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Draining and refilling the tank eliminates the (very likely) high concentrations of nitrate which build through your cycle (ammonia - nitrite - nitrate). Although less harmful in the short term, high nitrates will cause health issues for your fish.

Not that it affects me because I don't live in North America, but...   Having watched the ATM organisation in their show "Tanked" and especially their freshwater setups, I personally would be very cautious in using their products.

The only reason I go to Big Yellow Chain Store now is for food. My Endlers love the Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets (and so do I, because I can easily crush them into powder for the fry). My favourite (not really that local, it's a 20 minute drive) fish shop has far better livestock, but they have...

So I went to a big yellow chain-store pet shop in my local area looking for a few more Cherry Barbs to restock my tank after some hot weather and unfortunate losses.   I walk in, go straight to the wall of tanks and was finally greeted by the teenager in charge of fish. "Do you have any Cherry...

Okay, step 1. Stop adding ammonia for a while. You seem to be adding a bit of ammonia quite frequently and for a fishless cycle it skews the results so you're not sure what is going on. Same goes for fish food, which will rot and create ammonia, but it also creates waste in the tank that's not...

Sounds like you have a Via Aqua VA-TSF1000 (I tried a few word nations to get Mr Google to give up results). This is a powerhead, and doesn't actually contain any filter medium. More experienced fish keepers should be able to advise from here, I have external canister filters and cannot tell you...

That looks amazing!

Taking some water would help to keep the water parameters similar to what your fish would be used to. However it might be better to move your filter to the new tank, because that's where your bacteria will most likely be living (in comparison water has virtually no bacteria in it).   Depending...

Adding 1ppm ammonia will keep the bacteria alive, and will reduce the amount of nitrates produced (compared to 3ppm, which was used during the cycling process to build up your bacteria colonies).   You're cycled now so you don't need to build your bacteria colonies further, so extra ammonia...

I had 11 initially but it's been 2 years and 2 hot summers. Now the temperature has finally dropped so I think a few more (6 to 8) and give them 9 months to acclimatise to subtropical temperatures.   Next step is to find $100k, renovate the house and put a power point on the wall where I really...

Please excuse the poor quality photo (best I could do in a hurry) but these are the Harlequins.

Hi all,   Autumn (fall) has finally arrived and I'm ready to restock my tanks (a few losses due to excess heat).  I have 5 remaining Harlequin Rasboras in one tank (as well as some Endlers), the "normal" red ones.   My LFS has purple Harlequins as well as the reds, would they consider themselves...

I agree with StevenF, you've most likely put too much ammonia into the tank. Your ammonia bacteria (which are the first ones to appear) are doing their job in converting the ammonia to nitrite. However the nitrite bacteria take longer to populate and convert the nitrite to nitrate. Without...

Hi all,   As mentioned some months ago, I have moved a female BN Pleco into the 200l tank with my male.   Boom! Within 2 weeks, I had fry. At one stage I was able to count 10 of them.   However, there are a couple of weeks between sightings. one day there are heaps of them, then a gap of a...

Have you shaken the living daylights out of the second bottle of nitrate tester? The reagent is a powder and it drops out of solution quite quickly. The bottle recommends shaking for 30 seconds, it's advisable to go for two minutes, bang the bottle on a table and shake it til your arm falls off...

I think with Cherry Barbs, a 1:2 ratio of males to females is recommended. A school of at least 6 is also recommended (and with 2 males you'll find one will be "dominant" and have more colour).   Colouration is stronger with a planted setup (and a dark substrate also helps).   I've had a school...

Now you've got me thinking. Do you reckon I could convert the filter box on my AR620T to take all the filter media out, fill it with lava rock, and grow herbs (basil, parsley etc, maybe some lettuce or spinach)? Of course I'd use most of the current media to ensure I kept as much bacteria as...

