i havent used a test kit in years.... waste of money and it makes you worry... go get a bottle of sea chem stability and just follow the instructions... maybe add a small pack of bio spira if you feel like it...
dirty water
- Thread starter Mr.B
- Start date
I tested my water few times in 5 years of keeping fish. Have lost no fish to ammonia spikes nothing. I keep my tanks lightly stocked and heavy filteration and keep up with all wc's and work on tank and filters. I have test kit for about everything that can go wrong but just have never had to use it. When I cycle a tank I am patience and just let a tank be for a month or two with rotten shrimp added.
But what zenn what trying to say is if you have nothing to put off ammonia you have no bio load. As in your newly starting bacteria have not ammonia to feed off of. Do about a 4-5 gallon water change every other day for the next week and it should clear some stuff up and keep ammonia levels down due to not enough bb to feed off all the ammonia you are now putting in the tank with all those fish.Make sure you use declor. "Prime" is the best brand in my experience.
Good luck and somebody correct my mistakes as its 3 in morning and don't want to give him wrong info.
But what zenn what trying to say is if you have nothing to put off ammonia you have no bio load. As in your newly starting bacteria have not ammonia to feed off of. Do about a 4-5 gallon water change every other day for the next week and it should clear some stuff up and keep ammonia levels down due to not enough bb to feed off all the ammonia you are now putting in the tank with all those fish.Make sure you use declor. "Prime" is the best brand in my experience.
Good luck and somebody correct my mistakes as its 3 in morning and don't want to give him wrong info.
Return the fish to your LFS until your tank is cycled. I'm with zennzzo on this. Either you try fishless cycling or ask your LFS for established filter media to put in your filter. Monitor your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Unless your ammonia and nitrites are zero, you cannot put any fish in your tank. Regardless of the price, the fish does not deserve to die or be put under a horrible ordeal with ammonia and nitrites, both of which are toxic to the fish.
You got 2 paragraphs telling me what to do?, save it, and tell him what to do...how dare you call me arrogant and accuse me of chasing somebody out of the hobby, Save that crap for somebody stupid...xxblwn408;2426739; said:
I don't see you explaining why it's not right to just kill off fish because you didn't know something...
It is my perogative if I want to assist somebody and with his "Oh well" just kill it, it's cheap" opinion, I can choose to be ALL Done, and I stated that...if that isn't straight up and truthful enough for you, or anybody else. then I'm sorry, but I'm not candy coating my opinion for anybody...
Welcome to MFK!
A week isnt long enough to cycle. you could be seeing a bacterial bloom-which is normal. i know it can take over a month (actually up to 50 days in some cases) to fully cycle a tank-so be patient. Some people prefer to use fish to cycle (though it is considered cruel to most), or bio spira, or I always use media from an established tank-like another poster stated you can go to your local fish store (lfs) and ask them for some of their media gunk-you put that in your tank. what i do to start a tank is get a filter pad from an established tank and wring it out in my tank-it gets a little cloudy, but then it moves on to your filter and settles in your media to establish itself-. what that does is cut your cycle time down dramatically.
Because you are a beginner, i would advise you to go buy a freshwater test kit-they run about 30 bucks. trust me-its a wise investment! lol. as you become comfortable and more knowledgeable you wont really use that test kit much (maybe for emergencies).
Dont get the paper test strips because over time they will give you false readings because you will open the container, moisture gets in there.. and contaminates the strips giving you false readings. the brand API has a good freshwater test kit and comes with the little test tubes. i know it will look hard, but it isnt! its really easy to use.
since this is your first tank you should probably read the stickies on just basic fishkeeping and the nitrification cycle-im not trying to be mean but if you have a good base in just general fishkeeping you will have alot better luck. Ive been fishkeeping for 14 years, and i still read up on general stuff-its good to know.
get that test kit, and you will want to test your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. once you get those, please come back and post them-we can help you determine where that tank is in the cycle process.
in the meantime-read the stickies at the tops of each category-best of luck to you, and remember we are here to help you!
A week isnt long enough to cycle. you could be seeing a bacterial bloom-which is normal. i know it can take over a month (actually up to 50 days in some cases) to fully cycle a tank-so be patient. Some people prefer to use fish to cycle (though it is considered cruel to most), or bio spira, or I always use media from an established tank-like another poster stated you can go to your local fish store (lfs) and ask them for some of their media gunk-you put that in your tank. what i do to start a tank is get a filter pad from an established tank and wring it out in my tank-it gets a little cloudy, but then it moves on to your filter and settles in your media to establish itself-. what that does is cut your cycle time down dramatically.
Because you are a beginner, i would advise you to go buy a freshwater test kit-they run about 30 bucks. trust me-its a wise investment! lol. as you become comfortable and more knowledgeable you wont really use that test kit much (maybe for emergencies).
Dont get the paper test strips because over time they will give you false readings because you will open the container, moisture gets in there.. and contaminates the strips giving you false readings. the brand API has a good freshwater test kit and comes with the little test tubes. i know it will look hard, but it isnt! its really easy to use.
since this is your first tank you should probably read the stickies on just basic fishkeeping and the nitrification cycle-im not trying to be mean but if you have a good base in just general fishkeeping you will have alot better luck. Ive been fishkeeping for 14 years, and i still read up on general stuff-its good to know.
get that test kit, and you will want to test your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. once you get those, please come back and post them-we can help you determine where that tank is in the cycle process.
in the meantime-read the stickies at the tops of each category-best of luck to you, and remember we are here to help you!
i cycled my tank in just 2 weeks and already have all my fishes living in there. Everything is brand new except my decor... i have a bunch of driftwood that was already in use for years from other tanks.
all you need mr.B is things to help cycle that tank faster! and for a 20L all you need is someones cycled sponge fiter, some nice cycled driftwood... or some cheap fish
all you need mr.B is things to help cycle that tank faster! and for a 20L all you need is someones cycled sponge fiter, some nice cycled driftwood... or some cheap fish
i beg to differ..
Zennzzo is a nice young man, and VERY knowledgable. i have a great deal of respect for him.
i would listen to him if he suggested i should do something different to care for my fish.
and i believe that n3wb is mean and rude and uses innapropriate language.
Zennzzo is a nice young man, and VERY knowledgable. i have a great deal of respect for him.
i would listen to him if he suggested i should do something different to care for my fish.
and i believe that n3wb is mean and rude and uses innapropriate language.
