Beginner questions about tank hygene

[pairustwo]

I might be a pest for a month or two while I try and figure out how to best care for our families new fish... help and patience are appreciated.

So things are going well but I have a couple of questions for my first at bat.

1. I have a gravel vacuum but I'm not sure how to use it. How do I initiate the suction of water through the hose. The tank isn't near a sink (30 feet away) do I need an extension or can I drain into a bucket, five gallons at a time?

2. I put some driftwood into the tank that was supposed to be clean. I ran the tank for a week and nothing was growing on it. I introduced some neon tetras and now there is a very white cloud growing along one surface of the wood. It looks very soft sort of like the fur of a stuffed animal or cotton candy. Should I take the wood out and bleach it, rinse it and put it back or should I let the tank stabilize (I know that I am putting in fish, food, and cycle bacteria starter and that things are supposed to happen) ?

Thanks for any advice.
Pairustwo

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Welcome to AA Pairustwo!

1. You can drain it into buckets, not a problem. How big is the tank?

2. That is normal for new wood. It will work its way out. The wood was sanitized beforehand and now it is just building up the bacteria. It gets more technical than that, but that's the jist of it.

What kind of cycle bacteria starter are you using? Do you have a test kit?

 

[LandGhoti]

Hi Pairustwo. Welcome!

1. To start your gravel vac, this is what I do and it works every time. Stick the vac part in the tank and fill it with water, then pull out above the surface. At the same time, plug the other end of the tube with your thumb and wait for the entire tube to fill up with water. Once it's full (make sure there are no bubbles), drop the vac part back into the water, aim the tube into the bucket, and the vacuum should start going. I use two buckets at a time so one can fill while I'm dumping the other one. To keep the tube stable in the bucket, use the bucket's handle to keep it against one side.

2. What fishyfanatic said: bacteria. Sounds bad but is actually good.

 

[pairustwo]

The bacteria is called "Cycle" the company bottling it is called Nutrafin.
I don't have a test kit but the shop where I bought the fish offered to test the water for nitrates and nitrites. I would probably be more comfortable if I knew what was going on myself though.

Thanks for the siphoning tutorial

Thanks again.

pairustwo

 

[kaz]

First of all if the lfs is using strips to test the water they are not accurate enough, buy a test kit from aquarium pharmaceudicals that contain PH, AMMONIA, NITRITE AND NITRATES to start. the cycle can take up over a month. it will start with a peak of ammonia to ensure you fish do not die you need to do big water changes to lower this ammonia level, after days of this a peak of nitrite will develope again you need to do power changes thru out this period, after that you'll end up with the less toxic nitrates. your cycle is over by then and from then on once a week depending on your bioload you should change the water 10% to 50% per week just to maintain the less toxic nitrates level down. you can also look into getting GH and KH test to figure out what is your water quality to further know what type of fish to keep. the PH etc will help you also. for example cardinal tetras are from south america the soft waters and low ph levels, they are very sensitive to change and are moslty caught in the wilde so if you have hard water and higher ph this might stress fish out and eventually wont last as long. under stand where a healthy aquarium starts is understanding the water chemestry with fish. this link might help alot for further understandings.
http://www.aquariumsite.com/freshwater/chemistry.php#acid
I also would suggest to tell us about your tank size, filter etc and would recommend out of the top to start buying a clean up crew for your tank after it has been cycled, what this means is get fish that will help out the the daily maintenance in cleaning the left over food and glass.
1 Ottos
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/615.htm
2 Pleco of the smaller kind
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/640.htm
3 Cory's
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/385.htm
4 Loaches
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/603.htm

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I would go with the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit. You really need to have your own. If they are only testing for Nitrite and Nitrate, it souds like they are using strips. Ammonia is just as important.

Here are a few links to help you out.

Common Mistakes
Nitrogen Cycle
Stocking Guidelines

 

[Burks]

I would go with the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit.

Can't go wrong with that kit. I've been using mine and in all honesty, it's so much easier than you can imagine.

Put a few drops in, shake it, wait x amount of minutes, compare to color chart. Super easy and pretty darn effective.

 

[Tomiam]

Just to back up whats already been said on the "fur" on the bogwood.
Yep I got that on mine too. Some of the bits didnt get it, but some did. Didnt hurt the fish, in fact I spotted some of the lemon tetras taking a nibble at it.
I got a large piece of bogwood (just under 2ft tall & long) and it took about 4 - 5 weeks for the fur to go.

Have fun

 

[Shelby_Tempo_GT]

1. I have a gravel vacuum but I'm not sure how to use it. How do I initiate the suction of water through the hose. The tank isn't near a sink (30 feet away) do I need an extension or can I drain into a bucket, five gallons at a time?



Thanks for any advice.
Pairustwo

Like high school physics.

Put the vacuum end in the tank. Slowly put the rest of the hose into the tank. Once all of the hose is in the tank, put your thumb completely over the hole in the hose end. Put hose in bucket and let thumb off. The siphon action will now begin (making sure the bucket is blow the level of the tank)

Begin vacuuming.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Like high school physics.

Put the vacuum end in the tank. Slowly put the rest of the hose into the tank. Once all of the hose is in the tank, put your thumb completely over the hole in the hose end. Put hose in bucket and let thumb off. The siphon action will now begin (making sure the bucket is blow the level of the tank)

Begin vacuuming.

Exactly. And nobody believes me when I say that I've never suffered from a mouthful of tank water, lol.

 

[MyCatsDrool]

or you can get a python =)

 

[squeekness]

yes, I bought a python myself and it is so much better than the gravel vac/bucket system I've been using. They come with up to 100 feet of hose so you can surely get one to fit your needs. I bought the 25 footer and you can get 10 feet extensions. If your sink is 30 feet away you could get the 25 foot with the extension and be happy. It'll run you about $60 for both pieces but you'll be glad you did.