Several Questions? *Urgent*

[caligulasAquarium]

thats all well and good but i'm afraid you'll run into the same cycle issue... to cycle your tank its going to take roughly 1-2 months.

however i did just remember you mentioned a friend had a tank running... how long has your friends tank been running??

I can still make do with a fish less cycle, and the ghost knife rarely comes out of his cave, unless the lights are off, which they are off all day, until dinner time, then around 10pm I turn them off. My friend has a 24 gallon running, she has to ask her dad how long they've had it running, all we know is that it's been running for running at least 10 years.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Technically you'd have two tanks in cycles which would confuse or complicate things... lets try another route, can you talk to your friend and see if they could give you some of their filter media? This would help speed up the cycle process a little bit, it wont fix everything over night but could potentially cut down the time by half.

So start there, see if you can grab some of their filter media. If you can't grab some see if you can give them a brand new filter pad or whatever your filter holds and have them stick it in their filter for about a week then add it to yours.

But while you're doing this make sure you keep on the water changes.

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Technically you'd have two tanks in cycles which would confuse or complicate things... lets try another route, can you talk to your friend and see if they could give you some of their filter media? This would help speed up the cycle process a little bit, it wont fix everything over night but could potentially cut down the time by half.

So start there, see if you can grab some of their filter media. If you can't grab some see if you can give them a brand new filter pad or whatever your filter holds and have them stick it in their filter for about a week then add it to yours.

But while you're doing this make sure you keep on the water changes.

I'm pretty sure we use the same type of filter, so I may be able to use a two week old filter pad from them, but the thing is, my filter is a power filter so it uses two filter pads and carbon rocks or something (I can't remember what it's called). So do I still need to get two filter pads? They only have one. Our tanks have a huge size difference

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Does their filter use two pads or one?

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Does their filter use two pads or one?

Just one. They have a tall 24 gallon tank.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Ok in that situation you dont want to take the only media they have. I would say give them a pad that you have and ask them to add it to their filter for a week then after that week put it back in yours... but make sure you tell them not to take their media out, they should be able to fit yours in there without removing theirs.

Thats the most important part of all this, they MUST leave theirs in the filter otherwise it defeats the purpose of seeding your media

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Ok in that situation you dont want to take the only media they have. I would say give them a pad that you have and ask them to add it to their filter for a week then after that week put it back in yours... but make sure you tell them not to take their media out, they should be able to fit yours in there without removing theirs.

Thats the most important part of all this, they MUST leave theirs in the filter otherwise it defeats the purpose of seeding your media

Another question, what if the filter pads don't fit? How would I be able to add the media?

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Do your pads have black plastic separators inside a little pouch like thing?

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Do your pads have black plastic separators inside a little pouch like thing?

Yes, and they also have these carbon rock things that come in a packet. I buy them in a large size. I need to ask her Dad what size and what kind of filter they use

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Ok well lets try this then... I used to have the same pouches you use now... you can take out the black plastic insert but do it careful so the carbons bits dont fly all over the place, once the plastic divider is removed you should be able to fold the pouches and make the smaller.

It almost sounds like you have an aqueon or top fin filter

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Ok well lets try this then... I used to have the same pouches you use now... you can take out the black plastic insert but do it careful so the carbons bits dont fly all over the place, once the plastic divider is removed you should be able to fold the pouches and make the smaller.

It almost sounds like you have an aqueon or top fin filter

It is a Top Fin filter, now that you mentioned it. I could never remember it unless I look at it. I just got home from school and tutoring and immediately went to homework. I always take out the plastic frame over the trash can, so it minimizes the mess. I believe they have the same filter size, it's just the pads that are probably different

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Well you should be able to fold the pads and place them in the filter with no issues... just remember to keep the black plastic cause you'll need it to put the media into your filter

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Well you should be able to fold the pads and place them in the filter with no issues... just remember to keep the black plastic cause you'll need it to put the media into your filter

Okay thanks
Is that all I need to do? Like seriously?
They haven't lost a fish in a year, and my guppies who I gave to her are doing really well. All her fish are very healthy, and extremely active.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

This is the start to a better aquarium... you'll still need to keep an eye on your levels (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) until the nitrite spikes and the goes away... once you see this and then both ammonia and nitrite are 0 your cycle is complete.

