know what type of plants you are getting? Depending on your lighting, some plants may not survive in your tank. Do you know how many watts you have on your 55-gal tank, and what type of bulbs (what is their Kelvin rating, aka color temperature)?

Live plants will only help with nitrates if they're growing...so you need to make sure the plants you get are appropriate for your tank's lighting conditions.