New to Aquariums need help (in Layman's terms please)

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May 21, 2008
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I just purchased a new 46 Gallon tank from the store near my house....

The employees there aren’t very helpful and the ones that are talk to fast or in "professional talk" which I don’t really understand...

As stated earlier the tank is 46 Gallons, i purchased a Marineland Maxi-Jet (Model 400) Powerhead/Undergravel filter and Marineland Emperor Power Filter Model 400.

I added water let the tank ran without fish for about 7 days, finally I took a sample of my water to the pet store which they tested and said it was perfect and i was ready to start adding fish.

Well I wanted to start with 2 Pineapple Swordtails, but my girlfriend persuaded me to also purchase Giant Danios (she has to get her way every time)...So now I have 2 Swordtails and 2 Danios.

Having 4 fish in the brand new tank makes me worry, I love fish a lot (I am an avid scuba diver) and the last thing i want to see is for them to die.


This brings me to my question, they have been in the tanks for 3 days now what do I have to do to ensure they live? when do i change water? how much water do i remove? Do i use tap water or Brita filtered tap water (i live in florida so regular water has a greenish hue to it unfiltered)?when is it safe to add more fish? what is the proper way to take care of the fish (adding algae eaters, cleaning out the tank etc)

As much information in Layman's easy to understand would be greatly appreciate for a complete Noobie

Thanks all in advance,


P.S I also might have an additional problem, the pet store gave me 1 Male swordtail and 1 Female swordtail and it just noticed that my female is a little fat and her tummy is gray...I have done my research and found out that swordtails are livebreeders so I was wondering if its safe for her to give birth in a tank thats less than 2 weeks old? If so what should I do? should i buy one of those breeder kits that rest at the top of the tank and seperate the female from the babies? if so which one?
 
Forgot to say that I put a bottle of some Bacteria stuff (forgot what it was exactly) and AmQuel+ Plus (Removes Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, Chlorine & Chloramines 7 days before adding fish.
 
wow 7 days to cycle...took me about a month.you should check water parimeters atleast everyother day while cycling.its worth buying your own kit to check it out
 
movitt said:
wow 7 days to cycle...took me about a month.you should check water parimeters atleast everyother day while cycling.its worth buying your own kit to check it out
Click to expand...

See i dont really know what you just said.....I read the stickies above but they dont really explain how i know a tank "cyled"

I put water in the tank, 2 those bottles/chemicals, let the filters run for 7 days, took some water to the pet store they tested it (if i remember correctly the tubes came out 2 blue and 1 yellow) the employee said to add a small number of fish and bring the water to be tested every few days.

Im concerned that i was given bad advice (I would have gone with the fishless cycle method as i dont want to kill an innocent fish) but now that I have 4 fish in a 10 day old tank I want to ensure i dont kill them
 
Ok.
Well, inside of a tank there are things that decay. Fish poop, plants, fish food, etc. You can never have enough mechanical filtration to take all of this stuff out. If you wanted to keep the tank clean, you'd have to clean the tank every three days! Not fun for anyone.
When this stuff decays, it decays into ammonia. Ammonia is deadly toxic to fish. Thankfully, there are bacteria that exist in nature, all around, which after a while congregate in our filter an on the surfaces of the aquarium, which eat this. Unfortunately, they turn it into something called nitrite. Nitrite also is deadly toxic to fish.
After a while new bacteria, which are also floating in the air and such, congregate in our filter and on the surfaces of the aquarium. These break down the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is only toxic to fish in large quantities. We remove them with water changes and live plants.
Once a tank has enough ammonia eating and nitrite eating bacteria that at any given time you cannot detect any trace of either ammonia or nitrite in the water, the tank is cycled. Why is it called cycling? Turning ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate is known as the nitrogen cycle. How do you know when its done? A good set of liquid test kits such as the API Master test kit.

Tap water is generally without ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate, which is why your water tested perfect. Unfortunately the ammonia eating bacteria need something to eat to start congregating in your filter, which was not in the tank. So now the ammonia is going to start rising, since there isn't a bacteria colony in your filter and it takes time to establish one. I would suggest taking the fish back to the store, or their gills will be damaged, perhaps permanently, and do a fishless cycle. Otherwise you may have to do 60-80% water changes a day to keep the ammonia and, later, nitrite under control and not damage the fish. A tank takes 4-6 weeks to cycle, generally. You can speed up the cycle by "seeding" it with gravel and filter material from an established(a tank where the nitrogen cycle is functioning perfectly) tank.


Amquel + is a good dechlorinator.

There are other test kits for hardness, KH and PH, which are chemical properties of the water which are important to fish. Test the KH, hardness, and PH of the britta water and get back to us. We'll know if it's safe.
 
Last edited:
SchizotypalVamp said:
Ok.
Well, inside of a tank there are things that decay. Fish poop, plants, fish food, etc. You can never have enough mechanical filtration to take all of this stuff out. If you wanted to keep the tank clean, you'd have to clean the tank every three days! Not fun for anyone.
When this stuff decays, it decays into ammonia. Ammonia is deadly toxic to fish. Thankfully, there are bacteria that exist in nature, all around, which after a while congregate in our filter an on the surfaces of the aquarium, which eat this. Unfortunately, they turn it into something called nitrite. Nitrite also is deadly toxic to fish.
After a while new bacteria, which are also floating in the air and such, congregate in our filter and on the surfaces of the aquarium. These break down the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is only toxic to fish in large quantities. We remove them with water changes and live plants.
Once a tank has enough ammonia eating and nitrite eating bacteria that at any given time you cannot detect any trace of either ammonia or nitrite in the water, the tank is cycled. Why is it called cycling? Turning ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate is known as the nitrogen cycle.
Click to expand...

