OK, please be gentle; I'm totally new to this.
So Saturday I was given a stocked 45 gallon freshwater aquarium. We're talking plants (neigh jungle that needs to be thinned just a bit), angel fish, two other kinds of fish I have yet to identify, lil snails, the whole shebang. The entire setup was donated because the previous owner could no longer care for the fish and nobody else would take on the responsibility.
I was able to transport the tank and fish without incident. I left about 2" of water in the bottom of the tank, and the plants kept the sediment from sloshing about much. I treated (Prime) tepid/warmish tap water in a 5g bucket, adding it slowly, and mixing in Stability to (hopefully) prevent the dreaded "new tank" syndrome.
I noticed right away that the aquarium heater was dysfunctional. It wanted to heat the water to 86.5F, no matter what setting I dialed it to. I knew this wasn't good for the fish, but it was by this point after six pm on a holiday weekend so my options were nil. The fish were ok as far as I could tell. All fish appear to be generally "happy" and responsive, and are eating well 2-3 times a day.
I have added two more capfuls (as per directions) of Stability yesterday and today. Not sure yet if this product will prevent catastrophe but we shall see.
Unfortunately, the old filters were thrown out during the move and so I've had to put fresh ones in. I'm hoping the sediment and plants will have kept enough of the pre-existing biofilter.
I went to the pet store today and bought a new aquarium heater. My idea was to drop the temp down to 84F today, then 82 tomorrow, and so on down to about 79F which I figure is about ideal for the angel fish. However, this heater apparently does not work correctly. I have it set to maximum (89F), sitting by the filter/pump, and so far it's weakly holding the tank at 79.5F. I will keep monitoring for the next hour or two before I go to bed and see how it goes. I was really hoping to avoid a drastic temperature drop, but what's a guy to do?
Anyway, with all that out of the way, is there anything else I should be doing? Tests I should be running or behavior to watch out for? These lil guys are my charge now, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep them alive and healthy.
I look forward to many years here as a current and future fish owner. The adventure has just begun!
So Saturday I was given a stocked 45 gallon freshwater aquarium. We're talking plants (neigh jungle that needs to be thinned just a bit), angel fish, two other kinds of fish I have yet to identify, lil snails, the whole shebang. The entire setup was donated because the previous owner could no longer care for the fish and nobody else would take on the responsibility.
I was able to transport the tank and fish without incident. I left about 2" of water in the bottom of the tank, and the plants kept the sediment from sloshing about much. I treated (Prime) tepid/warmish tap water in a 5g bucket, adding it slowly, and mixing in Stability to (hopefully) prevent the dreaded "new tank" syndrome.
I noticed right away that the aquarium heater was dysfunctional. It wanted to heat the water to 86.5F, no matter what setting I dialed it to. I knew this wasn't good for the fish, but it was by this point after six pm on a holiday weekend so my options were nil. The fish were ok as far as I could tell. All fish appear to be generally "happy" and responsive, and are eating well 2-3 times a day.
I have added two more capfuls (as per directions) of Stability yesterday and today. Not sure yet if this product will prevent catastrophe but we shall see.
Unfortunately, the old filters were thrown out during the move and so I've had to put fresh ones in. I'm hoping the sediment and plants will have kept enough of the pre-existing biofilter.
I went to the pet store today and bought a new aquarium heater. My idea was to drop the temp down to 84F today, then 82 tomorrow, and so on down to about 79F which I figure is about ideal for the angel fish. However, this heater apparently does not work correctly. I have it set to maximum (89F), sitting by the filter/pump, and so far it's weakly holding the tank at 79.5F. I will keep monitoring for the next hour or two before I go to bed and see how it goes. I was really hoping to avoid a drastic temperature drop, but what's a guy to do?
Anyway, with all that out of the way, is there anything else I should be doing? Tests I should be running or behavior to watch out for? These lil guys are my charge now, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep them alive and healthy.
I look forward to many years here as a current and future fish owner. The adventure has just begun!