HELP:Setup new tank (pH, Hardness, Ammonia etc.)

D

Duellsy

Medium Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2002
56
0
0
www.geocities.com
#1
I recieved a 10 gallon fish tank for christmas with all accessories to get a tropical tank started, so of course i set up the tank that day, let the filter run for 34 hours, then bought my fish... overnight, 4 were dead. :'(
The pH(7.2) and temperature(25C) was fine, so i went to the LFS and asked what might be up, they said it was probably the hardness of the water, and sold me a kit that they were sure would fix the problem, overnight, the rest of the fish died, except for a goldfish i have owned for 18 months.
What on earth is wrong, sure i expected some fish not to make it, but all of them duing just blew me away, what will i do now to fix my water problem? ??? I have removed the goldfish to a new tank, abuot 5Gallons(cold water). o my tank is empty, with the pump and heater still running.
 

J

JWright

Superstar Fish
#2
Oct 22, 2002
2,192
7
0
40
Snowy Upstate New York
www.cnytheater.com
#2
Re: HELP:Setup new tank (pH, Hardness, Ammonia etc

Hardness didn't kill your fish. Hardness, pH, and all those things are just "buzz words" that LFS's use to scare you and get you to buy things.

What did kill your fish is ammonia posioning. I don't know how many fish you had in the tank, but it was at least 6 by my count, and that's _way_ too many for a 10g.

Fish produce ammonia, that's toxic. That ammonia is then converted to nitrite by various bacteria. It takes time for that bacteria to build up in your tank (a few weeks), so if you add a whole ton of fish, they produce a whole ton of ammonia and the bacteria can't keep up, so your fish die. The process pretty much repeats itself as nitrite is turned into nitrate.

That's the _very_ abridged version of the nitrogen cycle.

The way we can avoid this problem in the future is a process called "fishless cycling." You can check out more on this process in the articles section of this site.

Now, onto your goldfish... :) Is this just a common goldfish? If so, you do realize that they live 20-40 years, and grow to well over a foot, right? :) Planning on a bigger tank?

HTH,
Josh

P.S. Talk to us before you stock your tank again, you need a lot fewer fish.
 

Matt Nace

Matt Nace

Superstar Fish
#3
Oct 22, 2002
1,470
1
38
Pennsylvania
#3
Re: HELP:Setup new tank (pH, Hardness, Ammonia etc

Agreed.

Hardness isn't really a role in my opinion . Ph and temperature can have a shocking effect (why we acclimate new fish slowly to our conditions), but that goldfish alone can stink up the tank with waste that causes ammonia, plus feeding the fish contributes as well.

We have all cycled a tank with fish before and relize it is a headache and a big waste of money and time cause you need to constantly do water changes and monitor the conditions. Even then it can be small amounts of ammonia and even smaller amounts of nitrItes that can cause deaths..then more money on new fish. New fish can bring more stress and cause more headaches than it is worth.

So try doing a fishless cycle. Sure you don't have the fish in the tank for a while, but you have the piece of mind knowing they will almost always survive in the end having cycled the tank already.

As I found out a common comet goldfish is a real pain. They get big fast cause a lot of problems and are really only good for ponds.
 

D

dattack

Large Fish
#4
Oct 22, 2002
982
0
0
#4
Re: HELP:Setup new tank (pH, Hardness, Ammonia etc

I am glad that you posted in this forum because your local fish store is giving you very bad advice.  >:(
I agreed with everybody and it appears that you didn't cycle your tank before you put in the fish.
If I were you, I would find a better fish store who are more knowledgeable.  Looks like they are trying to make money out of you.
 

D

Duellsy

Medium Fish
#5
Oct 22, 2002
56
0
0
www.geocities.com
#5
Re: HELP:Setup new tank (pH, Hardness, Ammonia etc

Thanks people.
I have decided I will run a fishless cycle now to save the fish from going through the agony etc.
I have read a few articles to get as much info as I can on the topic, and it seems I need somem instoment that will read my level of ammonia, but I dont know what does that... a kit i suppose, problem is, I live in a small town, away from any large fish store, is there any other way of gaining this reading???
 

D

Duellsy

Medium Fish
#8
Oct 22, 2002
56
0
0
www.geocities.com
#8
Re: HELP:Setup new tank (pH, Hardness, Ammonia etc

MaleRubyBarb -
the online fish store is a good idea, but i imagine that your stores are in USA, i am located in a small town in australia.
the shipping charges wouldn't work in my favour, nor the time! lol.
thanks for the idea anyway, great idea.
i might be going to melbourne soon with my olds, so ill try find a good shop there and get the kits.... is there a kit that has all the kits in one (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate that is, i have the pH kit.)
Duellsy
 

R

ronrca

Guest
#9
#9

Re: HELP:Setup new tank (pH, Hardness, Ammonia etc

You can purchase master tests kits for a good sum of money however they are some tests that are not neccessary ie. phoshate, calcuim. I have seen a smaller master test kit with just ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph (Maybe hardness was also included). It is a must to have test kits when owning an aquarium especially when cycling. It is also a good idea to test regular once the tank has been cycled. Good luck!  *thumbsupsmiley*
 

You must log in or register to reply here.