jim692
Aquarium Advice Freak
Hey AA,
I think I made most of the mistakes that newbie's make before I found this site. I thought I would share for those in the same boat. I bet this sounds familiar to many of you...
My wife and I wanted to get my son, Robert, a fish tank for Christmas. He wanted a pet and always liked fish. We've been to Sea World (while on a trip to Disney), The National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Camden Aquarium, and some others. So this seemed to us to be a great gift for a 7 year old. Perfect pets.
When I was a kid there was a fish tank in the house. Parents kept it in the basement. It was about 20 gallons or so I think. With 5 kids in the house all wanting their own fish, it seemed pretty full. It had some strange kind of filter with a j-like tube you had to dunk and keep all the air out of when you placed it or it wouldn't work. Bit of a pest to get it right really. We cleaned the filter out in the laundry tub with hot water every so often. Oh yeah!, and an air pump. I didn't know what it was for, but had to have one of those hooked up to air stones to keep the fish alive for some reason. After all it must have kept those fish alive, right? I didn't go near the tank much. It smelled for some reason or other and was always green. Must have been a bad filter? By the time I was 11 or 12 it was gone. So I didn't want that to happen to my son's tank. I'll ask the people at the store for their advice. They do this all the time I'm sure. That way this tank won't have those problems.
So I went to pet store for advice on keeping a freshwater fish tank. I was told a bigger tank was easier to keep than a small one. I remembered the tank we had as a kid. That looked like a 20 gal, so I bought a 46 gal tank. We needed a stand to put the tank on so it wouldn't break. It's glass right. I'm sure it can break easy. Can't forget the light, filter, air pump, heater (I was asked if wanted breakable kind or unbreakable? Good question?), gravel (I was told to rinse dust off, not wash the heck out of it, and add to tank), salt (yes, I was told it was needed by the fish), stress coat, and stress zyme. Plus other small items. Then, instructed on how to set up, add chemicals, and let filter clear the water (blue from gravel). Poof, just add fish. Sounds great.
OK, day after Christmas we set up the tank. 2 days later we went to get fish. Got 2 cherry barbs , 4 zebra danios, and 3 leopard danios. This was great. I followed the pet stores advice, and the only problem we have is when to get more fish.(BTW, I was told in 2 weeks).
Stocking level? That referred to how much stuff fits into the sock on the mantle at Christmas, right? Water change? Whats wrong with the water the fish have? Topping off? The bartender does that when your drink gets low. How to feed? Open the can of flakes and add for 3 - 5 min. twice a day. That's what we did when I was a kid and it says on the can. Vacuum the gravel? My wife wouldn't like seeing the hose of the vacuum in the tank I'm sure. The nitrogen cycle? Was that a new bike from Harley-Davidson? Fish less cycling of the tank? What was that all about? Test kit? Test for what? Do you need a #2 pencil for this? Ammonia, that's a chemical in the laundry room next to the bleach. Nitrites, nitrates, pH, GH, KH, I thought I was getting fish not taking a chemistry class. I just wanted a fish tank for my son. These things never came up. It's only a fish tank. Everybody has had one at one time right? After all I got advice from several stores. They all couldn't be wrong. Could they?
I got 2 books on freshwater aquariums that were not very good. (Note to self, if published before 1973 find a more current edition.) So next I went onto the Internet to find out if I needed anything else for these pets. Thank God I found this site. I actually started to learn about the art of keeping an aquarium. Then reality showed up. What a buzz kill. I realized everything that I was doing was completely wrong. It's like getting the hang-over without the fun at the party the night before.
Other than all the technical items picked up on the Odyssey, there are a few nuggets of truth I've found. When someone who used to have a fish tank gives you advice find out if they no longer have the tank because all the fish died. Not good to imitate here. Someone trying to sell you something will always tell you how easy and low maintenance it is. Don't take the advice of someone working in a pet store unless they carry a picture of their fish tank at home in their wallet proudly. If you want an easy pet get a hamster, if you want a living art work get an aquarium.
So there are fish in the tank before it has cycled. Salt (1Tbsp/5gal) in the water. Blue dust from the gravel on the leaves of the plastic plants. Excess food on the bottom of the tank. And 80'F water because that was the temp I was told was best by the stores for tropical fish.
It could be worse. I am watching the fish closely, all are active and they seem ok. Tested the tap water. I'm testing the tank water everyday for pH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Vacuumed the excess food, etc. out of the gravel. Cut back on the food going into the tank (once/day). Turned down the tank temp to 76'F at a rate of 1'F per day. Don't know what to do about the salt. Assume it will need to be adjusted slowly. Also will have to get the blue dust off the stuff in the tank where it has settled.
However,
My son loves his fish tank and fish!!!!!