After the cycle is complete you should only need a 50% water change per week but keep in mind its better to keep your nitrates under 20... so if 50% keeps them under 20 then thats good, if not you'll have to adjust accordingly.

Please make sure you keep an eye on your levels from tonight until the cycle finishes and do water changes whenever you can (daily if possible)

And if you have any additional question please dont hesitate to ask, either myself or someone else on the forum will happily assist

 

[caligulasAquarium]

This is the start to a better aquarium... you'll still need to keep an eye on your levels (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) until the nitrite spikes and the goes away... once you see this and then both ammonia and nitrite are 0 your cycle is complete.

After the cycle is complete you should only need a 50% water change per week but keep in mind its better to keep your nitrates under 20... so if 50% keeps them under 20 then thats good, if not you'll have to adjust accordingly.

Please make sure you keep an eye on your levels from tonight until the cycle finishes and do water changes whenever you can (daily if possible)

And if you have any additional question please dont hesitate to ask, either myself or someone else on the forum will happily assist

It's only the ammonia and pH I'm having problems with. The Nitrite and Nitrate have always been 0.0ppm. I'll try and squeeze a PWC every week into my schedule until ammonia is down to 0.0ppm.
But how do I solve my fluctuating pH issue? It was 6.4, and was 6.7 the next change, but became a 6.0 or lower at my last check. I know it's not good for my fish, most fish prefer about 6.8-7.0, and 7.0 is the safest spot to be at. How do I keep the pH stable?

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Trust me, you're going to see nitrite and nitrate lol... be prepared.

Ok on to the pH, do you happen to know the pH of your tap water?

Also most fish can adapt to pH as long as its not crazy high or extremely low.. so pH isnt a big deal as long as its stable but im sure other have different opinions on that

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Trust me, you're going to see nitrite and nitrate lol... be prepared.

Ok on to the pH, do you happen to know the pH of your tap water?

Okay I trust you lol, you're all more expierenced than I am of course!
I had it tested, I'll check my other thread...
Checked it, and the pH of the tap had maxed out my standard test solution of 7.6. I can do a High Range test later, but I'm actually doing my algebra homework right now xD

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Dont worry about the high range, we're not too concerned with that right now... so your pH in you tap is like mine... thats not a bad pH level we just need to work on stabilizing it... now I never recommend chemicals, its bad to add somethin like that to a tank unless you have absolutely no natural way to deal with it.

We'll try to find a natural solution

Aside from your fish, what else is in the tank? Driftwood, live/fake plants, caves.. stuff like that?

 

[caligulasAquarium]

Dont worry about the high range, we're not too concerned with that right now... so your pH in you tap is like mine... thats not a bad pH level we just need to work on stabilizing it... now I never recommend chemicals, its bad to add somethin like that to a tank unless you have absolutely no natural way to deal with it.

We'll try to find a natural solution

Aside from your fish, what else is in the tank? Driftwood, live/fake plants, caves.. stuff like that?

Let's see, I have several fake plants, because most of my live plants died or got eaten/uprooted then died *from my plecos roughhousing and being picky on where they wanted things*, but I do have a small number of live plants, including two medium sized anubias. I have 3 fake caves, for my ghost knife to hide during the day, and my angelfish hide in them a lot too. I have no driftwood, as I could never find them. I also have a fake bonsai tree, and a fake Japanese shrine in front. Lastly, there is a fake coral stone. All decorations have been soaked for 5 to 15 minutes prior to placing in tank.Most of them were bought at Petco/Petsmart.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Ok it doesnt sound like anything in your tank is causing these swings... Normally your pH should drop a little once the tank has been up and running but you seem to have massive swings... have you by chance added any chemicals or pH stabilizers?