new aquarium

[harmel]

Hi, I am new here just got my freshwater tank set up 55 gal 2-30/60 filter pumps, 2- top skimmers, heater, spung bio filter, 2-air stones, led lighting, tank temp set at 76 deg been running about 2-weeks am i missing anything i might need to add before i start thinking on fish? ty for any advice p.s. o2 is at 8.4 ppm

 

[Aiken Drum]

What do you understand about the nitrogen cycle?

Do you know how to cycle the tank?

Not sure what the purpose of the skimmers is. They arent needed for FW aquariums.

Here is a link to some articles for new fish keepers.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/foru...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Can you post a picture of the tank so we can check it and see if anything needs tweaking?

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

-----------------------

Do you have any live plants in the tank?
How long are the lights on for?

 

[Jacky12]

Kudos to you for coming in so prepared!

I would def get a FW API test kit, if you don’t have one that is, & test the ammonia, nitrite & nitrates. They are readily available on Amazon & at every chain petshop I know of, as well as smaller shops that sell fish. Much cheaper at Amazon, unless a big store has a sale.

how did you cycle this tank? My preferred method is to borrow cycled media from an established tank, but there are other ways such as Dr. Tim’s Fishless Cycling. The good doc himself has a useful video online.

 

[harmel]

i have a water test kit coming, i cycled my tank from a bio spung from a pet store in my area, i use a skimmer to keep top water clean of oil ect. for better o2 exchange if i am right the o2 can't be over 12ppm right

 

[Aiken Drum]

You have no way of knowing if you have cycled the tank without a test kit. Have you been dosing ammonia during those 2 weeks you have had the tank running? Adding a sponge from a cycled tank will help with cycling a tank, but isnt likely to cycle it instantly. If you havent been dosing ammonia since adding the sponge, the bacteria will likely have starved and died off.

There are 2 ways to cycle a tank. A fishless cycle cycles the tank before you get fish and involves dosing ammonia for a couple of months. A fish in cycle means you can add a few fish, test regularly, do water changes as necessary to control water quality (possibly daily water changes), and build up your number of fish slowly over a number of months.

How do you want to cycle the tank? There is a different process for each method.

You dont need a skimmer on a FW tank. Whoever sold you that is simply scamming you.

 

[Jacky12]

I’m fairly new to the hobby and am not sure I understand what you’re doing. By cycling with the pet store bio sprung do you mean foam from an established tank? That’s what I did a few days ago in setting up a new tank. I keep an extra big section of foam in my sump tank exactly for this purpose. I’ve also used sponge filters kept in established tanks for aeration. And replaced with a new sponge filter, assuming the HOB filter & substrate in the old tank had enough beneficial bacteria.

I don’t think freshwater tanks require protein skimmers. I have 11 tanks and no oil that needs skimming or whatever is skimmed off. I do a 50% water change every week. I don’t know anything about these skimmers other than they’re used in saltwater tanks.

Also not sure what you mean by better O2 change. You mean oxygen? I have never measured the oxygen level in my tanks. I use air stones and sponge filters.

Sorry if I sound dense & don’t catch your drift. I’m still learning.

But never add fish to a new tank without testing what these fish folks call Params, meaning parameters. YouTube has several good videos on how to use the API freshwater drop kits. I have set up a big test tube rack & you’ll catch on quickly. It’s essential, but not exactly rocket science.

 

[harmel]

i had a salt water tank for 5 years i know what i am doing and yes, a skimmer does help a FW tank i done everyone knows everything and if it is not your way it is wrong i be leaving this [age buy the way i had $8,000 in my saltwater tank lol

 

[Aiken Drum]

I don’t think freshwater tanks require protein skimmers. I have 11 tanks and no oil that needs skimming or whatever is skimmed off. I do a 50% water change every week. I don’t know anything about these skimmers other than they’re used in saltwater tanks

A protein skimmer simply wont do much useful in FW. They require the denser water in SW for them to function properly. You might get some effect from them, but not enough to make it a worthwhile piece of kit. As you say change water etc. You might get a little oxygenation from it, but a decent filter will do this for you, and if it doesnt then add an airstone.

 

[Jacky12]

Yeah, I have airstones or sponge filters that I think provide adequate oxygenation to the tanks. Do you think the sponge filters provide sufficient aeration? They sure do bubble away. Lol

 

[Aiken Drum]

Yeah, I have airstones or sponge filters that I think provide adequate oxygenation to the tanks. Do you think the sponge filters provide sufficient aeration? They sure do bubble away. Lol

Sponge filters provide excellent aeration.

Im not sure if you understand how aeration works. Sorry if this isnt new.

Your water is trying to find an equilibrium between dissolved gas in the water and atmospheric gas. If dissolved gas is low in the water, then the water will take it in from the atmosphere. If dissolved gas is high, it will release it into the atmoshere. This gas exchange works better if the surface is agitated than if the surface is perfectly still.

So if your filter return stirs up the waters surface or airstone agitates the water, then you will have have better gas exchange and O2 will more easily be replenished as it gets used up by the natural processes in your tank. Its not the bubbles that dissolve and oxygenate the water, but the surface agitation that helps atmospheric gases to get into the water. You may want to work it the other way round. If you are injecting CO2 into a planted tank, you want to retain that gas and prevent it escaping into the atmosphere. So in this instance you want to keep surface agitation to a minimum.

 

[Jacky12]

How do lids play into this? If by atmospheric air you mean ambient conditions, isn’t the tank a sealed environment? I thought we were supposed to use lids to retain heat, reduce evaporation & contain jumping critters. I heard a very sad story about someone who left the lid open at the hinges & returned home to find his beloved Oscar dead on the floor.

 

[Aiken Drum]

If the lid completely sealed the top, then gas exchange would only happen with what air was between the lid and the waters surface and O2 would get used up quicker.

But lids arent sealed, they arent airtight. Yes, you will get better oxygenation with no lid, but ive never heard of anyones lid causing an issue.

 

[Colin_T]

If you have coverglass on a tank, and you use an airpump to pump air into the aquarium via airstones, the pump will be pushing air from outside the tank, into the tank. This air ends up between the water surface and coverglass so is constantly being renewed by the air pump.

If you don't have an air pump pumping air into the tank, then the air trapped between the coverglass and water can become stagnant. However, there is usually some air flow through gaps in covers.

 

[Jacky12]

Yeah, I have air pumps for all the air stones and sponge filters. Have you ever noticed how their vibrations make godawful noises when they make contact with anything? I am very careful where I place them next to the tanks because I hate the loud buzzing.

I searched for an emoji for this post & was taken aback. All those firing weapons & even a pimp. Inappropriate. Some need to go.

 

[Colin_T]

I use to put a piece of sponge or towel under air pumps to stop the vibration.

 

[Jacky12]

I do that to get proper water flow with the AquaClear HOBs. I now prefer the Seachem filters to the AquaClear. It primes faster after water changes. Many said you don’t need Xtra aeration with Seachem. I emailed & asked them if it was so & they said they don’t use air pumps in their office display tanks, but it all depends & one may want additional aeration