MikeInOrlando
03-22-2007, 4:44 AM
First of all, I've been misguided by fish stores...and I'm not even talking about PetSmart. So, let me tell you where I am and what's going on now.
I have a 75 gallon tank that I originally "cycled" for a week with four blue gouramies. Then, I went and talked to the "experts" at an LFS and asked them what I could add next. Get this one. They told me I could get two elephant noses, two ghost knifes and then they sold me two plecos and two african clawed frogs. So, I bought them and then researched them when I got them home. In about 15 minutes of research, I learned that I had a VERY BAD SETUP. Ghost Knifes could get too big for my tank as one, plus they don't get along well together. AND they shouldn't be kept with elephant noses.....AND I didnt' need plecos because a new tank didn't have algae. Plus, the two plecos would get HUGE. Oh, yeah...and then the small fact that they sold me CLAWED frogs and not DWARFS....which meant that most of my fish could be lunch in a few months.
So, in keeping with my idea that this is not just a hobby, but a hobby with responsibility, I called the LFS and they agreed to take the two plecos, the frogs, one knife and one elephant nose back.
So...as of now, I still have one knife, one elephant, the four original gouramies and four dwarfs. I realize that at this point in the game, my tank is still overstocked because I'm not yet cycled...and due to more misguidance from that store, I am now starting my cycle period over again because I freaked out at the high ammonia levels and threw in a bunch of ammo lock in my tank. At the behest of the LFS, by the way.
So, today, after learning that Ammo Lock is a bad thing at this stage in my game, I was faced with the delima of whether I would have to drain the tank completely and just start over, which meant finding a temp home for all those little creatures and having to go through the trouble of trying to catch them....instead I decided to do three consecutive 50 percent water changes. Ouch. I condition the water with Prime, which I hear is great, and lo and behold, I have much lower ammonia readings. (anywhere from zero ppm to .50, depending on how you interpret the shade of yellow on the card) Now, I do understand that if my tank is properly cycling, I should expect a spike in ammonia, so I won't freak out next time.
Now, here's the question, and this is where I get confused. I now know to test for ammonia, then nitrites and then finally nitrates. I have a great bio wheel filter which I'm proud to say in the few weeks I've had this tank, I haven't cleaned...at least I've done something right. But there is a conflict among the experts.
Now that I've pretty much started over again, do I do water changes every other day or let the tank just stand for a week or two? My thinking is that I should do 20-25 percent water changes every couple of days, based on what I feel to be simple science. If the ammonia isn't taken out of the tank while the bio filter is being established, where does it go? Seems to me that I have to act as the bio filter until it actually shows up. I'm hoping that I still have a little on my filter and my rocks and decor to help me along, but I suppose the daily readings will tell me this.
So....water changes every couple days or just let it sit? HELP?
Also, I have told you all everything I have done to this point so that if there is something I can do better, please tell me how to fix it. I still wonder if I have a big enough tank for even one Ghost Knife.
I have a 75 gallon tank that I originally "cycled" for a week with four blue gouramies. Then, I went and talked to the "experts" at an LFS and asked them what I could add next. Get this one. They told me I could get two elephant noses, two ghost knifes and then they sold me two plecos and two african clawed frogs. So, I bought them and then researched them when I got them home. In about 15 minutes of research, I learned that I had a VERY BAD SETUP. Ghost Knifes could get too big for my tank as one, plus they don't get along well together. AND they shouldn't be kept with elephant noses.....AND I didnt' need plecos because a new tank didn't have algae. Plus, the two plecos would get HUGE. Oh, yeah...and then the small fact that they sold me CLAWED frogs and not DWARFS....which meant that most of my fish could be lunch in a few months.
So, in keeping with my idea that this is not just a hobby, but a hobby with responsibility, I called the LFS and they agreed to take the two plecos, the frogs, one knife and one elephant nose back.
So...as of now, I still have one knife, one elephant, the four original gouramies and four dwarfs. I realize that at this point in the game, my tank is still overstocked because I'm not yet cycled...and due to more misguidance from that store, I am now starting my cycle period over again because I freaked out at the high ammonia levels and threw in a bunch of ammo lock in my tank. At the behest of the LFS, by the way.
So, today, after learning that Ammo Lock is a bad thing at this stage in my game, I was faced with the delima of whether I would have to drain the tank completely and just start over, which meant finding a temp home for all those little creatures and having to go through the trouble of trying to catch them....instead I decided to do three consecutive 50 percent water changes. Ouch. I condition the water with Prime, which I hear is great, and lo and behold, I have much lower ammonia readings. (anywhere from zero ppm to .50, depending on how you interpret the shade of yellow on the card) Now, I do understand that if my tank is properly cycling, I should expect a spike in ammonia, so I won't freak out next time.
Now, here's the question, and this is where I get confused. I now know to test for ammonia, then nitrites and then finally nitrates. I have a great bio wheel filter which I'm proud to say in the few weeks I've had this tank, I haven't cleaned...at least I've done something right. But there is a conflict among the experts.
Now that I've pretty much started over again, do I do water changes every other day or let the tank just stand for a week or two? My thinking is that I should do 20-25 percent water changes every couple of days, based on what I feel to be simple science. If the ammonia isn't taken out of the tank while the bio filter is being established, where does it go? Seems to me that I have to act as the bio filter until it actually shows up. I'm hoping that I still have a little on my filter and my rocks and decor to help me along, but I suppose the daily readings will tell me this.
So....water changes every couple days or just let it sit? HELP?
Also, I have told you all everything I have done to this point so that if there is something I can do better, please tell me how to fix it. I still wonder if I have a big enough tank for even one Ghost Knife.