Note: Unfortunately, the 4-5 paragraph summary of my brief history with fish got deleted somehow, and so I will just stick to the facts this time around.
First, let me say Hi! I'm new to this forum, and to fish ownership in general. I started out like many, with not-so-great advice from Petco and a tank that was much too small for my two goldfish (a Black Moor and a Shubunkin), and ended up losing the Shubunkin. After much research and deliberation, I ended up getting the following today:
15 Gallon glass aquarium
Marineland Emperor 280 Bio-Wheel (rated at 50 gallons)
The original filter/pump from the 2.5 gallon "starter kit" from Petco
30 lbs of natural rock
A bottle of starter bacteria, and some sort of anti-ammonia/chlorine/nitrate/nitrite stuff
This along with the Black Moor and a new, larger Shubunkin, completes my current setup. The 2.5 gallon tank they were in was killing them with ammonia that I couldn't get rid of, and so I felt that it would likely be better for the fish to just get into the new aquarium as fast as I could, keeping in mind temperature differences and such.
So far, they seem to be happier, although the Black Moor is swimming quite quickly up the side of the aquarium on occasion. It seems to be happy, but I worry because that's what I do. The Shubunkin, who seemed to be doing poorly in the 2.5 gallon tank, swimming vertically in a corner as though trying to get to the top for air or something, is currently happily hiding behind a plant, with the occasional short outing due to prodding from the Black Moor.
All in all, does it sound like this setup could work? Assuming I get regular water testings at the great local fish store about 10 minutes from my house, "A World of Fish" in Minneapolis.
I agreee with Pasfur. Some folks in similar situations have used new rubbermaid tubs and mixed their change water in this tub with heat and aeration, and the addition of sodium bicarbonate(baking soda) At a rate of one teaspoon per five gal of water. Some also employ the use of calcerous rock /decorations to help boost the alkalinity. With mixing it in a bucket ,it might be easier to expieriment with and baking soda might be cheaper in the long run. IMHO
Get used to conflicting information in this hobby...I even have a tropical fish book that talks about the "1 inch of fish per gallon" rule on one page, then gives a sample 10 gallon tank population that totals around 25" on the very next page, including one fish it says shouldn't be in any less than a 30 gallon tank on another page :/
I think the best thing to do in this situation is just to take a deep breath and simplify. Do a 20%-30% water change each day (like you are already doing), with tap water treated with your dechlor product, and keep testing. And that's it. An uncycled tank will have the initial ammonia then nitrite spike while the biological filter is growing. The fish may live through it and they may not, but your daily water changes give them the best chance. As you said, criticism about how you started is pretty unhelpful to someone who knows they screwed up and is requesting help.
You said you're feeding five days a week. Make sure on those days it's only once a day. I highly recommend not using filtered water from the store because it lacks minerals your fish need, and it's too expensive in the long-run anyway. pH buffers cause more problems than they solve in the long run. They'll keep the water fine for awhile and then crash for no apparent reason. Stable pH is way more important than a certain value.
By the way, I may have missed it, but what is your substrate? Things like crushed coral can change pH. So can natural rocks, driftwood, etc.
I think the best thing to do in this situation is just to take a deep breath and simplify. Do a 20%-30% water change each day (like you are already doing), with tap water treated with your dechlor product, and keep testing. And that's it.
pH buffers cause more problems than they solve in the long run. They'll keep the water fine for awhile and then crash for no apparent reason. Stable pH is way more important than a certain value.
I appreciate the simplicity of this suggestion and I understand that many people get in trouble adjusting pH, but I disagree with the advice given here. Let me explain why.
First, it is not pH buffers that cause problems. It is the improper use of the buffer. If the goal were to lower pH, I would agree that adding buffers to lower pH causes long term problems. However, that is not what we are doing in this thread. In this case, I recommended adding buffers that allow the pH to remain stable. There is no risk in adding carbonates back to the buffer system, provided you are testing for hardness and adding buffers for a reason.
Also, doing water changes may or may not be the answer to the hardness issue, depending on the hardness of the tap water.
I think it'd be a good idea to get everything laid out as it is, in order to see where I should go from here:
Tank: 15 gallon, glass
Type: freshwater
Light: 1 x 15watt (was on 12+ hours/day until this weekend, now down to 8-10 max)
Substrate: 30lbs of "medium"-sized natural rock (from fish store)
Pumps: Marineland Emperor 280 & Hagen Elite Mini Underwater Filter (for aeration)
Date started: 4/4/09 (~5 weeks)
Fish: 1 x Black Moor Goldfish (approx 1.5-2")
Plants: Hygrophila difformis
Current tank pH: 6.4
Current tank Ammonia: ~.5ppm or less
Current tank Nitrite: 3-5ppm or more
Current tank Nitrate: not tested
Tap water pH: 7.2
Current feeding cycle: 5 days a week, once a day (fish pellets, fish flakes, and peas rotated)
Current chemical treatment:
- 1 x double dose of Amquel+ per day to try to keep the nitrite down
- 1 treatment of "pH stable" about 4-5 days ago
- 1 x dosage of "pH UP" to try to up the pH a bit
- about 1 x tablespoon of aquarium salt (to try to help with the Nitrite levels)
Other information:
Up until this week, I was changing 30% of the water daily in order to combat the Ammonia and then Nitrite in the system. I was told by two people at the local fish store (not Petco) that I was likely stalling the cycle by doing so many changes, and thus I've ceased changing the water, with the exception of 2 10% changes in the last 3 days in order to get rid of the brown algae and small white worms that had developed, and to clean out poop/obvious debris.
That said, how should I proceed hence-forth? I'm starting to get the sense that I should likely just let things work themselves out and stop trying to adjust things with chemicals. I will say that I have yet to change either of the filters: should I replace them or clean them out? Or should I wait until the tank is stable to do so?
Thanks everyone for your advice thus-far! Whether or not things are proceeding as we all would have liked them to, I have learned a lot about taking care of fish, and currently have what seems like a relatively happy Black Moor that swims around happily, eats whatever I give her, and plays around in her tank whenever we come into the room!
In keeping with the advice from 1077 and Pasfur and codlong, don't add any chemicals to the tank; adjust/condition the water before it goes in at the partial water changes, but not in the tank with the fish.
Re the water changes, I myself do not think a partial water change will affect the cycling as the store may be suggesting, as long as it is just a water change. Do not vacuum the substrate (OK to go over it to pick up excess mulm if you think it is excessive but not into the gravel to agitate it). Do not touch the filter until the tank is cycled (consistent daily ammonia and nitrite readings of "0" for several consecutive days will indicate when the tank is cycled), and then only rinse the media in tank water or declorinated tap water.
I would let the pH go where it may until the cycling is complete, then look for the cause (if the ph is still dropping significantly).
Since nitrites are present, you're in the second phase of the cycle so that's good. The ammonia levels should go to zero quickly. The nitrite phase takes a lot longer, as the bacteria that process nitrites reproduce slower than the ammonia ones. When you start seeing nitrates showing up, you know the second population is growing.
I would stick with your partial water changes, 25% every day or so. Actually even gravel vaccuuming won't hurt. The bacteria you are growing secrete a "sticky glue" and really anchor themselves to whatever they are growing on -- the substrate, filter, driftwood etc. They will stay in the gravel and the detris will come out. As for stalling the cycle, it won't. It will slow it down just because you'll be removing nitrites which are a source of food for them, but you're trying to keep your fish alive too.
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