Hello, new here, and already crashed my tank :(

[GoldsGuy]

Thanks Jeff and jlk. You guys are great and now i fully understand. I'll keep you guys posted. I can't wait to stock my tank!

If you add live plants it helps keep the nitrite and nitrate down? Does that allow you to wait longer in between pwc's ?

Thanks again guys. Angels plus active filters are the best

Yeah the plants will use the nitrate as a fert which can result in extending the time between water changes.
But water changes also add minerals back to the water which your fish and BB will need. Also it adds buffers back to the water which helps maintain pH.
So you can either go two weeks between changes or reduce the amount of water you change weekly.
You will learn the natural balance of your tank as you go.

 

[e30 gangsta]

Perfect. Thanks guys.

So as a rule of thumb how often do you guys do a pwc's? And when you do how much do you change? 50%?

 

[boadams87]

Perfect. Thanks guys.

So as a rule of thumb how often do you guys do a pwc's? And when you do how much do you change? 50%?

I use my test kit as a guide.

 

[GoldsGuy]

Perfect. Thanks guys.

So as a rule of thumb how often do you guys do a pwc's? And when you do how much do you change? 50%?

I do weekly but that's because I have goldfish which are dirty and have a high bio load.

I have a 55-gal and change about 10% of the water weekly. There's no need to change more than that unless parameters are high. As my fish grow I'll prob have to change more until I move to a larger tank.

 

[jlk]

A general rec is 50% once a week (depending on type fish & how heavily your stocked). I keep fancy goldfish & follow a bit more extreme water change schedule (50-75% 2-3x wk, qt fish 50% daily). Most serious fancy breeders practice up to 100% wcs daily but this isnt practical for most hobbiests (or my water bill).

 

[e30 gangsta]

Ok Ill just stick to 50% pwc's every Sunday. Thanks again guys!

 

[GoldsGuy]

Ok Ill just stick to 50% pwc's every Sunday. Thanks again guys!

I would use your test results as a guide and the bio load of your stock. 20% would prob be all you need. I know some do more, but that is usually because they are overstocked.

 

[GoldsGuy]

I would use your test results as a guide and the bio load of your stock. 20% would prob be all you need. I know some do more, but that is usually because they are overstocked.

Btw Guillermo. Any new pics?

 

[jlk]

I would use your test results as a guide and the bio load of your stock. 20% would prob be all you need. I know some do more, but that is usually because they are overstocked.

My tanks are cycled & understocked but i believe healthy water is the best thing you can offer your fish. Thus, i am a firm believer in water changes.

 

[GoldsGuy]

My tanks are cycled & understocked but i believe healthy water is the best thing you can offer your fish. Thus, i am a firm believer in water changes.

I agree jlk. I do weekly changes myself. I just don't think it's necessary to always do major changes as long as parameters are within "ideal" ranges as it could cause a mini-cycle as well as being somewhat stressful on the fish.

 

[e30 gangsta]

So.......

Im done and stocked!

tequila sunrise guppy
Gourami
mickey mouse platy
red tetra
and a snail.

Keeping the stock light for now to see how it goes.


Couple of questions for you guys now that I have gotten this far.

At what ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate level should I do a pwc?

And I now have the dual led light setup, both white light and the dark light.

How many hours do you guys leave your lights on?

Im so excited!

 

[GoldsGuy]

So.......

Im done and stocked!

tequila sunrise guppy
Gourami
mickey mouse platy
red tetra
and a snail.

Keeping the stock light for now to see how it goes.

Couple of questions for you guys now that I have gotten this far.

At what ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate level should I do a pwc?

And I now have the dual led light setup, both white light and the dark light.

How many hours do you guys leave your lights on?

Im so excited!

