Hey everyone, I've been stalking the forum since establishing (or at least trying to) my tank since December and after reading your various responses and known experience, I trust you guys the most to help with my problem.
Long story short, I had a very hard time getting things right with my tank due to the huge array of "advice" out there, and establishing between what works and what doesn't. I'm having to recycle my tank due to a bacterial bloom when I left for the weekend, kept the AC off, and my tank got up to 86 degrees. After doing several water changes and treating my fish for the bacterial infections they contracted, I now have to recycle my tank I have battled with my tank's water quality since setting it up in December, but after reanalyzing everything, I think I may finally have the proper set up. I was hoping you guys could guide me to make sure I'm doing everything right (finally) and/or if there's anything I should be doing I'm not aware of.
Here's my set up:
29 Gal Tank
1 full spectrum 17 watt fluorescent light
2 filters: One "AquaClear50" and One "AquaTech 20-40 Gal" (came with the tank)
1 Double Outlet Aerator "AquaCulture" 20-60 Gal w/ bubble stones
Gravel: Glass 'marbles' or however you wish to refer to them
Living Things:
2 Small/Medium sized Orandas (Goldie Hawn and Michael Buble, haha)
1 Small Anubias plant
1 Small cluster of anacharis plants
Picture: Michael is on the lower right and Goldie is in the "cave," tail facing the camera. The anubias plant is on the left corner and the anacharis is sticking out the side of the 'sunken ship.' You can also see some brown algae/diatoms growing on the fake stick/branch and there is some green spot algae too, but very small.
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
I finally went and bought an API Freshwater test kit:
pH: 7.4-7.6 (hard to determine between colors)
Amm: 2 ppm
Nitrite: 1 ppm
NitrAte: 2 ppm? (again, a 'between' reading in color between 0-5ppm)
According to the local aquarium shop (NOT a main chain, privately owned) the man suggested I was probably about 1/2 way through my cycle, and since the readings are relatively low, I wouldn't need to do a water change for probably another week or longer. I don't know how much I trust this, so I want other opinions.
I USE to have just the AquaTech filter, plus 3 additional glofish (didn't make it through the bacterial bloom) and none of the plants, so I have certainly upped my tank in terms of water quality since then. I have always done a 20-25% water change weekly using a siphon filter and stirring up gravel to get all the poop. I use to feed every day, now I'm going to feed every other day, with that said, I have another issue I was hoping to address:
Goldie (seen hiding in the 'cave') has some serious buoyancy/gas bladder problems. I have treated her with both internal and external bacterial medications, reduced feeding to once a day, have tried sinking pellets and peas (frozen, then thawed) and yet every evening she'll float at the top of the tank. It starts around 7-8pm ish, she'll float until I go to bed for the evening, but by morning she's Ok again, then repeat. Is she just one of those special fish with genetic/permanent gas bladder problems or could this be a more serious underlying issue?
Please, guide me! As silly as it sounds, I'm attached to my stupid goldfish and have invested quite a bit in both time and money (I don't even want to know, really) to try and keep them as healthy as I can.
Long story short, I had a very hard time getting things right with my tank due to the huge array of "advice" out there, and establishing between what works and what doesn't. I'm having to recycle my tank due to a bacterial bloom when I left for the weekend, kept the AC off, and my tank got up to 86 degrees. After doing several water changes and treating my fish for the bacterial infections they contracted, I now have to recycle my tank I have battled with my tank's water quality since setting it up in December, but after reanalyzing everything, I think I may finally have the proper set up. I was hoping you guys could guide me to make sure I'm doing everything right (finally) and/or if there's anything I should be doing I'm not aware of.
Here's my set up:
29 Gal Tank
1 full spectrum 17 watt fluorescent light
2 filters: One "AquaClear50" and One "AquaTech 20-40 Gal" (came with the tank)
1 Double Outlet Aerator "AquaCulture" 20-60 Gal w/ bubble stones
Gravel: Glass 'marbles' or however you wish to refer to them
Living Things:
2 Small/Medium sized Orandas (Goldie Hawn and Michael Buble, haha)
1 Small Anubias plant
1 Small cluster of anacharis plants
Picture: Michael is on the lower right and Goldie is in the "cave," tail facing the camera. The anubias plant is on the left corner and the anacharis is sticking out the side of the 'sunken ship.' You can also see some brown algae/diatoms growing on the fake stick/branch and there is some green spot algae too, but very small.
ImageShack® - Online Photo and Video Hosting
I finally went and bought an API Freshwater test kit:
pH: 7.4-7.6 (hard to determine between colors)
Amm: 2 ppm
Nitrite: 1 ppm
NitrAte: 2 ppm? (again, a 'between' reading in color between 0-5ppm)
According to the local aquarium shop (NOT a main chain, privately owned) the man suggested I was probably about 1/2 way through my cycle, and since the readings are relatively low, I wouldn't need to do a water change for probably another week or longer. I don't know how much I trust this, so I want other opinions.
I USE to have just the AquaTech filter, plus 3 additional glofish (didn't make it through the bacterial bloom) and none of the plants, so I have certainly upped my tank in terms of water quality since then. I have always done a 20-25% water change weekly using a siphon filter and stirring up gravel to get all the poop. I use to feed every day, now I'm going to feed every other day, with that said, I have another issue I was hoping to address:
Goldie (seen hiding in the 'cave') has some serious buoyancy/gas bladder problems. I have treated her with both internal and external bacterial medications, reduced feeding to once a day, have tried sinking pellets and peas (frozen, then thawed) and yet every evening she'll float at the top of the tank. It starts around 7-8pm ish, she'll float until I go to bed for the evening, but by morning she's Ok again, then repeat. Is she just one of those special fish with genetic/permanent gas bladder problems or could this be a more serious underlying issue?
Please, guide me! As silly as it sounds, I'm attached to my stupid goldfish and have invested quite a bit in both time and money (I don't even want to know, really) to try and keep them as healthy as I can.