Newbie Needs Help With Tank

[Platygirl11]

Oh my, I'm so sorry for you, fish in cycling is a nightmare. I was once doing water changes 3 times a day!

 

[Harlequins]

How's it going?

 

[tricky8]

How's it going?

alls settled now, im feeding once a day, with very few fish, 7 and 9 babies in net, id let them out but think 2 wks old they may still get eaten my female or male guppy, at least in the net i know they eating too, going to do water change 2day, its looking quite old in there now, should i clean the filters in the old water 2day or leave to gain more bacteria, cheers

 

[Platygirl11]

Leave in, you are far from where you'll need to clean the filter. I would very, very strongly suggest you get a donation of mature filter media. It contains a lot of bacteria which will really speed up your cycle! You should go to a friend with a perfectly un-diseased tank, or as a last resort, to a LFS.

 

[tricky8]

1 neon down 2day. have put babies 3 that are left back in tank, got net out,hopefully they will survive, done a water change, and test results are - ph 8, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 40 , any suggestions whats next, you have all been a great help, so farl

 

[Harlequins]

Sorry to hear you lost a neon,

test results look good at the moment ,just keep a daily check by testing water daily and doing water changes if ammonia and nitrite rises

 

[tricky8]

its me birthday 2day can i buy 5 neons and put in tank 2day is this ok,

 

[Harlequins]

I wouldn't advise to get neons,they need a mature tank,

What have your water readings been like?

Happy birthday by the way

 

[tricky8]

same as last posted but did lose a neon fri, can you suggest other, or think best to leave

 

[Harlequins]

I think it's best to leave it at the moment if you are still losing fish.

 

[OldMan47]

If you are still having chemistry problems, don't get any new fish, not even replacements. Instead give your filter and tank time to settle down and get stable. After that you can bring the stocking up very slowly to a full stock level.

 

[tricky8]

If you are still having chemistry problems, don't get any new fish, not even replacements. Instead give your filter and tank time to settle down and get stable. After that you can bring the stocking up very slowly to a full stock level.

ok thanks will take it steady

 

[tricky8]

update ,i have lost a female guppy, been water testing daily and had 1 level of high ammonia. think she had white spot, now have 4 fish remaining, however have really got the hang of using the gravel cleaner now, sucking up lots of filth from bottom, tests are fine just a ph of 8, which im told is too high, what should i do next, continue daily changes and at what point can i replenish. plants have brown leaves on only a few, anything?

 

[OldMan47]

What do you have for an ammonia reading right before the water change? We also need to know what you have for nitrite levels right before the change. If both are at zero, try skipping a day of water changes and see what the chemistry does. Until you have the ammonia and nitrites under control, everything else is meaningless. A pH of 8.0 is not a problem for the common livebearers that you will likely find in a local fish shop.

 

[tricky8]

What do you have for an ammonia reading ri8ght before the water change? We also need to know what you have for nitrite levels right before the change. If both are at zero, try skipping a day of water changes and see what the chemistry does. Until you have the ammonia and nitrites under control, everything else is meaningless. A pH of 8.0 is not a problem for the common livebearers that you will likely find in a local fish shop.

ok will do before and after tests, now keep u posted, thanks