Congrats Guillermo. Funny thought of your tread while I was at gym today. Wondered how things were going.
Looks great.
Now that you are fully cycled your ammonia and nitrites should always be at 0 due to nitrogen cycle with BB. it's possible you may go through a mini-cycle after adding stock. If so, ammonia and nitrite are highly toxic. Do PWCs to keep ammonia below .25ppm and nitrite below .50 ppm until tank recycles and goes back to 0.
Then just do 10% weekly PWCs for regular weekly maintenance.
Since I too have stick light LEDs I keep them on for 12 hours a day. I have in timer so I don't use the moonlight blue LEDs currently. But I have my tank planted so why I do 12 hours. You could probably go with 10 hours white and blue until u go to bed.
Congrats again and good luck.
Post more pics when u can

 

[jlk]

Congrats!!! Your amm & nitrite should stay at zero now that your cycled but if you happen to see any spikes, do water changes as needed to keep these levels below .25ppm. Ideally, you should keep your nitrate levels at 20ppm or lower. Weekly pwcs will keep these levels in check. As I have said before, I am a firm believer in water changes & I would recommend atleast 40-50% once a week. If you check out the polls on this site, theres one on pwcs & what everyone averages in wk/%.

In respect to your lights, I dont have leds but keep my lights on an average of 10-12hrs a day for my plants and rarely ever use the moonlights because fish need a simulated period of darkness to mimic the natural cycle of day & night. Hope to see more pics soon!

 

[e30 gangsta]

Heres some more pics! These guys are hard to catch on camera when they are eating breakfast lol.

How often do you guys feed your fish? and how much food do you guys put into the tank?

A small pinch, a good pinch, a couple of pinches of flakes?

 

[jlk]

I wish I could offer more specific feeding advice but I dont keep tropicals & my feeding regimen would not work for most fish/situations. If you do some looking on here, you will find alot of feeding advice! A general recommendation would be to feed 1-2x a day, what they can eat in under 1-2mins and skip one day a week for a fast. Do some looking & you will find more accurate & fish-specific info! Love the new pics!

 

[e30 gangsta]

Heres some pics of my new guys. Eletric blue ram, gorami, snail, ghost black knife, and my micky mouse platy.

Ive been feeding them once a day a good sized pinch and they eat everything up! Even the flakes that fall and land on the sand. They are hungry little guys.

Every 2 days though I had to do a %25 pwc since the ammonia slowly creeps up to .25ppm. Is this normal?

And thanks.

 

[HeatherW]

i like your fish!
i had the same question about feeding. i went to the lfs and asked what the definition of "a pinch" was. you can pinch lots or little IMO lol!
I feed everyday except fast on sunday. I feed a variety of food, some frozen, some flake and kinda alternate around. I have actually timed mine and try and see if they eat most of the stuff in 1 min and hopefully it looks pretty much all gone in 3 min. now for my 90 gallon I spread the food around so everyone gets a chance to eat. I also have some little pellets for my loach - I have seen the mollies eat them and also I think maybe my ram. I know they say to make sure the ram gets enough because he is not a fast eater... I have lots of fish in the 90 gallon so I do 2 pinches - kinda large but not too large and in the 20 gallon I do 1 smallish pinch. a little less than I used to since the molly left - she was a big eater! when I do the frozen food the brine shrimp are portioned in little squares so that makes it easier.

how much are you feeding yours??

 

[e30 gangsta]

A pinch In both sides of my 10 gallon tank. Like the size of a dime of tropical flakes. In 5 minutes everything is gone. The gourami eats the big chuncks, ghost eats whatever falls to the bottom. Everything else eats the normal sized flakes. I feed them once a day, I just want to make sure that is enough, and they are not starving lol.

 

[jlk]

Umm...you may want to reconsider the bgk. I was looking at these guys last week (they are really neat fish!!) and they grow VERY large- as in up to 15-20inches & need a very large tank. I dont know if there are species of bgks that do not get this big but the ones i saw did. Im sure someone with experience with them will know!

 

[Koikid88]

Excuse me if I come across as rude, but I laughed when I read a gangsta was keeping mickey mouse mollies. Didn't read through 12 pages so don't know if this is your kids tank? Any way, congrats on sticking to it and fixing things after jumping in blindfolded. At that point, a lot of people realize that it takes work to keep fish, and quit the hobby before they start. Next things next, read up on stock compatibility, and research each fish before you buy (What water parameters they need, temp, tank size, etc.). Most stores post a minimum tank size, but after any experience, you will know it is the minimum of minimum. If it says minimum 20 gallon tank, put it in a 25-30 at least, preferably more.
You're stocking makes me worry about the blue ram. If that DG wants to, it will tear it to shreds.

When feeding, only feed what they can eat in 1-2 minutes, not 5. Overfeeding is never a good idea.

Your fish also appreciate plants for a healthy life, some of them NEED plants to thrive. Not a fake saltwater set up.