New fish tank set up

[kingmatherz]

Hi Guys, well i have been out of the fishkeeping business for about 4 years now but decided to start up again. i still have my tank which is 270L so on thursday i set it all up again, got a new heater and air bubbles, cleaned my Fluval 304 filter and got new carbon (the black stuff) and set that all up, stones, driftwood and plants (cambomba). The temp is now 26 degrees. Also put cycle liquid stuff and the conditioining stuff in to take cholirine out.

Anyone have any advice on what else to check and when fish can go in? (im in Petone, Lower Hutt area if people know what the water is like out there?)

Do I need to do ph tests and all that?

Also, the water is not clear, looks a bit green/brown/yellow - will that go away or do I need to empty the whole tank and start again?

Thanks guys for advice!

[DennisP]

There isn't really that much to worry about, so you should be fine.

The brown/yellow could be tannins. If you didn't pre soak your driftwood for at least a few days it most definitely is.

They are harmless, its up to you whether you like the look.

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get your water tested for any extremes, like pH, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate as you don't have any fish in there that will tell you by their behavior. Its also a good reference so you know how much it changes by. I think they carbon should take the tannins out btw. Not sure though.

[kingmatherz]

hey dennisisawesome - thanks for that. i didnt pre soack the driftwood but it was drift wood that i have previously had in my tanks about 4 years ago and since then it has just been sitting dried until i finally decided to start fish keeping again - could that be the reason for the colour and u said the carbon "may" take the colour away?

if not - is there anything i can buy to clear the water or is it best to empty the tank and start again?

would i but that tester thing from pet shop?

[DennisP]

It probably wont be tannins then. :lol:

Water changes will get rid of the colour. Unless the colouring is still being produced by something.

Just do a water change every day if you really want it gone.

[kingmatherz]

thanks for that - for water changes, how much would u do? a bucket per day?

[DennisP]

maybe 4 buckets a day?

[kingmatherz]

sweet how long u reckon do that for?

[smidey]

if it is a 270L tank a bucket per day isn't going to do much. Do a 25% change which may make a difference. combine a couple of changes over the next 5 days or so with the filter doing its thing & it should clear up (without knowing what caused teh cloudiness)

You will need to monitor the nitrate & ammonia levels so getting a test kit is a must, that or get some cycling fish that you don't mind loosing as the liquid cycling stuff may not be perfect at kick starting your tank. what fish are you intending to keep?

[kingmatherz]

thanks smidey - whats a good test to get so the pet store dont make me buy too much stuff i dont need, and what are good cheap "cycling" fish?

[anthony law]

bristle nose cat fish or guppys....

ps pics

[the-obstacle]

whats a good test to get so the pet store dont make me buy too much stuff i dont need, and what are good cheap "cycling" fish?

I've got a master test kit for amonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH levels. If I was to minimise it to the absolute necessary parts it'd be PH and nitrate.

[spoon]

api make test strips that measure ph gh kh and nitrite and nitrate they are reasonably cheap if you get these without getting an additional ammonia kit you may not have nitrate readings straight away but wait till you do and they drop before adding fish of value

[kingmatherz]

thanks guys, by cycling fish, do u mean buy some cheap fish basically to make sure they dont die b4 getting more expensive ones?

[snookie]

Read this

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

says it all

[burrowssj]

get some catfish an chuck them in there that will kick start cycling, could also get some plants as they seem to help alot.

you wana look into any fish you are considering getting, alot can handle a cycling tank but there are some which wont.

I would just get ph an ammonia test kit an do 4 buckets every couple of days for about 3 weeks

just make sure the ammonia an ph dont fluctuate to much an you'll be fine

[Ismart120]

not sure if the cause of the yellow water has been found but is the gravel new? - Found that happened to me for a bit when I first put new stuff in, not the colour I was expecting but it seemed to be the cause

[Adrienne]

tea coloured water is from the tannin in the driftwood. It will go away eventually