Very simple to read and well explained answer...I appreciate it thank you...now can anyone answer the 300 questions i asked in original post lol :grinyes:
 
Sorry, I edited my last post. Here is the rest of what I said:
Tap water is generally without ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate, which is why your water tested perfect. Unfortunately the ammonia eating bacteria need something to eat to start congregating in your filter, which was not in the tank. So now the ammonia is going to start rising, since there isn't a bacteria colony in your filter and it takes time to establish one. I would suggest taking the fish back to the store, or their gills will be damaged, perhaps permanently, and do a fishless cycle. Otherwise you may have to do 60-80% water changes a day to keep the ammonia and, later, nitrite under control and not damage the fish. A tank takes 4-6 weeks to cycle, generally. You can speed up the cycle by "seeding" it with gravel and filter material from an established(a tank where the nitrogen cycle is functioning perfectly) tank.


Amquel + is a good dechlorinator.

There are other test kits for hardness, KH and PH, which are chemical properties of the water which are important to fish. Test the KH, hardness, and PH of the britta water and get back to us. We'll know if it's safe.

I'm glad to hear it as helpful :)
 
:welcome: to AC!

First of all, the time cycling finishes actually varies. There is no timeline etched on the stone when it will finish exactly. You will need API liquid test kit to monitor the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH by yourself. I understand test kits can be expensive however this is recommended for a start. You want to avoid test strips as these are not reliable and accurate.

Your petstore is wrong in telling you the water parameters are "perfect". Unless I am mistaken, it is a lie to convince you to buy fish. If the fish dies, they will make an excuse to avoid a possible refund from you. Make sure your ammonia and nitrites are zero. Test the water yourself as you should not entrust your local fish store to test your water for you. If you want to make them test the water, let them jot down the results or make them let you see it for yourself. The latter is much better as they may become dishonest towards you.

As far as the fish are concerned, get a test kit immediately. If the ammonia and nitrites are above 0.25, do as many water changes as necessary to make both substances fall to zero. Both are toxic and can kill the fish in high levels. Your nitrates should also remain below 40 ppm although high nitrates is unlikely at the moment. If possible, let the store put all fish you want to buy on hold until your tank finishes cycling.

Please do not follow your local fish store's advice of using chemicals they suggest such as pH adjusting chemicals, copper, etc except dechlorinator. Tapwater has chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals depending on the area where you live. Dechlorinator is the most important chemical to have in hand to bind all those substances mentioned to harmless form thus preventing your fish from being harmed.

Likewise, if anyone tells you to use aquarium salt because it "wards off" certain diseases, this is a myth. Adding salt on long-term basis can result in the demise of your fish. None of the fish that live in freshwater habitats unless you count those that do travel to brackish estuarines live in "salted" conditions. They do not need salt unless you encounter diseases such as ich which salt can destroy. Table salt is just as useful and actually cheaper than aquarium salt so no need to waste your extra bucks on some "aquarium salt" because your store claims you should have one. Reading on osmoregulation and osmotic shock is recommended. You will understand better why salt can prove harmful in the long run when you read those two terms.

A lot of fish have different requirements in terms of compatibility, water hardness, pH, temperament, space needed, size, temperature, etc. Please do your research before you decide what to buy. If at all possible while waiting for the tank to finish cycling, provide us a list of fish available in your petstore and we will help you sort out which ones can be kept and which cannot be kept at all.

Giant danios are very feisty and growing at 4 inches, they need plenty of space although your 46g should be able to handle 6-8 of these fish. Swordtails can grow to 6 inches and need plenty of space as well. These are very prolific breeders and can crossbreed with platies (Xiphophorus maculatus). If you like livebearers, it is better to keep more females than males as males tend to chase constantly the females oftentimes stressing them to death. Provide plenty of hiding places such as live plants for them to seek refuge. Unless you have adequate space for the future fry due to their eagerness to breed, please leave nature to take its course. All livebearers commonly sold can drop 30-100 fry depending on the circumstances although 30 is the average number.

As for foods, again research what your fish needs. The most important thing is to vary their diet. Fish do not live exclusively on one food alone. Vegetables, chopped earthworms, daphnia, bloodworms, tubifex worms, blackworms, mosquito larva and many more are suitable. Pure vegetarians should never be fed with foods containing excessive amounts of protein. This can cause digestive upsets such as bloat and this is very difficult to remedy. This is the last thing you want to see when feeding your fish.

You need to have back-ups in hand. Battery-operated airpumps are needed in case of power outages and other emergency purposes. You also need heaters, extra filters and thermometers for your convenience. Redundancy has its good points. You want two 150-watts heaters running in your tank in case one fails to work. Put each heater at both ends of the tank. Make sure there is plenty of turbulence in those areas to ensure the heat spreads around. Keep your tank temperature consistent at 78 degrees at the moment.

The only filter media I'd put in your filter are filter floss, sponges and ceramics. Store your carbon in your cabinet as it is not necessary unless you wish to remove tannins and other chemicals from your tank. If ever you use driftwoods, do not worry when the water turns yellow. Most fish will certainly appreciate it and it isn't harmful at all but it does lower the pH depending on the hardness levels.

Lastly, a quarantine tank is very important. Always quarantine every new fish you get for 2-4 weeks. Most fish you buy are disease carriers so you will want to protect your current stocks from such problems. Keep it simple. A sponge filter should suffice along with pipes or flowerpots and plants for hiding places. A 10g tank should do it.

Good luck!
 
Well i cant take the fish so your suggesting since right now that the water is perfect (cause its new) I test it daily, the second it goes up i go a 80% water change? then keep testing daily and do water changes if its back up until it finally stays stable (probably 4-6 weeks later)
 
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