Yes, I'm new and can not disappoint grandson

[Mary Billo]

Hello everyone........ I am kind of new to the fish world, My 4yr old grandson "Edward" LOVES to watch fish and 5 years ago one of his grandpas passed. Our son has given me his fathers old 20 gal fish tank so Edward and I can raise fish together. Last year Edward and I had a very small 2 gal tank and every fish I tried to put in it died.... Edward lets everyone know he had 3 fish and named them all "Gramms" after yours truly. The truth is there were 3 groups of 3 fish..... When my precious grandson realized the tank was empty again---- Edward turned to me and said "Gramms, don't worry they all went on vacation and as soon as they get done they will be home...." Sooooooo, I hope I'm a fast learner and ya all don't get tired of my ?'s

I have the gravel well rinsed and the tank filled, The pump and heater are working and I added the de-chlorinator tabs. The water is kind of cloudy, how long will it take to clear up and when should I add fish? and what are the best fish to start with? Thanks everyone

 

[DutchMuch]

ok so its a twenty gallon tank right?
What kind of gravel? preferably go with sand if you have time to switch.
Plants or no plants?
type of fish you want or like?
whats your water parameters?
Also welcome to the forum.
What kind of filtration?
No don't add fish until the tank is cycled, could take up to a month.

 

[Mary Billo]

Yes, 20 gal. I have gravel from pet store the bottom is covered with about 2". No plants as of yet. Wasn't going to get any until im better at this stuff. I have a TopFin 30 filtration pump, I want fish that are somewhat hardy at least to start with. I can't stand it if I kill them from making mistakes. Our water is city water and I do not have a softener. I apperaite any help you can offer

 

[snork6]

your tank needs to be cycled use this page to help get you started, this is necessary before adding fish or they will most likely die http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

as of fish recommendation, I love guppies and basically any livebearer, they can be hardy especially guppies if the fish is healthy

 

[Toney]

Howdy

 

[DutchMuch]

I have gravel from pet store

Yes but what kind?
examples: pea gravel, that colorful junk, sand, etc etc

fish that are somewhat hardy at least to start with

Guppies are the hardiest of fish.

. Our water is city water and I do not have a softener. I apperaite any help you can offer

do you have a test kit? if not buy the API master test kit then come back, tell us your specific water parameters.
Ammonia:
Nitrate:
Nitrite:
dGH:
dKH:

Also no problem I love to help

 

[Mary Billo]

I bought earth tone color rock from pet store alternating rinsing and soaking via bucked and stainer outside for 2 days.

I have Tetra 5 in 1 strips, results:
Nitrate- both pads are 0 "no fish"
Hardness- 150ppm
Alkaline- 180ppm
pH- 7.8

Is this good? I did add the chlorine removing tabs 4 days ago when I setup the tank

 

[Essjay]

The problem with the strips is that they don't test for ammonia, which you need to be able to test for. Liquid reagent kits (the kind with bottles and test tubes) are usually more accurate than strips.

When you say both nitrate pads are 0, do you mean that nitrite is 0 and nitrate is 0? These are two different chemicals and it is important to get them the right way round. Any level of nitrite above zero is bad for fish, but nitrate is OK up to 20 ppm.

If the GH of 150 ppm is accurate, that converts to 8.5 degrees. According to my water supplier, that is right on the boundary between slightly hard and moderately hard. A lot of fish will be happy in that hardness, but you have a few weeks of cycling yet before you can get fish, plenty time to sort out a wish list.


Have you read the link in snork6's post (post #4) yet? It is important to read it before getting fish.

 

[Mary Billo]

Thank you Essjay, Yes, I took another look at the strip bottle and read also over the info snork6 sent to me, in fact I printed it up for easy access. I will get a different testing kit, I am located in an extremely rural area so it will take a few days to get my hands on one. I am still somewhat confused on the addition of ammonia. Would it be safe to add 1-2 hardy fish to help build this base or would it be a failed end result? Thank you sooooooo much everyone.

 

[Essjay]

Cycling with fish is hard work and risks killing the fish. Even if it doesn't kill them outright, they will probably live shorter lives than they should.

There are two other threads on here that deal with fish-in cycling. It would be an idea to read them as well, then you can compare hem to the fishless cycling method.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i.433769/
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il.433778/

 

[Mary Billo]

Got them, thank you

 

[DutchMuch]

Would it be safe to add 1-2 hardy fish to help build this base or would it be a failed end result?

I do not recommend this, it is something many people practice but it is something I consider cruel to the fish. Its the equivalent of me throwing someone into a burning fire.

 

[Mary Billo]

Oh I see, Rest assured I will not be placing fish into the tank until its ready to do so

 

[snork6]

Oh I see, Rest assured I will not be placing fish into the tank until its ready to do so

You are a perfect example of the right why to start and learn about fish........ if only everyone could be like you before they start a tank

 

[Mary Billo]

Thank you snork6, My grandson is truly an emphatic child and I want to keep him that way. Best way to learn is by example.