Merry Christmas!
I think I made most of the mistakes that newbie's make before I found this site. I thought I would share for those in the same boat. I bet this sounds familiar to many of you...
My wife and I wanted to get my son, Robert, a fish tank for Christmas. He wanted a pet and always liked fish. We've been to Sea World (while on a trip to Disney), The National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Camden Aquarium, and some others. So this seemed to us to be a great gift for a 7 year old. Perfect pets.
When I was a kid there was a fish tank in the house. Parents kept it in the basement. It was about 20 gallons or so I think. With 5 kids in the house all wanting their own fish, it seemed pretty full. It had some strange kind of filter with a j-like tube you had to dunk and keep all the air out of when you placed it or it wouldn't work. Bit of a pest to get it right really. We cleaned the filter out in the laundry tub with hot water every so often. Oh yeah!, and an air pump. I didn't know what it was for, but had to have one of those hooked up to air stones to keep the fish alive for some reason. After all it must have kept those fish alive, right? I didn't go near the tank much. It smelled for some reason or other and was always green. Must have been a bad filter? By the time I was 11 or 12 it was gone. So I didn't want that to happen to my son's tank. I'll ask the people at the store for their advice. They do this all the time I'm sure. That way this tank won't have those problems.
So I went to pet store for advice on keeping a freshwater fish tank. I was told a bigger tank was easier to keep than a small one. I remembered the tank we had as a kid. That looked like a 20 gal, so I bought a 46 gal tank. We needed a stand to put the tank on so it wouldn't break. It's glass right. I'm sure it can break easy. Can't forget the light, filter, air pump, heater (I was asked if wanted breakable kind or unbreakable? Good question?), gravel (I was told to rinse dust off, not wash the heck out of it, and add to tank), salt (yes, I was told it was needed by the fish), stress coat, and stress zyme. Plus other small items. Then, instructed on how to set up, add chemicals, and let filter clear the water (blue from gravel). Poof, just add fish. Sounds great.
OK, day after Christmas we set up the tank. 2 days later we went to get fish. Got 2 cherry barbs , 4 zebra danios, and 3 leopard danios. This was great. I followed the pet stores advice, and the only problem we have is when to get more fish.(BTW, I was told in 2 weeks).
Stocking level? That referred to how much stuff fits into the sock on the mantle at Christmas, right? Water change? Whats wrong with the water the fish have? Topping off? The bartender does that when your drink gets low. How to feed? Open the can of flakes and add for 3 - 5 min. twice a day. That's what we did when I was a kid and it says on the can. Vacuum the gravel? My wife wouldn't like seeing the hose of the vacuum in the tank I'm sure. The nitrogen cycle? Was that a new bike from Harley-Davidson? Fish less cycling of the tank? What was that all about? Test kit? Test for what? Do you need a #2 pencil for this? Ammonia, that's a chemical in the laundry room next to the bleach. Nitrites, nitrates, pH, GH, KH, I thought I was getting fish not taking a chemistry class. I just wanted a fish tank for my son. These things never came up. It's only a fish tank. Everybody has had one at one time right? After all I got advice from several stores. They all couldn't be wrong. Could they?
I got 2 books on freshwater aquariums that were not very good. (Note to self, if published before 1973 find a more current edition.) So next I went onto the Internet to find out if I needed anything else for these pets. Thank God I found this site. I actually started to learn about the art of keeping an aquarium. Then reality showed up. What a buzz kill. I realized everything that I was doing was completely wrong. It's like getting the hang-over without the fun at the party the night before.
Other than all the technical items picked up on the Odyssey, there are a few nuggets of truth I've found. When someone who used to have a fish tank gives you advice find out if they no longer have the tank because all the fish died. Not good to imitate here. Someone trying to sell you something will always tell you how easy and low maintenance it is. Don't take the advice of someone working in a pet store unless they carry a picture of their fish tank at home in their wallet proudly. If you want an easy pet get a hamster, if you want a living art work get an aquarium.
So there are fish in the tank before it has cycled. Salt (1Tbsp/5gal) in the water. Blue dust from the gravel on the leaves of the plastic plants. Excess food on the bottom of the tank. And 80'F water because that was the temp I was told was best by the stores for tropical fish.
It could be worse. I am watching the fish closely, all are active and they seem ok. Tested the tap water. I'm testing the tank water everyday for pH, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Vacuumed the excess food, etc. out of the gravel. Cut back on the food going into the tank (once/day). Turned down the tank temp to 76'F at a rate of 1'F per day. Don't know what to do about the salt. Assume it will need to be adjusted slowly. Also will have to get the blue dust off the stuff in the tank where it has settled.
However,
My son loves his fish tank and fish!!!!!
Merry Christmas!
