Newer to the hobby.

[pookie1204]

So this is a long story... I've grown up with fish tanks most of my life and was always fascinated with them and so I just moved out in March finally and thought I would get myself a fish tank. So eventually I got a whole kit for a 20-gallon at PetSmart (filter, food, heater, net, etc...) and at the time was not aware of the nitrogen cycle (I do NOW) I got gravel and fake plants and cool skull structure typical cheap deco and a bubbler at Walmart lol. I tossed it all in and immediately got a master test kit from API and tested the water I noticed ph was high but that was it and added (what I thought worked at the time) ph down from API and thought it would take care of it on its own. I then the next day got fish on May 8th (like an idiot) I got I think 6 tiger barbs a pea puffer and something else the first 2 days they were fine and on the third day in the morning, I noticed half the fish were dead... I know it's because of the lack of cycle and I called my dad cuz he was the expert in my eyes and he said to start doing water changes if you want to save them and they all died after and was super sad! welp, I was an idiot again and got MORE fish and restocked I got 2 Corys a glow shark, and a couple more barbs. The barbs died and the corys and glow shark are still alive. After this, I learned my lesson and left the tank alone to cycle. Fast forward 5ish weeks and I notice no ammonia and nitrite and then about 15ish nitRATE. But wasn't satisfied with 20 since it's so small. So I ended up buying a 55-gallon last week and sold the 20-gallon and put all decor from the 20 into my 55 I threw away the gravel because it was sharp and the corys kept getting cut and the tank came with fine sand and now they love it. I got about 45 gallons of RO water and dumped it in 55 gallons the same night and got the filter going(this was a used filter so I didn't clean it hoping it would cycle quickly and it did when I checked). I have been watching Kaveman on youtube and saw you can add fish on day one with prime and stability. So I went to my lfs and bought both chems along with some tiger barbs just to see if they would survive with them I got 5 total and 4 died overnight I don't know if this was due to not being cycled or not I also had my ph high still at about 8.5 and my temp at the time was 84ish. When I put them in there they didn't seem distressed or anything and were exploring and swimming around. I was so concerned about my ph being so high, I drained about 20 gallons worth and put pure RO water in there hoping it would offset the ph it didn't work. I then cleaned the filter (with Tank Water) and squeezed everything out and put Fluvals aquatic peat granules and hoped that would help (it didn't) finally I asked my lfs about my ph and how to lower and showed me API's proper ph 7.0 and finally got it down to there but now my niTRATES are gone and I think I broke my cycle by the water change and the filter cleaning I added almond leaves the same day to give it the brown tannin color finally the tiger barb died last night probably he was too stressed being alone and sick because of me WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!


Sorry for the long read, any advice or insight would be much appreciated I still have the glow shark and 2 corys they have survived all my stupid mistakes and seem to be fine and sifting through the sand.

 

[moonmist]

I think you should just let the tank run for a few weeks before adding any more fish for sure.. I think you just need to get it stabilized and make sure all the levels are steady before you do that. Adding natural plants is a good way to help cycle your tank because they help convert the ammonia and nitrites. Fish love them too! Have you tested your tap water? It’s helpful to know what the ph and hardness of your water is, unless you’re using purely RO water. RO water has neutral ph and no hardness at all so it’s basically a blank canvas. I would do some research on your current fish and future fish you want and see what type of water they prefer. And then go from there. I have heard that adding a cocktail of supplements can make your time more difficult when trying to level everything out so I’d be careful with all that stuff you are putting in your water. I’m no expert by any means, but that’s just my 2 cents! Good luck

 

[pookie1204]

I've tested the ph on my tap not the hardness and the ph is 8.8ish on ph which is out of the question for using it without a ph stabilizer I got the hardness perfect for the fish I want and the ph now and I will be leaving it for now but also I want to know how to introduce high amounts of ammonia so the nitrates can handle it so I can add most of the fish I want. If that makes sense?

 

[moonmist]

I've tested the ph on my tap not the hardness and the ph is 8.8ish on ph which is out of the question for using it without a ph stabilizer I got the hardness perfect for the fish I want and the ph now and I will be leaving it for now but also I want to know how to introduce high amounts of ammonia so the nitrates can handle it so I can add most of the fish I want. If that makes sense?

Oh okay well I’ve heard good things about this stuff https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-Chloride-Solution/dp/B006MP4QG6 it’s just pure ammonia for cycling a tank, although I would be mindful of the fish you already have in there. Any high amounts can harm them I’m sure you know. This stuff is used for fishless cycling. If you’ve already got fish in there I would honestly wait it out with them since they will produce ammonia just by themselves. Also, adding fish food does the same thing. Anything left lever will rot and release ammonia.

 

[Ram419]

I've used the Fritz PRO - Ammonium Chloride and it works great as well for a fishless cycle. You can see the options for cycling a tank here --> https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/

 

[Lcc86]

It sounds like your fish have struggled because the tank isn't cycled. As others have said you can use those products but you'd probably have to keep your fish elsewhere so they don't suffer from the ammonia. Sounds like they've been through a lot already so may be best to continue cycling without products and using the fish. Just don't add any more until things as much much more stable. Hopefully someone with more knowledge can give advice re the fish-in cycle and the best way forward from where you are now.

 

[Essjay]

Since you have a few fish left, you cannot add ammonia or ammonium chloride to the tank. Instead get some bottled bacteria - look for Dr Tim's One & Only or Tetra Safe Start. Just one of those two.



Next, find out how hard your tap water is. All the fish you have bought are soft water fish and if your water is hard, you need to look for hard water fish in future. Hard water fish also need high pH.
If you are on mains water, look on your water provider's website for hardness. if you are on a well, take some tap water to an LFS and ask them to test it. In both cases you need a number and the unit of measurement. If the store uses strips to test, ask them how high the strips read. Some brands only go up as far as 10 dH (180 ppm) so won't be able to detect hard water.
With hard water, KH (carbonate hardness) is also usually high. KH is a buffer which stops pH changing. When these pH lowering chemicals are added to a tank with high KH, the pH drops, then the KH kicks in and the pH goes back up. These changes are harmful to fish.