Newbie General Questions (55 gal)

[marchmaxima]

Incidentally, the cloudiness in the water often means a bacterial bloom. and given the situation you are in right now, that's a certainty.

The Bacteria blooming is a good thing. The colony will grow. Eventually you will have a large enough colony to take care of all that ammonia.

But until then, it's PWCs and lots of them.

 

[jimenezlee]

+1 on Durvish. Focus on ammonia and nitrates. Looked at your test kit, should be just fine.

You'll have to do a test and 25-30% pwc at least every other day. It's going to be a pain at first but should get better in a couple of weeks. At that time, based on your tests you may be able to space them out a bit more.

For now, do a water change whenever ammonia is .25. By the way, .25 is "tolerable" by most fw fish. The trouble is that it's very easy from there to make it to .5; which is very toxic and can kill your fish in 2-3 days.

Think about your pwcs now that you don't yet have a bio filter as if you do a 50% pwc and started with .5 of ammonia, then it should come down to .25, which would still need to be addressed. You can make two consecutive pwcs, I used to make one bigger one.

Try to get a seeder filter pad (a pad about to be replaced that has beneficial bacteria) from an established aquarium if you can to speed up the process.

 

[Durvish]

If you get a seeder filter don't let it dry out on the way home! The bacteria will die!

 

[rg07]

Once again, I can't thank you all enough for all the helpful advice. I turned on the lights this morning, and too my surprise, I found a white fuzz on the filter intake, and the side of the heater that is facing the filter intake. There is nothing on any of the plants, or the other tank accessories, or tubing, etc. So, I did a 25% PWC right away, since I didn't have a chance to do one last night.

 

[rg07]

Well. Did another 25% pwc this evening. It looks like it is helping according to my test. But I am losing faith thinking that my test kit is old after reading some of the forums around here. I may pick a new one up at the lfs tomorrow.

 

[rg07]

Temps got above 83 f tonight so I did yet another pwc. That makes 2 - 25% and 1 - 50% in one day. We lost one of our fish this evening. That was the prompting along with the high temps to do another pwc.

 

[Durvish]

why are the temps so high?

 

[rg07]

I was assuming it had to do with the bacterial bloom. My heater is set to 78

 

[Durvish]

bacterial bloom will not raise the temp! i would confirm your thermo reading with something else to make sure it is right. When the wife isn't looking I use the meat thermometer from the kitchen. Is your tank near a window?

 

[Durvish]

just to give you an example may main tank is at 77-78 deg. and my betta tank is around 74-75.

 

[Durvish]

Is your heater the black stealth heater or does it have a glass surface?

 

[Durvish]

If it is the black Marineland stealth heater then you need to unplug it let it sit for about fifteen minutes then take it out of the tank and take it to your petstore. All of those have been recalled by Marineland! I just took 2 back a few weeks ago.

 

[rg07]

Yes it is

 

[rg07]

Ok, just got back from the LFS, installed a new Fluval 200w, heater, he gave me the warranty number to call for the Marineland, it will be a good backup when I get the replacement. And, I picked up an API Test Kit. My ammonia is .25, and my pH is 8.0, higher than what the Tetra kit was reporting, but then again, after finding out the kit had expired, what shout I have expected.

Also, the tank had gotten quite hot, so he was saying, that is why the platy's were most likely staying near the bottom of the tank, now that the water is starting to cool down, it will be good to see if they come out. The cloudiness is going away somewhat. He told me though, not to do more water changes, or the cloudiness would get worse. Is this true? It sounds opposite to what I have been reading here.

 

[librarygirl]

Ok, just got back from the LFS, installed a new Fluval 200w, heater, he gave me the warranty number to call for the Marineland, it will be a good backup when I get the replacement. And, I picked up an API Test Kit. My ammonia is .25, and my pH is 8.0, higher than what the Tetra kit was reporting, but then again, after finding out the kit had expired, what shout I have expected.

Also, the tank had gotten quite hot, so he was saying, that is why the platy's were most likely staying near the bottom of the tank, now that the water is starting to cool down, it will be good to see if they come out. The cloudiness is going away somewhat. He told me though, not to do more water changes, or the cloudiness would get worse. Is this true? It sounds opposite to what I have been reading here.

In my limited experience of fish keeping so far I have learned one thing: never, never, ever do what the Lfs says. Sine you're tank isn't cycled you need to keep testing levels and do as many pwc as needed to keep levels safe for your fish,

 

[jimenezlee]

The advice from the LFS is not taking into account that you still want to keep your fish alive. If you do no water changes you would have bacteria established a bit faster, but your fish will likely die. Even if they were to survive, it's very cruel to put them through high levels of ammonia. It literally destroys their cells.

That's why so many people recommend the fishless cycle, even if it's so hard to find pure ammonia. But in your case, with fish you need to keep an eye out on all parameters and use pwcs as needed to allow the fish to live.

 

[Durvish]

The cloudiness is a bacteria bloom -- it is a good thing -- it will die down as all the good bacteria become established. I am guessing he advised you not to do any pwc's so your fish would die and you would return to him to buy more fish for the slaughter! Don't keep the marineland heater as a back up, toss it, it has already proved faulty. At best it is boiling your fish, at worst it could short out and electrocute your fish and you! Remember at .25ppm for Ammonia it is time for a water change. My pH runs about 8.0 and my fish are fine, so don't worry to much about the pH at the moment. The only thing to worry about now is getting through a cycle with fish and keeping the fish alive.

 

[kdpuffer]

I'm not an expert at keeping fish but the first thing I learned is a water change is never a bad thing, unless you fail to add dechlorinator. Also in regard to getting a python, do it I had one and it was a godsend, I got out of the hobby and sold all my stuff and have now gotten back into it and can't find a python where live, only reason I don't have one.

 

[jcolon]

Ok, just got back from the LFS, .... He told me though, not to do more water changes, or the cloudiness would get worse. Is this true? It sounds opposite to what I have been reading here.

Huh? Is the guy at the LFS trying to kill your fish? I think we should start a thread .. the dumbest LFS quotes (if there isn't one already somewhere). Listen to advice of the members ... we actually want your fish to thrive. PWC's is key

 

[rg07]

Don't keep the marineland heater as a back up, toss it, it has already proved faulty.

I mean the one I get as a replacement from the warranty. I definitely will not put this one back in the tank. My temps are now staying at 76+ it has not gone above 78 since I put the Fluval heater in. I am sticking with the pwc's since the ammonia is at .25.