I'm noticing that in my fish tank that the water level is decreasing more and more. I am currently getting a reading of ammonia and have just started getting a reading of nitrite. To replace the water should I just add more, dechlorinated water or do a water change. I don't want to mess up the cycling so how should I go about this?
How long have you had it filled? and how much have you lost? more than likely, you are losing some to evaporation...just top it off..
I've had it filled for a week. I've lost about 1/4 an inch. The water is also sort of cloudy, is this normal?
that is a normal amount of water lost to evaporation. and your water will go thru several stages of clearness/cloudiness in the coming weeks..dont worry about it... the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are your indicator of how the water is doing.
So the water does not need to be replaced? How about when it is finally time to add fish, should I add or do any water changes then? What if the water is cloudy when the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are all just right to add fish, should I still add fish to cloudy water?
of course you can top it off...I use filtered water from my special tap that I installed justfor this purpose...but you can use tapwater..or filtered water...whatever..at this point it doesnt matter.. If you use tapwater...the chlorine will just add to the bacteria food.. once you go thru the cycle...you can add the fish.. or buy some hardy ones as already discussed.. since you have decided to go fishless, dont worry about the clarity right now. if it wasnt cleared up by the time you want to add fish...we will figure out if there is a problem at that time.
Ack, no! The chlorine will kill the bacteria... that's the whole reason chlorine is in the tap water. Don't do any water changes for now Pun. I may have missed it, but do you have a lid on the thing? If not, just keep topping it off with dechlorinated water. When it's time to add the fish, you take a reading of the water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. Your ammonia and nitrites should be 0 ideally, but your nitrates should be high. You do a small water change at that point. Then you can put the fish in. By the way, in an ideal situation the cloudiness in your tank is a bacterial bloom... which is a good thing. In a non-ideal situation, you completely screwed up and you've got gunk floating in it.
Out of curiosity, are you running your filter while you do all this? And what kind of filter? Name it if you know it.
Hey Doc, I do have a lid on but of course there are hole for the filter and heater. I hope the cloudiness is from a bacterial bloom it may be from the BioZyme that I must add daily but that is supposed to be bacteria. I'm supposed to stop using the BioZyme after Sunday. I only add 1/16 of a teaspoon daily along with ammonia but maybe it finally added up. I am currently getting a slight reading of nitrites which may be good and my ammonia is reading between 2-5 ppm daily so maybe it will start getting taken care of. I have been getting a slight reading of nitrates since I filled my tank, right now it's 10-20 ppm which I believe is OK.
Yes I'm running my filter. It's a Whisper 10-30. I thought I was supposed to run the filter to get a bacteria colony started on it as well as in the water and gravel. Is it not supposed to be running?
By the way what test kits do you all prefer? I like my ammonia test kit but I hate my nitratem and nitrite test kits. For the ammonia test kit I have two dropper bottle and a tube you fill with tank water and test but for nitrite and nitrate I have dip strips. What do you all prefer?
see, this is why I dont use tapwater...filter baby filter.. seriously, I assumed the small amount he would be adding as a topoff would have negligable effect on the bacterial bed. We arent talking about a full water change afterall...just a topoff of less than a quarter inch in a 10 gallon...which aint much. Pun... I prefer the kits where you use vials of water and add regent to it to get a reading. the test strips are not as accurat imo...but you will get differing opinions depending on who you talk to. keep the filter running...
20 ppm nitrates is ok... when it starts getting above 40-80, you need to watch out for it. There are folks that let it get over that and still don't have much in the way of problems with their fish, but I wouldn't risk it. As for your filter, yes run it.
OK, it's been two weeks and I still have not seen even a slight change in my ammonia, nitrites or nitrates levels. A friend of mine has agreed to give me about a pound of gravel from his tropical tank that's been up and running for 2.5 years (he had a professional set it up). I'm 110% sure that it is disease free and I've been told by several source that gravel from an established tank is the best way to get the ammonia/nitrite bacteria established in a new tank. How do I need to transport the gravel from his place to mine to keep the bacteria alive? How long will the bacteria in the gravel live? Would I simply dump the gravel in my tank or do something different? My ammonia level is about 2 ppm, is that enough to feed these bacteria so they can get eastablished?
put it a clean bucket(one that has never been used would be ideal) and make sure the gravel is covered by water from the aquarium it came from. be patient....it sometimes takes more than a couple of weeks to get thru the cycle....especially considering you are doing it without fish.
I'm not worried about it getting through the cycle I'm just upset that I have not seen any changes in ANY of the levels during the two weeks, is that even normal?
Some fishtank memories from my youth: How many times as a kid did you scoop up the suicide attempts and throw them back into the tank for life support. That's quite the adrenaline rush I must say. How many times did you accidentally throw the nerf basketball into the tank. Ah. Good times. Delay of game. How many people named their fish Olajuwon #1 thru 13. Very creative. How much gravel did you leave in the kitchen sink, the bathroom tub, and the front lawn. Those little colored rocks got everywhere. How many times did you reach in for a pinch of flake food but instead grabbed a whole wad so the fish would be happy. Then you watched as it fell aimlessly to the bottom of the tank. How many times did you buy the gold fish flakes instead of the tropical flakes because they look exactly the same. Damn it! How many times did you decide to just cut the fish loose instead of letting them bob around for a few hours in the plastic bag. Ah. Temptation. How many times did you buy a cool fish only to have another boring fish go psycho on it, chase it all over the tank, and kill it. How many times did you buy something with holes in it, but no fish swam thru the damn hole. How many times did you buy that damn bubble pad only to see two bubbles come out, eventually, and after a long lunch break. How many times did you try to bury those bubble pads in the perfect height of gravel so that you could see the bubbles, only to realize the burying of one side now revealed the other. And how many times did you try to work that air tube perfectly along the corner on the croner of the tank, only to have it battle you for hours. How many times did you try to get the slime out of the curved tube, but it was freaking impossible. What books did you use to cover the temporary fish bowls while you cleaned your tank. Damn Suicide attempts. How many times did you try to chase down the fastest fish in your tank and then the fish goes into the safety zone where no net can reach him. The dreaded corner. How many times did you just plunge your hand into the tank to move things around. You dirty little humans.
Yes, it's normal. I know people that took 2 months to establish it. I told ya... patience. If your friend's gravel is relatively disease free, you can get some of his and put it in there to help kick start it. Try to keep the water moving in the bucket though - like if you can put an air pump in it. I believe most of the bacteria will die in about 30 minutes in oxygen-depleted waters... but then I'm talking from memory and I could be wrong.
WOO HOO!!! I took readings tonight and everything is perfect! I'm getting a reading of zero ammonia and nitrite, and a reading of about 20 ppm of nitrate....so I'm ready to add fish! I'm only going to add three at the beginning and probably only a total of 5-6 since it is only a 10 gallon tank. Hope this goes well! Thanks to all you guys who helped me.
