New To Aquariums - Need Advice

[PaulDiLollo]

Hey all, 
 
I bought a 10 gallon aqueon kit about 8 weeks ago.  Thought I cycled it properly, then I added a swordtail and 3 tetras.  After a few days 2 of the 3 tetras died.  I waited a few more weeks to let the tank get under control(i thought), then I added a cory, another swordtail, and 3 more tetras about 1 month ago.  Fats forward to today, and even the past 1-2 weeks, I cannot get the ammonia under control.  I've since lost the cory, original swordtail and one of the new tetras.  I'm doing water 10% water changes almost everyday and treating with api ammo lock and api quick start, but I cannot get the ammonia down to zero.  Today I tested the water and I had ammonia at 1ppm, nitrites are close to 0 and nitrates are 5ppm with a ph of 7.2-7.6.  About a month ago my ph was up over 8, so i think i've gotten that under control.  For some reason, I feel like i'm using too many chemicals.  Also, about 2-3 weeks ago the water turned slightly green/yellow color...still clear, but tinted.  There is minimal algae, just on my little police car (my girlfriend names the fish after 80s/90s cop movie characters).  The temp is steady at 76-78 degrees.  Please let me know how to get this tank running properly.
 
FYI the original tetra and the swordtail eat, but the other 2 tetras barely touch food.
 
I've attached pics of both the tank and the treatments I've been using to somewhat no avail.
 
Thanks! 
 
 

 

[BaylorPerez]

For Cories, you want a sand substrate, as for the ammonia/nitrite levels, your filter is not matured enough for fish to be able to live in the tank.
 
As for the Green tint is a Algae bloom tint more likely. If you can get us the parameters of your water as it stands we could help you out more.
 
For your fish you may want to re-think your stocking plan, as the general rule is 1 inch per fish length( so a 3 Inch fish could take 3 Inches of space in your tank ), same goes for cories as they can attain 3-6 Inches( if lucky you can get bigger ones as it seems females are bigger than the males from what i can tell ).
 
As for the chemicals in your tank, the best to use and the most cheap( in my locations ), is Seacham Prime. They actually know how to detox the ammonia and nitrite within a tank.
 
And lastly for decor, you may want to make sure that the ones you use dont have a possibility of "leeching" chemicals that are harmful to the fish within your bed.
 
But mostly for our help with you, Get a Ph/Ammonia/Nitrite test kit. As for water quality differs from area to area(city to city), i use the Drop test kits but you could use the test strips, Although ive been advised against it moreover. one is more accurate than the other. I prefer the Drop Test Kits

 

[Essjay]

First of all, throw away all those chemicals except the Tetra Safe Start. That is a dechlorinator which you need to treat water with when you do a water change.
 
Don't mess with the pH until you have a lot more experience and preferably not even then it is much better to buy fish that suit your water than try to alter the water to suit fish.
You don't need to add aquarium salt. You have fresh water fish, and fish like tetras and cories won't thank you for it.
Ammo lock is a temporary fix. Water changes will do the job just as well.
Quick Start is a 'bottled bacteria' and so many of those don't work.
I wouldn't bother with Easy Balance either.
 
 
 
Since you are doing a fish-in cycle, the best thing I can do is ask you to read this http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433778-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il/
 
 
Once the tank is cycled, you can then think about more appropriate fish for your tank.

 

[Byron]

I concur with Sue (post #3).
 
Looking beyond that, you will have to carefully decide on fish.  A 10g tank is very small, to the fish, and largish fish like swordtails are out of the question.  Some "tetra" will be too large as well, plus all tetra need a group of 6+.  But before you can begin to consider fish down the road, you will need to know the parameters of your tap water.  The pH is one, but more importantly is the GH (general hardness).  Without getting bogged down with detail, the pH is generally governed by the GH and KH (Alkalinity or carbonate hardness) so attempts to change pH without knowing the GH/KH usually fail long-term, and this is highly stressful on fish.
 
Byron.

