Tank finally up

Would the bio-wheel filter convert the ammonia? I ask because the book that came with the tank indicated it would, are they setting people up to fail?

Everything else they've said mirrors what I've read here (avoiding overstocking, feed twice a day only as much as the fish will eat in about five minutes, water changes, filter changes, etc). Fishless cycling isn't mentioned and neither are ammonia spikes. I might have missed it but I didn't see any bio wheel references in the linked threads provided.

Thoughts?
 
No filter works right out of the box, it has to build up the bacteria that converts ammonia-to-nitrite-to-nitrate and that can take a while so just, wait on the fish, go down to the hardware store and buy pure ommonia and doe it till your test kit shows 0 ammonia, 0 Nitrite, max 15 nitrate. Then you can slowly add fish like 1 or 3 a week.

And don't go by whatever the box is they are trying to sell crap.
 
It frankly stinks they mention nothing about that, at all.
How much ammonia would I add? It's a 12 gallon tank, no live plants.
 
the bio-wheel is like a high-class bacteria condo. it works really great once established, but you have to wait for the bacteria to move in first. to start, you'll need test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. add the ammonia to the tank a couple drops at a time, swish it around so it is equally diluted, and test the water. you may have to do it a couple times before you get the reading you want, which is 3-5ppm of ammonia. it's enough to build up a good colony that will allow you to put fish in right away, but not so much that it actually becomes toxic to the bacteria you are trying to grow. if you know someone with a fishtank, ask if you can take one of their filter pads. the cycle goes a lot faster is you can get bacteria from another tank rather than waiting for it to just show up.
 
Thank you. I believe we do actually have pure ammonia at home already; all I need is the test kits
 
check the label - the only things you should see should be ammonia, water, and a chelating ingredient (which keeps the ammonia dissolved in the water). no colors, fragrances, surfactants, etc.
 
Will do.
Looking back at when I first joined up and re-reading the suggestions, I think eventually it'll be stocked with:
5/6 rasboras
2 male guppies
2 ghost or cherry shrimp
Probably start out with the guppies so we don't have two Rasbora looking for a school. The shrimp sound interesting; never had them before.
 
Cherry shrimp like groups, plus 2 will get picked off

I say about 30 would be good, Mgamer2000 breeds them and i am starting to, so I would talk to him if he has any right now.
 
Wow, does that apply to Ghost Shrimp too? I understand they have a light bio load, but it is only a 12 gallon tank :)
 
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