new tank, filter setup

[peppermjnt]

Hi guys! I finally got a new tank for my flower horn. (60g)I wanted to start cycling it before i move my fish in it, but the filter for my new tank is empty, I thought it must have had carbon etc in set, but i guess i have to buy everything separately. please tell me what exactly do i need for this filter and how to set it all in, this filter is completely different from my old one.and one more question, i checked for ammonia in my old tank(15g), its more than 10mg. i did 10% water change and it hasn't changed. ph level is 7. what do i do to lower that ammonia level and how to prevent it from going up again. i don't overfeed, my fish eats all the food i give it in 5 sec. i vacuumclean the excrements every day. Many thanks!

 

[peppermjnt]

here are the photos of the filter

 

[peppermjnt]

the old tank is quite empty right now, as i was trying to cure my fish from fungus, I took out all the gravel and decorations. theres only a cave and one artificial plant, nothing else. a few weeks ago i noticed green hairy algae growing on top of the leaves and the cave, I asked at the petshop if its bad for my fish, they said its fine, and i don't mind it, it looks quite nice. but wanted to let u know, maybe it has smth to do with my problem, and maybe it a bad idea to keep it growing?

 

[skiweeangel]

What kind of filter is that? I have never seen one like that

 

[peppermjnt]

What kind of filter is that? I have never seen one like that

dophin p- 1008

 

[peppermjnt]

What kind of filter is that? I have never seen one like that

dophin p-1008

 

[MrPillow]

Looks to me like some sort of wet/dry system, couldn't find much info online. I imagine you would fill the area above the white with bio-media, possibly a later of sponge on top for mechanical?

Not really sure, haven't seen one of those before.

 

[peppermjnt]

Looks to me like some sort of wet/dry system, couldn't find much info online. I imagine you would fill the area above the white with bio-media, possibly a later of sponge on top for mechanical?

Not really sure, haven't seen one of those before.

yea i know i searched on the internet for 5 hours couldn't find any info. (

but do i need to put carbon i it?

 

[MrPillow]

No. Carbon is unnecessary unless you are removing medications from the water.

 

[skiweeangel]

It looks like it has a spoung for filtration in it. I looked an could not find anything but replacement parts online. So I would just put in something like biomax.

 

[senemedar]

Looks like the filter in the tank I'm about to get... Is this white thing inside a sponge? If yes, I don't think you need anything more. If you wish you could change one of the sponges for bio-ring or smth, but I don't think that's necessary... Doesn't it have any form of manual with it?

 

[peppermjnt]

Looks like the filter in the tank I'm about to get... Is this white thing inside a sponge? If yes, I don't think you need anything more. If you wish you could change one of the sponges for bio-ring or smth, but I don't think that's necessary... Doesn't it have any form of manual with it?

that white thing is my cotton wool.
nope no manual i think i know what to do now, the tube u see on top of it has wholes in it, the water drops down on the wool, so i guess ill put a foam sponge and beneficial bacteria bed. do u think sponge is enough to filter and keep the bacteria balance in a 60 g tank?

 

[peppermjnt]

It looks like it has a spoung for filtration in it. I looked an could not find anything but replacement parts online. So I would just put in something like biomax.

that's the cotton wool i put in it, it was empty before.
whats biomax ? im new to fish keeping.

 

[peppermjnt]

No. Carbon is unnecessary unless you are removing medications from the water.

would make things worse if i still put it in though? my old filter had carbon in it in set

 

[peppermjnt]

guys what should i do about my ammonia problem! help! been changing water everyday and the level wouldn't drop.

 

[skiweeangel]

Did you cycle the tank first? If the tank is new and you didn't cycle it before putting fish in you are going to have to change the water everyday, possibly multiple times per day. The nitrogen fixing bacteria are hasn't had a chance to build up yet an can take a while. In the FW getting started area there are some sticky threads at the top for beginners with all the info you will need to get you through. Look at the fish in cycling info, it will save you time and worrying. PWCs (partial water changes) are the only thing you can do until your cycle is complete. If you have any questions at all please post them.

What kind of test are you using to check your water? I would recommend the API mater test kit for FW (fresh water).

Anything else just post away! Hope all goes well.

 

[skiweeangel]

Also bak to back water changes are good to bring your levels down to a healthy amount.

 

[skiweeangel]

One more thing. Are their any established tanks you could get some old filter media from? That will help the cycle along.

 

[peppermjnt]

Did you cycle the tank first? If the tank is new and you didn't cycle it before putting fish in you are going to have to change the water everyday, possibly multiple times per day. The nitrogen fixing bacteria are hasn't had a chance to build up yet an can take a while. In the FW getting started area there are some sticky threads at the top for beginners with all the info you will need to get you through. Look at the fish in cycling info, it will save you time and worrying. PWCs (partial water changes) are the only thing you can do until your cycle is complete. If you have any questions at all please post them.

What kind of test are you using to check your water? I would recommend the API mater test kit for FW (fresh water).

Anything else just post away! Hope all goes well.

thank you very much for your response! Im cycling my new tank now, started today. the fish is still in its old little tank. the ammonia level suddenly raised in the old tank after i treated my fw with an anti-fungus medicine. since then ive been changing 20% of water every day. im using a liquid test kit called 'sera'. thats the only test kit i could get here, the pet shop ordered it for me. they don't even have them in pet shops.
unfortunately the old filter is too small for my new one, sponge, carbon and filter wool are like one tenth of the size of my new filter. also im worried that if its imbalanced or has some bad bacteria that causes ammonia to raise, i don't want to introduce it to the new tank, maybe its better to just start all over?

 

[skiweeangel]

Some of the medications will kill off bacteria, they tend to be broad spectrum and unfortunately do not ask to see who is the good bacteria and who is bad. So check the label on the anti-fungus medicine. although you are fighting a fungus it might kill bacteria as well. If this is the case than you might have to recycle that tank as well.