Hello! New to the fun world of aquarium keeping!

[JerseyGirl1385]

Hello everyone! My name is Randi.

I am new to the aquarium world. I currently have a 39g tank with 2 Black Moors ( Sammy and Paco), 2 small comets and a snail.
Just tested my water yesterday and everything is perfect except my ammonia is slightly high.

Any advice would be appreciated on how to keep ammonia level down. Just did 50% water change Tuesday night and got a new filter. Removed 75 percent of my substrate ( planning on going bare bottom?? Any advice on that).

And as of this morning, tank is still slightly cloudy, but not nearly as bad as it was on Tuesday. I can actually see through the tank if I stand on one side.

Thanks!!!

 

[Convict2161]

Welcome to the family!! I your tank cycled? When you bought the new filter did you seed it with your old media from the other filter? 2 goldfish with other fish sounds like a heavy bio load. What are your water changes like?

You may need to up the water changes to 50% weekly. You need to get your ammonia down. What's your feeding schedule like? A cycled tank shouldn't have ammonia IMO.

You be going through a mini cycle since you changed out filters. The cloudiness could be a bacteria bloom also.

Hope this helps! I'm no expert though.

And again welcome!! Glad your here!!

 

[Jesselav1233]

How long has your tank been set up? If its recently then the only thing you would prob see is high ammonia coming from the fish waste. When people say cycled tank they are referring to you having established bacteria cultures in your tank 2 of them mainly one that feeds on ammonia and convert it to nitrite and the other that feeds on nitrite and converts it to nitrate.(at least that's my understanding of it) so if your tank isn't "cycled" then you will have to do extra water changes to keep your ammonia and eventually your nitrites down once you notice that ammonia stays at 0 and nitrite stays at 0 and your nitrate starts going up that's a good thing that means your bacteria is established and is properly converting fish waste into nitrates(which is less harmful to fish then the other two stages of the nitrogen cycle) after that only do water changes once maybe twice a week depending just keep the nitrate under 40-50 readings (I like to keep it in the 5-10 range but that's just me.)

 

[Jesselav1233]

They do make ammonia detoxifiers you could add to the water to help the fish a little but basically the best thing you can do is do big frequent water changes any ammonia is harmful to fish so you want 0 same with nitrites aim for 0 also make sure you add dechlorinater to the water your adding to the tank first otherwise the tap water will be as harmful as the ammonia

 

[sally pu]

Welcome to the fam...sorry I have nothing offer as far as help but just do what ^they said and can we see some pics of the tank set up?

 

[JerseyGirl1385]

I found an article on this site about the importance of "cycling" my tank before adding my precious little fish. I wasn't made aware of this when I was purchasing them.
As for the cloudiness, it's still there, so I will do a WC tomorrow night. Also I'm thinking about removing the rest of my substrate and leaving it bare bottom. I don't want to harm my Black Moors in any way, especially from ignorance!
Thanks for all the advice everyone, I really appreciate it!

 

[Pleky plec]

Welcome!! I honestly think that you shouldn't go bare bottom. Add some live plants and fake caves. That adds some beauty to the tank.

 

[JerseyGirl1385]

I'm not sure the pros and cons of having substrate vs bare bottom. I've seen a lot of peaceful and beautiful bare bottom tanks.
I'm just not sure if that's the route to take.
I have 2 Black Moors and 2 comets... Someone earlier had said that having all 4 might be too big of a load in my tank.
SMH! So confusing!

 

[Pleky plec]

I'm not sure the pros and cons of having substrate vs bare bottom. I've seen a lot of peaceful and beautiful bare bottom tanks.
I'm just not sure if that's the route to take.
I have 2 Black Moors and 2 comets... Someone earlier had said that having all 4 might be too big of a load in my tank.
SMH! So confusing!

Well if you go bare bottom you'll be able to see all the poop on the tanks floor. But if you get gravel it looks natural. But sand is in the middle of bare and gravel. It looks natural but has the same effect as bare bottom. Cause the poop just sits on the sand. But if you want plant do sand or gravel.

 

[Pleky plec]

The poop will also get sucked up easier if you go sand or bare. I'm confusing myself lol!