And no Fleshy, I'm not sure what the salinity is of the water that the g. tile is currently in. Should I call and ask so I can get my tank ready or should I just wait to go there and measure myself? I won't be able to buy the fish until Tuesday as that's the next day they are open.
Thinking of getting a "freshwater" eel
- Thread starter Spontaneous
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Substrate is sand...or whatever you put on the bottom of your tank.
You should have added the salt first, I guess you can mix it in with top-off or h2o change water now.
You should have added the salt first, I guess you can mix it in with top-off or h2o change water now.
Spontaneous;4737802; said:And no Fleshy, I'm not sure what the salinity is of the water that the g. tile is currently in. Should I call and ask so I can get my tank ready or should I just wait to go there and measure myself? I won't be able to buy the fish until Tuesday as that's the next day they are open.
You may want to go and check yourself. This means that if there are minor discrepancies between your method of measuring, and theirs, that it wont matter.
Ok, I went and got the water test strips and it says my niTRITES and niTRATES are 0, I have 0 chlorine which is good cause I used tap water,180ppm alkalinity, ph is 8.4 and my salinity is at 1.016 after using 2 bags of 5gallon treatment aquarium salt. How does this look so far?
Good. Ditch the strips though, those things are super inaccurate. Get yourself an API test kit at the very cheapest.
Also make sure that your substrate is suitable for a marine tank (aragonite) and also that it will not be abrasive towards your fish.
Chlorine will gas out of any h2o if given a day to sit and be pushed around with filtration, this doesnt mean that wont be an issue later on when you do h2o changes if you dont age your water.
Also I would like to put a disclaimer on this and say that, this is a small tank, it is your first fish, and the whole situation is a little murky. Im hoping to help you and that this goes as best as it possibly can, but only time will tell.
Also make sure that your substrate is suitable for a marine tank (aragonite) and also that it will not be abrasive towards your fish.
Chlorine will gas out of any h2o if given a day to sit and be pushed around with filtration, this doesnt mean that wont be an issue later on when you do h2o changes if you dont age your water.
Also I would like to put a disclaimer on this and say that, this is a small tank, it is your first fish, and the whole situation is a little murky. Im hoping to help you and that this goes as best as it possibly can, but only time will tell.
I apreciate it. The gentleman at petco had recomended the strips and said that they seem to work very well as that is what he used. He seemed quite knowledgable about the G. tile as he used to own them.
I have desided to just do brackish water for now and I'm not sure if the sand I got was argonite as I had just bought a bag of black sand from petsmart. If I have problems with abrasion, there is some aquarium gravel under the sand so I could probably bring that up. Like you said, time will tell.
I seen a protien skimmer for $40. on aquatrader and if things go alright I may end up getting it as that has been THE most reasonably priced one yet. But tomorrow I will be picking up the fish so keeping my fingers crossed that they still have them haha.
I have desided to just do brackish water for now and I'm not sure if the sand I got was argonite as I had just bought a bag of black sand from petsmart. If I have problems with abrasion, there is some aquarium gravel under the sand so I could probably bring that up. Like you said, time will tell.
I seen a protien skimmer for $40. on aquatrader and if things go alright I may end up getting it as that has been THE most reasonably priced one yet. But tomorrow I will be picking up the fish so keeping my fingers crossed that they still have them haha.
Is your tank cycled yet?
Many LFS's will hold your fish for you.
No offense to any petco workers, (Heck, I have applied there before, times are tough.) but a lot of them wouldnt know the difference between their own face and a fish.
The strips are garbage. Testing kits and skimmers are two places where you are NOT going to want to skimp.
At the very least, I would remove the coarse grade gravel as well.
GL, Im here for whatever you need, Forrest
Many LFS's will hold your fish for you.
No offense to any petco workers, (Heck, I have applied there before, times are tough.) but a lot of them wouldnt know the difference between their own face and a fish.
The strips are garbage. Testing kits and skimmers are two places where you are NOT going to want to skimp.
At the very least, I would remove the coarse grade gravel as well.
GL, Im here for whatever you need, Forrest
I think he was one of the few and far between peple that actually know haha. I was fortunate to find him or at least someone with experience with a fish I'm highly interested in. I didn't expect him to know anything about what I was asking him haha.
And I don't think my tank is cycled yet as I just filled it yesterday. I found a cheap API test kit and am ordering it now. I'm also going to order a protien skimmer on my next paycheck. Need to spread the expenses out.
The gravel is under the sand and I don't think the sand is too bad. I think it was marked as fresh/marine safe but I can't remember. I guess I should probably let my tank cycle then. When will I know it is done cycling?
And I don't think my tank is cycled yet as I just filled it yesterday. I found a cheap API test kit and am ordering it now. I'm also going to order a protien skimmer on my next paycheck. Need to spread the expenses out.
The gravel is under the sand and I don't think the sand is too bad. I think it was marked as fresh/marine safe but I can't remember. I guess I should probably let my tank cycle then. When will I know it is done cycling?
Spontaneous;4741243; said:I think he was one of the few and far between peple that actually know haha. I was fortunate to find him or at least someone with experience with a fish I'm highly interested in. I didn't expect him to know anything about what I was asking him haha.
And I don't think my tank is cycled yet as I just filled it yesterday. I found a cheap API test kit and am ordering it now. I'm also going to order a protien skimmer on my next paycheck. Need to spread the expenses out.
The gravel is under the sand and I don't think the sand is too bad. I think it was marked as fresh/marine safe but I can't remember. I guess I should probably let my tank cycle then. When will I know it is done cycling?
I know Fleshy is helping ya out, but I will jump in here too.
Your tank is not yet cycled, this will most likely take 2 or more weeks. When you buy the better test kits you will be able to test for ammonia first, then nitrite, and then nitrate. Ammonia will spike, then bacteria will start to grow to break ammonia down into nitrite, then other bacteria will grow to break the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate readings mean your tank is cycled and nitrate is also the thing you won't want to let get too high, so you will do water changes.
Also, regarding the sand, just because it is marine safe does not mean it is what you should be using. Aragonite is beneficial in a number of ways and is what is actually in the ocean.
So, you are going to need to have the store hold the fish for you. If you put the fish in your tank now, you will most likely stress it very badly and/or kill it.
