The fish don't last?!?

Guppies (at least, wild ones) can tolerate 1.5x sea water, if acclimated. So if you had guppies die, I don't think it was the salt water.

Can you describe your tank more?
What kind of filter, what kind of gravel, what kind of aeration? any other rocks or ornaments?
 
I have a 15g tank with a powerhead filter(similar to Tetras Whisper filter), heater (75deg), colored aquarium gravel, a few ornaments(made for aquariums), no aeration, and 3-fake plants.
 
abh19 said:
Guppies (at least, wild ones) can tolerate 1.5x sea water, if acclimated. So if you had guppies die, I don't think it was the salt water.

Can you describe your tank more?
What kind of filter, what kind of gravel, what kind of aeration? any other rocks or ornaments?
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salt water and the salt we put in our tanks is different.
 
It is just th Aquarium pharmecuticals (API)test kits that use the drops rather than the test strips. Also the ph=7.6 is after I did a nearly complete water change to remove the salt water.
 
Ph of 7.6 is fine for platies but you need to test for ph, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia weekly once the tank is cycled during the cycling more often and do PCW's if any ammonia or nitrite is present. Once your tank is cycled nitrates should be present 40 is the limit the level should be. Neons prefer a ph that is more acidic. I used salt when I was cycling my tanks but used it as directed 1 teaspoon per gallon. As I have cories in my 36g I no longer use the salt as they don't tolerate it. Use of salt is basically to help treat disease if it is present. As far as stocking you have to stock slowly 1-2 fish per week until fully stocked. Adding all your fish at once after it is freshly cycled will only set it back and it may recycle again. Use aquaclear and cycle or stresszyme with every water change as directed once the tank is cycled add the cycle or stresszyme every week to keep the biological filter going do gravel vac with every PWC add aquaclear once every 4 weeks with PWC once cycled. As far as filter change if using a sponge filter unless it is breaking apart don't change it swish it in old tank water that you changed out of the tank to clean it. You can add carbon to the sponge. If it is a hob filter that has filter cartridges that already have carbon in them I have been told those should be changed every 4 weeks. Some people have told me you don't need the carbon if the water is clean. I am not too sure about that they say you can swish those filters in old tank water too to clean them. My 36g has been cycled since 4/15/07 I am going to do a PWC next week and will change the filter too. Hope this helps.
 
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cycle and/or stress zyme is a waste of money, why would you need to add bacteria (even if there was any in those products) if the tank is cycled full of bacteria.
 
musho3210 said:
cycle and/or stress zyme is a waste of money, why would you need to add bacteria (even if there was any in those products) if the tank is cycled full of bacteria.
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I agree. Those products are useless, as they contain only dead cultures (if there are any cultures at all). I was in an LFS the other day and another customer was looking at a bottle of Stress Zyme, and I told her to turn it around and look at the expiration date. It was Jan 2012. Yogurt contains live bacterial cultures. Would you buy yogurt that was sitting on a shelf at room temperature with an expiration date of 2012? I sure wouldn't.

If you want to speed up a cycle, there are two methods:
1. Seed the tank with media or substrate from an established tank.
2. Bio-Spira, which is a refrigerated live culture product from Marineland.

If your tank has finished cycling, there is absolutely no reason you need to "boost" your bacteria colonies. A cycled tank, by definition, has all the bacteria it needs.

Products like Cycle and Stress Zyme are nothing but snake oil designed to make a profit off people's inexperience. It's shameful.
 
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