fistration and feeding ?'s

[turkey]

I just bought a new cascade canister filter rated for a 65g and still have my hob filter rated for 55g is there such a thing as to much filtration and do i have to much?

second I added more live stock and I think it caused a mini spike to the already not finished cycling tank so the lfs said to quit feeding my fish every day and skip to every other or every three is this a good Idea

I think my tank should be coming back to normal the water has always been clear and since the addition of the new filter it is crystal clear

also none of my fish hide is this odd they have plenty of spaces to hide but all stay up front even the loaches and african cat sorry for the long post

 

[Esra]

If it was me i'd keep feeding the fish but do more water changes to try and get the ammonia down that way until the tank is cycled properly.

Definitely don't add any more fish until is it properly cycled.

 

[justrelax]

How big is this tank? Overfiltration isn't an issue, don't worry about it. Feeding every other day would be fine, but as mentioned, keep your parameters in check with pwc's as needed. Just because the water is crystal clear doesn't mean it's not full of stuff toxic to your fish, so test regularly especially until you are certain your cycle has completed. It will take the fish a while to find and set up territories in a new home, just be patient with them.

 

[turkey]

its a 55g and i have been doing pwc's weekly should i bump it up

 

[justrelax]

Depends on what your tests say. If you haven't completed cycling yet, you want to ideally keep your ammonia and nitrites UNDER .5. That can happen pretty quickly. Do you have a liquid reagent test kit?

 

[7Enigma]

Unless your fish look unhealthy (ie skinny, looking sickly) you will be fine with cutting the feedings down to every other day. Better yet (if you don't have a couple aggressive fish that tend to get all the food while some get very little) is to feed every day, just 1/2 of what you would normally feed. Again this only is good if all your fish get some food. Otherwise do a normal feeding every other day.

 

[coldmachineUK]

It can be a bit heartbreaking to see fish begging for food but tbh I've found that my fish are much happier and healthier if they have the odd day where they don't have a feed. I tend to feed twice a day, and usually skip one day completely and half a day another day in the week.
It won't hurt them at all, but as 7enigma said just keep an eye on them.

I'd recommend pwcs every other day if you're cycling with fish in there...

 

[happygirl65]

I also have a 55 gallon tank and my cycle went pretty quickly due to adding live plants, and seeding the tank with some filter gunk from a friends tank. Of course 3-4 weeks doesnt feel so fast when you are waiting to add more fish into that seemingly empty tank.

I added fish too soon, but only 7 very small fish (4 cherry barbs and 3 lemon tetras, all babies) as my dh could not wait. So I tested once a day the first week. And I posted for help to make sure all the fish would be ok.

Everyone was extremely helpful. Everything was fine for the first five days and then the amonia went up....next was the nitrite....and finally the nitrate, just as everyone had explained would happen in the nitrogen cycle.

The second and third week I was doing PWC of about 40-50% every two to three days to keep the ammonia and nitrite under .5, but doing that and feeding half the amount each day really helped a LOT.

I would also recommend not putting any more fish in until you test daily with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite results for several consecutive days. It just makes it much easier on you with all the water changes. There are lots of expensive chemicals on the market to help reduce ammonia toxicity but the best and cheapest option by far is to just do large water changes every couple of days. Or more if your levels indicate you need to. I ended up taking back all the junk I bought for ammonia reduction when I found out that I really didnt need it with doing the water changes, that saved me about $30.00 seriously....

Have fun with it! The cycle is the hardest part and once you get through that it will be lots more fun. It is all worth it though, to know that your fish are going to remain healthy and happy due to all of your efforts.

 

[turkey]

so I shopuld just keep doing pwcs every other day or so for how long or is it worth it to go buy something to put in the water I think I might be at the end of the cycle anyway all three went up and are now on a steady decline well that was untill I my stupid self addeed more fish Havn't checked since

 

[JDogg]

pwc are great, but i do not know if i would just go about doing pwc "willy nilly" pick up a reagent test kit as justrelax said. test every day, maybe even twice a day...and do a water change if ammonia or nitrite get over .5 ppm if you are keeping you levels TOO LOW you tank will never cycle...imo

 

[7Enigma]

so I shopuld just keep doing pwcs every other day or so for how long or is it worth it to go buy something to put in the water I think I might be at the end of the cycle anyway all three went up and are now on a steady decline well that was untill I my stupid self addeed more fish Havn't checked since

See if the store you bought the filter and fish from will give you some gravel from a tank or a piece of filter media. If they won't, bring along a plastic baggy or small container and see if you can get them to at least squish a piece of filter in the bag/container. Either of these will have large amounts of bacteria on them and will speed up your cycle.

You can always purchase some plants as well and keep or discard them when the cycle is complete. These will both absorb ammonia and provide beneficial bacteria that is coated on the plants.

 

[happygirl65]

You can always purchase some plants as well and keep or discard them when the cycle is complete. These will both absorb ammonia and provide beneficial bacteria that is coated on the plants.

I completely agree, as 7Enigma said this will really speed things along and the plants will really help keep the amonia down, and you will still complete your cycle.

Just make sure you get LOW light plants if you are still using the stock hood/light that came with your tank. I put in one hoping it would survive until my new light arrived in a week or so, I was wrong...it croaked without enough light releasing more amonia back into the water as it died. I had to remove it and do a large water change and then things were back on track.

Every tank is different so no one can say exactly how long it will take until you are cycled. Getting more of that established bacteria in your tank is key to speeding things up.

My tank took just over 3 weeks from the time I added fish, but I had a few live plants, a small bioload, and I added filter bacteria (squeezins from a friends filter pad). I did a lot of water changes in the second week when the amonia spiked (after my plant died) and a couple more changes in the third week when the nitrite spiked, never letting them go above .5 as advised by the knowledgeable people here. PWC were about every other day at that point but I let the tests tell me if I needed to do one or not according to my levels.