jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yep, before fish, you will need to do a huge water change (possibily more than one) to get your nitrates down to your tap level. 
50 gallon rebuild
- Thread starter aoessand
- 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.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Looks great!!
Day 10
Ammonia 0 maybe a very light green tint but id say its def not 0.25 so idk
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40-80 would say closer to 80
PH 8.2
driftwood is going in tomorrow i hope, at least one piece, i dont have a container big enough to boil them in so i have to fill pots up with boiling water then dumping in a cleaned out ice chest very slow process...
Ammonia 0 maybe a very light green tint but id say its def not 0.25 so idk
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40-80 would say closer to 80
PH 8.2
driftwood is going in tomorrow i hope, at least one piece, i dont have a container big enough to boil them in so i have to fill pots up with boiling water then dumping in a cleaned out ice chest very slow process...
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Looks good! Have fun with the driftwood!
Day 11
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
PH 8.2
still havent got the driftwood to sink on its own and if i leave the hot water in there it still turns yellow so they still arent in, i read that it might lower my ph is that right?
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
PH 8.2
still havent got the driftwood to sink on its own and if i leave the hot water in there it still turns yellow so they still arent in, i read that it might lower my ph is that right?
Fishy Aston
Aquarium Advice Freak
Yes your PH will be more lower now.
Rocks Increase It
Driftwood Lowers It
Also give it a few more days and make sure all your decorations and plants are in the correct place. As you dont want to have your hands in the tank too much when you have the fish in there. Maybe you could start a list of the fish you want and we can see if you can have them or not. As you wouldnt want to buy the fish and then some of them die or get chased to death. Your LFS may not give you the correct answer over time you learn this as they are just trying to money make! Try and buy the most hardy fish first such a mollies or something like that. Dont go and buy a rummy nose tetra or something just try and buy fish which are not so sensitive to water conditions.
You are doing really well so far.
Just keep up with the PWCs
Test the water - you will still need to test the water as everytime you add fish it will spike and you don't want it to go above the level.
Maybe get a something to check the water temp or your heater may already display it
Also try not to clean the filter media either as that is where all that good bacteria is!
Try and feed a good varied diet such as Graunels which can sink down so the middle strata fish can have. Flakes for fish at the top. And pellets for catfish , plecos , corydoras.
Also the occasional treat of frozen/live bloodworm brime e.t.c (Maybe once a week) That kind of food is there favourite much to much it can make them bloated and find it hard to get there poop out. Which isn't fun for the fish!
Good Luck In The Fish Keeping
And sorry for all the writing
I got carried away!
Rocks Increase It
Driftwood Lowers It
Also give it a few more days and make sure all your decorations and plants are in the correct place. As you dont want to have your hands in the tank too much when you have the fish in there. Maybe you could start a list of the fish you want and we can see if you can have them or not. As you wouldnt want to buy the fish and then some of them die or get chased to death. Your LFS may not give you the correct answer over time you learn this as they are just trying to money make! Try and buy the most hardy fish first such a mollies or something like that. Dont go and buy a rummy nose tetra or something just try and buy fish which are not so sensitive to water conditions.
You are doing really well so far.
Just keep up with the PWCs
Test the water - you will still need to test the water as everytime you add fish it will spike and you don't want it to go above the level.
Maybe get a something to check the water temp or your heater may already display it
Also try not to clean the filter media either as that is where all that good bacteria is!
Try and feed a good varied diet such as Graunels which can sink down so the middle strata fish can have. Flakes for fish at the top. And pellets for catfish , plecos , corydoras.
Also the occasional treat of frozen/live bloodworm brime e.t.c (Maybe once a week) That kind of food is there favourite much to much it can make them bloated and find it hard to get there poop out. Which isn't fun for the fish!
Good Luck In The Fish Keeping
And sorry for all the writing
I got carried away!
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Your numbers look great!! Yes, while the dw is still releasing tannins, it will cause a decrease in ph. You will need to continue to soak it until it stops releasing tannins.
Yes your PH will be more lower now.
