New member/ General Info & Q's

T

ta2d2001

DJ
Sep 5, 2004
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www.geocities.com
Hi all ,

I have been browsing the forums for about a month now and finally decided to register. Just some background info first....

I have setup my first tank. It has been running for about 4 months now. I started off with 3 Dwarf Gouramis for the first 2 weeks. It is a 20g Hex. Then I added 3 Clown Loaches and learned about ammonia the hard way. :( The loaches moved on but the gouramis were fine. So I bought a PH test kit and an ammonia test kit and monitored for a few weeks. After everything stabilized I added 3 Emerald green Corys and let run for a week. No problems , So I added 2 Tiger Barbs. Again , no problems. 2 weeks later 2 Green Tiger Barbs. Everyone seems very happy and healthy and the tank conditions are very stable and clean , except for the ph which allways reads 7.4. I am guessing the fish don't mind this because they are all doing fine.

I am feeding them flakes once a day and either bloodworms or brine shrimp along with the flakes every other day. Lighting is on a timer for about 10 hours a day. White substrate , about 5 fake plants , 2 caves for hiding , a bubble up UGF , and a Whisper Power 30.

Now for my questions....... :)

Should I be concerned with my ph levels? My tap water is near neutral.

I know what the Whisper filter says about timely changes of the filter media , should this be strictly followed? And what about the Bio-Sponge? Clean it? Leave it alone? How often?

I do 25% to 40% water changes every 2 to 3 weeks. Is this ok? More or less?

How often should complete cleaning of the substrate (small gravel) be done?

Do the aquarium decor (plants , caves) need periodic cleaning , or do the Corys do a pretty good job? (No algae present at all)

I have stabilized my temp at about 80 degrees. I thought it might be high , but with summer here , it gets that high without the heater , so I thought I might as well keep it there to avoid CHANGE. I have read that change is BAD.
Any thoughts on this?

I have been researching as much as possible to ensure the health and happiness of my stock , and will be getting into nitrates and nitrites very soon. I am looking towards a 50g soon and I want a good solid knowledge base to work with.

And last but not least... Does changing the Bio-Filter cause a *recycle*?
I want to move my tank to the other side of the room. If I drain the water to just above the substrate , and change my Bio-Filter (it's time) will my stock suffer?

Any and all thoughts , opinions and advice is GREATLY appreciated!!

DJ
 
Seems like an awful lot of fish for such a small tank.

I do a large water change every week. Vacuming the gravel, cleaning the glass, rinsing off the filter cartridge. With that many fish in your tank, it's definately necessary to change water more often.

I'll let the more experienced hobbyists comment on the rest......
 
ok were to start....

Do not mess with your Ph at all. 7.4 is a very good Ph to have. Messing around with it will stress the fish out alot more than if its just a bit wrong.

I wouldnt change your media unless its really gunked up. Just give the sponge a rinse out if it starts to get gunked up.

You should be doing a 25% water change a week. While i am doing my water change I vacum out the gravel at the same time.

I have never had to clean any of my decor so far in my tank.

Ya 80 degrees should be fine if its a nice stable filter and have some nice surface aggitation going on.

As long as the move is quick and the filter still has water in it too you should be fne. If it takes long just try to get someooxygen in bot (ie bubble make).

-Dan
 
If you don’t already have one, buy a nitrAte test kit (NO3). Different stocking, feeding, filtration, planting and cleaning regimes might mean one person does 25% water changes a week, another person does 50%. Pick a safe level (e.g. under 20 ppm or under 10 ppm). If initially your tank has a high reading, it may take larger or more frequent water changes to bring it down. After that, you will discover what percentage the tank needs weekly to keep readings within an acceptable range.

For example, I have 3 smaller tanks; each one requires a different percentage of water change.
 
SomeGuy88 said:
I wouldnt change your media unless its really gunked up. Just give the sponge a rinse out if it starts to get gunked up.
Click to expand...

Do this in water you have syphoned from the tank during water changes. :)
 
Don't change the filter till after the move and the tank is all stabilized (Amm=0 Nitrite=0). It wont hurt to wait a little longer than recommended.

Do enough water changes to keep your Nitrate under 20ppm after your tank is all stablized. If this means 25% a week or 10% a day; the goal is <20ppm because more than that is stressful to your fish. With the amount you have I'm not sure 25% once weekly is gonna be enough. I'd rather do two 25% a week than one 50% because I believe larger changes=more stress. It's just my theory though I could be wrong.
 
I guess I am slightly overstocked then eh? :(
I guess once I get a larger tank , I will move the 4 barbs out and leave the 3 DG's and 3 Cory's.
 
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Another note on changing filter media. You do NOT have to change them as often as they recommend. Carbon is next to useless and not needed IMO. The carbon in those filters only "works" for maybe a week anyway and it would be too expensive to change it out every week. So don't worry about the carbon. I don't change my filter pads out until they are literally about to fall apart (once a year or so). Just rinse them out in a bucket of tank water about once a month to clean the gunk off of them, then put them back. Lots and lots of good bacteria will live in that filter padding.
 
Basically a "ditto"

I agree with what has been posted earlier. In my opinion, the only use carbon serves is to help lessen the barely noticeable odor that even a healthy tank has. (a slightly earthy odor) It won't get rid of it, (I wouldn't think so, at least) but it will lessen it some, but I don't think you will notice the odor from a healthy tank much. I just want to be on the record here: if your tank has an odor that you can smell without nearly sticking your nose in the water, something is wrong. Test for Ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes, ect...

Carbon in your filter will also absorb most medicines you put in your tank (to some extent.. enough to mess up the dosing) so if you leave the carbon in the filter media (thats what I do) make sure you remember to take it out if you ever have to medicate your fish.

I know there are LOTS of people here that wish they could get water with a pH of 7.4! gh and kh aren't much of a big deal unless they are too high, too low just makes the pH in your tank unstable. (I have VERY soft water with no measureable hardness, so I just added some seashells meant for aquarium substrate to the filter box.)
 
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