Water additives

[OnePenny]

My new tank has been set up and cycled for 4 weeks. I've got 2 platies and added 4 honey gouramis the day before. Things seem to be fine so far.

The original water additives bought from LFS is running out now. Just did some research online, there are so many different products available, very confused. I have been using Tetra Auqa Safe and Aqua Care Tap Water Conditioner for dechlorinate water, and Aqua Care Bio-boost for beneficial bacteria. A lot of my friends suggested to use Stress Zyme. There are also products like Stree Coat, Prime, Stability, Easy Balance. So are they all the same? Do I even need to use them at all, apart from dechlorinating the water? Thanks in advance.

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[mikey11]

all you really need is a dechlorinator to use after water changes....no need for anything else

 

[Colin_T]

Damn, give me your money, thankyou says the petshop

Now I have badmouthed the shop, can I have your wallet, bank account details, car, keys and anything you own? Only joking

Sorry, bad shop and friends selling you everything except the kitchen sink.

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You only need a water conditioner/ dechlorinator that breaks down chlorine and chloramine. This should be added to any new tap water before the water is added to an aquarium with fish or shrimp in.

Most of the other items you listed are dechlorinators and additives that help increase the mucous coating on fish. These are not needed unless you have water quality problems. And if you have water quality problems the best thing to do is a 75% water change and gravel clean, and make sure the filters are working properly.

If you are adding bacterial supplements to speed up filter development, you can stop because the purpose of cycling a tank with ammonia is to get the bacteria to grow in the filter. If you added bacterial supplements you probably could have introduced fish within a week of setting up the tank.

Once the filters have developed the different colonies of beneficial bacteria, they will always have those bacteria unless you kill them with medications (anti-biotics) or drying the filter materials out.

 

[Essjay]

One of the best dechlorinators is API Tap Water Conditioner. It removes chlorine, binds metals and nothing else. Nothing to 'stimulate the slime coat'. And it is very concentrated using just 1 drop per gallon of new water. The only downside is that few shops near me stock it so I have to buy it on line.


Can I ask how you cycled the tank? 4 weeks seems fast to me - when I cycled a tank a few years ago it took 7 weeks!

 

[Colin_T]

Can I ask how you cycled the tank? 4 weeks seems fast to me - when I cycled a tank a few years ago it took 7 weeks!

They used a bacterial supplement, "Aqua Care Bio-boost for beneficial bacteria".

and 4 weeks is average for most tropical tanks

 

[Essjay]

If OnePenny didn't also use ammonia as well there is no guarantee that the biological booster alone actually worked. So many of them do nothing. This is why I need to suggest that he/she monitors both ammonia and nitrite levels daily now there are fish in the tank to make sure.

It was noted on this forum a few years ago that for some reason, cycles in the UK seem to take longer than elsewhere. It was even suggested, tongue in cheek, that UK water companies are better at killing bacteria.

 

[Colin_T]

It was even suggested, tongue in cheek, that UK water companies are better at killing bacteria.

lol

I think Perth Western Australia does it better. Our water corp chlorinates the water at the dam, the desalination unit, the ground water supply, and then at every mixing station between those places. When I had the tap water tested for chlorine (by the water corp) it had 3.5 times as much chlorine as the safe recommended level. Safe level being 2 and ours was 7.5

Governments around the world unite, kill the water

 

[OnePenny]

Thanks for the advice, guys. I started the tank about a month ago.

The tank was fishless cycled for a week. The two platies were added in, and a 30% water changed and gravel cleaned a week after that.

Keep cycling for a couple of weeks, and another 30% water changed and gravel cleaned. The other 4 gouramis were added in two days ago.

Water quality: pH 7, ammonia 0, nitrite 0.25, nitrate 10.

My understanding is the tank is not fully clcyed but it's getting close to finish, and fish should be added in gradually. So I will keep it as it is for a couple of weeks and keep checking the water quality then thinking to add in a a pair of albino cories. Then etc......

Btw, Colin_T, the white platy is indeed a he if you remember I asked the question a few weeks ago. Many thanks.

essjay, OnePenny is a he as well. ,[emoji28]

A photo of my fishes, anyway.

Many thanks again.

 

[Essjay]

Nitrite above zero is not good; you need to get that reading down by water changes.

Are those plants live or incredibly realistic fake ones? Live plants will help with water conditions as they use ammonia as fertiliser and do not turn it into ammonia. The honey gouramis in particular will appreciate floating plants; water sprite can be used as a floating plants and is particularly good at taking up ammonia so there won't be much left to be turned into nitrite.

 

[Colin_T]

the 2 big clumps of plants on the left are real, far left looks like Hygrophilla polysperma, bigger clump of plants closer to mid are Hygrophilla ruba

0.25 nitrite is negligible and can be less than that depending on test kit and lighting and who viewed the results.

 

[seangee]

I'll mention this just in case...

If the shop says you should change your filter sponges periodically don't do it. It will cause you to lose all the beneficial bacteria you are building up in the cycle. Just rinse them in tank water after a water change, they should be good fo many years.

 

[Essjay]

Just rinse them in tank water after a water change, they should be good fo many years.

He means the water you take during a water change. I have heard of people who thought you had to clean the media in the tank itself

 

[OnePenny]

Thanks, guys. Very good advices. [emoji3]

 

[mikey11]

If the shop says you should change your filter sponges periodically don't do it. It will cause you to lose all the beneficial bacteria you are building up in the cycle. Just rinse them in tank water after a water change, they should be good fo many years.

agreed.....i have had some of my filter sponges for over 5 years

this might sound ironic......

but in all my years of fish keeping, i have found the WORST place to get advice is at a fish store

 

[Gruntle]

I'll mention this just in case...

If the shop says you should change your filter sponges periodically don't do it. It will cause you to lose all the beneficial bacteria you are building up in the cycle. Just rinse them in tank water after a water change, they should be good fo many years.

THIS!

I had all sorts of problems for my first year as a tank owner because I was diligently buying new filter pads every month as advised by the pet shop boy (who had won many awards for his prize fish in the store). I was always getting ammonia spikes and dead fish until I found this site. I guess the pet shop boy was very happy with his $40 a month income from me...