help me please

I

inlovewithwater

New Fish
#1
Feb 6, 2007
7
0
0
#1
I inherited a tank from my son with 1 live fish. So I thought I would get into this. I set up the 10 gallon fresh water tank to be stable added all of the chemicals PetSmart advised me. After the time frame of stability bought 6 fish. All died but 1 neon tetra and the white catfish. Then cleaned and stabilized the tank again with Nitrate remover and bought 6 tetra and 2 frogs. All died but 2. Not a great time. I was sick of taking water samples into Petsmart so I bought the strps myself. Showing ph of 8.4+, Alk of 300+, hardness of 425+, nitrate of 40 I have added nitrate remover, salt, and cleaned, added stabilizer.
I am at a loss, what should I do? I really want a nice successful tank so I can continue with bigger tanks. There has got to be a trick....

1 algie eater catfish
3 various neon tetras
 

homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#4
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#4
Your fish died of ammonia poisoning. Don't listen to the fish store people, they just want to sell you stuff. Quit putting chemicals in your tank. Don't worry, there is a trick to this and it's easier than you think!

Go read the stickies at the top of the freshwater beginner forum... the ones that say "Read Me First." I would go into greater detail, but it is after one in the morning here and I am wiped out. The stickies will explain to you the nitrogen cycle and what has to happen for your tank to become stable. Chemicals will not stabilize it no matter what the ignorant salespeople told you.

You'll need to get tests for ammonia and nitrite, and you already have one for nitrate. These are the big three. We recommend the test kits with the drops instead of the strips.

Quit cleaning the tank. You didn't use any kind of soap or cleaner, did you? Vinegar or bleach will do just fine when you scrub out a tank and start over. Now, just do a big water change, maybe half or nearly half, being sure to match the temperature and to use dechlorinator. Then don't add anything else to the water. And don't get any more fish until you have determined with our help that your tank is cycled (or 'stabilized'). Get the ammonia test tomorrow if possible, because you'll need it to determine when the ammonia is getting too high for the fish.

Everybody here is ready to help, and there's tons of useful info here. Welcome to the tank. :)
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#5
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#5
homebunnyj said:
Everybody here is ready to help, and there's tons of useful info here. Welcome to the tank. :)
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly...welcome. :)
Read those stickies on getting started, and you'll have it figured out in no time.

Most of the 'tricky' part simply involves a basic understanding of some of the natural processes that happen:
-fish poop and make waste, which is toxic (ammonia)
-bacteria colonize the waste and make the ammonia less toxic (nitrite)
-different bacteria colonize and break things down even further into a much less toxic form (nitrate)

All you really need to know is that this process takes time and that, during this time, your fish are vulnerable to the toxicity in your tank. We'll help you figure out what to do during this delicate time for your fish. ;)

Like homebunnyj said, everything is really a lot easier to manage once you take all of those chemicals out of the equation (you don't need the vast majority of them anyway).

BV
 

MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#6
Aug 10, 2006
2,237
5
0
Michigan
#6
I second not listening to PetSmart employees. Most of them have no idea what they're talking about and will sell you anything, usually stuff you don't need. If the beginner stickies don't make any sense, I created my own beginner help site with good starter information. The link is in my signature. And please come back here to ask any questions you may have, lots of good advice around here! :)
 

F

Fishywishy

Large Fish
#7
Sep 19, 2006
184
2
0
#7
I did the partial water clean. It has a ph of at least 8.4 as my stips don't go higher. What can I do to lower all of the chemicals?
Click to expand...
you need to take at least 10% out once a week, even after your tank is up and running. this is how you "lower all the chemicals"

strips unfortunatly are not accurate, if I use strips it shows my ph as really high. However, your ph is the least of your concern as long as it isn't swinging back and forth. Your ph is probably very close to what your local store is unless you possibly have put something in the tank (certain type of decorations) that is causing it to rise and fall.

There are 3 test kits you need to buy starting off. Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Don't use the strip, use the ones where you fill a little test tube. This seems like a lot of work at first, but really after doing a few tests it's simple.

As everyone suggested, read all the stickies. Your cycle probably won't take long (depending on how throughly you cleaned the tank). Then only add a few fish at a time. 6 neon tetras at once in a 10gal, is a lot of fish at once. Even though they are a "schooling" fish, just do 2 at a time. Remember, just because your fish store shoves 100 neon tetras in a little tank, you won't want to do this at home........it will make for a lot of work and probably a lot of deaths.