Rocks Increase It
Driftwood Lowers It
Also give it a few more days and make sure all your decorations and plants are in the correct place. As you dont want to have your hands in the tank too much when you have the fish in there. Maybe you could start a list of the fish you want and we can see if you can have them or not. As you wouldnt want to buy the fish and then some of them die or get chased to death. Your LFS may not give you the correct answer over time you learn this as they are just trying to money make! Try and buy the most hardy fish first such a mollies or something like that. Dont go and buy a rummy nose tetra or something just try and buy fish which are not so sensitive to water conditions.
You are doing really well so far.
Just keep up with the PWCs
Test the water - you will still need to test the water as everytime you add fish it will spike and you don't want it to go above the level.
Maybe get a something to check the water temp or your heater may already display it
Also try not to clean the filter media either as that is where all that good bacteria is!
Try and feed a good varied diet such as Graunels which can sink down so the middle strata fish can have. Flakes for fish at the top. And pellets for catfish , plecos , corydoras.
Also the occasional treat of frozen/live bloodworm brime e.t.c (Maybe once a week) That kind of food is there favourite much to much it can make them bloated and find it hard to get there poop out. Which isn't fun for the fish!
Good Luck In The Fish Keeping
And sorry for all the writing
I got carried away!
Temp is steady at 80-82 atm ,i have glass thermometers on each side,i have it turned up for faster BB growth, i read that somewhere not sure if its true. I can lower it a bit but its going to be summer here in S.CAL soon and it gets hot and the room the tank is in isnt that well cooled so i probably wont need a heater at all lol but there is still going to be 1 in there...
Also i wont be getting fish for at least another 1-1.5 weeks because i have to boil 1 pot at a time to cover my driftwood so its taking ALOT longer than i had thought it would, i might have 1 piece ready to go in tomorrow im hoping but i wont know till tomorrow rofl... then i have to repeat the process with another piece of DW so ya its going to be awhile b4 fish.
I was thinking a schools of Tetras maybe 10 neons and maybe 15 black skirt or black phantom tetras. Then maybe 6 otos im going to say this is going to be a heavily planted tank but im not sure so when i get it set up i will post some pictures and then yall could tell me. And im not 100% on the otos i might look for a BN pleco as i like the look of those a bit better. I also have around 20 Red Ramshead snails, got them when i got my active filter, they have been living in a bowl but they are doing really well, ive been feeding them lettuce and other veggies. Then for a "center piece" i was thinking dwarf gourami maybe 1-4 of them.
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Your temp is fine right now for a fishless cycle. If you want to bump it up another 2 degrees (@84-85), you can but its not necessary and your tank seems to be doing fine where it is so I would just leave things be. 'Optimal' temps for bacterial growth are in the mid-eighties for future reference.
It looks like you have your stocking all well-planned & look forward to seeing some pics soon! Good luck with the dw!
It looks like you have your stocking all well-planned & look forward to seeing some pics soon! Good luck with the dw!
Missed day 12, Grandfather is in hospital...
Day 13 3pm
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
PH 8.2
so ive been reading prime will give false negatives, how am i supposed to refill the tank , evaporation, without getting those?
Day 13 3pm
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80
PH 8.2
so ive been reading prime will give false negatives, how am i supposed to refill the tank , evaporation, without getting those?
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
False negatives? No, this is not correct. Your tank is cycled! What Prime does is convert ammonia (NH3) to ammonium (NH4). The API test does not distinguish between NH3 & NH4- it tests for the availability of both. What may happen is that false 'positives' are possible. The API test will show ammonia even if its only in the form of ammonium which is not as toxic to fish. The converted ammonium is still utilized in the same way as ammonia by your bacteria. You have neither ammonia/ammonium nor nitrite in your tank because your bacteria are converting it to nitrate. No worries!
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Great!!
jlk
Aquarium Advice Addict
Did you manage to get the dw under control? Whenever your ready for fish, skip the amm, do a big (90-100%) water change with temp matchedd conditioned water & adjust the temp if it was cranked up. You want to drop your nitrates down to your tap level, so it may take more than one big water change. Check out 'drip acclimation' if your not familiar with process. If your not ready for fish yet, just continue to dose amm until you are ready.
