This is all new to me....

[akkitten]

I jokingly told someone that I was going to get a fish tank for my cats for christmas, kitty TV! So, someone gave me a 1.5g tank with two black moors and a common pleco. They looked awful cramped in that little tank! We lost one of the black moors the first night, the pleco about a week later. Who knew there were wafers for them?! I think the poor guy starved. Well, down to one goldfish we bought a 10g tank, the goldfish got three neighbors to cycle the tank, guppies! We tragically lost one of the guppies, and the black moor. Ok, now I am hooked, to heck with the cats. The 1.5g tank now has a beta in it, and the 10g now has 3 (f) guppies and 4 cherry barbs. I'm thinking about trading the 1.5 in for a 5g for the beta and putting some glofish in with him. OMG...stop me before I get more fish!!!

[mudraker]

Welcome to AA.

OMG...stop me before I get more fish!!!

You might want to read this link before you lose more fish.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/i-just-learned-about-cycling-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html

Best of luck, and post another thread if you need more help.

[akkitten]

I am learning, and since the losses I have read up on cycling a tank. I check all the levels every 2 days but have yet to change out any water, read somewhere that you shouldn't until the tank is fully cycled. Thankfully I am not on city water so I don't have to worry about chlorine or additives in the water. What I was referring to about stop me before I get more fish is I am already looking at larger tank. My husband is threatening bodily harm.

[mudraker]

[/QUOTE]read somewhere that you shouldn't until the tank is fully cycled[QUOTE]

This is untrue. You should probably change about 50% or more of the water daily to keep the ammonia levels tolerable for the fish you have left. PWC will not slow down your cycle. Ammonia will kill the fish.

[roydooms]

read somewhere that you shouldn't until the tank is fully cycled[/QUOTE]

I was told by a petsmart employee not to do a pwc for 3 weeks(during cycling) and just do it once every week after. Oh boy was he so wrong. My nitrite level was so high. So I posted a thread here about it and was told to do a 50%pwc a day or if not twice. I did what they told me and now my fishes are really happy. Nitrites are down to .25ppm and looks like I'm almost done with the cycling. I will do another 50%pwc tomorrow. You can check the thread that I posted. You'll learn a lot about what to do while cycling your tank.

[roydooms]

Its the one titled "cloudy water after wc"

[akkitten]

Ok, I have set the water out to come to room temperature for a change tomorrow. I will get one of the fancy testers later, we bought the test strips, I just ran a test GH - 60, KH, 80, pH 7.0, Nitrite 0.5 and Nitrate 20. I thought I was still operating within normal paramaters. Unfortunately the strips do not test the ammonia level in the tank. Oh goodie! Another trip to the pet store!

[mudraker]

If you are going to the LFS tomorrow, I'd go ahead and buy the API liquid drop test kit. It's well worth the investment.

Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph are the only tests you really need right now.

[akkitten]

I realize that 'now'. The test kit aisle can be slightly overwhelming to a noob. At least now that I found this forum I can put away and dark glasses and white cane.

[mudraker]

You can get the API at Pet Zoo in your neck of the woods.

It's the LFS employees and managers who give out such cruddy advice who should be wearing the dark shades....

[akkitten]

Yeah, I know. Actually met a lady, Jackie I think her name was at the Pet Zoo in Eagle River that was VERY helpful and imformative. When I told her I was cycling with a Moor she informed me not to, goldfish were the worst to do it with and explained their buy back program. Helped me out getting a starter tank, heater, etc. She was the only one I have found who was knowledgeable.

Any recommendations for a decent gravel filter? The tank is about 3 feet from the kitchen sink and I was told there was one that I could do a PWC at the same time. Any advice?