Checking And Chanhing Water

[james morrisontoxic2]

as above whats the best kit to use for checking your water,and how often should you take water out and add more,how often do you clean the fluvel out ,i know these might seem daft questions but im just starting off .

 

[waterdrop]

Right, you'll want to acquire a good liquid-reagent based test kit. I'm assuming you're here to learn about fresh water tropical fish, right? If so, then many of us use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit (about $30 US, 20 pounds UK?) or the Nutrafin Mini-Master Test Kit. These will have the essential tests for ammonia, nitrite(NO2), pH and nitrate(NO3) and they'll have enough accuracy to do what needs doing.

Water changing is a skill and you'll need to learn the techniques and the ways to know how much water to change and how often to change it. It'll take you answering some questions to the members here, so we'll need to know a bit more about your situation and goals.

Cleaning out your fluval will not need to be done for a long time as it will need to be undisturbed during your initial fishless cycle (or Fish-In cycle if you've been given bad advice and have fish in too soon.) Eventually, you will want to establish a habit, perhaps, of cleaning it every month, at which time you'll clean the media in TANK water, not tap water! Regular monthly cleaning is a very good habit.

Regular weekly glass, ornament and gravel cleaning is an even more important habit as its also combined with the all-important water change which will remove the build-up of trace metals and organics that we can't afford to test for or don't have time to test for.

Good luck and tell us about the size of your tank and when you started and what your plans are!

Welcome to TFF, ~~waterdrop~~

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

hi mate thanks for taking the time to answer my questions,my tank is 3 foot long bye 18 inches depth bye 18 inches wide,as i say im new to this i got the tank for my 5 year old daughter as she is interested in fish ,i have a fluvel and a decent heater ive let the tank settle for 1 week before getting any fish

 

[Schmill]

That sounds like a nice big tank

When you say "ive let the tank settle for 1 week before getting any fish" do you mean that you've already got fish in it now, or it is still in that 'settling week' ?
If you've already got the fish getting the Water Test Kit ASAP is going to be a priority, also we are going to need what fish, what size, and how many you have put in. Also whether you have any live plants in the tank or artificial?
Also are you aware that you need to use dechlorinator products on the water?

If you can answer these questions we can get a better idea of where you are at, and where we need to go from here

Lastly welcome to the TFF, as a 'restarter' myself, trust me when I say there is so much knowledge floating around the various members of this site it's quite remarkable! I hope you have your climbing gear ready because this is going to be a steep learning curve, (more so if you already have fish in the tank at 1 week in)

 

[Corleone]

Please review this thread in the meantime:
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861[/URL]

Unfortunately, "letting the tank settle" for a week doesn't do anything. It's common advice from pet stores, but pet stores aren't renowned for giving good advice. Following the standard advice, you'll have to deal with a fish-in cycle (the same whether you add fish the day you get the tank or leave it sit for weeks). Fish-in cycling is covered in this thread, in all the gory details:
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355"]http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355[/URL]
It can be managed without putting fish in excessive danger, however, we do recommend fishless cycling in all situations. Light stocking (1 inch of fish per 5-10 gallons, rather than the 1 inch per gallon given as a loose guideline after a fishless cycle), light feeding (what they'll eat in 1-2 minutes every other day), and daily water tests/changes all can contribute to a successful fish-in cycle.

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

ive just got some guppies and a pleck giving about half an hour ago off a friend of a friend,yes i have live plants in my tank,and i will get a kit this afternoon is there anything else i need to test the water apart from what you have told me ,thanks in advance for your help

 

[waterdrop]

Ah, this would be GREAT if you could give the fish off to the friend of the friend! Since your filter won't be ready to handle fish for about another month without killing them, the fish would be safe there and then you could bring them back to a tank that had water they would love and thrive in! That would be really lucky!

The Fishless Cycle Procedure, where you add small amounts of household ammonia is so easy, hardly any work, just patience and persistence and careful watching.

If there were fish in there, it would be a whole different story, much harder! Frequent water changes, maybe more than one a day at first and changing a lot of water, then probably daily to keep the fish alive during this first month when the filter will be unable to do its job. Make sense?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[rabbut]

The tank is un-cycled and will likely kill your fish choice. Guppies and Plecs are some of the most sencitive species out there to waterquality, bar a few, and water quality will be poor at best in the first few weeks of setting up a tank, however you choose to do it. Try to off-load thse fish as quickly as they came in if possible. If not, ask the friend of a friend for about 1/3 of their filter media, and offer to replace it with your own. There will be an ammonia build-up that will likely kill the fish without an established filter on the tank, followed by a nrtrite spike shortly after, that is just as toxic The mature filter media will kick-start the filter, but will be unlikely to fully establish it Even if you off-load the fish, be cheaky and ask for some mature media from the friend of a friend, and you will have to wait less time for the first fish

All the best
Rabbut

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

thanks chaps ive done it the wrong way bye the sound of it,but thanks for your help

 

[vinylman]

It's also VERY important to know what type of Plec you're buying. Some stay a reasonable size, some get to be very large. Always do research before buying any fish, paying particular attention to the eventual adult size. Take some time to read the various pinned threads here, they'll tell you much more than 99% of LFS employees will (or even know).

 

[Schmill]

If Pleck = Plec = Pleco then it's worth noting as well as the size considerations pointed out by vinylman above, they are also classed as quite 'messy' fish, producing more waste than you might expect for their body size. As such it is only going to make matters worse by having it in the tank at the moment

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

thanks for advice chaps,its been taking on board

 

[waterdrop]

James,

Just wanted to mention, there're no problems too bad or big not to be taken on by the members here. Many of them have been through exactly the type stuff you are experiencing.

Your heart's in the right place, setting up a nice tank for your 5-year old and lots of these members will have great suggestions and stick it out with you.

Hang in there!
~~waterdrop~~

 

[vinylman]

James,

Just wanted to mention, there're no problems too bad or big not to be taken on by the members here. Many of them have been through exactly the type stuff you are experiencing.

Your heart's in the right place, setting up a nice tank for your 5-year old and lots of these members will have great suggestions and stick it out with you.

Hang in there!
~~waterdrop~~

Absolutely; there's always someone online somewhere. Some of us work nights, too - that's usually when I trawl the site.

 

[james morrisontoxic2]

waterdrop and vinylman thanks for your help and im glad i found this forum as your a good set of people