Do I still add the Start right if adding Easy Balance?

Lady G

Lady G

It's a mafia thing, nothing personl
Oct 6, 2005
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gingersassatelli.bodybyvi.com
I was wondering if anyone could help me out with this, I have a 30 gallon tank (and yes I have found out I need a bigger one) but that is what I have right now. With 2 irridesent shark, 3 bala shark, 2 neon gourami, 1 rainbow shark, and 1 algie eater (not sure the name) did have 2 columbians but they recently died. After they died I went to the LFS and got a test kit for the water (yes I know now I should of done this first), but this is the first tank I've had and my son brought it home and got the fish so I had nothing to do with it so please don't come down on me I am trying to make the best of what I have now. My Nitrate and Nitrite where out the roof they turned the brightest pink possible, so I went and bought some stuff called Easy Balance, I will be cleaning the tank tomorrow, (saturdays are my tank cleaning day's), anyway when I clean the tank normally I vacume the rocks and clean the sides and all the stuff in there, change about 1/2 the water add Start right, and aquarium salt and when needed change the filter (which I will be doing tomorrow), now that I have this stuff for the nitrate level do I still add the start right?
 
Read on the botle of the types of water conditioner what they do. I will bet yu they both do the same thing, if this is the case you should use one or the other, no need for both.
 
IMO,the only chemical you need is a good tap water conditioner.I my self use Stress Coat.Alot of people here use Prime.All the rest of these "Additives" are snake oil IMO.
 
To answer the first reply.. the Start right says it is a complete water conditioner for freshwter, saltwater, gldfis. Reduces stress, removes chlorine and chloramine, stimulates natural, protective slime coat. The other "Easy balance" say's it reduces frequent water changes, reduces phosphate levels for improved water quality, adds the vitamins, trace elements and mnerals essential for a healthy aquarium, reduces nitrates.
To the second reply.. are you saying I shouldn't add anything at all to the tank even if things are high?

Thank you
 
The start right is a must b/c it's a dechlorinator. I wouldn't use the easy balance at all but I guess you can if you want to. Frequent water changes are what you need to do to get your nitrites and nitrates down. Your nitrites should be at 0 and your nitrates should be below 40. Salt is not necessary either. What kind of filter do you have? You probably shoudn't change the cartridge right now, just rinse it off in old tank water and put it back in the filter.
 
The only information I have on the filter is what is on the top it say's Whisper 20-40, I hope that is what you need to know. My aunt gave us the tank and the filter came with it. I haven't changed the cartrige the last 2 water changes, I just rinsed it off and the last time it was getting a little raggidy. I just lost a fish last night not sure why there was no injurys on him, he had been eating and swimming around didn't act any differently than before we just came in and he was dead.
 
The only thing you really need to add is the one that contains the dechlorinator, and removes chloramine, soemone else has already said this. As far as your nitrates being high, you really should do more frequent water changes to get this under control. Chemicals are no substitute for general maintenece. If your tank is cycled you should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrates(just thought id throw that in). If I were you i would start by doing no less than a 50 percent water change to lower my nitrates. After that i would do at least 30% every other day until they get to the levels they should be at. Seeing how you are grossly overstocked, and you know this, you may very well have to do water changes every other day to keep the nitrates in check until you can afford a bigger tank. It is very possible that your fish are not dying because of the water quality. They could be having territorial disputes or a weakened immune system because they do not have the space they need. There is no magical cure for nitrates, live plants help, chemicals may help in the shorterm, the only thing that will permanantly help is for the water to be changed more often, and probaly vaccuming your gravel more often. You have way to many fish and in my opinion if you dont' get a bigger tank within a couple weeks, or find somewhere else for at least 75 percent of your fish to go, you will watch your fish die in the next few months until the fish load gets to a point that the tank can handle. I know you didn't come here with a ? about your tank stocking, but there are not any magical potions in a bottle that will fix bad water quality problems, only water changes and decreasing your stocking levels. I hope this helps you!! Have a nice day! :)
 
I am looking at a 55 gallon right now, hopefully will be able to get it in the next week or two, I am sure I will need a bigger tank eventully then that but for now budget wise the 55 gallon is as big as I can go. You see my aunt gave the tank to my son who went with my mom and came home with what is in my tank now (along with 2 columbian sharks that have both died). So I am trying to do what I can to keep them as comfortable as possible until I can get the other tank. I did let my son know NO MORE and to not buy fish until we can find out about them. The LFS they went to did not help matters they told them all kinds of stuff that since we have found out was wrong, my mom did let them know what size tank we have and they were told the fish they had picked out would be fine. After finding out more about the irridesents on another forum I tried to take them back but was told no. I will not add the Easy Balance since everyone has recommended not to, and I will do more then once a week water changes untill I can get the other tank. Is the around 50% water change ok or should I do more or less?

Thanks guys you are helping tremendously!!
 
You will need to change as much of the water and as frequently as it takes to keep the ammonia and nitrite (you need test kits for both if you don't have them) at or VERY close to 0. Both are very toxic to the fish, which could explain the unexplained deaths. What were your exact readings? Also, on the filter, is is just a cotton like bag with carbon and that is the only thing in the filter? If so, each time you replace that you might be putting the tank through a mini cycle. The best thing to do would be to go to an LFS and get some sponge (might say its for a different kind of filter, doens't matter) and cut it to fit the area in the filter. This will not need to be replaced for a VERY long time, will save you money, and can just be squeezed out in old tank water with each water change :D

Also, you might want to call around and see if you can't find a store to take the irridescents at the very least, the minimun tank size the species profile on this site recommends is 200 gallons, and I think even that is way too small. You might not get anything for them, but you will have the fish off your hands which can grow to sizes in feet, not inches :eek:
 
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