Help to start - first 30L tank

I’d have no idea what the results meant though.
It is a bit daunting to start with, but my grandchildren actually quite liked me testing the water and checking if the colours were ”right” and meant the water was safe to put their new fish in.

The main 2 readings you will need are the Ammonia and Nitrite, these are the most dangerous to the fish. If you test your water and post a picture of the tube next to the colour chart someone will help you work out the readings. What you need to see is yellow for the ammonia reading and nice bright blue for the nitrites.
 
I’m also concerned that if I start the cycle guide on here by adding the ammonia and then adding the fish after 10 days I’d be worse off than not adding the ammonia myself.

It’s my sons birthday in 2 weeks and the plan is to get him the tank and fish by then, I really want the best way to do this as I can’t dedicate 5-6 weeks at this time to set it up- maybe in the future I could if I expand to a larger tank to get it ready properly.
 
@marklcfc - I do understand the time frame, my grandaughter was bought a tank for her birthday at the end of March (a really tiny, 8 ltr almost impossible to work with tank) and we have only just got it cycled this last week. A bigger tank with more water should work faster than this. Why don’t you give your son the tank and take him to the shop on his birthday so he can choose his “theme“ (I don’t know how old he is but Pets at Home had Paw Patrol stuff last time I went in) and make it a project that you can do together? Children love playing with water, so washing gravel etc. will be fun and you can set it up together, talk about making the water safe… It could be a really nice way to share time
 
@marklcfc - I do understand the time frame, my grandaughter was bought a tank for her birthday at the end of March (a really tiny, 8 ltr almost impossible to work with tank) and we have only just got it cycled this last week. A bigger tank with more water should work faster than this. Why don’t you give your son the tank and take him to the shop on his birthday so he can choose his “theme“ (I don’t know how old he is but Pets at Home had Paw Patrol stuff last time I went in) and make it a project that you can do together? Children love playing with water, so washing gravel etc. will be fun and you can set it up together, talk about making the water safe… It could be a really nice way to share time
I’ve already got the tank, so I’ve told him by next time he comes (I see him every two weeks) it’ll be ready. He’ll be 10.
Maybe if I know what I’m doing it would be, but it’s all new to me too and I’m finding it a bit stressful trying to figure out a way to get it done safely by a certain point (two weeks)
 
I don’t think two weeks is do-able even for the most experienced fish keepers on here.

At 10, I would think he would be old enough to understand that something has changed and you need to change the timeline? Tell him that you’ve learnt that the tank needs to be cycled or the fish will die. This probably links to the thread about what is the dumbest thing you’ve been told and the reply that goldfish only live one week!

You clearly don’t want to disappoint your son, but I think fish dying will be disappointing/upsetting, and that starting this project together would be good.

I sometimes think that we spoil some of the fun for our children/grandchildren by giving them “everything now”…much of the fun is the anticipation of something happening and waiting for a specific event. Some people have a holiday countdown others don’t tell their children until the morning they will go…it’s the anticipation that builds the excitement.
 
He’s already been waiting a while and has autism and adhd, he also tried really hard at school this week and I’m not sure he’ll understand if there’s yet another delay.

I was wondering what people think of this fish in cycle guide using the seachem prime that I have when ammonia and nitrate appears https://fishlab.com/fish-in-cycle/

And if so should I start the cycle guide as on here by adding ammonia until the fish go in or just wait until the fish generate it themselves as on that guide?
 
The autism and adhd does complicate things.

I can’t give any advice on starting one method and then switching to another, I don’t understand the process enough myself.

It is possible to do a “fish in cycle” but its not the preferred method due to the risk/stress on the fish.

@Essjay will be the best person the explain the cycling.

Can anyone else offer help on how to get this going for this little boy and with as little risk to the fish..?
 
I am going to ask you to ignore everything that has been said already. If you are determined to get fish, it is possible as long as you are prepared to do a lot of work. By the sound of it, you will be prepared to do this for the sake of the child.


