New to this and screwed up already!

[Coco1019]

I'm going to hold out on getting the canister until December. I can at least them try to justify another "fish purchase" as The Husband is calling them. He is starting to just shake his head when he sees another "fish purchase".

 

[phishfriend]

I'm going to hold out on getting the canister until December. I can at least them try to justify another "fish purchase" as The Husband is calling them. He is starting to just shake his head when he sees another "fish purchase".

Lmao! My wife just looks at me and shakes her head

 

[Pipedreamer86]

My live in gf doesn't say much Bout the spending, she.saves it.for the "you spend more time.with your fish.than me"

 

[Coco1019]

My live in gf doesn't say much Bout the spending, she.saves it.for the "you spend more time.with your fish.than me"

Bahahaha! Okay, you win.

 

[Coco1019]

I've started painting the back of the 55. I did patches of black and blue because I couldn't decide which one I wanted more. I think I'm going to go with the blue. I also found a couple of rocks on a walk today and will clean those up to be added.

Jetajockey convinced me to go with ecocomplete and I'm going to order some of that from Amazon. My huge 67oz bottle of Prime got here. I'm amazed at how quick my first bottle went.

The ammonia has been at .25 for 8 days now and no change in nitrites - blue as blue can be.

 

[callisto9]

Nice tank! I'm excited to see how this pans out!

 

[phishfriend]

Same! Can't wait to see it!

 

[KryptiCouple]

Funny how quickly that little tank turns into a big project, huh? We started with a 20gal long community tank in July and now have a 65gal (upgraded the 20) and a 55gal cichlid tank. We've sunk in probably close to a grand in these 3 tanks since we started it up...

 

[phishfriend]

Funny how quickly that little tank turns into a big project, huh? We started with a 20gal long community tank in July and now have a 65gal (upgraded the 20) and a 55gal cichlid tank. We've sunk in probably close to a grand in these 3 tanks since we started it up...

Lol! Yeah I tend to not look at the cost. I feel a lot better when I just focus on the reward!!

 

[Coco1019]

I don't even wanna know the cost...

I spent $35 or 40 on a rock for goodness sake. Granted, it's a big piece of lava rock that I really love and has a cool tunnel.

Then there are the 3 kits, the decor, the fish, the stand, the buckets, the pumps, the tubing, the magnet, the sponges, the prime, the food, the thermometers, THE WATER BILL, the test kit...sigh...

I wonder if I could use rainwater? Being here in Seattle, we have plenty of that.

 

[KryptiCouple]

I don't even wanna know the cost...

I spent $35 or 40 on a rock for goodness sake. Granted, it's a big piece of lava rock that I really love and has a cool tunnel.

Then there are the 3 kits, the decor, the fish, the stand, the buckets, the pumps, the tubing, the magnet, the sponges, the prime, the food, the thermometers, THE WATER BILL, the test kit...sigh...

I wonder if I could use rainwater? Being here in Seattle, we have plenty of that.

You'd probably have to treat it pretty strongly...?

 

[Coco1019]

You'd probably have to treat it pretty strongly...?

Eh...true.

The second day I started cycling the 10, The Husband surprised me with a sponge from Angels Plus. I think he's just impatient. But, today, the ammonia was between 1 and 2. I'm thinking in a couple of days I'll be dosing again.

I'm finding that I like a lot of the bottom dwellers and I'm not sure which ones are best or if I can even fit them all. AqAdvisor says they're fine stock wise but I know it should just be used as a general guideline.

I would like a couple of wood shrimp, a handful amanos, 4 leopard corys, 2 MTSs and 2 mystery snails.

Is that too much?

 

[phishfriend]

For which tank? The 55? No not all. You will want to find some mid and top swimmer also

 

[Coco1019]

For which tank? The 55? No not all. You will want to find some mid and top swimmer also

Yeah, the 55. I'm also going to have the guppies and around 10 cardinals.

 

[Coco1019]

Woohoo! I have Nitrites in the 10.

Ammonia - 1
Nitrite - .25
PpH - 7.4

So, I'm dosing it back to 4.

 

[phishfriend]

Woohoo! I have Nitrites in the 10.

Ammonia - 1
Nitrite - .25
PpH - 7.4

So, I'm dosing it back to 4.

Nice! Yup dose!

 

[Coco1019]

When I originally dosed 1 3/4 tsp (the guide said 2tsp) it took 2 massive water changes to bring the amm down to a readable level at 6ppm. Today, I decided to just do a bit and I dropped it 2ml which isn't even 1/2 tsp and checked an hour later. The amm was at 6. So I guess next time I'll try 1.5ml.

I've checked and I don't have any in my tap.

 

[KryptiCouple]

You could go with some Mbuna cichlids, as well. They're nice and colorful and some of them can get a pretty decent size, to be able to eat adult guppies. Ours are pretty fun to watch on just flakes and pellets with the occasional treat. They will fight over peas and rip them to shreds, so that is pretty amusing to watch.

 

[Pipedreamer86]

It's really a guessing game with the ammonia. When I fishless cycled my 150g I tried measuring the ammonia with a syringe but could never get it right. I got impatient and just started eyeballing it by the cup dumping it in.(cook by trade, so its a trained eye ) it worked though and my tank cycled in 3 weeks. I wouldnt have it any other way, I think I have enough Bb that u could pull off wc once a month. I still do 33% wc a week though just because I think it makes the tank look nicer.

 

[Coco1019]

You could go with some Mbuna cichlids, as well. They're nice and colorful and some of them can get a pretty decent size, to be able to eat adult guppies. Ours are pretty fun to watch on just flakes and pellets with the occasional treat. They will fight over peas and rip them to shreds, so that is pretty amusing to watch.

With the amount of work I've been putting into this to keep the guppies alive, I don't think that would be a good idea. Hahaha

And being a newbie, I'm staying away from cichlids...for now...

It's really a guessing game with the ammonia. When I fishless cycled my 150g I tried measuring the ammonia with a syringe but could never get it right. I got impatient and just started eyeballing it by the cup dumping it in.(cook by trade, so its a trained eye ) it worked though and my tank cycled in 3 weeks. I wouldnt have it any other way, I think I have enough Bb that u could pull off wc once a month. I still do 33% wc a week though just because I think it makes the tank look nicer.

See, I have a very analytical, scientific mind. Eyeballing doesn't work for me, it makes me anxious. Even when I'm cooking, I measure exact what I put it and write it down. If later I make changes, I go back to my recipe and scratch it out and write a new one. Even if it's something I've made a thousand times before, I still measure.