Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side.
- Thread starter jetajockey
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
BBradbury
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- May 24, 2011
- Messages
- 5,011
Water Chemistry
Hello Zip...
Most aquarium fish don't care about the pH of their tank water. A pH between 6 and 8.5 is tolerable as long as the level is constant. Most tap water is fine for aquarium use, it just needs to be treated to remove the chemicals the public water people put into the tap to make the water safe to drink.
If the pH of your treated tap water is in this range, then change the tank water regularly and the fish and plants will be fine.
I'd recommend a weekly 50 percent change, but that's what works for my tanks. If your fish are used to smaller changes, then you can slowly work up to large ones. The more water you change and the more often you change it, the better environment for the fish and plants.
You're the "head water keeper", do what you feel is needed.
B
Hello Zip...
Most aquarium fish don't care about the pH of their tank water. A pH between 6 and 8.5 is tolerable as long as the level is constant. Most tap water is fine for aquarium use, it just needs to be treated to remove the chemicals the public water people put into the tap to make the water safe to drink.
If the pH of your treated tap water is in this range, then change the tank water regularly and the fish and plants will be fine.
I'd recommend a weekly 50 percent change, but that's what works for my tanks. If your fish are used to smaller changes, then you can slowly work up to large ones. The more water you change and the more often you change it, the better environment for the fish and plants.
You're the "head water keeper", do what you feel is needed.
B
OP
OP
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
I agree that most water is adaptable by most fish.
Although if you have a continual problem and want to help deal with it, just cut in a bit of rainwater or r/o / distilled water. As to how much, just depends on the water you are mixing it with, but just start small and work your way up till you get the water how you want it.
Although if you have a continual problem and want to help deal with it, just cut in a bit of rainwater or r/o / distilled water. As to how much, just depends on the water you are mixing it with, but just start small and work your way up till you get the water how you want it.
Thank you, I did a water change yesterday, and my pH still seems to be in in 7.4 range. My discus are struggling. I can't seem to bring down the pH in the tank. Do you have any suggestions regarding the pH change?
If you want to change the parameters of your water it is important to know the following three values, KH, pH and GH. You should either get test kits of these or have someone test it.
With that information we can provide you a good path toward where you need to be. Without that anything we can say would just be guesses. For example, I can give you a list of ways to lower pH but if your KH is very high than they probably won't make a difference. For example, with my tap water I can add driftwood and peat all day long and my pH won't even drift.
With that information we can provide you a good path toward where you need to be. Without that anything we can say would just be guesses. For example, I can give you a list of ways to lower pH but if your KH is very high than they probably won't make a difference. For example, with my tap water I can add driftwood and peat all day long and my pH won't even drift.
I see what you are saying and did read the information on the Kh and gh which was very informative. We may have the same type of water. We brought the water to a fish store and they determined that the KH is. 4 and said that wasn't that high. I picked up a kit and will go from there. You information has been informative. I will keep you up to date.
Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
Sent from my iPad using Aquarium Advice
Fishobsessed7
Aquarium Advice Addict
Very nice info!
Fishobsessed7
Fishobsessed7
Stormy Waters
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Dec 31, 2014
- Messages
- 2
Thank you for this thread--very informative, and it makes me feel less like an animal abuser for doing what I've been doing (successfully!) for several decades.
The only topic where I find myself differing from a few of the other posters here is water changes. Rather than doing large changes once or twice a week during cycling, I prefer to do 15-20% changes every other day. Over the course of a week or so, the same amount of water is being turned over, only in smaller chunks. This is based on nothing more than my own experience and bias. I just believe that smaller, incremental, changes to the environment (water temp, chemistry, etc.) are easier for the fish to tolerate. I do a full master-kit test every day, and if anything looks out of whack, I respond accordingly.
The only topic where I find myself differing from a few of the other posters here is water changes. Rather than doing large changes once or twice a week during cycling, I prefer to do 15-20% changes every other day. Over the course of a week or so, the same amount of water is being turned over, only in smaller chunks. This is based on nothing more than my own experience and bias. I just believe that smaller, incremental, changes to the environment (water temp, chemistry, etc.) are easier for the fish to tolerate. I do a full master-kit test every day, and if anything looks out of whack, I respond accordingly.
ppo8820
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2014
- Messages
- 393
You know I have done both methods and I can say, fishless sucked. The constant testing, the adding of ammonia, and then the LONG wait for those Nitrites to go down. My tank sat for 2 months and I was testing daily. It was WAY too much work and made me angry at the hobby. Well it finally worked and now everything is thriving that I have added, and I was lucky in that I have tons of seeded filter media so I put two filters on my new 29 and it was an instant cycle. I think people should consider safestart more as it worked for me at work, where there are 2 new tanks.
andrea_
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I've had great success fish in cycling. On the tropical fish forum on Face book they make it sound like animal abuse.
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
OP
OP
jetajockey
come get me tang police!
That's because some people don't know how to do it safely, or even know it's possible. People fear what they don't understand.
treemanone2003
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'm starting back up a 10 gallon tank I had and I'm looking into fish-in cycling because water test kits in my country are super hard to find, imported and very expensive. My plan was to stock with a betta and a school of 5/6 cardinal/neon tetras. Would I be fine putting in the betta first, do very frequent water changes for 3 weeks and then put in the tetras? I would eventually get a test kit when my friend goes the US and can bring one for me so I can test for ammonia before putting in the tetras.
buffalochip
Aquarium Advice Regular
Have to tell you how much the post about fish in cyclling helped me. I blundered into the hobby with a 36 gal tank and 13 fish. Finding your post was a god-send to me. I did get thru the cycle without losing a single fish except a cardinal tetra that swam up the syphon during a water change....thanks for the help.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
-
-
Nitrates up, pH and total alkalinity down
- Latest: Airborne 82nd
-
-
-
