Fresh-Water Newbie

[This Old Spouse]

im reading the back of this new test kit and its showing a diagnosis/product chart. it says if your ammonia is high these are some products that could help: Ammo-Lock, Ammo-Carb, Ammo-Chips, Stress-Zyme. high nitrite: Stress-Zyme, Nitra-Zorb. high nitrate: Nitra-Zorb.

how do you get the "mature media". old filters? i guess i dont 100% understand that.

Skip the "helpful" products listed. Not even sure if they help and the company is really just trying to sell you some more of their products.

Old filters is a great way to get mature media. All that means is that the bacteria that feeds off ammonia and nitrites is big and strong enough to take care of any excess in your tank. It takes months for this to happen from scratch (a brand-new filter cartridge), but once it's established you're pretty much good to go. Things that will upset that nice balance is introducing too many new fish, not cleaning your tank regularly or not enough, that kind of thing. Just hang out on the forums here and you'll honestly pick up new information every day that you can use.

Also, depending on what kind of filter cartridge you have, it might contain carbon. You don't need carbon unless you're trying to remove medications from your tank. I just get the filter cartridges that are separate and just don't use the carbon.

 

[King]

you would assume the right thing to do is change filters regularly, had i know i would have left the old #16##### filters in when i got the tank. so "dont" change filters?? lol.

 

[Steff Martin]

A useful information on Angel Fish :
It is hard to distinguish a female and a male Scalare,because the look very similar. Most Angelfish keepers are actually unsure of the sex of their fish until they notice which one is laying the eggs and which one that is fertilizing them. If you watch your fish closely you will notice a small difference in the size of the papilla between the sexes.

 

[Blubble37]

And be prepared for the goldfish to get over 1 ft too.

So, here are the steps you should take..
1) set the water temperature to 18 C (it is a compromise for both species)
2) get a liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH
3) read the beginners resource centre
4) decide if you want to go coldwater or tropical
5) sell or swap the fish you decide to *not* keep

i dont think it will get to 1 foot. normally those ones get to about 6 inches before they stop growing. if its a fantail, then even shorter. perhaps only 4-5 inches.

actually, the water in tha tank looks a bit cloudy as well.

 

[King]

the coy goldfish are like 6" now i guess, one is about as big around as a womans fist, they are pretty big but i dont know about a foot, they are several years old.

ive been doing water changes to get my water right, it was all screwed up.

 

[KittyKat]

the coy goldfish are like 6" now i guess, one is about as big around as a womans fist, they are pretty big but i dont know about a foot, they are several years old.

They can keep growing until they are about 10-15 years old, in some cases, so it's probably pretty difficult to tell if they're done now or still growing.

 

[King]

yeah who knows? lol. well i am going to try to re-home them to our local zoo, they have a big coy pond there that i think they would be alot better off in.

 

[King]

ok another 90% water change. heres the results. WAY better
ph - 7.5
ammo - 1.0
trite - .3
trate - 3

 

[This Old Spouse]

Hey, King,

Ammonia is still way too high. Things are definitely getting better, though!

Could you please test again in 24 hours and see how the ammonia looks? I'm a little worried that maybe your tap water has ammonia. You should test it too.

What are you using for dechlorinator? I'd opt for Stress Coat because it helps with that pesky ammonia.

You're getting there!!!!!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Prime works that way as well.


Spouse is right, unfortunately, your ammonia is still too high. It would be best to do another 90% water change immediately.

 

[King]

it is WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY better though. its coming along.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

of course. It's a process.

 

[King]

my tank is going from like 72* to 75* during different parts of the day, will this bother the fish?

planned to do a massive water change this even again and came home and had a pipe leaking in the wall and ruined half my downstairs, will be fixed in the morning but dont have water until then spent all night cleaning water and ripping up carpet and baseboards. so i guess i can do it tomorrow at some point.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Oh, no!! That's terrible! I hate plumbing problems, especially when they affect everything else.

Good thoughts heading your way, definitely!

 

[King]

thanks. unfortunately this is the 2nd time i have had this happen. 2 different pipes, 2 different walls, same downstairs area. great part of owning a home lolol..