If it's a new tank, you're probably dealing with a bacterial bloom. It happens to most, if not all, new tanks. Until your tank cycles (see the link on Cycling a Tank at the top of the forum) you won't have the right species of bacteria, and the ones that turn the water cloudy will remain. It...

Totally agree with fluttermoth here. Your water has been sitting for a week, which may allow some of the chemicals in the water to "gas off" but nothing else. There will be virtually no beneficial bacteria in the system yet, in order to get them you will need to add an ammonia source and let the...

Hi all,   After suffering some losses over the past couple of months due to excessive hot weather, I've come to a conclusion.   Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) has suffered from (depending on the source) the driest start to a calendar year on record (or very close to it). My tanks are...

Just a quick response, it's not the glass tubes you bang on the table, it's the plastic bottle of reagent for nitrate (bottle #2 if memory serves).   You've probably worked that out by now, but I'd hate to think of you shattering glass everywhere.   Do you have live plants? They could be...

Good job. I totally agree with dosing today, redosing and checking when you get back. I was a little bit too eager the first time around and added fish when my cycle was nearly complete (with the pestering of a tribe of children). That was an expensive mistake, but one I'll remember for a long...

Your BN Pleco is almost certainly snacking on the leaves. Mine turned a beautiful Amazon Sword into lace within a fortnight of me adding it to the tank. Although surprisingly, she seems to ignore it now, and it's coming back to life.

Generally it's 24 hours according to this site. Be also aware that 4ppm ammonia is probably more than a fish setup will ever produce.   The idea is to have a strong enough bacteria colony to process the ammonia (and then nitrite) as the fish produce them. Fish (and snails) produce ammonia...

Don't worry about feeding your bacteria, they'll be fine and dandy for a few days. I'd continue with your snail eradication, get the tank to cycle within 24 hours and then do a water change.   Actually, if you're concerned, since your tank isn't huge and a water change shouldn't be too much...

Well, I guess one of my questions has been answered - how long before they start breeding? Two weeks ago I bought a breeding cave. I can't remember the exact day, but that weekend I caught the smaller of the females and moved her to the big tank, along with the breeding cave and the shipwreck...

Judging by your photo and the fact your tank is 63 litres, I wouldn't see this as too much of an issue. The slope is not extreme, and the weight of the tank should not cause any issues.   However I would keep an eye on it just in case it becomes more pronounced.

If you're looking at a filter for a 200l, look for something that is rated to turn over at least 1000l per hour (for example I have a 200l with an Aqua One Aquis 1000 filter).   Or if you buy a tank with a built in filter, most of the recognised brands (such as Juwel) have a big enough filter...

Yes, keep adding ammonia. You shouldn't be far from a complete cycle.

I read this article over the Christmas break. Those who have sensitivities need not click, but it's the story of working in a LFS that don't often get told.     http://www.cracked.com/personal-experiences-1850-we-breed-monsters-6-realities-commercial-aquarim.html

Initially I thought I had all females. A couple of years ago I had a big old male BN who had the biggest bristles in the world. Sadly, his life came to an end.   When I got my rectangular tank I bought 2 BN's but I was under the impression both were females, one passed away but the other has...

A new camera for Christmas means better pictures. Also, severely "pruning" the enormous crop of Java Moss (I grabbed a bit and most of it came out so I thought fair enough) means the Downstairs BN is a little easier to photograph, as I can quite often catch him (and yes, he is a him) sunbaking...

Well, I had plans to replace the 200l with a 48 x 15 x 24 this year, but it seems Mother Nature has other plans for any spare cash I might have once had. So I'm reduced to shuffling the deck chairs at the moment...

HI all,   I have two tanks, a 130l Aqua One AR620T, and a 200l 4' x 15" x 18" rectangular tank. IMHO the 200l is slightly understocked (9 Neon tetras, 5 Cherry Barbs and 9 Pacific Blue-eyes), whereas the 130l is probably reaching its limit with 7 Harlequin Rasboras and about 15 (they're too...