 

[PaulDiLollo]

Thanks for the help guys, 
 
I just tested my tap water, and its 7.0-7.2.  When I test the aquarium, it is in the 7.2-7.6 range...and it has been way higher about a month ago; over 8 (any idea on what could've caused that?).  I do not have the means to test the hardness, but I think the water is on the softer side based on the water district reports.
 
I also did the test on the linked website and the NH3 and total ammonia is under the critical levels.
 
What do you recommend the next steps to be?  Keep testing and letting the cycle complete?  Water changes?
 
What types of fish thrive in this type of water?
 
Paul

 

[Ch4rlie]

You can check your local water supplier online for the water stats. Ther should be page / s of water information with numbers and different scales etc, just copy what you can see or take a screenshot of the bit where it shows water hardness levels or similar along those lines.
 
Failing that, you could take a sample of your tank water to LFS and ask them to do a water hardness / softeness (gH/kH) tests, they may charge a small fee but a lot of LFS do this, well in UK they do anyway. And ensure you get the exact number results from the LFS.
 
That will help a lot in determing what fish may be suitable for your water type in your 10 gallon tank.

 

[PaulDiLollo]

here is a screenshot from my water district report.  does this help?

 

[Ch4rlie]

Hmm, cannot see anything relating to water hardness, hopefully somewhere on your online site there is a part with that..........

 

[PaulDiLollo]

it has it broken out to the actual metals in the water supply, there is no number for hardness on the report

 

[Ch4rlie]

Thats annoying really, would be nice if all water supply boards put in the water hardness / softeness levels.

 

[Essjay]

That looks like a water quality report which doesn't include hardness. Does your water district's website have a search function? If it does, try searching the word hardness.
I see you are in the USA so they might do things differently from UK water suppliers, but my company puts the hardness in the section called "In your area". Some companies do make it hard to find the section with hardness in!
 
 
As for your pH, have you tested your tap water's pH, both a freshly run sample and some that has been allowed to stand overnight. Those readings will give you a base line to work from. You may well find that the 'stood' water has a different pH from the fresh sample.

 

[Byron]

We really need to pin down the GH (and KH for that matter).  At this point, trying to answer your question as to why your pH fluctuates is only guessing.  The GH and KH will help us here.
 
As someone has mentioned, small fish suited to a 10g will likely be wild caught, and this means even closer attention to the parameters.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Are you using a liquid test kit or strips? Sorry if you've already mentioned.
 
I think it may be best to re-home the fish (to another fishkeeper or back to your LFS) and then do a fishless cycle, considering the tank isn't suitable to the swordtail and possibly the tetras, depending on which kind they are.
 
This will be less stressful on them since they won't be in a cycling tank, and less stressful on you since you won't have to worry about them, although I know it's hard as you're likely somewhat attached to them already
 
If you do go that route, here is a link for fishless cycling, can also find it at the top of this forum at 'Cycling a Tank'.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first
 
A note, by the way, the 1" per gallon rule is not recommended.
By this logic, you could put a 10" goldfish into a 10 gallon tank..definitely not recommended.
 
Hopefully your LFS can test your water hardness for you and give you the exact results so things can be figured out from there

 

[PaulDiLollo]

UPDATE!
 
I finally got the hardness test and I'm at 53.7 KH and 71.6 GH with a PH of 7.0-7.2.  This if for my tap water.
 
Current aquarium water is 7.2-.7.6 PH and KH and GH are the same as above.  All tested using API drop kits.
 
What kind of fish would best be suited for this type of water?  I've also stopped using all chemicals except the water conditioner and the nitrates are slowly climbing.  I don't have anybody/where to bring my existing fish, so they are unfortunately going to have to deal with the cycling

 

[Ch4rlie]

Will your LFS not take you fish back? Most LFS will take fish off your hand but they probably won't give you cash or store credit for them, but you may be lucky?
 
Right, sounds like you're thinking of opting for a fish in cycle, a differnt method altogether to fishless cycling. For one, you must not ass ammonia to a tank with live stocking along with a lot of water changes and water testing on a regular basis. Much harder work.
 
 
So, now I would strongly urge you to read and follow these articles if you still want to proceed with a fish in cycle -
 
Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part I
 

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part Il