New RBP Mom- Need advice and help

[tlindsey]

Do you know if you have hard water or soft water (GH reading)? A TDS meter can help determine this since harder water has a higher TDS reading. A water quality report will state the GH reading.

RBP? What's that?

How did you cycle the tank? How did you keep the cycle going? How long was the tank cycled for?

Tank was set up about 4 days in anticipation of recieving fish. It is 30gal tank with a 30-60gal filter(I read they need more filtration than other fish because they are messy).

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Welcome aboard
Do you know anyone else with a aquarium that's been setup and fully Cycled? If so ask them for a small amount of Bio Media from their filter to jumpstart the Cycle. The seeded media will have beneficial live Bacteria on it. You will have to perform water changes throughout this process. Do you have Dechlorinator on hand. Btw you can also by Bacteria in a bottle. I personally don't have any experience with those products but other experienced members will chime in.

 

[Tnballgirl]

Welcome aboard
Do you know anyone else with a aquarium that's been setup and fully Cycled? If so ask them for a small amount of Bio Media from their filter to jumpstart the Cycle. The seeded media will have beneficial live Bacteria on it. You will have to perform water changes throughout this process. Do you have Dechlorinator on hand. Btw you can also by Bacteria in a bottle. I personally don't have any experience with those products but other experienced members will chime in.

I do not know anyone. I am in a very rural area. The closest mall is an hour away. We have walmart. I do have dechlorinator.

 

[Tnballgirl]

Water change everyday 25%-50%, until you get the liquid tests. Make sure the dosing for the water conditioner is for the total aquarium volume, not just the water changed. Once you get the liquid tests, you will have to do a fish in cycle, not letting the ammonia and nitrite getting past 0.25ppm. A good water conditioner like Seachem Prime will be required to turn the ammonia non-toxic.

 

[The Morning]

I was concerned that was the case. But hey we all have to learn. There are several great threads on here about the proper way to cycle an aquarium. At this point I think I would order some Seachem stability ASAP to help kickstart the cycle. The suggestion to do heavy water changes daily is solid.
beyond that will have to wait it out and hopefully the fish survive.
The liquid API test kick is a must have IMO. Little expensive up front at roughly $25 but it lasts a long time. Testing daily for the first month or so will tell if the tank has cycled.

 

[Tnballgirl]

I was concerned that was the case. But hey we all have to learn. There are several great threads on here about the proper way to cycle an aquarium. At this point I think I would order some Seachem stability ASAP to help kickstart the cycle. The suggestion to do heavy water changes daily is solid.
beyond that will have to wait it out and hopefully the fish survive.
The liquid API test kick is a must have IMO. Little expensive up front at roughly $25 but it lasts a long time. Testing daily for the first month or so will tell if the tank has cycled.

I have ordered on amazon as we post. Thank you for any and all continued advice. Much obliged.

 

[The Morning]

No problem. Keeps us updated.
Bare bottom tanks are used just to keep the tanks clean. Food and detritus can settle in substrate. That being said it can easily be managed with proper care and aesthetically I enjoy tanks much more with substrate but ultimately it is personal decision.

 

[dmopar74]

Seachem stability and a seachem ammonia alert are solid choices for new aquariums. Seachem prime is a good water conditioner.

 

[Tnballgirl]

Got a full testing kit. Ammonia too high. Vacuumed gravel as best I could did water change. Gonna cut back on food. Ordered seachem amguard, will be here tomorrow. Got prime and stability. All other tests were good. No nitrate no nitrite and ph 7.6.

Thinking of getting a canister filter instead...
Advice? 65gal tank.

 

[Jexnell]

If it was me I would use two AC70s. Redundancy in case one breaks down. Still have one going till the other is repaired.
Super easy to do maintenance on, do one this week, other one next week.
They come with a bag of bio rings, order a second one and run the sponge it comes with and two bags of bio-rings.

 

[The Morning]

As suggested tank not completely cycled. How are the fish? Still alive?