New fish, Couple of questions/concerns.

[DarkSoul]

Since I've finished my background, I've been wondering weather or not it is going to leech anything into the water that might kill any future fish.

As it is now, my tank is bare minimal. powerhead, with carbon foam loosely placed on it for a filter, and thats about it.
no substrate, my eheims arent plumbed in yet, and it isnt cycled.

I wanted to purchase a few fish that I could put in the tank now, and see if they survived. If these fish survive during the process of getting my filters plumbed then I do believe the tank will be ready for some more fish.

So I decided on a whim that I would go out and buy a few fish, and hope for the best, while using this time to get the rest of it finished, and possibly cycle it during that time.

I picked up 9 white clouds, 4 zebra danios, and 2 golden mystery snails, as well as some water conditioner, and some Bigals Bio-Support to hopefully help during the cycle process... I only got a small bottle, But from my readings i would guess that its doing the trick.

Ammo: 0
Rites: 0.05 (or less)
Rates: I discovered tonight my Red Sea "deluxe" test kit, doesn't have a nitrate test.
Temp 82.9F, holding steady with no heater.


My white clouds have discovered that they can swim down behind my background, into the water channels. but more often they seem to be hiding or something up in the corner where they can choose to swim down behind the BG if need be. Are they just scared/adjusting? I do realize this is a stressful situation.
Is the current too strong? its only a single powerhead, and doesnt seem that strong, but it does move water all around the tank... its a Jebo, that came with my UV sterilizer.
sometimes they come out and seem to be playing in the current along with the zebras.

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions for a n00b?

thanks.

[Mgamer20o0]

try giving some places for the fish to hide.

[didy]

Floating plants and plants that can just be tied in to the bottom will help, if they are getting too much current. Even silk plants can help with that.

Try some java moss. The stuff is great, and will grow in almost every tank.

They may be just adjusting. Keep an eye on your water params.

[Rbishop]

Get some decor in there and give them some time.

[DarkSoul]

Ive got my castle.

Question... I wake up this morning, and I see that my water is still cloudish .

I dont believe that its a bloom of any kind simply because Ive seen it this cloudy before when ive had no fish in there, and full mechanical filtration.

the water is a bit milky looking.... im almost certain its just dirty somehow, and ive never figured out what it is.

Should I do a PWC this morning?
I was thinking multiple 50% until the water is clear. conditioning and adding some bio-support.

does this seem like a good plan.

[nickmcmechan]

i dont want to discourage you, but fishy cycles are bad enough, i've got to say i'm not happy hearing you just chucked 13 fish in when you hadn't even set up properly!

Sorry, but feel i had to express my opinion on this one

moderators - surprised you din't comment?

am i missing something here?

[DarkSoul]

i dont want to discourage you, but fishy cycles are bad enough, i've got to say i'm not happy hearing you just chucked 13 fish in when you hadn't even set up properly!

Sorry, but feel i had to express my opinion on this one

moderators - surprised you din't comment?

am i missing something here?

im not so much fishy cycling as I am testing my water to see if it contains anything which may kill later fish. I am eliminating variables by using live subjects, and monitoring them closely for any signs of abnormality.

Listen dude, I feel just as bad as you, I dont want to see this fish die, I dont want to see them sick, or unhappy. I also dont want to take the time, cycling a tank, only to find out once its ready, that fish keep dying.... much more expensive ones.

I want these guys to live, and I am working to provide them a livible habitat.

i know it isnt ideal, but it will be. It would be much worse if i spent all that time preparing the tank to perfection, only to see things die, and not knowing why.

These fish look happy, albeit they want to hide, but they are out playing, swimming around, and generally being fish. I provided them with friends, and purchased bacteria to handle the bio-load and hopefully kick start a cycle.

I'm trying to be ethical man... i really am, and i do care for these little guys.

[nickmcmechan]

fair enough, thanks for responding in a responsible manner...i kinda thought to myself when i replied...am i being too harsh here, or am i still hazy with the hangover!.....anyway, your repsonse made me feel like you'll take it seriously and i suppose got to admit your approach, although not ideal, is carefully thought out...

just make sure you do mega water changes eh?

[Rbishop]

Nick...it didn't go by un-noticed and there are other forms of talking to the members besides a direct thread post...;)

DarkSoul....

You seem to have put a lot of thought into the DIY background and I followed the thread with interest. It seems that adding those fish is a rough way to check if it is good for your aquarium. Wouldn't it have been just as easy to run the tank and test the water for GH/KH, pH. nitrites and Nitrates, for a couple of weeks? Then maybe a fishless cycle or cycle with just one or two fish?

