Hello my new friends!

[wasteguys2000]

Hi to all , I am new to the forums and also new to the hobby, My 4 year old son wanted a fish tank for his birthday so i did a little reading and someone told me to buy as big a tank as i can to start with so the water will stay a bit more stable unlike a 5 gallon tank were 1 small thing changes the whole tank, I hope this was true because the one thing that i did notice with the bigger tank is that doing the PWC as often as i have to is allot of work(i will touch on this in a moment). So here i am , the proud owner of a 37 gallon tall tank and a 5 gallon tank for my beta, the problem i have with my 37 gallon is I bought it used with stand and all the equipment that i need to get it going, the problem is when she knew it was sold to me she did a full clean on the tank and all items in it and threw the old filters and floss away, now this would of not been an issue except when i got to the house to pick up tank, there was 2 goldfish in a bucket that come with the tank. So now i have a fully cleaned out tank with no old media and 2 fish that need to be in the tank asap. So needless to say it has been a long week so far due to the size of the goldies and the amount of amo they can make in a few hours. I have had to do 75% water changes 2 or more a day just to keep the water at .50 amo. So my start into the hobby has been an interesting journey so far, I just hope (for the sake of my back ) the PWC become less frequent soon.

 

[LyndaB]

You can rehome the goldies if they are not your cup of tea. Craigslist, freecycle, sometimes even your own lfs.

Well done in getting a larger tank and, to be honest, I would've purchased new filter media anyway (except of course, there was the surprise of the existing fish).

Kinda weird that the previous tank owner scrubbed it all down when she had fish already. Maybe the tank was in horrible shape.

Do you have a python or other water changer? Please tell me you're not using buckets to do those enormous water changes! Eek!

 

[wasteguys2000]

LOL I do not have a python as of yet , I have been using 20 gallon tote and a 2 quart pitcher to add the new water after i vac out the old.

 

[LyndaB]

Oh Good Lord! Get thee to the lfs and buy a python!!! Now!!!!

 

[gabysapha]

Oh Good Lord! Get thee to the lfs and buy a python!!! Now!!!!

How to pythons work? I use buckets to change water, and it's no problem for me, but considering a python...

 

[wasteguys2000]

yea, i know how the python gets the water out of the tank but how does it get the prepared water from my 50 gallon can into my tank?

 

[LyndaB]

You hook the python up to a faucet, like a regular hose. There is an adapter that attaches to the faucet so that, in one position, it empties the tank, in the other position, it fills the tank. This is also a great tool in order to fill the tank with close to the same temperature water that your tank has.

 

[starquest]

Not to butt in here, but just so you know, many lfs do not carry the pythons any more, at least where I live, but they do have one called Aqueon water changer. It's basically the same thing as the python, but according to some folks, it is a little better made. I can't vouch for it, because I'm still waiting for one to be delivered from Amazon. And if you ever had a water bed, they work like the old water bed filler/emptier things.

And, BTW, welcome to the forum. I can't help but respect your dedication to the goldies that you didn't even ask for. WOW!! Hope you get some relief soon.

 

[wasteguys2000]

Question for you all, Can you use a python to drain out lets say 20 gallons and then fill from the tap at the same temperature untreated water directly into the tank and then treat it once it enters the tank? I know it may be a dumb question but i am just trying to understand how buying a python will make my life easier if i still need to lug 5 gallon pails to refill.

 

[LyndaB]

The only dumb question is the one that doesn't get asked.

Yes, your description matches how we do water changes on our 4 tanks at home. We remove 50% using python, replace 50% using python (adjust temperature as needed) and while the tank is refilling, put in our Prime.

 

[wasteguys2000]

And your fish are still in the water right? and BTW you respond so fast its like you are in the room with me having a conversation LOL.

 

[LyndaB]

That's because I'm right behind you..... bwaaaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaa haaaaaaaaaa.....

Yes, the fish are all in the water when the water changes take place.

 

[wasteguys2000]

well i am glad that i know that , I will get a water changer this afternoon and i will switch to prime for my water treatment. also as I know you have read my other post regarding the goldfish that i want to re home I might just keep them and grab a 125G for a tropical tank with plants. Ty for taking the time to help me I am very glad that i joined this forum group and i only hope that one day I can help someone with tank issues due to the info I get on this site.

 

[LyndaB]

I'm sure before long, you'll be contributing like a pro......

 

[Mimi]

Hello how are you I'm new here so I don't know how this app actually works,
Mimi

 

[wasteguys2000]

well I think after you sign up on the forums you will receive a hello private message that gives you all the info.

 

[redsea]

Welcome to AA! Thanks for joining us!

 

[wasteguys2000]

well I purchased the water changer and it was defiantly easier but not faster , took a very long time to drain the water but i just watched an episode of walking dead and all was fine.I also have the luxury of dealing with my first bout of ICH , I only show 1 fish with it so far so i quarantined him and started the salt treatment on both fish. I think i caught this fast enough that maybe the fish will be ok, and I must say that this start up into the hobby has been a bit taxing LOL.

 

[LyndaB]

Now for the bad news. Quaranting a fish with ich will leave you treating two tanks for ich.

When one fish exhibits symptoms, you must treat the entire tank.

It's really easy if you catch the ich quickly, as you did.

Raise the temp slowly to 86 degrees F

Add an airstone to increase oxygenation

Do gravel vacs every 2-3 days to remove ich spore from substrate

Maintain this schedule for minimum of 2 weeks

 

[wasteguys2000]

Update on the goldfish that has been testing my ability to be a fish keeper. I have been seeing nitrites that at around 2ppm so i dont like that so I have been doing big PWT to lower it , the issue I am having is after 2 3/4 water changes I get 0 amo, 1ppm nitri, and 5ppm nirta so I do some math and figure that is not a likely result so I retest and get the same result. now I decide to test the tap water and BANG there lies the issue I am getting .5 on the tap. now is this ok or will i not be able to keep fish due to this issue?