How To Treat Water

[Snakes]

Good Evening

I am a newbie and I have a 38Litre(+-10Gallon) Tank

I am only starting out therefore I havent went big as yet

I have 3 platy's in the tank as I believe thats how to start and only after a month I can get more fish if I want

I have a undergravel filter that I think I should replace because they say these filters are crap

My Tank Water has been Cycled with a substance called Cycle and it has been treated with a chlorine remover or dechlorinator substance

Fish has been placed in there a day or 2 after this and they are still alive

1.
When Doing a Water Change How often should they be done

PS im not sure if we allowed to paste external websites but is this info in this link good
http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-and-animals/a1766-how-to-treat-aquarium-water.html

Please Remove Link if need be


2.
and is it safe to keep water that I have taken from the tap and placed in a sealed bucket overnight that I can use for water changes or should something be added like that dechlorinator substance

3.
How Long should a fish tank run before a complete water change is needed or is that never done

4.
Undergravel Filter Good or Bad and should it be replaced like I mentioned they say its crap and only keeps muck under the gravel

5.
Is a pinch of flakes crushed a bit to form a pinch enough for the 3 or too much

Please Advise
Regards
Rieda aka Snakes

 

[lilim10]

1. water changes should be done depending on filter, tank size, and stocking. Try once a week.

2. yes, but don't seal the bucket, allow the chlorine to evaporate. If you are still nervous, add some dechlorinator. The aged water should be about the same temp. as the tank water as to not chill your fish when you add it.

3. DON'T do complete water changes (unless you are keeping discus...). Do partial water changes of 25%-75%.

4. An undergravel filter will work, but they need to be cleaned regularly to avoid muck buildup. For a small tank like yours, it probably would suffice, but I highly recommend getting a HOB filter such as penguin biowheel.

5. It depends on how much a pinch is, but I think it will be enough. Look at their bellies, if they are nice and round, thats perfect. If they look like they swallowed a marble, you fed too much!

Good luck with the new tank! Also, Cycle helps cycle a tank faster, it does not cycle the tank! It just adds beneficial bacteria, which can take a while to establish, so check your water ammonia often!

 

[Star_Rider]

at the top of this forum you will see links to information like :
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598

I would encourage you to read these. also read up on maintenance.

in general tho..you don't have to 'store' water overnight. many of the de chlorinators will remove chlorine and chloramine nearly instantly.

maintenance should be done weekly.. 20-50% water changes weekly are pretty normal.

if you are cycling with live fish..do read the article..
with live fish cycles you will need to closely monitor the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates,, you will need to do water changes as needed..sometimes daily.

good luck


and welcome aboard.

 

[Snakes]

Thanks Guys and I just forgot one thing

Do I feed them daily or is it every 2 days normal or should they starve for weeks lol

 

[Notophthalmus]

Fish are pretty flexible when it comes to feeding; just watch to see if they look healthy. I usually feed smaller fish daily on week days, and let them fast on weekends. Larger fish I often feed only two or three times a week.

 

[jm1212]

Good Evening

I am a newbie and I have a 38Litre(+-10Gallon) Tank

I am only starting out therefore I havent went big as yet

I have 3 platy's in the tank as I believe thats how to start and only after a month I can get more fish if I want

I have a undergravel filter that I think I should replace because they say these filters are crap

My Tank Water has been Cycled with a substance called Cycle and it has been treated with a chlorine remover or dechlorinator substance

Fish has been placed in there a day or 2 after this and they are still alive

1.
When Doing a Water Change How often should they be done

at least 25% once a week, with a gravel vac. this is especially important with the UGF.

PS im not sure if we allowed to paste external websites but is this info in this link good
http://www.howtodothings.com/pets-and-animals/a1766-how-to-treat-aquarium-water.html

Please Remove Link if need be


2.
and is it safe to keep water that I have taken from the tap and placed in a sealed bucket overnight that I can use for water changes or should something be added like that dechlorinator substance

you should always use dechlor. there is a very good chance that your water treatment center uses chloramine, which does not gas off like chlorine does.

3.
How Long should a fish tank run before a complete water change is needed or is that never done

you should do a fishless cycle before you add fish. you will need a source of ammoina (either household ammoina or fish food) to allow the beneficial bacteria to start to grow. just letting it run, empty, without any ammoina source will not make the tank safe for fish. it sounds like you are on your way to a fishy cycle though, so you will need to get a liquid test kit (API Master FW kit is the best) and you need to be prepared to do daily water changes if your ammoina and/or nitrite are over 0.25.

4.
Undergravel Filter Good or Bad and should it be replaced like I mentioned they say its crap and only keeps muck under the gravel

UGF's are great for biological filtration, but they really should be used along with a HOB filter. just vac through all of the gravel at least once with every water change (i am able to go through the gravel bed on my 20 gallon tank twice, keeps the UGF very clean).

5.
Is a pinch of flakes crushed a bit to form a pinch enough for the 3 or too much

it really depends on what you mean by a pinch. personally, i wouldnt give three platies that much. at most i would give them 3-4 flakes per fish.

Please Advise
Regards
Rieda aka Snakes

comments in blue.

 

[Star_Rider]

how you feed is partly relative to the species..some need daily feedings and benefit with more than 1 feeding a day.

(discus come to mind)

 

[Rbishop]

Do you have a good liquid test kit?

 

[DavidZ]

Get some Prime for your water changes, you can find it in the online stores for less$$.

 

[OldMan47]

JM1212 gave you some good advice Snakes. The essence of your present situation is that you are into a fishy cycle and have an uncycled tank and filter.
Since you have been using an undergravel filter, you should keep using it until you at least get another filter set up and working on the tank. It is all that you have until the next filter gets cycled.
The cycle product is snake oil. It may contain some kind of bacteria when it goes into the bottle but by the time you take it off the store shelf it is useless.
The next and most important thing that you need is a good liquid reagent type test kit so that you can monitor ammonia and nitrites. These are both poisons at concentrations above 0.25 ppm. The only recourse you will have with fish in the tank is to change as much water as it takes to keep levels below 0.25 ppm. Until the ammionia and nitrites stay below 0.25 ppm on their own and are actually undetectable, you do not add any fish to what you already have. The number you have is the starting biological load for your tank and should not be increased until the bacteria are dealing with it effectively. After you get cycled, you can either gradually add a few fish per week or remove the undergravel filter, whichever you choose to do next. Do not do both.
Modern dechlorinators work so quickly that if you fill a bucket with water and treat it, by the time you walk to the tank, it will be ready to add in. Try to keep the new water at about the same temperature as the water that you have removed to avoid shocking the fish. If you can't tell the temperature of makeup water is different than the tank water with your hand, the fish won't notice it either. It will be close enough.