I need help!

[hyetexa2001]

Ok i have a question about my filter. When i checked today the water wasnt flowing thru as good as it should and then i checked the filter and it was dirty. Ok what my question is if my filter gets dirty and restrics waterflow do i have to change it or should i just rinse the whole pad? I was thinking the bacteria might was away if i rinse but then again changing the pad with a new one is even worse. And my aquarium is only a couple days old i think all the dirt came from the old gravel i was using because i didnt rinse it good but no worries i bought new gravel yesterday. I still think it was a bad idea because the gravel couldve contained bacteria from the previous owner even though i washed them really thoroughly yesterday. What do you guys think?

 

[Bhunsucker]

What type of filter system do you have? When you do PWC you can rinse the filter media out in the old tank water and not risk loosing the beneficial bacteria. DO NOT I repeat DO NOT rinse the media with tap water! The tap water will kill your bacteria.

 

[hyetexa2001]

thank you thank you thank you for responding so early i just did a partial water change and like an idiot i didnt rinse it with the tank water lol i didnt use commen sense. Oh well i guess ill do it in a couple of days. Thank for telling me bye the way i nvr wouldve known. lol i dont know what i would do without internet and this website. So helpful : )

 

[tkos]

Rinse the filter. I have been using the same filter media for 4 years now. The sponges work just fine and you are right about not wanting to get rid of the good bacteria forming. Of course after a few days there is very little bacteria on the media. Rinsing will not remove any significant amount of bacteria as it clings very well to surfaces.

You can rinse it in dechlorinated tap water and should do so with every other PWC at the very least. Doing it with every PWC won't hurt one bit.

As your tank is but a few days old and I would guess has fish in it, you will need to be doing PWC every day to keep ammonia and nitrite levels very low. If the ammonia gets above 2ppm or the nitrites above 0.25ppm then you could be poisoning your fish.

 

[hyetexa2001]

wouldnt doing a water change everyday get rid of bacteria i tested my water for 2 days now and it has been ok. Or at least i have been told it was good except i had to change water so nitrite could go lower.

Here are my result i just did this wow one water change really did lower the nitrites and nitrates more.

Nitrate 15 ppm
Nitrite .1-.2 ppm
total hardness 165 ppm
total alkalinity 80-90
ph i cant really read this one its a lil red but not too much just a lil over orange cant really tell probably8.0-8.1

Im gonna go and buy the ph decreaser and increaser today do i need to buy anything else

Oh and i have another question i want to keep some tetras and they prefer
soft water acidic water wouldnt that affect my other fish. Oh and ive read somewhere that u can increase and decrease ph with baking soda or something like that can u guys help me out on this one. cuz i spent alot of money already and petco really is expensive.

Thank you

 

[tkos]

Bacteria don't grow in water, they grow on the surfaces of things. Water changes won't hurt the bacteria at all. And as for removing a food source, well if there is any detectable ammonia or nitrite then there is more food than the bacteria can safely handle.

Satay away from stuff that changes PH. It isn't needed. A stable pH is most important. Thise increasers and decreases usually contain phosphates which will then cause major algae blooms. And the pet store will seel you a chemical to get rid of algae.

PH and softness have little to do with each other. Softness just dictates the level of dissolved solids int he water. I have water that has a pH of 7.6 but has almost nothing showing on the hardness tests.

Save your money, do frequent water changes for now and then eventually do 30-50% changes each week.

Acclimate your new fish slowly and they will do fine. I place new fish in a clean, fish only bucket with the fish store water. Then each 10 minutes I place a cup of tank water into the bucket. When the level has doubled I take half the water out and restart. Then when doubled again (up to 2 hours or so) I net the fish and place them in the tank. The more the difference between the tank water and fish store water, the longer I wait.

Good dechlorinator is the only chemical you need to keep a healthy tank, especially at the beginning.

 

[hyetexa2001]

I have the best dechlorinator at the store its called aqua plus i have been buying this for a long time now . I really like it cuz it only takes 3 droplets to dechlorinate one gallon of water i have had stuff that u have to use a capful to dechlorinate half a gallon so this is really worth it. You forgot to tell me if the water was good or needed inprovement on something. : (

 

[Bhunsucker]

wouldnt doing a water change everyday get rid of bacteria i tested my water for 2 days now and it has been ok. Or at least i have been told it was good except i had to change water so nitrite could go lower.

Here are my result i just did this wow one water change really did lower the nitrites and nitrates more.

Nitrate 15 ppm
Nitrite .1-.2 ppm
total hardness 165 ppm
total alkalinity 80-90
ph i cant really read this one its a lil red but not too much just a lil over orange cant really tell probably8.0-8.1

Im gonna go and buy the ph decreaser and increaser today do i need to buy anything else

Oh and i have another question i want to keep some tetras and they prefer
soft water acidic water wouldnt that affect my other fish. Oh and ive read somewhere that u can increase and decrease ph with baking soda or something like that can u guys help me out on this one. cuz i spent alot of money already and petco really is expensive.

Thank you

Doing PWC does not affect the biological bacteria in the tank. Most of the good bacteria will be held in the filter system media. What is your filter system?

What kind of test do you have? Are you using Strips or liquid test kit? Liquid is perfered its more acurate and its cheaper in the long run. You can get the AP test kit online from Big Al's cheap.

Dont be to worried about the PH level. You can cause more harm than good by chasing your PH.

Keep up the testing and PWC and you should be good to go.

 

[hyetexa2001]

Do you guys think if i take out the fish i have right now i can maybe add like three fish to the tank maybe 3 zebra danios or something of the sorth anything that i can keep in a 10 gallon tank. anybody have any advice on what is really hardy and what i can get during cycle.
Thank you : )

 

[tkos]

Cycling with fish is a bad idea unless you are willing to do work. Right now your tank is almost cycled. Water changes to keep the nitrite less than 0.2ppm will be the best thing you can do right now. The other numbers are fine, not ideal for breeding certain fish but most fish will adapt fine.

 

[greenmaji]

If all you have is zebra danio's you can get away with more NO2 then normal, they are hardy little fishys.. but if your keeping neons in there then keep it below 1ppm.. belive it or not zebras can survive very high doses of NO2, up to 20ppm would be lethal for them.. Of course I would never let it get that high