Starting My First Fishtank

[yancho]

Nope, no plants - YET (should arrive today / tomorrow)

Algae is seen - getting a bit greeny - but PH is stable. Nitrite is still 0ppm and so is Nitrate

Ammonia went down to between 2 / 3. So by tonight it should go to 1

Also noticed that there was a huge drop in the beginning until the water was still hot - say around 28 - 30degrees (filled half the tank with hot water)

Now water is around 18degrees so its quite cold. Got the heaters today so should get it up fast

 

[Timmy_Bee]

cool. I think optimal temp is about 29, so aim for that.

If your bothered by alae, cover your tank with cardboard so it cant get any light. This should kill it off within a few days. If not, just leave it and sort it out after the cycle

 

[yancho]

Last night I covered it with a dark bed sheet so should be the same no? Should I plant the plants straight away? Or all that ammonia change can kill them?

 

[Timmy_Bee]

bed sheet will be fine. Anything to stop the light.

As for teh plants, im no green fingered expert, but they have a tendancy to trick you into thinking you have fully cycled your tank (they act like mini filters doing their own little N cycle). IMO, i would leave the plants until your confident that your filter has got a good colony. Except if you are going for a heavily planted tank, in which case you can skip the fishless cycle (search 'silent cycle') but this is not recommended for beginners

 

[yancho]

Great thanks. Set temperature to 29degrees. Problem is according to thermometer its around 31

 

[Timmy_Bee]

the dial on my heater is never that great. Just ignore the numbers and set it so its the right temp on your thermometer.

You got any photos of your set-up?

 

[yancho]

no at the moment everything is just UGLY .. everything floating on top of each other lol .. all i care for the time being is getting those bacteria alive. got the plants today

 

[Timmy_Bee]

If you want some advice on where your at in your cycle, i would set up a new thread and post all your ammonia / nitrite / nitrate and any other water stats you have on a daily basis. There are a few people on here (notably Waterdrop) who are Gods on the fishless cycle

 

[yancho]

https/spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=0AlPQOlWNes5hdGhyMWhQSndqOEpYN3lHal9RMGVsc0E&hl=en&gid=1 this is the cycle i am doing. Will post in a new thread if it gets out of way

Cheers

 

[Timmy_Bee]

i'll take your word on the s'sheet, im at work so its blocked by the powers that be...

 

[yancho]

A bit of a strange thing going on - PH showed a bit darker than the normal 7.6 so I tested the High PH.

When I changed the High Range PH it is shoing 8.3 .. is that normal?! Checked in the same light and confirmed by two people.

Does that means that my PH is NOT 7.6 as I taught but in effect is 8.3? That means I need to start looking in buying a PH downer ey?

Please note that yesterday I made some changes to the aquarium - mainly:

Lowered temperature from 31 to 29
Added live plants
Added a bit more gravel

should I wait a bit more to see if the PH gets back down

 

[Timmy_Bee]

Could be your gravel or something is raising the pH.
8.3 isnt a killer. Most people on here would say pick fish that like your water, instead of changing your water for the fish you like beucase its a bit of a faf to get the pH right every time you do a water change. Also, it means in an emergency there is one more thing you need to sort out before doing say a 80% water change.

But as i say, 8.3 isnt that bad. Most fish should be alright in it.

Check your tap and tank pH to see if there is a difference.

 

[yancho]

Any easy to grow fish (liek guppies) who like 8.3 ph?

 

[Timmy_Bee]

i think guppies would be happier with a pH of 8 instead of 7...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/34091-guppy/

Also... have you started your cycle? becuase Ammonia is pH ~12 so it could be this that is raising your water levels. I wouldn't think you would be adding enough to shift it, but it might...

 

[yancho]

i think guppies would be happier with a pH of 8 instead of 7...

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/34091-guppy/

Also... have you started your cycle? becuase Ammonia is pH ~12 so it could be this that is raising your water levels. I wouldn't think you would be adding enough to shift it, but it might...

Yeah cycle is up and going. What changed from the day before to yesterday was that I did the below:

- Changed temperature to 29 from 30
- Added plants
- Added small gravel
- Put some fish food (that's why ammonia went up by 1ppm?!?)

Read a high increase in nitrite last night too!