When the sleeper wakes...

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I shudder to think. Do tell.

Check out post #105.

 

[FishHobby99]

Check out post #105.

Wilco!

 

[itiwhetu]

So I changed 16l of water and now, after 8 hours;

Ammonia at <0.25mg/l
GH 60mg/l
KH 40mg/l
pH 7.0
NO2 Nitrite <0.25mg/l
NO3 Nitrate 10.0mg/l
Temperature 26°C

The levels of ammonia and nitrite may be slowly falling, but they aren't zero yet.
Remember, I have moss balls and plants from my established tank, plus some media from my established filter and the water would still be uncomfortable, if not toxic, to any fish or shrimp added. I've also got a whole bunch of new plants, that are clearly photosynthesising, as seen by the bubbles of gas on their leaves.

And then there were those who were adamant that, with living plants, fish could be added almost immediately.
Yeah.
Right.

It is to do with the volume of plants in a tank. One or two plants will do very little. But plant the tank to 30-50% of its volume then it has a huge effect on the system.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

It is to do with the volume of plants in a tank. One or two plants will do very little. But plant the tank to 30-50% of its volume then it has a huge effect on the system.

I've easily got 50% plants present.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Never, EVER, let a friend tinker with your tank!

I very nearly lost a friend today...

Having made a long journey to see me in my new home and eager to see my new tanks, "Bill"* arrived and both 'ooooh-ed' and 'ahhhhh-ed' at my established tank and I went off to make brews, as you do.
On my return, he told me that he had 'sorted' my ammonia problem in my new tank and showed me his bottle of Love Fish Ammonia Remover, having dosed my tank!
You can go and get some fish now,' he said, with a big smile on his face.
Aargh!

Bill is a child of the 90s and has only ever known the gadget and chemical-rich environment of Pets at Home fishkeeping. Over the years, we've had many a discussion and I'd seriously thought I'd brought him round to a more natural approach, based upon my own experiences.
It appeared that he'd recently visited a Pets at Home and asked, theoretically, of course, what the Ammonia Remover did. All info then gleaned sold it as a wonder product, especially designed to remove ammonia and allow fish to be added to a tank...certainly one of the most enjoyable aspects of fishkeeping.

Over coffee, we discussed the Nitrogen Cycle, at some length...and the penny gradually dropped.
Fortunately, ammonia removers don't actually kill the beneficial bacteria, they just remove their food and effectively starve them.
Many water changes did then occur, practically removing 90% of the tanks water.
I took the opportunity to do some more planting and fresh, conditioned water was then added back into the tank.

At this point, Bill told me that he'd been led to believe that the bacteria lived in the water...so another myth, legend, half-truth was effectively dispelled.

So the water's back to where it was and, hopefully, there'll be enough organic matter decaying in the tank to replace the missing ammonia. I'll test later.

Bill does have his own well-established tanks, that we set up together many, many years ago and he'd simply forgotten the basics, just because he hadn't had to set up new tanks in quite a while. He's now been sent a bunch of potentially useful links and encouraged to use his laptop.
On learning the lessons, he's now been looking on-line for hair shirts. We're going out later, where I'll point him at furze bushes, for some well-deserved self-flagellation!

Next topic for discussion will be the ethics of messing with someone else's tank...

*Not his real name and he never does forums.

 

[Deleted member 149562]

Oh the perils of "good intentions".....

 

[JazzyV]

I don’t wanna talk about it lol what am I suppose to do ..take the tank with me to the grocery store

 

[JazzyV]

Ethics??? It’s just wrong wrong wrong …stand 10-15 feet back plz

 

[JazzyV]

Ikr ..put a rope around it like in museums lol

 

[thrujenseyes]

Never, EVER, let a friend tinker with your tank!

I very nearly lost a friend today...

Having made a long journey to see me in my new home and eager to see my new tanks, "Bill"* arrived and both 'ooooh-ed' and 'ahhhhh-ed' at my established tank and I went off to make brews, as you do.
On my return, he told me that he had 'sorted' my ammonia problem in my new tank and showed me his bottle of Love Fish Ammonia Remover, having dosed my tank!
You can go and get some fish now,' he said, with a big smile on his face.
Aargh!

Bill is a child of the 90s and has only ever known the gadget and chemical-rich environment of Pets at Home fishkeeping. Over the years, we've had many a discussion and I'd seriously thought I'd brought him round to a more natural approach, based upon my own experiences.
It appeared that he'd recently visited a Pets at Home and asked, theoretically, of course, what the Ammonia Remover did. All info then gleaned sold it as a wonder product, especially designed to remove ammonia and allow fish to be added to a tank...certainly one of the most enjoyable aspects of fishkeeping.

Over coffee, we discussed the Nitrogen Cycle, at some length...and the penny gradually dropped.
Fortunately, ammonia removers don't actually kill the beneficial bacteria, they just remove their food and effectively starve them.
Many water changes did then occur, practically removing 90% of the tanks water.
I took the opportunity to do some more planting and fresh, conditioned water was then added back into the tank.

At this point, Bill told me that he'd been led to believe that the bacteria lived in the water...so another myth, legend, half-truth was effectively dispelled.

So the water's back to where it was and, hopefully, there'll be enough organic matter decaying in the tank to replace the missing ammonia. I'll test later.

Bill does have his own well-established tanks, that we set up together many, many years ago and he'd simply forgotten the basics, just because he hadn't had to set up new tanks in quite a while. He's now been sent a bunch of potentially useful links and encouraged to use his laptop.
On learning the lessons, he's now been looking on-line for hair shirts. We're going out later, where I'll point him at furze bushes, for some well-deserved self-flagellation!

Next topic for discussion will be the ethics of messing with someone else's tank...

*Not his real name and he never does forums.

OMG that's pretty insane!
I'd never even think to FEED someone elses fish, let alone DOSE them!

 

[anewbie]

My 5 year old male swordtail has been through a lot. His very first task 5 years ago was to cycle my brand new tank..... that is one solution to the ammonia issue.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

My 5 year old male swordtail has been through a lot. His very first task 5 years ago was to cycle my brand new tank..... that is one solution to the ammonia issue.

You'll notice that I'm not overly keen on using fish as Test Subjects.

So out with the testing kits, to see what damage, if any, was done.
(To be honest, I'm not overly concerned, thanks to the large water change and the continued presence of pooping nerite snails.).

Ammonia at 0.25mg/l
GH 60mg/l
KH 40mg/l
pH 7.0
NO2 Nitrite <0.25mg/l
NO3 Nitrate 0mg/l
Temperature 26°C

NOTE that nitrates have fallen to zero!

 

[JazzyV]

so roughly 26 hours +/- …for 10ppm nitrate to digest..not shabby..are you satisfied with that? Lol

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

so roughly 26 hours +/- …for 10ppm nitrate to digest..not shabby..are you satisfied with that? Lol

Given the apparent pant growth showing, I'm not particularly surprised...and don't forget the water change.

 

[JazzyV]

…given to the amount of plants …now get outta my head please lol I better get outta your journal rofl
~12 hours per 5ppm