Newbie Needs Help

[StingRay999]

Hello, I am new to the forum and new to the whole fish keeping hobby. I received a fish tank as a present two weeks ago. It is a 27 Litter (7 gallon) tank. It came with all the necessary accessories (filter, heater, gravel, etc). I filled it up with water and added Tetra Aqua Safe. After a few days I added 4 plants and got 4 Rio Tetra’s, 2 Bubble Mollies an 1 algae eater (not sure what type, but it looks kind of like a catfish). My water became very cloudy so I sleeked some advice and I was told to test the Ph of the tank. I did and it gave me a result of far above 7.4. I treated the water with the Ph down that came with the test kit and it is now round about 7(the colour of the Bromtimol Blue gives me a dark green reading). The tank was still very cloudy after a few hours and I went to get some more advice. The guy at the pet shop then gave me Tetra Aqua Easy Balance to add to the water. After a few hours I tested the ph of the water and it was still at about 7 and the water was still very cloudy but now had a type of greenish colour to it.

I then proceeded to drain 20% of the water and replaced it. Before adding the replacement water I treated it with aqua safe again and tested the Ph. The Ph was a bit high so I treated it to bring the ph down to about 7. The water was still cloudy after a few hours and this morning it seemed to be worse. The fish don’t seem to be suffering in any way. I don’t know if I overfed them perhaps. I gave them fish flakes once a day and it took them about 2 minutes to devour most of the flakes that I put in. The filter I am using is a sponge filter with two cylinders.

I am very desperate for some advice that might be able to help me get clear water. BTW I am from sunny South Africa

 

[pauld]

Hello, I am new to the forum and new to the whole fish keeping hobby. I received a fish tank as a present two weeks ago. It is a 27 Litter (7 gallon) tank. It came with all the necessary accessories (filter, heater, gravel, etc). I filled it up with water and added Tetra Aqua Safe. After a few days I added 4 plants and got 4 Rio Tetra’s, 2 Bubble Mollies an 1 algae eater (not sure what type, but it looks kind of like a catfish). My water became very cloudy so I sleeked some advice and I was told to test the Ph of the tank. I did and it gave me a result of far above 7.4. I treated the water with the Ph down that came with the test kit and it is now round about 7(the colour of the Bromtimol Blue gives me a dark green reading). The tank was still very cloudy after a few hours and I went to get some more advice. The guy at the pet shop then gave me Tetra Aqua Easy Balance to add to the water. After a few hours I tested the ph of the water and it was still at about 7 and the water was still very cloudy but now had a type of greenish colour to it.

I then proceeded to drain 20% of the water and replaced it. Before adding the replacement water I treated it with aqua safe again and tested the Ph. The Ph was a bit high so I treated it to bring the ph down to about 7. The water was still cloudy after a few hours and this morning it seemed to be worse. The fish don’t seem to be suffering in any way. I don’t know if I overfed them perhaps. I gave them fish flakes once a day and it took them about 2 minutes to devour most of the flakes that I put in. The filter I am using is a sponge filter with two cylinders.

I am very desperate for some advice that might be able to help me get clear water. BTW I am from sunny South Africa

YOUR TANK HAS NOT CYCLED
use the search on this forum for cycleing tanks and follow the instructins there ,

 

[StingRay999]

This is the first time anyone has said anything about cycling to me. Everyone here at the pet shoppes said I should just add the Aqua Safe fluid and then my tank is ready for fish. Just goes to show how much these pet shop operators actually know. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Verminator89]

Or more to the point how little they know about your scenario and how much they just want to make a sale. Best bet stick to advice from the experienced people online, they'll tell you straight what you need to do or get.

Seriously though, read up on cycling and the different methods.

 

[StingRay999]

Or more to the point how little they know about your scenario and how much they just want to make a sale. Best bet stick to advice from the experienced people online, they'll tell you straight what you need to do or get.

Seriously though, read up on cycling and the different methods.

Thanks for the advice, I have read up on all the cycling articles and I found a good article on exactly the mistake I made and how to correct it, so as soon as I get home I will commence opperation Fish Rescue.

 

[StingRay999]

Ok, so I managed to get test kits for amonia an NO2, but I cant get my hands on a test kit for NO3. The article I read suggested a 10-15% daily water change. How important is it that I get my hands on a NO3 test kit? I also managed to buy a gravel siphon, so I will clean the gravell tonight as well.

