Untested Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Hello again all - Thanks for the advice so far :bggrn: So.....here's the new tank! Cleaned, with White vinegar and dried with a hair dryer......Gravel and ornaments cleaned with boiling water. Filter cavities stuffed with some of the wool and 1/3 of the ceramic noodles from our well established, existing tank....as well as fresh sponge, noodles, wool and new charcoal. Filled with the water discarded during a water change (about 20L) from our existing tank, and tap water and treated with a bacteria starter (Nutrafin "Cycle"). Filter and heater and air pump turned on. Just a few of questions if I may: Am I on the right track here? I (mostly) took instruction from here http://www.fnzas.org.nz/?p=1868 I have a bottle of Nutrafin "aqua plus" which claims to remove chlorine and chloramine and make tap water safe for fish, it further claims to do this using "pure herbal extracts". I'm extremely cynical when it comes to the marketing claims of any company and I'm wondering if I should use this product?" Are there any tangible advantages to this stuff? It seems to me that if I can avoid pouring chemicals into my tank, that can only be good....... At which point is it safe (for the plants) to start planting? And is there somthing I need to do to prepare the tank for planting? ie. Fertiliser etc.... I'm planning on cycling the tank with a few guppies, when should should they go in? ie. how long after filling the tank? Finally, what have I missed? What else do I need to do to prepare this tank? Thanks again all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 Pure herbal products sounds like a pseudonym for snake oil to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 12, 2014 Report Share Posted January 12, 2014 if you haven't used a dechlorinator already (be fore the bio media and Nutrafin "Cycle") then you have probably killed any bacteria that you have added If you had of treated the water before adding the media and bacteria then I would say start adding plants and fish straight away otherwise the bacteria will have nothing to live on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kinnadian Posted January 15, 2014 Report Share Posted January 15, 2014 if you haven't used a dechlorinator already (be fore the bio media and Nutrafin "Cycle") then you have probably killed any bacteria that you have added Bleh, really depends on your water supply. I've lived in quite a few cities in NZ (though never Auckland, so may be different there) and never had sufficient chlorine levels in the water to actually do any harm. Certainly not to the degree where they either damage the fish or damage the beneficial bacteria in the tank. I personally don't dose dechlorinator and haven't for years to no detrimental effect, and have kept some really sensitive fish in the past. Finally, what have I missed? What else do I need to do to prepare this tank? You can plant straight away. Some people use fertilizer balls for putting in the soil, I've tried them before but prefer aqueous fertilizer. You shouldn't need anything added unless you have particularly fiddly plants or A LOT of them. You can put your fish in straight away once your tank reaches temperature. The bacteria needs ammonia to cycle, so you can also put in a piece of old meat to help boost ammonia levels initially. If you're new to fish keeping make sure you have a test kit available (for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates). The cycle procedure for a tank should be ammonia spike, ammonia reduces, nitrite spike, nitrite reduces, then nitrate spike. Once you have gotten to this stage you some of each set of bacteria and from here the bacteria will grow/die to meet the ammonia supply that you can demand. You can then start increasing your stock levels, and from here you only need to watch for ammonia (overstocking) or nitrates (not enough water changes). If you are impatient you can buy the Aqua One Cycle product, it is full of the bacteria and I find it enables you to cycle a tank in around a week (as opposed to 2-4 weeks, depending on tank size and bio load). For this you will need a healthy supply of ammonia, IE quite a few hardy fish like guppies, swordfish or mollies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Bleh, really depends on your water supply. I've lived in quite a few cities in NZ (though never Auckland, so may be different there) and never had sufficient chlorine levels in the water to actually do any harm. Certainly not to the degree where they either damage the fish or damage the beneficial bacteria in the tank. I personally don't dose dechlorinator and haven't for years to no detrimental effect, and have kept some really sensitive fish in the past. I have lost fish to chlorine once, and nearly did a second time with about 60-70% water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Untested Posted January 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Thanks all So I started adding a few guppies and a couple of plattys. All are doing great so far.... I'm gonna add a couple of very small BN plecos tomorrow. I did end up using the dechlorinator before I put the fish in. Will update but we're hunky dory thus far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 How big is the tank? Depending on the size the few fish you have may be enough. BN and any plecs are poop machines so adding one will be more than enough. You tank will be fine for the first few days - it could take anywhere from 5 - 21 days for the ammonia levels to rise (cycling to begin). You will need to test daily to know where you are at with the cycling process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reptilez Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 How big is the tank? Depending on the size the few fish you have may be enough. BN and any plecs are poop machines so adding one will be more than enough. You tank will be fine for the first few days - it could take anywhere from 5 - 21 days for the ammonia levels to rise (cycling to begin). You will need to test daily to know where you are at with the cycling process. Looks to be the 90 litre Aqua One ar620 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Untested Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 How big is the tank? Depending on the size the few fish you have may be enough. BN and any plecs are poop machines so adding one will be more than enough. You tank will be fine for the first few days - it could take anywhere from 5 - 21 days for the ammonia levels to rise (cycling to begin). You will need to test daily to know where you are at with the cycling process. As below it's a AR620.....90L I finally sprang for a master test kit.....The only thing that's not within parameters is the PH Is there some kind of systemic (as opposed to just dumping some chemicals in the tank) way of lowering the PH? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 what was the pH. Ph is not normally an issue as long as it is not changing too fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Untested Posted January 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 what was the pH. Ph is not normally an issue as long as it is not changing too fast. It's been creeping up and up and up. There's a fairly big piece of driftwood with java moss in the tank but still slowly creeping up. It got to 8(!) before I finally went to see the guys at the Bird Barn up the road (who are 100% FANTASTIC btw....I highly recommend them!!) and Alan sold me some peat moss for the filter. It's around 7.2 now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted January 25, 2014 Report Share Posted January 25, 2014 It's been creeping up and up and up. There's a fairly big piece of driftwood with java moss in the tank but still slowly creeping up. It got to 8(!) before I finally went to see the guys at the Bird Barn up the road (who are 100% FANTASTIC btw....I highly recommend them!!) and Alan sold me some peat moss for the filter. It's around 7.2 now. is that a lump of coral in the back? that will push up the pH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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