Seems like impatience got the better of you. :confused:

[DarkSoul]

Nick...it didn't go by un-noticed and there are other forms of talking to the members besides a direct thread post...;)

DarkSoul....

You seem to have put a lot of thought into the DIY background and I followed the thread with interest. It seems that adding those fish is a rough way to check if it is good for your aquarium. Wouldn't it have been just as easy to run the tank and test the water for GH/KH, pH. nitrites and Nitrates, for a couple of weeks? Then maybe a fishless cycle or cycle with just one or two fish?

Seems like impatience got the better of you. :confused:

I had been testing the water for about a week, and seen no changes in GH/KH from my tap (i think my KH test is bad though.... talking to red sea about this one) but other things, like lime, latex, acrylic etc i have no way to test for.

I would have purchased only one or two fish, but these are schoolers, I thought they would be happier if they had some buddies, which is the reason for purchasing many of them.... and the only reason i purchased this many.

i dont think anybody was being too harsh.

[nickmcmechan]

Nick...it didn't go by un-noticed and there are other forms of talking to the members besides a direct thread post...;)

DarkSoul....

You seem to have put a lot of thought into the DIY background and I followed the thread with interest. It seems that adding those fish is a rough way to check if it is good for your aquarium. Wouldn't it have been just as easy to run the tank and test the water for GH/KH, pH. nitrites and Nitrates, for a couple of weeks? Then maybe a fishless cycle or cycle with just one or two fish?

Seems like impatience got the better of you. :confused:
good point....

[DarkSoul]

well, ive done a roughly 65% water change, and conditioned, refilled, and added more bio-support.

the fish all still seem to be doing very well, playing about in the water, and just generally being fish.

How often should i be doing water changes at this point? and how much water should be changed?

[Rbishop]

Well, whenever you hit .25 on ammonia or nitrites, I would be doing 50% water change.

[DarkSoul]

really... that infrequently so to speak.

should i test the water maybe twice a day?

[nickmcmechan]

personally, i totally agree with Bob, however, i'm a freaky about planning and preparation so i would do 50% twice a day in order for it not to happen in the first place

[Rbishop]

I really don't like testing either, so the water change, whether needed or not is what I do. But I always seed from existing tanks.

[DarkSoul]

ok, so i will maybe do a water change later on as well... and keep going with 2 50% changes per day?

feeding.... how often should i feed thwm... once a day, with as much as they can consume in 3 mins?

[nickmcmechan]

normal rule of thub would be no more than 30 seconds worth of feeding, i.e. if you chuck the flake in and it takes more than 30s to consume all then you've fed too much

better to underfeed than overfeed

[Rbishop]

You could probably get away with one 50% a day, but you will have to test to prove it. You will probably want to do that just to verify no leaching from the background.

[DarkSoul]

well, the fish all seem happy..... at least to a n00b like me anyway.
they are swimming and playing about in the current, with only one cloud hiding behind my BG.

water still cloudy though..... will do another test in a little bit, and post the results.

[DarkSoul]

Well, Ive just done a test, and this is before doing a water change. My previous tests, except the first one, was done a couple hours after a WC.

This bio-support must be doing something, because currently, I have 0 reading for ammonia, and 0.05 reading for nitrite..... I still have no nitrate test

This kind of doesnt make sense though, if my nitrites havent changed at all, and I have no reading for ammonia some 10 hours after a water change.

im not sure about the quality of my test kit though, I have been talking to red sea, and I need to fax them a reciept so my kit can be replaced.
and I wont be able to buy a nitrate test until wed. or later.

my fish however, seem quite happy... making me feel even worse than I did before, about not having any substrate or plants in the tank..... just my big castle.

they just swim around being little goons, and sometimes chasing each other around in circles lol ..... much like a dog would chase his tail, the zebras like to chase each other around.
its not aggresive at all, just looks like fish playing.

[Rbishop]

You are doing a fishy cycle and have been doing 50% PWCs twice a day. I wouldn't expect to see anything. I doubt the bio-support id doing anything. My tap water reads 0/0/0, but it isn't cycled and doesn't have the ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria in it.

[DarkSoul]

You are doing a fishy cycle and have been doing 50% PWCs twice a day. I wouldn't expect to see anything. I doubt the bio-support id doing anything. My tap water reads 0/0/0, but it isn't cycled and doesn't have the ammonia and nitrite eating bacteria in it.

I did one water change today, around 50%, and I will check the parameters tomorrow afternoon when i get home from work.

possibly do another water change then.
I didnt add any of the bio support this time.

I really do wonder about this stuff..... wish they carried bio-spira.