Last Minute Questions About My New System

[dimdem]

Okay, so I am nearly ready to set up my new aquarium. I want to make sure that this "timeline" sounds right: I am thinking I will put together the tank tonight (decorations, water, heater, add dechlor.), add the BioSpira I have in my fridge tomorrow, and get my fish on Sunday. Does this sound right? Also, I have heard conflicting things about the Biospira, or at least gotten conflicting impressions. Should I, or at least can I, add all of my fish at once? This is just a 12 gallon system, so we are only talking about 4 fish and some ghost shrimp. Thanks.

[Petey]

You should let the tank cycle for a while (week or two) before you put in all of the fish that your going to. Nothing like waking up to 12 gallons of dead fish.

[Billsgate]

Sorry Petey, but with BioSpira that isn't necesairy. I would add your fish right after you add your biospira dimdem. But test your water parameters! It may be possible that you go through a minor cycle!

[dimdem]

Originally Posted by Billsgate

Sorry Petey, but with BioSpira that isn't necesairy. I would add your fish right after you add your biospira dimdem. But test your water parameters! It may be possible that you go through a minor cycle!

So you're saying test after the BS, before the fish?

[Billsgate]

Test after 24h since fish added. Although I may be wrong. Hope Tankgirl or Menagerie comes in to help.
HELP GIRLS!!!

[Menagerie]

HELP GIRLS!!!

That should be, "HELP LADIES!!!"

BioSpira is intended to be used when you add the fish. The fish produce ammonia and the bacteria convert it to nitrite. Then the other bacteria converts the nitrite to nitrate. Definitely check your water parameters, but 4 fish and some ghost shrimp should be fine.

[dimdem]

So I add the BS right when the fish go in? Got it.

Hey, does anyone have any good advice about suction cups? I can't get my little thermometer to stick to the acrylic tank. I can only imagine how the heater will do. I'm using a little saliva but that isn't working.

[Menagerie]

So I add the BS right when the fish go in? Got it

Hey, does anyone have any good advice about suction cups?

Is there water in the tank? I have never had a problem with the suction cups when there is water.

[dimdem]

[quote="Menagerie"]

Is there water in the tank? I have never had a problem with the suction cups when there is water.

No, it is dry at the moment. Maybe that will solve it.

[JohnPaul]

Tank water will solve the suction cup problem. Saliva is not a recommended ingredient for setting up a tropical fish aquarium.

And the Bio-Spira package itself will tell you to add it simultaneously with the fish. If you add it earlier, the bacteria will have no ammonia in the water to live on, and will begin to die--which is not what you want.

Be sure to monitor your chemical levels. From what I have read (just search this forum), sometimes Bio-Spira works perfectly, sometimes it seems to not work at all (people get a "bad batch"), and sometimes--as was the case with me a few weeks ago--it seems to partially work. But when it works as intended, yes, you can get all of your fish at once.

[youronlysin]

I cant speak for the bio-spira....good luck with that. Let us know how it goes.

My experience with ghost shrimp makes me a firm believer that they are going to be wayyyy more succeptible to adverse water parameters than your fish will. If you can, I would wait a little while after you add the fish and keep checking the water parameters. Ghost shrimp are awesome creatures and I have a lot of them myself....for the most part, they will not likely survive a tank cycle. Now, if the bio-spira truly works you might be ok, but I, personally, would wait a few days to see how the cycle does with just the fish. One other thing you might think about is planting the tank with live plants. This will help with your water parameters with an instant bio load as well.

Heres another note, and this is from my own personal experience and reflects my opinion only. Some people may disagree and thats fine. When I stock a tank, I always have live plants. My main tropical tank is moderately planted and I have a decent fish load. I use good filters and monitor my water parameters closely (that is all part of the fun in the hobby, right?). When I stock my tanks, I do NOT include the shrimp when I calculate the bio-load. Its a great idea to follow the old 1 inch rule, but in my opinion, that rule was around long before the day of modern filtration and it does not factor in the added benefit of live plants, etc. So again, in my opinion, if you set your tank up properly you should be ok if you fudge the old 1 inch rule a little bit. The ghost shrimp will feed largely on the water column, provided the tank is mature, and if not, they will scavenge leftover bits of flake food or whatever you feed the rest of the fish with. They do wonders with the substrate and help keep my plants clean of algea overgrowth. Hope you like them!

same with me i have a 10 gal and i hae the decor lights heater blah blah blah so beofre i add all of that do i clean my tank with baking soda like it says or can i just put ditilled water or sodium-free water in the tank and add my fish?

[dimdem]

Well, I just got back from the pet store, and of course in the end what I did was completely different from what I had planned. I got two powder blue dwarf gourami, 6 neons, and 2 Peruvian cories. Their bags are floating in the tank now; as soon as I hit SUBMIT, I will put some tank water in their bags and then add the BS.

[dimdem]

Boy, problems immediately ensue. First, my thermometer broke. The suction cup on it never would work, even under water; now the glass tube came off the plastic back. The glass didn't break, at least. Fortunately, I brew beer. This means not only that I have plenty of alcohol around to console myself when things break, but also that I have floating thermometers. Now I need a new one, because the one that went in the tank will never go in bveer again. 8O Also, I used Amquel this morning to dechlor my water. Now I realize that it MIGHT cause a problem with the Biospira, which of course needs ammonia. A quick Google search indicates that I seem to be okay---that ammonium is still okay for the baceria---but I'd be interested in opinions.

[dimdem]

One tetra already died. What is terrible is that I saw it but now can't find it. Hopefully it will float up again soon.