New to aquarium hobby

[griff5499]

I just set up my aquarium. I bought fish and put them in after 1 week. All the fish are doing great. My ph reading is 7.6. I know I need to test the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. I have heard that the cycling takes about 6 weeks.
Do I do a water change if the ammonia is high?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Yes. Ammonia can kill the fish quickly. Nitrites are more deadly. What size tank is this? What kind of fish and how many? What filter?

 

[DragonFish71]

Here's an article to help:

I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

 

[griff5499]

I am using a aqueon filter and have 30 fish. Plates, mollies, and tetras.

 

[griff5499]

It is a 36 gallon tank

 

[Mr. Nowhere]

It is a 36 gallon tank

You have 30 fish in the tank?

 

[griff5499]

Yes, two black mollies, two platies, two dalmation mollies and two panda's, and 10 neon tetras, and 5 black tail tetras, 4 gold tetras, and two other tetras

 

[Fishperson]

Saying that you have 30 fish isn't detailed enough. We need to know how many of each kind of fish it you have. Also, there are many types of tetras.

Edit: oops, the page didn't refresh in time I guess.

 

[anibis]

That's a lot of fish for an uncycled tank. I have a 1 Molly and 1 Platy in my 29g (along with 20 some fry), and I have to change about 30% of my water every other day to keep my ammonia levels down.

I run to the store and get the API master freshwater kit, I know Petsmart has them for about $30. If you don't have the funds you can get by with just the ammonia kit for now, it's about $10. Test strips aren't as accurate, and are more expensive in the long run. I'd also get some Seachem Prime, it's a water conditioner that will also detoxify ammonia/nitrite for 36-48 hours. Just makes the cycling process a little easier on the fish.

General rule of thumb is if your ammonia is over .25ppm you're gonna need to change some water. So let's say your ammonia is .50ppm, do a 50% water change and that should lower it to .25ppm. Don't change more than 50% at a time. However, if your ammonia is really high you can do multiple 50% changes throughout the day. Just make sure you use a good water conditioner (Prime) and match the temperature.

Read up on water changes. It's a bit of a pain without a water changing system. 5g buckets are heavy!

Once the ammonia drops you will still need to change water frequently to keep the nitrites in check.

 

[Candi1990]

Thats a whole lot of fish for that size tank! I agree run get a tester kit, i think you have a disaster waiting to happen. Cycling a tank should be done with a few fish. Even for an established tank your numbers will probably stay high!!! Good luck and watch younumbers! Keep us posted!

 

[Mebbid]

I wouldn't even wait to test your water. Just do 2 - 3 50% changes asap with 1 hour between them. Next, return all but 5 of those fish you have. There will be no way that you'll be able to keep the parameters low enough to keep fish from dying unless you are doing 3 50% changes daily. That many fish is fully stocked for a well cycled 55g tank.

 

[Candi1990]

I wouldn't even wait to test your water. Just do 2 - 3 50% changes asap with 1 hour between them. Next, return all but 5 of those fish you have. There will be no way that you'll be able to keep the parameters low enough to keep fish from dying unless you are doing 3 50% changes daily. That many fish is fully stocked for a well cycled 55g tank.

I agree just didn't want to say it. I would take them,back too.

 

[Fishperson]

I agree with all that but I don't see a problem doing water changes >50%. I do 75% water changes all the time, although the tank is cycled. I think as long as there is no HUGE difference in the water you are changing it should be fine, but if you're going to do 3 50% water changes in one day it's just as "bad" as doing one 90% water change.

I've heard that fish take days, even weeks to adapt to new water conditions. Some fish probably do it faster than others though.

 

[Candi1990]

I agree with all that but I don't see a problem doing water changes >50%. I do 75% water changes all the time, although the tank is cycled. I think as long as there is no HUGE difference in the water you are changing it should be fine, but if you're going to do 3 50% water changes in one day it's just as "bad" as doing one 90% water change.

I've heard that fish take days, even weeks to adapt to new water conditions. Some fish probably do it faster than others though.

I wouldn't do 3 50% in one day either. That's a lot if new water. I don't know if my tap water is good enough for that. Heck why not just do all new water if your doing that much?

 

[Mebbid]

I agree with all that but I don't see a problem doing water changes >50%. I do 75% water changes all the time, although the tank is cycled. I think as long as there is no HUGE difference in the water you are changing it should be fine, but if you're going to do 3 50% water changes in one day it's just as "bad" as doing one 90% water change.

I've heard that fish take days, even weeks to adapt to new water conditions. Some fish probably do it faster than others though.

The 3 50% changes doesn't overwhelm fish with a large sudden pH shift. If you let the water age and pH / temp match it then you can do larger but I can't think of many people that actually do that.

I wouldn't do 3 50% in one day either. That's a lot if new water. I don't know if my tap water is good enough for that. Heck why not just do all new water if your doing that much?

You could do all new water as long as you take the fish out before and do a long acclimation to account for the difference in pH. Or see above response.

 

[griff5499]

It is week 4 and all fish are happy. One black skirt has ick so I have the heat to 86. Ammonia is between .25 and .50, slight nitrites and nitrates at about 20. I do pwc when the ammonia reaches .50 and bring it down to .25. I'am just not sure why the ammonia is climbing unless it is the fact that I am overstocked and starting a new tank?

 

[Mebbid]

It is week 4 and all fish are happy. One black skirt has ick so I have the heat to 86. Ammonia is between .25 and .50, slight nitrites and nitrates at about 20. I do pwc when the ammonia reaches .50 and bring it down to .25. I'am just not sure why the ammonia is climbing unless it is the fact that I am overstocked and starting a new tank?

Yep, that's pretty much the reasosn

 

[anibis]

Ammonia will continue to climb until you have enough bacteria to convert all of it to nitrite. Considering your stocking level you need to grow quite a bit of bb, so it's no surprise it's taking a little while for the ammonia to drop.

Once the ammonia drops I would expect nitrites to go through the roof, and you will need to continue daily water changes to keep it down as well. In my experience from the 29g I'm cycling now the need for pwc's slowed over time. The first week of the nitrite phase I had to change water everyday, 2nd week it was every other, now I'm in my 3rd week and it's every 3rd day. I have an extremely light stock in my cycling 29g, so it may not be the same for you.

Temperature is a good way to get rid of ick. You have to keep in mind the higher the temperature, the lower the oxygen content of the water. It's generally recommended to add an air stone (or two) when you are treating ick with temperature to help keep the water aerated. Also the higher the temperature, the more toxic ammonia/nitrites are. Just something to keep in mind.

 

[Caliban07]

Better to return some of the fish and buy a test kit. It's easier said than done changing 50% if tank volume multiple times. Just return all your fish except say 3-4 of the ones you like and buy a test kit. Once the cycle is complete. You can stock more fish slowly every couple of weeks.