Do you need to be a chemist??

[Chickieepooh2u]

Do you have to have a background in chemistry just to run a fish tank? LOL I see all these terms on this board. Kh, Nitrate, amonia levels, Co2....yada yada yada. ACK Seriously! I just filled a tank up (treated water), put pretty rocks in it and some plastic plants, added a air pump and filter, waited a week and added fish. Presto... happy healthy fish.
But after reading these boards I'm starting to think I'm doing something wrong. What if the temp isn't right, or theres amonia or...or...something. I think I'm developing a complex. LOL

--------------------------------------------------------------
20 Gallon:

3 female white clouds
3 zebra danios
1 male guppy
1 female guppy
7 guppy fry (breeding net in the corner)

5 gallon:

1 apple snail
2 ghost shrimp

[chinnp]

Do you have to have a background in chemistry just to run a fish tank? LOL I see all these terms on this board. Kh, Nitrate, amonia levels, Co2....yada yada yada. ACK Seriously! I just filled a tank up (treated water), put pretty rocks in it and some plastic plants, added a air pump and filter, waited a week and added fish. Presto... happy healthy fish.
But after reading these boards I'm starting to think I'm doing something wrong. What if the temp isn't right, or theres amonia or...or...something. I think I'm developing a complex. LOL

--------------------------------------------------------------
20 Gallon:

3 female white clouds
3 zebra danios
1 male guppy
1 female guppy
7 guppy fry (breeding net in the corner)

5 gallon:

1 apple snail
2 ghost shrimp

You don't have to be a chemist, but you do need to know something about water chemistry. Basically the most important qualities about your water are Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. These are easily measured by an inexepensive test kit. If any of these things (especially ammonia and nitrite) get out of hand, they can kill your fish in a hurry. Please do some research on cycling. Your tank sounds fine if it's completely cycled. If it's not, you're going to run into problems in the next week or two as ammonia and nitrite levels build up.

[Ms.Bubbles]

I just filled a tank up (treated water), put pretty rocks in it and some plastic plants, added a air pump and filter, waited a week and added fish. Presto... happy healthy fish.


Sorry, but filling up your tank & waiting a week before adding your fish won't do anything for your tank or for your fish. You need to either "cycle" your tank or get some fast-growing plants & a plant light--otherwise, the toxins released by your fish/fishfood could seriously injure or even kill your fish.

You need to learn about how to cycle a tank, or you could run into some serious problems. Here's a good link to learn:

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64301

Some of the discussions on the board can get pretty complicated, & it isn't always necessary to get this deep into water chemistry from the start, but believe me, I wouldn't be buying ammonia & nitrite water testing kits if it wasn't necessary. I ain't no science geek :)

[Chickieepooh2u]

Sorry, I forgot to mention I've had this tank set up and going for 9 months now and the only problems I've had was with ich and fin nipping. I've got live plants in it too, and do 20% water changes every week.
Basically this post was supposed to be tongue in cheek.

[rrkss]

Well if your fish are still alive and the ich issues are solved then you are obviously doing something right and I would just keep doing what you were doing. Weekly waterchanges sound right on target and a smart thing to do. No need to be a chemist though in my opinion knowlege about ammonia and nitrite and how to treat poisoning of these toxins is essential. A healthy tank will always have these levels at 0 but there has been times where my healthy tanks became unhealthy due to biological fiter disturbance. If you are going into the planted tank direction (more than just one or two live plants), more intricate knowlege of water chemistry is a bonus but not a neccessity.

[Slappy*McFish]

Knowledge is power.

[RTR]

I'm w/Slappy. If you want fish as live decor, then your technique is fine. If you want a tank as hobby, then knowledge is power. Who wnats a "hobby" about which they know nothing? I garden, so i know something about soils and fertilers and exposure and microclimate, prining and dividing, watering, etc. The more I know, the more I get out of it. Fish-keeping is the same - the more I know about water chemistry, feeding, and the needs of particular fish, the better I do with them. I guess I am one of those peculiar people who wants to know what he is doing, and why and how to do what he is doing. If I don't know, I make a point of finding out if anyone does know.

[Roan Art]

Ditto what Slappy and RTR said.

If you've ever had a garden it's possible to do so without doing anything but sticking seeds in the ground and watering once in a while. Most of them will probably grow for you and produce some product. Unless the plants get hit with some disease or there is a drought.

However, if you want your garden to flourish and give you better product you have to put some effort into it: ferts, aeration, watering, insecticide (of some sort) and so forth.

Most people who want a decent garden will read up on that without even flinching.

Fish aren't any different.

You can stick fish in a tank, call it done, and they may or may not do well.

Or you can research, learn, and weave your tank into a veritable garden of fishery.

The more you learn, the more you have control over the outcome.

