starlyte

I probably should have just replied to the other thread... but oh well, here goes The cycling appears to be happening - yay I did tests on the 15th Nov and just today (19th) ammonia was 4.0 - today its 1.0 Nitrite was 0.5 now it is 5.0 Nitrate was 0 now it is 5 Ive put in some 'cycle' to make the nitrites less toxic for the fish One question though, When i bought the tank it was a kit so it came with a couple of small bottles, One of them though is called 'waste control - waste eliminator' made by nutrafin There is no real information on the bottle, but its quite obvious what it does... It was only a tiny bottle and ive used it all but im wondering, Do i even need to buy more? What are other methods of waste control, Shouldnt the cycling be converting all the waste? Also, I went to the pet shop today to get more fish food, I got Nutrafin spirulina algae tablets - sinking tablets and nutrafin complete pellet food - floating tablets, are these better then just flakes? I was going to get some frozen bloodworms also but at the time i was not going to be home for quite some time so i left it, do i need them, or do i have enough food variety? Thanks in advance for your comments!!!

Thanks caryl I will make them the last fish to add

True... i instantly blamed the heater when really it could have just been the thermometer reading wrong

my tank is starting its first cycle Amonia - 4.0 Nitrite - 0.5 nitrates - 0 on the 8th the amonia was at .5 and the rest was at 0 how much longer do you think it will be until its safe for a few more fish Wanting to put a siamese fighter and either some cardinal tetras or neon tetras Quite keen on clown loaches too actually... but that might wait until the above lot

It appears to be working again now, I got home from work and the temp was back to normal, I moved the heater anyway to be in a better place The heater is a Fluval tronic - 150W

The name fluval rings a bell too!

from memory its 150w tank is 80cmx40cmx30cm It came as a kit, There is not alot of info about it, http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aqu ... 2300010101 The pump is a hang over the side and its at the back, The heater is at the back too right where the hood has a hole in it for the cords not much help.. - need to get photos tonight its kept the temperature right for a week... not alot has changed other then plants grown a little bit

i think it is a jager Made by Hagen?

I presumed the light woudl be on when its heating.. but the temperature is at 22 degrees, the heater was set for 26 degrees and the light is off - ie not heating.. if i turn the heater right up to 30 deg the light goes on but it would just stay on till the water got that hot... Im not sure exactly what it is, It came in the waterhome kit, Im at work at the moment but ill see if i can work out what it is Its only a week old, has worked fine up until now

My tank is cooling down, Checked the heater and it was set to 26, I turned it up just slightly and noticed the light came on - 5 mins later the heater was off again Turned it up more.. it went, 5 mins later it wasnt - it does stay on when its turned right up to the max ---- 32 degrees or soemthing Anyway, I dont have alot of time to get another heater (12 hour working days for a while) - i have glowlight tetras, 2x dwarf gourami and a yellow algae eater... How long can they live with cooler water? - need to get a tank asap, But if they are okay until this weekend i can get a heater replacement

Thanks guys! Will have to take a visit out to wainui... then go to the hutt one - is that upper or lower hutt

Does anyone have suggestions on good fish stores in the wellington area - apart from animates and animalz stores?

Yes, animates did suggest getting 6 glowlights at the same time, They are pretty active fish, Its fun to watch them chase each other I did not end up bidding on the auction, I held out, i know i cant put more fish in the tank, The auction was for: 6 cardinal tetras 1 rainbow tetra 1 rummy nose tera 3 clown loaches numerous variations of orange and yellow platys - baby and older It closed today and went for $100 The salesperson did say that prime was good for nitrates and nitrites, However what got me confused is the day before they sold me cycle, I mentioned that i had cycle - in case they forgot i had it but still insisted i needed prime I have not actually opened the prime bottle yet, Ive used cycle in the tank instead. I put the water in the tank, added the aqua plus tap conditioner and some cycle. a week later i added fish with some more cycle, I cant remember if i used anymore aqua plus though... My tank size is 800mm long x400mm deep x300mm wide I pretty much understand the cycle... However not being through it i dont know what is good In an established tank amonia and nitrites should be zero, and essentially you control the nitrates... so if there is any amonia and nitrites in the water i can see prime/cycle... etc used to get rid of these. However in a new tank, we need amonia and nitrites to make the nitrates What should the amonia and nitrites spike up to..... what are safe levels, How long should these spikes last.. Should i be using prime or something similar if they do get too high What if they dont get high... is that better? - will it still cycle? - ie if i use prime to kill the nitries and amonia - as i understand it these products kill the toxic parts, but its still in the water so it can/will be still converted to nitrates right? Ive read alot, and ive found most places contradict other places - doesnt help! especially with ph levels and temperatures for fish... Some places say ph 6 for cardinal tetras, but others say ph 7... ill finish now as this post is getting long.... and its probably stopped making sense

Okay, So i have had fish in the tank for 4 days now (6 clowlight tetras, 2 dwarf gourami and 1 yellow algae eater) Looks as though the cycle is at first stages Amonia level is at 0.5 Nitrite level is at 0 Nitrate level is at 0 also When i bought the tank they sold me a bottle of aqua plus and a bottle of cycle. The next dayi went in and got a test kit, Spoke with the same person i bought the tank off and they suggested i get a bottle of prime After i bought it i got a bit confused... i read the bottle and it appears to do the same thing as cycle does... Why did they sell this prime to me? is it better/different to cycle? I know i shouldnt be putting more fish in the tank yet... But ive been looking at a trademe auction that has a bunch of fish.. cardinal tetras, clown loaches, rainbow tetra and a rummy nose tetra will they die if i add them to the tank or should i really wait a few weeks?

Alan, I notice your from whakatane.. Im orginally from Opotiki

Hehe yes... Ive read about that and ive bought the test kit to check all the different levels, The fish have only been in for a few days (saturday i got them) Its quite difficult to comprehend the cycle but.. I understand that the ammonia and nitrite levels will spike then should turn into nitrates i have a magnatude of bottles... aquaplus, cycle, and another which i cant remember the name, But the people at the petshop reccomended it, now im unsure if i actually need it...

Hello everyone... Im a brand new fish newbie! Just bought my first tank, The intention was to get it for my daughter as she loves fish... however its so exciting and i just want to do everything now!!!! Anyway, I have a water home 25 tank... 100 or so litres i guess? Using the heater and filter that came with it and am using just normal gravel It has 6 real plants and 2 fake plants Got the tank running for a week or so before i put fish in there. The fish i got: 6x glowlight tetras 2x dwarf gourami (blue one and red one) 1x yellow algae eater