New Tank: NEED ADVICE!!

[MatthewLaw]

Greetings All- Today I purchased and setup a new 33G fishtank. I have put all the necessary salts and chemicals into the tank. How long should it take before I can put some fish in? SOmeone said 2 weeks, someone else said 1 week, someone else said 48hrs.

THe people at PEtsmart told me to bring in a water sample and that would dictate when I can put some fish in. So basically how long do I wait before I bring the people the water sample??

Also, can anyone recommend soem good books to read about freshwater tanks? Magazines for fishtank owners??

Thanks a lot for the help!! -Matt

 

[Mercury]

I threw some fish in a 30 gallon after 3 days. I mixed in some water from another tank and added bacteria starter. The fish are fine.

The resource I would most recommend is this: A good resource

 

[Whiskers]

MissFishy's Guide to Fish go to this site and read. the info is simple to understand but if you still have questions please ask. there are many knowlegable ppl here. Good luck.

 

[ishar]

I second MissFishy's site. Excellent info on cycling a tank.

 

[MatthewLaw]

Thanks a million for the advice. That website is very helpful.

I was guided to and bought 'Prime' which "removes chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, detoxifies nitire and nitrate"

Do I still need to use the amonia as ms. fishy describes?

 

[ishar]

oh yes. That is a must. Without following the cycle process your fish will very likely all die off- even if you use prime over and over. And that would be very very expensive after a while. You need to cycle the tank completely before adding fish. No exceptions.

Follow the steps outlined in MissFishy's site and you will be good to setup without casualty in about 4 weeks (I think? forget the timeline)

 

[MatthewLaw]

thanks a million for the help. Can I get amonia at the supermarket or what type of store?

 

[TabMorte]

Yes just make sure it has nothing added to it at all (except water).

 

[joy613]

The only place I have found pure ammonia and that is the hardware stores. Most have sudsing formula and that means it has additives. Someone on a forum said to shake the bottle and if bubbles form at the top then it has additives.

 

[skratikans]

you can do the ammonia thing or put in some fish food flakes ...ammonia will be produced by that..you dont need to get to complicated...get an api test...test your ammonia and nitrates and nitrites...you should have an initial ammonia spike..this will let you know that you have started your cycle

 

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for the advice

Can I use my Beta''s food as the fish flakes or do i need specific fish flakes??

I believe the food has some blood worms in it but some flakes do come out.

Also how many flakes do I put in the tank?

 

[TabMorte]

You can use any food. I found sinking pellets work really well but flakes will do too.

You have your filter running while you're doing all this right? If you have your heater plugged in try and get your tank up to at least 80, that seems to help it all work faster too.

 

[MatthewLaw]

Thanks again!

Correct. The filter system has been on since the tank has been filled up (approx. 18 hrs). The temperature of the tank was 82 degrees when I left my apartment this morning.

How much beta food do i put in? Normal amount as if I was feeding my beta or a lot more? Thanks!!

 

[skratikans]

you can use dead bugs..a frozen piece of shrimp..anything that will decompose and give off nitrogen...just dont go crazy with the stuff..a pinch here and there will go a long way

 

[MatthewLaw]

NIce

Excellent. Thanks for the clarification.

I am excited to get some fish in this tank but want to do it right the first time.

Do you usually feed your fish once a day? That is what i do with the Beta fish and he has been alive for (knock on wood) almost 7 months!