Black Sabbath Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Hi everyone, I am just getting into breeding tropical fish, I'd like to know a bit more about cycling, aging water. Due to Christchurch having such pure tap water is it neccesary to sit the water before putting in the tank, I dont believe in chemicals that condition water but maybe that is something I should consider using, Basically I am trying to promt a conversation regarding tank cleaning procedures and water conditioning to get some different opinions and to see if I am on the right track, I have a guppy breeding tank ( 200 litre ) and also a 200 litre tank for swords and my female bettas, Males are kept in that same tank in breeding boxes aswell as a few other small tanks for spawning barbs and bettas. Please help me understand the aging/cycling of water better, Bearing in mind I am in chch not the USA or somewhere with high amounts of chloride in the water. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 welcome to the forum black sabbath :happy1: moved your post to here for you you can add your location in user control panel at the top of the page it will let others know where you are to help out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Welcome aboard Black Sabbath. I don't condition the water, I use it straight from the tap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 I have done the same in the past with my goldfish and axolotls and never seen any stress caused but so many people look shocked when I tell them I didn't, I have begun to and only a month after i seemed to get finrot in my guppy tank, Im hoping this is a coincidence, Am treating with methblue as has worked well in the past for whitespot on my goldfish but it seems there are a lot of differing opinions on this aswell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 I use it straight from the tap but blend the hot and cold so the water going in is about the same as the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Cool, Yeah my taps come out perfect with both cold and hot taps on full bore. Handy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Cycling is of course different to water changing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Yeah ofcourse, I did not put the question to well there I admit, I think I have a full grasp on cycling and since posting have found my answer to whether throwing some goldfish in there then an old filter until ammonia drops is enough. I have had differing opinions, some saying under no circumstances can you put your intended fish in a tank in less than a month and expect it to be cycled, I would like to think the way I have done it in 2 weeks with goldfish and the old filter is sufficient Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 15, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Also, if tap water is ok to go straight in a tank does this mean its ok to clean filter sponge? or is chch water so pure that aslong as it was the same temperate as the water the filter has been in it wouldn't cause anyharm?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 15, 2010 Report Share Posted December 15, 2010 Tapwater is OK but you don't want to clean your filter unless the flow is restricted as they only start working properly when half full of gunge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Are corner gravel filters sufficient for a 200litre guppy tank with around 30 fish? I want to take the small filter out for a different tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Do you mean an undergravel filter or a small box filter operated by an air pump? They both could be suitable if you keep up with water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Yeah I mean the small box like corner filters run by air pump, I have gravel and filter sponges in mine, the gravel seems to hold the filter sponge in place well and just compacts everything, I do water changes twice a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Should be OK with that regime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 you could swap the stones for bio media. would give more surface area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 cool, Can you shed some light on the cost involved, Maintenance off the media and anything that can go wrong using it, I do not know anywhere near what I need to know regarding filters, Up until now I thought they needed to be kept very clean but am learning lots so am keen to know more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 you could swap the stones for bio media. would give more surface area. That would be a brilliant idea. Another member of this forum uses corner filters to run some pretty well stocked tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Ceramic noodles just need to be rinsed if they get really gunked up, just rinse them in some tank water when you do a water change, but don't clean them every week, and I mean really gunked up, not just a few flecks of mulm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Do I still leave the sponges in there or fully use ceramic noodles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Up to you, but the sponges would possibly help trap some of the finer particles that are in the water column. Some of the hang on back filters have noodles and sponge, on my ones the sponge always gunks up before the noodles do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Without the sponges you may find your water clarity not as good as you would like. I only clean my filters once a year or so. I can get a 2L container full of black gunk out of the baskets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Sabbath Posted December 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Great I have got some old sponges that have been in use and some ceramic noodles, am going to get rid of the meth blue today with the carbon i got today then put new filter media in. should i leave the carbon in for 6 weeks or take out after a few days? also how often should i clean the gravel? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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