Set up the tank, wash the gravel, work out how much Prime you need for the amount of water in the tank, fill the tank with water and add the Prime. Turn on the filter and the heater.
Buy a liquid test kit, the type with bottles and test tubes.
Buy a bottle of Tetra Safe Start - but ignore the instructions on the bottle. Tetra Safe Start contains the bacteria you need to grow, but it doesn't do it instantly.
Buy a siphon tube to clean the tank.
Buy at least one bucket and don't use it for anything else besides fish.
Buy fish food - but get the type of food needed for the fish. *


Now buy fish.

Platies have been mentioned but they need a much bigger tank than 30 litres. Choosing fish is not a simple matter but I don't want to complicate things further for you so I will just say that the most suitable fish for this tank are either one single male betta (Siamese fighting fish) or half a dozen endlers. Males only as females have a lot of fry every month and there would soon be so many there would be no room left to swim. Not both - either a betta or endlers. Both of these are brightly coloured fish.
*I mentioned food higher up. If you get a betta, buy betta pellets; if you buy endlers, get flake food.


As soon as the fish are put in the tank, pour the whole bottle of Tetra Safe Start into the filter and turn it back on.


Every day, test the tank water for ammonia and nitrite.
If either ammonia or nitrite are more than zero, do a water change.


To do a water change, use the siphon to suck water out of the tank and into a bucket. When you have taken half the water out of the tank, throw the water away.
Boil a kettle of water.
Run some cold water into the bucket and use some of the boiled water to warm it. Feel how warm the water in the tank is with your hand and use enough boiled water to get the water in the bucket to feel the same.
Add the amount of Prime needed for the amount of water in the bucket and stir it in for a couple of minutes, then carefully pour the water from the bucket into the tank. You don't want to pour it in fast as that would push the fish round too much and dig a hole in the gravel.


Continue testing the water every day and doing a water change whenever there is a reading above zero. This is what I meant when I said would be hard work - all those water changes.



Feed the fish only once every two days. The less food, the less ammonia the fish will make. Ignore what the food says about the amount to feed. Because they make money from selling food they say to use more of it than you need so that you'll buy more. Fish need a lot less food than you'd think.


After a few weeks you will notice that you haven't needed to do a water change for a week. Now you can start doing weekly maintenance water changes.
Once you reach this stage, you will be a lot more confident about keeping fish. We then need to talk about how to keep the tank running smoothly. You have had to learn so much already that I will leave tank maintenance for now.



The testing and doing water changes are what will keep the fish alive. I know it's a lot of work, but if you want to have fish quickly for the child's sake, keeping the fish alive for him is also very important.
 
Message for other members.

In this particular case, we need to forget our usual advice. The important thing now is to help marklcfc without criticism. This is not the usual situation as there is a child with issues involved.
Thank you @Essjay if it was a child being spoilt I would stick with our usual advice, clearly not that happening here and thank you for sharing your knowledge on how to make the situation work 🙂
 
Thanks very much for the guide @Essjay just to confirm pour the whole 50ml into the filter?

what’s a good example of a siphon tube that I’m to use? Does it take a long time to remove 15 litres of water?
 
One other thing @Essjay you say change water quite frequently could I get away with changing water one day and then using some prime water conditioner the other or does it have to always be water changes?
 
Thanks very much for the guide @Essjay just to confirm pour the whole 50ml into the filter?

what’s a good example of a siphon tube that I’m to use? Does it take a long time to remove 15 litres of water?
It’ll take you a couple of minutes to siphon 15L.

It sounds as if you’ve a pets at home locally, they sell siphons/gravel cleaners.
 
It’ll take you a couple of minutes to siphon 15L.

It sounds as if you’ve a pets at home locally, they sell siphons/gravel cleaners.
I do, the reviews were all quite bad though and I’ve no idea how to use it. it looks small in the images so I’m wondering where the 15 litres go to.
 
One other thing @Essjay you say change water quite frequently could I get away with changing water one day and then using some prime water conditioner the other or does it have to always be water changes?
Conditioner and new water at the same time. Always.
Theres chemicals in uk water that will harm fish. They are neutralised by the conditioner.
Ask away question wise, it’s difficult to get your head around at first. Have a read through the tank cycling section every day if you have the time. Repeated reading of it helps it sink in.

Best of luck mate.
 

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