Getting Started With A Second Hand Tank

[pingu1997]

Hello there Corinne....its your friendly internet friend here. Hows that "new" tank doing. From what I read it certainly isnt behaving like a fully cycled tank, as your ammonia isnt shifting like it should, however some bacteria can go into a sleeping state when nutrition isnt available, the new environment you are providing will wake them up if there are any in there.
Spk to you soon JD

Hello my internet friend, nice to meet you on another forum LOL.... thanks for the advice, love the idea of waking up sleeping bacteria.. and to think that when I got the tank I thought you just chucked the fish in on day 1... how much I have learned in a short time!

 

[LilyRose Tank]

you're doing well babe, sounds like its shifting along quickly. life is an experience so learn all you can I say.
xxx

 

[pingu1997]

yikes...

was going quite well, returning almost zero readings for a couple of days after daily ammonia additions, then yesterday it all went a bit pants and I got a huge 4ppm reading for ammonia, and nitrites off the scale. Didn't add any more, and this morning it's back to almost zero again..

any ideas?

also went to another fish shop, they had a lot more fish but I was a bit disturbed to see a dead fish at the bottom of one of the tanks and other fish trying to eat it. Yuk...

 

[Timmy_Bee]

its quite normal for fish to feed on tehir dead friends, but never a good sign when its happening in a fish shop!

I say never - it could be a one off (sometimes fish just die..) but if it looks like this is the norm (which is often the case in 'chain' LFS's) then i would avoid buying there

 

[waterdrop]

Statistically you are going to lose more fish the larger the number that are being transported. Transport is by definition a high stress situation for any live animals and particularly so for animals that need a different environment. Shops receive large numbers of fish compared to what we as hobbyists take home, so they see more loses at the receiving end of transport I think. Some shops are better than others at managing the retail display of this problem - adding to their tanks with enough hours to check and remove loses before the store opens again.

Its another reminder that getting a true feel for each shop within your range and understanding what it has to offer and how it varies over time is a valuable activity for the hobbyist. Our shops are important to us because they represent our source for both things that are needed quickly and things that we really want to see closely before we purchase them.

So I agree that each negative thing we see in the shop display tanks should be noted in our heads in a bit of a mental tally, however its also important not to pass judgement too quickly as it could cause you to reject what ultimately might be a valuable resource. Of course, the other thing that is so difficult for beginners is to resist assuming the shop staff should be a trusted information resource. Ultimately, they might be, but that judgement should be reserved and refined over time.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[pingu1997]

Statistically you are going to lose more fish the larger the number that are being transported. Transport is by definition a high stress situation for any live animals and particularly so for animals that need a different environment. Shops receive large numbers of fish compared to what we as hobbyists take home, so they see more loses at the receiving end of transport I think. Some shops are better than others at managing the retail display of this problem - adding to their tanks with enough hours to check and remove loses before the store opens again.

Its another reminder that getting a true feel for each shop within your range and understanding what it has to offer and how it varies over time is a valuable activity for the hobbyist. Our shops are important to us because they represent our source for both things that are needed quickly and things that we really want to see closely before we purchase them.

So I agree that each negative thing we see in the shop display tanks should be noted in our heads in a bit of a mental tally, however its also important not to pass judgement too quickly as it could cause you to reject what ultimately might be a valuable resource. Of course, the other thing that is so difficult for beginners is to resist assuming the shop staff should be a trusted information resource. Ultimately, they might be, but that judgement should be reserved and refined over time.

~~waterdrop~~

I wasn't really that bothered about the dead fish (apart from keeping my kids away from the tank in question just to avoid any questions LOL) but does anyone know why my ammonia and nitrite readings went up on Sunday when they had been almost returning zero readings in 24 hours?

Thank you

 

[waterdrop]

Bacteria are like teenagers, they aren't necessarily going to take you on a straight trip to the destination

 

[pingu1997]

Bacteria are like teenagers, they aren't necessarily going to take you on a straight trip to the destination

haha nice way of putting it. I am now on a regular pattern of returning near zero readings every other day, grrrrrrrrr

 

[pingu1997]

Bacteria are like teenagers, they aren't necessarily going to take you on a straight trip to the destination

haha nice way of putting it. I am now on a regular pattern of returning near zero readings every other day, grrrrrrrrr

Am I going OK?

I am adding ammonia every other day, 9.5ml for a 180 litre tank, and at the moment I am in a nice pattern of returning zero ammonia and nitrite readings every other day (so like 48 hours after the ammonia was added). Do I just keep going until I can return zero readings in 24 hours?

Thanks for help
Corinne

 

[waterdrop]

Well, I think you are doing ok since I think you've only been cycling a week or two, so what you're describing sounds normal and what you're watching for sounds basically right.

Be aware though that the idea that you're going to get the best advice from us without a log is questionable. If you look across the years in this subforum you can find dozens of examples of ways to do a fishless cycling log and provide daily results and overall data that the members can look at.

A good log enhances the chance that you'll get good advice because it pulls in the advisors when they're feeling lazy, which is most of the time probably (after all, this is our relaxation, not our work ) The members (including advisors) can see how long that tank's been cycling and how long various patterns of results have been happening. All the important results are displayed, the ammonia, the nitrite, the pH, the nitrate perhaps, the temperature and any observations for the particular day. That way its not just one or two result numbers that are being presented, and trends are quite important.

Sorry! Hope that didn't sound like I was jumping on your particular case, because I wasn't! Your case is still pretty simple and in good shape, I just sometimes have to come out with this stuff I guess.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[pingu1997]

Well, I think you are doing ok since I think you've only been cycling a week or two, so what you're describing sounds normal and what you're watching for sounds basically right.

Be aware though that the idea that you're going to get the best advice from us without a log is questionable. If you look across the years in this subforum you can find dozens of examples of ways to do a fishless cycling log and provide daily results and overall data that the members can look at.

A good log enhances the chance that you'll get good advice because it pulls in the advisors when they're feeling lazy, which is most of the time probably (after all, this is our relaxation, not our work ) The members (including advisors) can see how long that tank's been cycling and how long various patterns of results have been happening. All the important results are displayed, the ammonia, the nitrite, the pH, the nitrate perhaps, the temperature and any observations for the particular day. That way its not just one or two result numbers that are being presented, and trends are quite important.

Sorry! Hope that didn't sound like I was jumping on your particular case, because I wasn't! Your case is still pretty simple and in good shape, I just sometimes have to come out with this stuff I guess.

~~waterdrop~~

I've got most of that info written down here at home, I just didn't think it was interesting to post it online for everyone to be bored by LOL....

I'll know for future reference, so thanks

 

[waterdrop]

Bored? Water nerds love this stuff