Another Newbie

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BERNMILO

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Apr 3, 2003
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Well here I am another newbie wanting in on the action. I came across this site by accident and have been reading the posts for quite some time. I have now decided its time to begin.
Someone passed on to us a 55 gal and 29 gal tank to us. We cleaned them well and bought new decorations, and filled our tanks. A friend of mine who has been successsful with fish is telling me to start out with 5 feeder goldies in the big tank and 3 in the little one. Well for 2 days everything is ok. Tested PH and its in the basic zone. The lady at the petco said not to add anything to it (no more fish either ) for about 8 weeks. Bring Petco a water sample and then go from there. All the stiff i read on cycling dont really specify time frame, anyone have any suggestions? I am really into this and its hard being patient, but I want to be successfull and will welcome and appreciate any help you all can give. My experienced friend doesnt believe in cycling he states that all crap, but I still believe after all the research Ive done I will try it. So what do you all suggest I do from here, how long before I should do anything and what? Do I need to add any chemicals ? Also should I start doing the 20% water change like after a week or wait for awhile? I'm a little confused on all that I've read so please forgive me if I am asking these questions for the 100Th time.....Thanks :)
 
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3194

Here's a link that will tell you a little about cycling your tank with fish.

What was the ph, exactly?
Do you have any other test kits? Nitrite, ammonia? Those kits will be necessary to test how far along your cycle is getting...
Do you have well water or city water? A dechlorinator is necessary for city water.

Do water changes as often as you can. Ammonia damages the respiratory systems of your fish, so you'll want to remove some of it on a regular basis to minimize the damage done. I suggest 20% every day or two if you can.

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the link and Here is what i had found.
My Ph level yesterday was 7.2 According to the box that was Basic????? level. So whats that mean?
We did add dechlorinator drops i believe? We have city water!
Do I add the dechlorinator in the 20% of water I exchange? Or will there be enough in the existing 80%?
No I do not have any other testing kits at this time. But am very willing to get them. Any ideas on a good brand, or is any brand ok?
What is a normal or ok level of Pneumonia?
How long does it usually take to cycle?
Thanks again for your help.
 
Our city water here is HARD! It's off the charts on Ph testers!!!
 
Oh, w/ ammonia, get an ammonia test kit. The water in the tester after adding drops should be clear. If it turns yellow or a light shade of it then you have ammonia building up. I get those little gravel bags(I forgot what they're called) at Wal-mart, and put them in my spillover filter. I had a small problem w/ ammonia and these bags cleared up the problem in less than a week. Live plants help things too.
 
You will need to dechlorinate every time you add water to the tank.

Any brand of test kit is fine, but the more reagents are used to test, the more accurate the test will be in most cases. If you have a choice of a test kit with 2 bottles versus a kit with just one, go with the one with 2.

And for goodness sakes, don't buy one of those ammonia bags. They'll just slow down the process. Water changes are much better because, while you don't want enough ammonia in the tank to hurt your fish, your bacteria have to have some ammonia to eat and multiply, and those ammonia removers take it out of the water before it can be used.

Expect spikes in your ammonia and nitrites, but under ideal circumstances (i.e., once your tank has fully cycled), you will have negligible readings in either. With fish, you're looking at anywhere from 3 to 8 weeks, depending on how many of your fish survive and how diligent you are with water changes.

For your ph, yes it is "basic", literally. Like, "not acidic". It is a bit more alkaline than neutral, but not enough to make a bit of difference to anything but the most sensitive fish. (Here's basic for ya; my city water is over 8.2...vinegar fizzles in my drains...)
 
Thank You PB queen...appreciate your help alot.....well last night my PH was 7.4 but then just for curiosity sake i tested my tap water and it was the same...is that normal?
My 55 gal tank is becomming real cloudy milky white today...what does that mean.
Could you also tell me what kind of symptoms my fish will have if they are gonna die...if any?
Thay all seem to be doing great and seem very healthy, but what do I know...lol.
I am gonna do water changes daily 20% if thats what you recommend. I am gonna go get a complete test kit tonite do to the PH result i have a bad feeling about my tank water vs tap water. Could you help me out with that.
Its only been like 3 days since i added fish.
my temp is about 72 degrees?
Thanks again for helpin me get started.:)
 
bernmilo, your city water utility has a webpage with information about your tapwater that you'll need to know. Bookmark it.

Maybe you'd tell us what the utility puts in your water. Chloramine-T? Calcium oxide? Polyphosphate? All of these affect your fish.

Reading up on cycling threads here that you've found with the "Search" button at the top right of the page (search "cycle" and "cycling") will clue you in a lot. Then you can educate your "experienced friend!"

Relax about your pH 7.4. It's close to ideal.

If your lfs carries Bio-Spira in their refrigerator, you could add it right now and spare your new fishes some cycling stresses. Follow the directions carefully. BTW, this is the only cycling product that contains the actual bacteria that will be converting ammonia finally to nitrate.
 
Wet man thanks, here is what I found about my city water

"The new facility features pretreatment with potassium permanganate and powdered activated carbon, lime softening, granular activated carbon contactors and ultrafiltration membranes. It is currently the largest ultrafiltration membrane surface water supply in the United States."

I'm sure you must know what all this means. Is this good bad or ugly...?
Should my tap water and tank water have the same PH? Or should I be concerned? My fish seem to be doing allright so far! Then again I guess since i asked what sypmtoms of almost dieing fish are no one answeered so maybe they arent...i dunno. Maybe I'm being to concerned. I just wanna do things right and not get any unhealthy fish.
Please help me out!
Thanks all for the links and info, i just can't get enuff!!!!:D
 
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