Most importantly, welcome aboard. Smile and nod at the petsmart helpers and ask your questions here :)
 

S

Strider

Small Fish
#9
May 27, 2005
32
0
0
#9
That was my biggest problem too when I started.

I wanted instant results and did not let the natural cycle take place. I wanted chemicals to "fix" things and quick. It does not work that way. It is getting that grime/muck and bacteria that is the key to a healthy tank.

I just purchased a new filter last week and swapped my others on down to my other tanks and saving the bacteria in the filters and the organisms that lived there was the key. I watched for an ammonia spike, but all my tanks stayed fine as I was careful about keeping what I needed.

For a new setup I have had good luck with fishless cycling, but my success is in having useful bacteria from my first tank that I used to seed the others on startup. If you have another local pet store they may be inclined to give you a small cup of their gravel if you ask, or if you have a friend who has a tank, ask them. That seed from a established tank will help get you going quicker.

Yes, welcome to the tank and a great hobby of aquatic life. This is an excellent place with great knowledge.
 

I

inlovewithwater

New Fish
#10
Feb 6, 2007
7
0
0
#10
okay my friends, here are the results from my test tubes. The good news is my Ammonia is = 0, Nitrates = 10, Nitrite = 0, but my PH is a high at 8.4. Now any ideas? Other than that do I finally have a healthy tank?
 

S-kate

S-kate

Large Fish
#11
Oct 21, 2005
227
0
0
Ithaca, NY
#11
The only thing left is to figure out why your water is so basic. Have you tested the tap water? The water where I live has about a pH of 8 and I have driftwood and CO2 which brings it down to about neutral. If your tap water is closer to 7 and your tank water is an 8.4 something in the tank is causing the increase. Certain types of rocks and gravel can raise it. Your fish might not mind the alkalinity if their aclamated slowly and it stays constant.
 

homebunnyj

homebunnyj

Superstar Fish
#15
Jul 13, 2005
1,299
4
0
Western NC
#15
The heat is not the problem.

Set out a cup of your tap water overnight, then test its ph and post up the results. We'll help you from that point.

You should still test your water once a week or thereabouts for a while at least, since your tank is fairly new. Your weekly water change should be enough volume-wise to keep the nitrates below twenty. In other words, if nitrates are at forty you'll need to change out half the water. If they're at thirty, you'll need to change maybe a third of the water. If they're at twenty, you can still do the fish a favor by reducing them to ten or fifteen. And, nitrates is not the only reason to do a water change but really just a good indicator, so even in they're in a good range your fish can still benefit from a weekly partial wc.
 

seastaar88

seastaar88

Superstar Fish
#16
Feb 1, 2004
1,705
1
0
42
middletown, CT
#16
and just as a side note -- it's better to keep a stable pH even if it's a little high than to rely on chemicals (like pH down.) anytime you start messing with parameters with chemicals, you're just asking for trouble...! ;) ;) ;)
 

MissFishy

MissFishy

Superstar Fish
#17
Aug 10, 2006
2,237
5
0
Michigan
#17
Make sure to test your tap water just out of the tap, and after letting a cup of it sit out overnight. Some tap water PH is just high. If that is the case, I wouldn't worry about it and just make sure it remains stable. If your PH swings around a lot, that can cause fish deaths. Another thing that could make it so high is if you have shells or certain types of rocks in your tank. But do the tap water test first, post those results, and we'll go from there. Good work so far!
 

C

christinap

Large Fish
#18
Jan 9, 2007
221
1
0
#18
First off...welcome

Second I don't use any chemicals in my tank, other than water conditioner that I ONLY use when I add new fish. I agree with checking your tap water pH, mine here is around 7 so my fish tank stays stable around 7.

As far as pet stores, I think they've all said it, don't rely on them. One day they're in fish,the next in birds, then to cashier, they work in different departments. Any time they tell me something that sounds fishy, I come here or google......lol
 

I

inlovewithwater

New Fish
#20
Feb 6, 2007
7
0
0
#20
The test on the tap water showed a normal PH of around 7.4. That was right out of the faucet. I will keep a glass of tap water overnight and test tomorrow morning. I removed the rock shapes last night that were in there just in case that was it. But the PH was the same tonight. so I will post the PH after a 24 hour sit.
Good news is my hardy fish are still alive, but they would like a few friends. I told them to be patient.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.