Roan

[nerdyguy83]

Here are some simple formulas for you:

Water changes = less everything in new tank

Fish waste, decaying food, etc. = NH4

NH4 = dead fish

NH4 + Prime = NH3- + not dead fish (NOT a permanent solution)

New tank + time + lots of water changes + a couple fish = nitrifying bacteria

(alternately) Fishless cycle = nitrifying bacteria

NH4 or NH3- + nitrifying bacteria = NO2- (deadly)

NO2- + other nitrifying bacteria = NO3- (not really deadly, but not good)

Water changes = less NO3- in established tank

KEY:
NH4 - Ammonia
NH3- - Ammonium
NO2- - Nitrite
NO3- - Nitrate

That's about the extent of the chemistry you really need to know up front. pH, KH, and GH are important, but secondary to understanding the cycle.

[beviking]

Here are some simple formulas for you:

Water changes = less everything in new tank

Fish waste, decaying food, etc. = NH4

NH4 = dead fish

NH4 + Prime = NH3- + not dead fish (NOT a permanent solution)

New tank + time + lots of water changes + a couple fish = nitrifying bacteria

(alternately) Fishless cycle = nitrifying bacteria

NH4 or NH3- + nitrifying bacteria = NO2- (deadly)

NO2- + other nitrifying bacteria = NO3- (not really deadly, but not good)

Water changes = less NO3- in established tank

KEY:
NH4 - Ammonia
NH3- - Ammonium
NO2- - Nitrite
NO3- - Nitrate

That's about the extent of the chemistry you really need to know up front. pH, KH, and GH are important, but secondary to understanding the cycle.

NICE post Dan! :clap:

Good for you Chickieepooh2u that things have worked out so far!!! Most times people run into problems and want to know what happened and how to remedy the problem so it doesn't happen again. If you don't care (not meaning to be snotty or derogatory) that's your choice. You can pick up more fish when your picking up dog food at P$tco anyway! :laugh: :p: ;) :joke:

[Ms.Bubbles]

I dig that the post was written in jest, but other newbies reading this post might not be as lucky & may assume that cycling a tank is unnecessary--all you have to do is add water & fish & it all just works out.

I wish (and so does my betta, who still has a hole in his tail from poor water quality)...

[mrgrudge]

Knowledge of water chemisty is good so you don't sit there wondering why all your fish are suddenly dropping dead. At least you can do something to fix and better yet prevent it.

[rrkss]

Here are some simple formulas for you:

Water changes = less everything in new tank

Fish waste, decaying food, etc. = NH4

NH4 = dead fish

NH4 + Prime = NH3- + not dead fish (NOT a permanent solution)

New tank + time + lots of water changes + a couple fish = nitrifying bacteria

(alternately) Fishless cycle = nitrifying bacteria

NH4 or NH3- + nitrifying bacteria = NO2- (deadly)

NO2- + other nitrifying bacteria = NO3- (not really deadly, but not good)

Water changes = less NO3- in established tank

KEY:
NH4 - Ammonia
NH3- - Ammonium
NO2- - Nitrite
NO3- - Nitrate

That's about the extent of the chemistry you really need to know up front. pH, KH, and GH are important, but secondary to understanding the cycle.

Actually some corrections.

NH3 = Ammonia (Toxic corrosive gas and lethal to fish). The concentration of this varies based on the pH. The ionization formula is NH3 + H2O --> NH4+ + OH-. According to Le Chatilear's Principle, the lower the pH the less NH3 ammonia will be present in the water. This makes knowing an exact number at which ammonia can kill the fish very difficult but I have 1.0 as a number to keep it below. Using prime or lowering the pH is one way to reduce the toxicity of ammonia. Ammonia kills by breaking down living fish tissues and it is not reversable. Once a fish has been poisoned by ammonia the trick to keeping him alive is putting it in water with no ammonia and heavy airation since the gills will have been damaged. Time will heal the ammonia burns and the fish will become healthy again in about 2-3 weeks.

Symptoms of Ammonia Poisoning are:

1. Cloudy Water
2. Lethargic Gasping Fish
3. Fish hang out near the surface.
4. Arteries in the tail become visible (due to artery dilation in an attempt to start healing the damaged tissues).
5. Fish loose interest in food.

NH4+ = Ammonium (Ionized ammonia, nontoxic to fish but induces algae problems)

NO2 = Nitrite. This is the most deadly product of the cycle. It poisons the fish similar to Carbon Monoxide poisoning in humans. Plants will not consume this nutrient out of the water. This needs to be kept under 0.5. Treatment involves removing the nitrites and adding salt at a dosage of one teaspoon per gallon.

Symptoms of Nitrite Poisoning:

1. Lethargic gasping fish
2. Darkened gills (brown color)
3. Fish hang out at the surface
4. Fish loose interest in food.

[nerdyguy83]

My girlfriend is the chemist in the couple. lol I figured I had gotten a few things wrong in there. I think it's right as far as basic principles for aquarium keeping if not actually chemically acurate. Thanks for the corrections, rrkss.

[RTR]

What does cloudy water have to do with ammonia toxicity? Ammonia can be at lethal levels in crystal clear water, or peasoup cloudiness can have no detectable NH3. I see no relationship.

[kjenber]

Applaude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!
Its that simple? thats the way I do. FISH,EASY Just add water............