yeah i never thought about that.. like i said i have a filter in and running and has been running since day one, but my guess is that it still wont stop me from having to do water changes everyday.. which sucks because i dont have the time between school and work to do one EVERY day. ill try my hardest but i will need a few more buckets.. one five gallon isn't the easiest way to do it. im pretty sure i have a 5 in 1 test strip to test the water for now but i dont get paid till thrusday night and friday i have school and work so saturday will be the earliest i can get a test kit, and i would like to pick up some pvc pipe and put in a undergravel filter along with the mechanical filter. from what ive read it really helps with the bacteria growth? then ill pick up some 5 gallon pails and by the time i build the filter and what not the water should be ready for a change, could i possibly do a 100% change? or would that kill all the bacteria?
45gal Newbie
- Thread starter sputnick
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Best to do 90% or as much as you can do which will still allow the fish to swim upright. You don't want to do 100% as it would stress them out being moved.
It's tough but apart from getting some sponge from an established tank and putting it in your filter there is no way round it. You have to do the changes or, sadly, your fish will perish... and that's why we suggest a fishless cycle.
It's tough but apart from getting some sponge from an established tank and putting it in your filter there is no way round it. You have to do the changes or, sadly, your fish will perish... and that's why we suggest a fishless cycle.
well it looks like im gonna be moving A LOT of water.. good for the muscles though =D alright so if i test the water and keep an eye on the nitrate levels (and they read out to be fine and stable) i still need to do water changes correct? at what point do i stop the water changes? is it based on time or nitrate and ammonia levels?
SandraNewbie
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From my understanding of the nitrogen cycle, you reduce the water changes once your ammonia and nitrite are stable under .125ppm and you have nitrate. At that point you only do water changes to control the nitrate [Other people will know these numbers better than me(change when it gets to about 30ppm and change 33% to get it down to 20ppm).
For now, you need to do enough water changing to keep your ammonia under 1ppm but above 0. If you change too much too often, your cycle will be very hard to start, because there's not enough ammonia to feed the bacteria. Change too little too rarely and you'll harm or kill the fish.
It's not going to be fun, and it'll be a lot of work but I'm sure you can manage.
For now, you need to do enough water changing to keep your ammonia under 1ppm but above 0. If you change too much too often, your cycle will be very hard to start, because there's not enough ammonia to feed the bacteria. Change too little too rarely and you'll harm or kill the fish.
It's not going to be fun, and it'll be a lot of work but I'm sure you can manage.
It's ammonia and nitrIte that you need to control- these are very toxic. NitrAtes aren't as harmful, but still need to be controlled. It's been yonks since I've had to do a fishless cycle, so I don't remember all the details, so hopefully someone will come along and clarify a few things for you.
Where about's are you? Do you know anyone who keeps fish too? If you do, then you could ask them if you could pinch some mature filter media from them, which will help kick start your tank and make life a bit easier for you. If not, you could always see if any members on here are willing to send you some, or you could ask your local LFS if they would sell you a bit.
I know you're probably already attached, but if it's not feesable for you to be doing up to 90% daily water changes, I'd seriously consider taking some, if not all of your fish back. I know it's not a fun thing to do, but at the end of the day it should be about the welfare of the fish. No animal should have to suffer. We're not saying these things because we're mean, it's the total opposite, we want to help: many of us on here have already made these mistakes and have learnt the the hard way, and that's why we keep saying these things. It's just to try and save you a lot of trouble and heartbreak at the end of the day, by using our experiences as a warning of what could go wrong.
Either way, good luck with everything
Where about's are you? Do you know anyone who keeps fish too? If you do, then you could ask them if you could pinch some mature filter media from them, which will help kick start your tank and make life a bit easier for you. If not, you could always see if any members on here are willing to send you some, or you could ask your local LFS if they would sell you a bit.
I know you're probably already attached, but if it's not feesable for you to be doing up to 90% daily water changes, I'd seriously consider taking some, if not all of your fish back. I know it's not a fun thing to do, but at the end of the day it should be about the welfare of the fish. No animal should have to suffer. We're not saying these things because we're mean, it's the total opposite, we want to help: many of us on here have already made these mistakes and have learnt the the hard way, and that's why we keep saying these things. It's just to try and save you a lot of trouble and heartbreak at the end of the day, by using our experiences as a warning of what could go wrong.
Either way, good luck with everything
again thanks for all the information and tips, i really dont want to take back my fish as of right now, but i agree its about the fish. i would really rather not harm them in anyway, but im going to see if i can't make it work without stressing the fish too much or harming them. my step dad lives in colorado and i live in wisconsin so maybe i could get him to put a sponge in his tank for a few days and then send it to me? would that work?
I don't think the bacteria would survive the journey really. Someone correct me if I'm wrong please
It's worth asking your LFS when you go on Saturday if they'd be willing to give you a small amount just to seed your filter. They might charge you for it, or they might not
It's worth asking your LFS when you go on Saturday if they'd be willing to give you a small amount just to seed your filter. They might charge you for it, or they might not
If you can get your dad to mail some first class in a sealed ziplock bag then you may get lucky.
It would have to come out of his filter into yours but as long as he only gives you a chunk and keeps at least 2/3 of the media for himself his tank won't be affected, offer to buy him some replacement sponge in return.
If you can get it within 24 hours you stand a good chance of getting some live bacteria to kick start your cycle.
It would have to come out of his filter into yours but as long as he only gives you a chunk and keeps at least 2/3 of the media for himself his tank won't be affected, offer to buy him some replacement sponge in return.
If you can get it within 24 hours you stand a good chance of getting some live bacteria to kick start your cycle.
yeah i think it would be to much of a hassle and to little of success rate for that but idk.. im going to ask the lfs first, they seem like nice people and i bet they wouldn't have a problem with giving me some filter or charging me with it. now when i ask is it the actualy filter? or is it just a sponge? what exactly should i ask for and if they give me it what should it be? im a little confused as to what it is
It depends what kind of filter you have. Your filter will have room for sponges which provide mechanical filtration (ie the particles are sucked through and get stuck and therefore it filters out the poo and other solid waste) and biological (ie harbour bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite and bacteria that turn nitrite to nitrate). In addition, most filters except the most basic sponge filters also provide space for ceramic media which has a larger surface area on which to harbour bacteria. It doesn't matter what type you get hold of (although if it's traveling or being posted then sponges hold water for longer and the bacteria can't be allowed to dry out or they'll die) as long as you can fit it in your filter.
Does that all make sense??
Does that all make sense??
yes it does, thank you! i found three test strips when i got home today and used one to test the water before i did a 5 gallon change and it read (as far as i can tell) ph 8-8.5 so a little high according to the strip, alkalinity some where between 180-300, total hardness is about 25, nitrite is about .5, and nitrate is about 20. ammonia is .5-1. now from what i gyer a few things are high.. should i add some ammo lock? or is that ammonia needed?
You need to do a massive water change ASAP. Once the ammonia and nitrite levels get that high you're fish will really be struggling and wont be able to keep going for long. I'd do a 50% change, wait an hour and then do another 50%, so that the whole amount of water gets changed. If the ammonia levels get anywhere above 1ppm, you need to do an emergency water change to get the levels down.
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