Water changes would be the most important then right now? I have the test strips and an Ammonia test kit. Testing now...(I have been changing water daily at about 15%) gh 180, kh 240, ph 7.2, nitrite 0.2, nitrate 10, ammonia .5

Am going to change 20% water now, and check again in 1/2 hr.

Hiya Jeff, welcome to the best ever bn forums!!

First off congrats on getting your new companions, great little fishies aren't they?

Would like to add a little bit of advice. If you've got some of the liquid biological booster stuff, (good bacteria in a bottle), perhaps add some of that stuff in every 3 days after a water change. It'll help keep the biological filter growing with the good stuff, and help speed up the cycle a bit.

Your idea of caves out of lids is awesome, and if your bns like it, then you know you made it well!

Enjoy yourself on the forums, and do not hesitate to ask for help. ^_^


~Tegan

Hi again Jon,I agree that most tanks have different needs but in the instance of a tank that has not been cycled very frequent water changes are necessary and also in my opinion even a well cycled and stable tank will benefit from regular water changes as long as what I said above is adhered to.In the wild the water is constantly changing (as in a river environment) or is extremely diluted ( in the case of large lakes etc).There are things in water that we cannot see and do not test for (or cannot test for).If we kept our fish in constant fresh water (as in 100% daily changes),we wouldnt even need filters but as this would be too large a task and too time consuming and maybe too difficult (in certain circumstances) and not practical either,then we need to use filters.I am definately no expert and I fully respect your knowledge and experience,i am just stating my own opinion and thoughts on the subject.Everyone like you say has their own ideas and experiences and i respect those

Wow, ty very much for the info! My problem is that I did not cycle the tank properly. Next tank I set up I will def cycle it for at least 3 weeks. I did not know about the bacteria in the filters... heck, i didn't know anything except these fish have amazing personalities and are really good looking :P.

I ended up spending all day slowly changing water with a beer pitcher (heh), with each jug I used cold tapwater, warmed it up in a sink of hot water, de-chlorinated it and used a drop or 2 of Seachem Prime. Poured it in the tank, waited a few minutes, pulled another jug out and repeated the process. Testing regularily. I will look into the biological accelerators because my new filter obviously will still take some time to activate still. In the meantime, i will continue with the beer jug brigade

My tank is right beside my bed at eye level, and with the room lights dim and tank lights off I can just barely see inside... but it is enough. They are so playful when they think I cant see them it unbelieveable.... I cant sleep now, might have to move the tank

I felt horrible when I realized the mistakes I had made, I just wanted to enjoy these guys, but my enthusiasm coupled with the lack of knowledge got the better of me. We will recover I'm sure, none of my babies seem the worse for wear, but I will def keep on top of this hard until my cycle is started proper.

Thanks again for your input, I really appreciate it! My Bns ty too!

Might sneak out and get a 55 to start cycling for 3-4 weeks till I begin mebbe looking for some more friends. So, to start the cycle, I'm thinking of moderately planting, getting my wood and caves in, and setting up a mirror to shine sunlight on it to get some algae growing as well. Any thoughts on getting some algae growth to start? or is that a bad idea?

Gonna try and post pics of my setup in the next couple days, just waiting for a friend w/camera to drop by hehe

Much thanx, Jeff

Hi Jeff,your enthusiasm is commendable If I was you i would not bother with the beer jug as it is a bit like defeating the object as you need to get out the bad stuff and add good stuff,so you need to take out what you are taking out in one go.Then add new water to replace it.Doing it the way you are doing it you could be taking out good water that you have added already.That's the easiest way to explain it and I hope you understand what I mean.It is the amount of water you change and how often that we were debating

You need to get some household ammonia if you are going to cycle a tank with no fish in.If you need help on the subject just ask and good luck

You are doing a good job mate, hehehe, but I think to save you some time get an old icecream container and use that to scoop out one or two container-loads of water. Nice and quick, and 1-2 scoops usually does the desired amount. That's how I used to water change my little tank which would be about the same size as yours. Take out one or two scoops, then fill the container, put the rough amount of conditioner in and pop back into the tank, and with that add a cap-full of beneficial bacteria to the water around every third water change. Try to get the temperature as close as possible to the tanks water or your little pals might go into shock.

What you have in mind for your new tank sounds like a great idea, but still ideally needs a couple fish to kick start the cycle. Your filter needs the fish waste to drive the bacteria into growing and converting. Get your gravel, wood and caves set up first, condition the water, add a dose of the beneficial stuff, pop a couple of little fishies in, then leave it for about 3-4 days. After that then add some plants in, do you little water changes, and you're good to go. Give it at least 3 weeks then go visit the lfs

Looking forward to seeing the new setup once you've got it ready

~Tegan