Witt1121
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I am brand new to the fish and aquarium community. Recently my boys wanted some fish and my wife and I said yes. Although I do not have "experience" I am quite efficient and diligent in reading and making sure I follow instructions. With that said I've found myself having some issues I'm hoping to get help on.
So here's my set-up and fish currently:
-Aqueon 15 gal column tank kit which includes QuietFlow 10 filter, heater and light
-White gravel from PetSmart
-1 large and 2 small plastic TopFin coral cave pieces from PetSmart
-1 large plastic plant kit (3 total)
And here's my fish:
-2 small Pictus Catfish
-3 small Red Wag Platy
-1 small Sunburst Platy
-1 smaller Black Molly
-1 smaller Dalmation Molly
-1 small Rubber Lip Plecostomus
A little history:
The tank was my sister and was given to my boys. We cleaned everything thoroughly before re-setting back up with water, no cleaners. The gravel and plastic coral were all cleaned under cold water prior to using. The tank sat cycling for 3 days prior to any fish being introduced using Aqueon water conditioner and APi Stress Zyme. The first batch was 6 fish being introduced and the 2nd batch was 3 more to complete our set-up.
The tank has been set-up for 2 weeks now and I've gone through many ups and down on water clarity and quality. After the first 5 days all looked great and then for the past 7 days it has gotten cloudy. I started doing water changes every other day and then daily for 25-30% of the water. It would be pretty clear, but still wasn't crystal clear like the store or what online says. About 7 days in I had the water tested and again at 10 days in and the ammonia level was kind of high. So I used an ammonia neutralizer and did an 75% water change. I had the water retested yesterday and it was better, but still needed to be lower. So I used another dose of ammonia neutralizer and did a 25% water change. I plan to do another water change and retest the ammonia this evening. Oh and I used Super Ick Cure 2 days ago because we had reason to believe a fish or 2 may have gotten Ich and wanted to be safer than sorry.
Since the last water change, Super Ich treatment and ammonia treatment 2 days ago the activity of the fish is 100 times better. I believe I'm on the right track, but the water is still not clear like everyone says it should be. It's not "milky", but more of dusty like when you use the faucet in a pail. The difference is that settles and my tank has not.
So with this all said and known, what should I do? I do not believe overfeeding is an issue. Is the QuietFlow 10, which claims 100 gal an hour, enough? With the taller tank is the stock filter tube far enough down in the tank to circulate the water properly?? Should I add a air bubbler to help?
I know there's a lot of info here, but I wanted to share all I could to help start a conversation to get this addressed. Please respond with any info or additional questions you may have. We've lost, and replaced under warranty, 3 fish already. I'm hoping to get this set-up properly to where we don't lose any more. Thank you in advance-
Josh
So here's my set-up and fish currently:
-Aqueon 15 gal column tank kit which includes QuietFlow 10 filter, heater and light
-White gravel from PetSmart
-1 large and 2 small plastic TopFin coral cave pieces from PetSmart
-1 large plastic plant kit (3 total)
And here's my fish:
-2 small Pictus Catfish
-3 small Red Wag Platy
-1 small Sunburst Platy
-1 smaller Black Molly
-1 smaller Dalmation Molly
-1 small Rubber Lip Plecostomus
A little history:
The tank was my sister and was given to my boys. We cleaned everything thoroughly before re-setting back up with water, no cleaners. The gravel and plastic coral were all cleaned under cold water prior to using. The tank sat cycling for 3 days prior to any fish being introduced using Aqueon water conditioner and APi Stress Zyme. The first batch was 6 fish being introduced and the 2nd batch was 3 more to complete our set-up.
The tank has been set-up for 2 weeks now and I've gone through many ups and down on water clarity and quality. After the first 5 days all looked great and then for the past 7 days it has gotten cloudy. I started doing water changes every other day and then daily for 25-30% of the water. It would be pretty clear, but still wasn't crystal clear like the store or what online says. About 7 days in I had the water tested and again at 10 days in and the ammonia level was kind of high. So I used an ammonia neutralizer and did an 75% water change. I had the water retested yesterday and it was better, but still needed to be lower. So I used another dose of ammonia neutralizer and did a 25% water change. I plan to do another water change and retest the ammonia this evening. Oh and I used Super Ick Cure 2 days ago because we had reason to believe a fish or 2 may have gotten Ich and wanted to be safer than sorry.
Since the last water change, Super Ich treatment and ammonia treatment 2 days ago the activity of the fish is 100 times better. I believe I'm on the right track, but the water is still not clear like everyone says it should be. It's not "milky", but more of dusty like when you use the faucet in a pail. The difference is that settles and my tank has not.
So with this all said and known, what should I do? I do not believe overfeeding is an issue. Is the QuietFlow 10, which claims 100 gal an hour, enough? With the taller tank is the stock filter tube far enough down in the tank to circulate the water properly?? Should I add a air bubbler to help?
I know there's a lot of info here, but I wanted to share all I could to help start a conversation to get this addressed. Please respond with any info or additional questions you may have. We've lost, and replaced under warranty, 3 fish already. I'm hoping to get this set-up properly to where we don't lose any more. Thank you in advance-
Josh