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Newbie

M

Mr. 718

CCA Members
Hello all,

I am new to the aquarium world. After 3 attempts, I have failed miserably getting a tank to prosper. I figured I could get some tips on how not to kill anymore fish, setting up a tank correctly and more importantly get some beautiful fish. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention....I don't want to kill anymore fish!!

I look forward to reading through the threads and getting some advice.

Best regards

Mr. 718
 
Becca

Becca

Members
Mr. 718 said:
Hello all,

I am new to the aquarium world. After 3 attempts, I have failed miserably getting a tank to prosper. I figured I could get some tips on how not to kill anymore fish, setting up a tank correctly and more importantly get some beautiful fish. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention....I don't want to kill anymore fish!!

I look forward to reading through the threads and getting some advice.

Best regards

Mr. 718
Click to expand...

Welcome to the hobby. You will kill many more fish in increasingly stupid ways, but hopefully not at such a fast pace. You'll need to tell us all a bit about your tank, equipment, and what you've been trying to keep.
 
M

Mr. 718

CCA Members
Well.....here it goes. I will try not be be long winded.

I actually had 4 attempts but that is another story.

So I started off with a 29 Gallon tank. I used a filter for a 40 gallon tank. Pre-set up for 2 weeks, got my water checked for cichlids and everything looked good. I decorated with basic decorations for hiding, then bought some cichlids. The next door neighbor gave me a decorative cave and even though I cleaned it, something was on it bc the next day all the fish were dead.

So I started again 2 weeks later and everything looked good for 2 weeks except the water was very cloudy. I figured I was over feeding so I changed the water (20%) treated the water with some PH, Ammonia decrease solution, and things looked better. After 2 days they all dropped like flies.

3rd attempt yielded the same results after two weeks.

I stopped for a month and a friend gave me his 40 gallon tank. I used a filter for a 75 gal tank, I set that one up and both tanks looked good, water tested fine. Everything looked great except the cloudiness of the water and the smell was really bad. So I tried diamond blend zeolite. I added this to my filter. This started working and the fish were fine but the cloudiness continued after the first water change. I then bough a UV sterilizer (9V for the 40g tank and 3V for the 29 gallon tank), and a circulation pump. a week later they started dropping like flies. Now only one brave soldier remains and 2 plecos.

I look forward to everyones feedback

Best regards

Mr. 718
 
Becca

Becca

Members
How many fish are you putting in the tank at once?

I think you're overdoing it. You can start a tank within 24 hours (not advisable - but seriously, I've come home with a couple fish and a tank and set it up in a day) if you don't overload it. Over-filtering doesn't matter if you fully stock or over-stock a tank all at once. I doubt there was anything on what you got from your neighbor, it was probably an ammonia issue. I think it was an ammonia issue each time. Ammonia removers are a bandaid and, basically, snake oil. Nothing works as well as stocking slowly and waiting to add new fish, along with frequent water changes. Filters don't really start working until they've built up a beneficial bacteria load. There are some products you can get to help with this, but most are, like the ammonia remover, snake oil.

Keep the smaller tank as a quarantine - you'll want it so that you can quarantine new fish as you bring them in.

What type of fish were you trying to keep, how many were you adding at a time, and where were you getting them?
 
jonclark96

jonclark96

Past CCA President
I agree with Becca. Your tank is building it's beneficial bacteria up to treat the ammonia cycle produced by fish and their waste. Regardless of the filter size, it isn't doing much of anything until the bacteria builds up to convert the ammonia into nitirite, then the nitrite into nitrate. Cloudiness of water is an indicator of a bacteria bloom. The absolute best way to get a tank up and running, in my opinion, is to get filter media from an established tank. I've set up tanks and put fish in them the same day by just swapping a filter from an old tank to the new one. You can go through a fishless cycle (Google it), but it literally takes months to do it and involves dosing the tank with ammonia to get the bacteria started.
 
FishEggs

FishEggs

Well-Known Member
Also, are you on city or well water and if on city are you using a declorinator or conditioner to make the water safe to use?
 
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