 

[waterdrop]

Hi and Welcome to TFF StingRay999,

You indeed have not only been given bad advice but they even have you moving your pH in the *wrong* direction! The two specific species of bacteria you're going to be trying to grow over the next couple months like the pH to be up at 8.0 or so. pH is *not* something we like to use chemicals to change and your tap water was closer to 8 anyway!

Hopefully the articles you've found include the Fish-In Cycling article by rabbut and perhaps some other things about using good technique for water changes (which is what no doubt you urgently need.. about a 75% water change with conditioner and rough temperature matching (your hand is good enough) in the replacement tap water.. a gravel-cleaner is the way to remove the water as it will take more of the bad things out as the water goes out.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[StingRay999]

Thank you for the welcome. The article you mentioned is one of the articles I have bookmarked. Definitely was very usefull.

 

[FishyWishie]

I had to laugh at pets@home when I popped in for frozen fish foods in there fish section they have notices up saying how you should let your water settle for 2-3 days before adding fish I had to fight the urge to tear them all down

Your in the right place now for advice for sure ! many experienced fish keepers like waterdrop, Oldman 47 and a whole host of others and people like PDSimon TwinkleCaz and myself who have recently been through the ups and downs of the fishless cycle.

 

[StingRay999]

So yesterday afternoon I did a 75% water change. I gave the new water an hour to settle then I tested it and I got the folowing readings at 18h00:

PH:8.0
NO2: 0.15
NH3/4: 0.072

Did another test this morning at about 06h00 and got the following readings:

PH: 8.0
NO2:0.2
NH3/4: 0.072

I will do a 20% water change this afternoon and take the readings again.

 

[StingRay999]

I just discovered another lie that the local Pet SShop told me. When I bought the Algae Eater the guy at the pet shop told me that it is perfect for my 27liter tank, however I just Identified it. It is a Pleco that looks like the one in this image

As I understand it, these things get realy big. Mine is at about 8cm at the moment. How long do you think I can keep it, if not already to late, before I have to upgrade to a bigger tank or donate it back to the pet shop

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, over half of the tanks at the typical box store hold fish for sale that are totally inappropriate for the typical beginner freshwater community tank. WD

 

[rhiannonk]

Honestly with a 7Gal tank, that many fish are already really overstocking, notwithstanding the fact that common plecos need massive tanks (and they can grow quite quickly). For that small of a tank, I'd say your best bet is to maybe have a betta or maybe JUST the tetras. Mollies just get too large for this tank, especially with the rest of the stock. With this many fish, my guess is, it will be very difficult to keep your ammonia in check while your tank cycles. My suggestion would be to either return the fish and do a fishless cycle while you consider stocking OR to keep only the tetras while you do a fish-in cycle (which requires frequent testing and water changes - and you still may lose fish). I would suggest looking at www.##144###.com - you can enter in your tank specs and the species you would like to stock (and the # of each) and it will return to you the % stocking level that it will bring you to. It is a great tool though I would always check with knowledgeable fishkeepers before stocking even if ##144### says it's fine.

Also - another concern - what units are those readings measuring? The test kit that many fishkeepers use is the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and it is commonly found at many stores. It has pH, ammonia (NH3), nitrite (NO2) and nitrate (NO3) tests that are considered to be much more accurate than some other kits (eg: ones with strips). I would suggest picking up this kit because it has the most important tests that you will require. It measures readings in ppm. I'm concerned that if your readings are in smaller units of measure (eg: molarity, etc) that your ammonia readings etc may actually be very high.

 

[StingRay999]

My units of measure is PPM. The test kits I use are from Red Sea. They are liquid test kits. Each type Eg, NO2, NH3/4,etc is bought seperatly because there just isnt any decent complete test kits on the store shelves at the moment. I just got of the phone with the pet shop. They are not willing to take back the fish, not even for free. Will see what I can manage.

 

[rhiannonk]

Hrm that's unfortunate ... some pet stores will at least take them back even if they wont give you credit. What about another pet store? Maybe try to post on Craigslist or Kijii and see if there is anyone with a really large tank who could take the pleco at least. Mollies and stuff are OK to be housed adequately in a reasonably sized tank though plecos are just plain huge and pretty impractical unless you have a giant tank. Also, you could always upgrade to a larger tank to house your tetras (and maybe get a few more) and some more additions ... often there are tanks at yardsales or online (CL or whatever) for very good prices (just make sure they dont leak).