My New 5ft Tank Has Arrived (some Pictures)

[JenCliBee]

see i would have come online but with college and work i havnt had time to get on to ask you guys so i just had to go by the fish shops advise.
but if i have any questions now i will ask on here first
i tested my water and the ph level and nitrate? the ph level was below 7 and the nitrate is 0 so thats fine and okay
but i will do a min of 2 water changes a week
and i have been told to feed them the bare minimue which i have done.
and i have also have lots of ceramic bio rings which came with the tank
and also have some filtax symec micro to clear the water a bit and the sand has made the tank abit misty

u need 2 be testing for ammonia and nitIrites ph isnt really a major issue and shouldnt really chnage much and 0 nitrates is becasue the nitrites arnt been converted yet...... can u get the ammonia and nitrite readings ???

 

[smegforbrains]

I suspect your NitrATE result is your NitrITE and zero reading is fine. (I've not yet come across a stocked tank with zero NitrATE). It's an easy mistake to make but a test for NitrATE will also help us guide you.




Can you test for Ammonia as well as NitrATE please hun?



Let us know what the results are




Ideally, you are looking for ZERO Ammonia and NitrITE and less than 40 NitrATE. The results will get lower and lower the more water changes you do while the bio culture gets itself established over the course of the next few weeks. Once you get these results and they remain the stable for a week or so, your tank is ready to gradually introduce more fish.

 

[nitro7]

nice looking tank keep up the good work

thanks that means alot to me

hi 'tayliajayne'
fab tank wish i had the space,
only been on hear a few months but these guys know what they are talking about
helped me loads,some can be a bit hard but mean well (infact they are bloody good ) so anything you need to as they will try their best to help you out
all the best and good luck

 

[tayliajayne]

i will see what i can do, but fish shop does it their free or for a pound and tests for everything is that worth doing?

 

[smegforbrains]

i will see what i can do, but fish shop does it their free or for a pound and tests for everything is that worth doing?

I would do that asap hun.


I would also invest in an API Freshwater Master Test Kit. You can pick one up for about £20-£25 delivered on eBay. They are invaluable and, IMHO, the best on the market. A test kit will last you 10-12 months, so it's not really a great expense over that length of time.

You really do need to know the results of these tests regularly so you can keep an eye on how your tank is cycling and also so you can keep on top of maintenance once it is cycled. Just 5 minutes of testing can tell you a whole lot of information and give you valuable clues to any potential problems that may be occurring.

 

[Jim Curtis]

If nothing else buy an ammonia test kit. Ammonia is what you are going to be having issues with for the next few weeks if not months. Ammonia is produced by the fish's poo, and decaying uneaten food. In a cycled tank your filter has naturally built up bacteria that will neutralize ammonia. In an uncycled tank with a new clean filter your only hope of removing ammonia is through water changes. Ammonia is poisonus to your fish and will burn his fins, cause him a great deal of pain and eventually kill him if not kept in check. With how much waste plecos produce, and with yours being a large one it is going to be a major task. Usually when people start out new tanks, if they dont start the cycle simply by adding ammonia from a bottle, they will start the tank with small fish that are a bit more conditioned to handle poor quality water, such as danios, until the tank has built up sufficient bacteria. Most fish shops will tell you to add a few hardy fish and to wait 3 or 4 weeks before adding anything else. People here consider that bad advice. The advice you were given, im sorry to say was flat out horrendous.

And when you are testing ammonia, anything over 0 and you should be doing a massive water change.

 

[tayliajayne]

right well i did a 70/80% water change last night. as i didnt like the sand so i put in gravel.
and im not feeding them alot as i heard you feed them the bare minume at this moment in time, i will ask my mum for that as i have no money now


here are some pictures with the new gravel

 

[tayliajayne]

a friend has just bought me the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and its on its way as we speak

 

[smegforbrains]

Your tank looks excellent hun


Top marks to your friend for getting you the test kit too


Keep up the good work

 

[Jim Curtis]

Wow, quite a friend! And I think your the first person on this site ever to switch from sand to gravel!

 

[tayliajayne]

Your tank looks excellent hun
Top marks to your friend for getting you the test kit too
Keep up the good work

aww thanks that means alot to me

Wow, quite a friend! And I think your the first person on this site ever to switch from sand to gravel!

i hope thats a good thing? lol

 

[ccskitten]

There seem to be a lot of fish in there for a 5 day old tank!!

It is a really nice set up though. I wish I had space for a tank like that.

 

[wendywc]

It's a great tank. Good luck with it!

I don't know if ammo-chips are availbe in the UK, but personally, I would get some ammochips into a mesh bag and put the whole thing into your filter before you hit an ammonia problem. I've done that for a couple of friends who have setup their tank too quickly. It dropped their ammo spikes down and they didn't lose a single fish.

Wow, quite a friend! And I think your the first person on this site ever to switch from sand to gravel!

Nah, I got rid of sand out of my 30 gallon earlier this year. The small pebbled varigated gravel that I have looks tons better than cheap play sand, IMO. Although for the 55, I will be trying some pool filter sand I just picked up.

 

[tayliajayne]

i got some ceramic bio-rings to go into the filter, are they the same thing?

cheers

x

 

[ikongoni]

Thats a lovely piece of equipment, and your dog like it too....