Your current Fish tank Setups!

[NoobCannon]

Any recommendation from amazon or similiar place? for a kit?

For freshwater just get the api master kit from wherever its cheapest.

 

[Ace Modder]

I would not get any more fish yet.

How many fish have you got in there?
Is your tank a tropical or cold water (gold fish)?

For the moment you should start off with doing a 50% water change with a gravel clean so do the gravel clean first then just keep filling buckets until the tank is half empty.

Once you have a test kit we can see what the levels you can then do more water changes as needed we are talking testing each day and changing water as I doubt you have built up the full cycle.

Oh like mentioned in the post above forgot to say you need to add an additive to the tap water that removes all the bad stuff before you put it in the tank. I am sure myself or someone here will help you out once we know a little more info

I would think you might be on the nitrite bit in short

Ammonia and nitrite can kill fish easy the last part of the process nitrate only kills when the ppm parts per million gets really high. The other affects of high nitrate before it kills fish is stunted growth and deformed young fish.

Once the tank is cycled you are only getting rid of the nitrate you would normal still clean the gravel and change 25% minimum a week

Tank is cold water.
OK, I did a 50% water swap today. But as for the gravel, how is the best way to get it cleaned?

 

[rebel rebel]

Itc are about 15 mins from me but i need to go charterhouse anyway to return the rollermat will save on postage and ive never actually been there.

They should just swap it out seen as its 2 days old

It's worth a visit just to see their showroom. It's nice to look at the elos aquariums and daydream.

 

[fredwi]

Tank is cold water.
OK, I did a 50% water swap today. But as for the gravel, how is the best way to get it cleaned?

Just put in to Amazon gravel cleaner for fish tank

It's is a plastic tube with a pipe attached save your money avoid the electric ones you can get
As for the tube size just try and get one that means half your arm is not in the tank.

To use them is easy stick in tank suck water through tube try not to end up with it in your mouth stick pipe over bucket. Place plastic part into gravel and you will see the gravel go up the tube a bit and all the dirt with it.

 

[Malt_Vinegar]

40% water every 2 weeks. The tank is this

Bacterial bloom... Your tank is not cycled.

You might want to increase aeration in the tank to help the fish, as left unchecked the heterotrophic bloom will strip out the oxygen, and the fish will die.

Then you need to fix the bloom. Most likely from what you have said, you are overfeeding the fish. My tropicals only get fed twice a week, and i quite often do starve weeks to help simulate the real world. Also, only feed as much as they eat, and remove any waste. Once you know the amounts they eat its easier and removal is not needed.

You are going to be doing a fish in cycle now, so reducing the food to bare minimum and using an API test kit to check the levels, and change water as and when appropriate. If you can get some seeded filter media from another already cycled tank and put it in your filter (or at least in the water somewhere), its going to speed this process us significantly.

 

[Things change I've changed]

40% water every 2 weeks. The tank is this

I personally think 40% is too much at once, I would recommend 20-25% weekly, at the same time give the gravel a surface hoover, also make sure your using water conditioner, water straight from the tap is a no go, I'm predicting you have been over feeding the fish, I've only been doing basic fish keeping a couple of years but personally I prefer to under feed rather than over feed, I usually choose a random day or two a week that I don't feed the fish as well to try and keep things a little natural and unpredictable for the fish.

Don't over clean your filter medium, just gently squeeze it in the weekly removed tank water and replace, your filter median will buildup and contain important beneficial bacteria that it needs to retain.

A lot of people say get a water testing kit and that is a very good idea, I very rarely use mine though and haven't really had many issues, if you maintain your tank regularly it should eventually cycle properly and you'll be on your way to having a good little eco system.

 

[Spook187]

Here is a decent enough test kit for your needs.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/API-Freshwater-Master-Test-Kit-x/dp/B000255NCI

aquarium dechlorinator

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Interpet-Bioactive-Tapsafe-Aquarium-Dechlorinator/dp/B004YJIUGY

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fluval-Aqu...485935996&sr=1-5&keywords=Water+Dechlorinator

the nitrogen cycle is really easy to learn, but a very important part of fish keeping.
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Fishkeeping can be hit or miss for many people because they see these nice clean tanks in shops, then fall at the first fence due to lack of basic knowledge or zero maintenance wondering where it all went wrong and jack it all in.

It's a great hobby to be in even if starting small, just keep up with the tasks and i can guarantee you will want a bigger tank soon

 

[Ace Modder]

Purchase made.

 

[NoobCannon]

Good enough mate pity i only recently chucked al my freshwater kits

 

[NoobCannon]

Missus not to impressed yesterday especialy as i hadnt told her i was getting the tank in the first place

Getting there now tho just waiting for first bag of sand to settle

Got the wiring nightmare to sort once its been running a few days, still got loads of electrical stuff to add

 

[Things change I've changed]

I use an old 64 litre fish box that has the old screw light bulb fittings, do you think this would be an acceptable replacement light to use?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01IF4V...UTF8&colid=29HS78OXJW61Y&coliid=IFB04KTVVVR1G

I was told that as long as it can emit cool white I should be ok?

 

[NoobCannon]

Not if your trying to grow plants. If its just a fish tank only or one with fake plants you will be fine.

 

[Things change I've changed]

Not if your trying to grow plants. If its just a fish tank only or one with fake plants you will be fine.

No the tank isn't planted, ideal cheers.

 

[LizardKing]

Guess the carbon needed a bit more washing before putting in the can!

 

[Ace Modder]

Testing kit arrived, and it's not good.

What is the best course of action? I forgot to photo the first ph test, but that was the only one which was ok.

 

[RobHu]

50%++ water change, now and daily (maybe even twice a day) for the next week or until your cycle is complete. You could get some ammo lock or similar (can't remember the exact name but your LFS will know) for short term help. Remember to treat the tap water for chlorine before adding it!

 

[Ace Modder]

The gravel is full of waste and some food too, I have tried to suction some of it out, but the vaccum I bought took about 35% of the water out too, and I have only done about a third of the gravel I assume best to leave that now and do more tomorrow?

 

[NoobCannon]

With ammonia that high im suprised anything is Alive in that tank

your nitrite is also bad

Nitrate loks fine

Ph seems very low

Are you using water straight from the tap or are you using a conditioner

First cource of action is an instant 50% water change and then test your tap water

 

[arc@css]

I have tried to suction some of it out, but the vaccum I bought took about 35% of the water out too

You can always get a narrower piece of tubing, that's what I did anyway. Somewhere around 5-7mm should do it.

 

[UTmaniac]

Testing kit arrived, and it's not good.

What is the best course of action? I forgot to photo the first ph test, but that was the only one which was ok.

How long has the tank been running with fish?
What fish are in there?
How much water % do you normally change per week?
What dechlorinator are you using?
Do you have access to Seachem Prime or Seachem Safe?
Have you checked for rotting food inside the filter?

In your situation, I would...
Syphon some of the existing water into a fish-safe bucket (so bucket is less than ~25% full)
Net fish into bucket
Syphon rotting food from tank floor
Remove rotting food from filter with care (i.e. don't rinse media to death to lose what few beneficial bacteria it might contain) using some extracted tank water

If you normally change at least ~20% of the water weekly (in my opinion ~50% is far better, especially with small tanks <100 litres, where the tank water can turn very toxic very quickly)...
Remove all but the final ~10% water of overall tank volume
Refill tank with fresh dechlorinated water (Seachem products can be safely overdosed following their instruction to safely detoxify some ammonia and nitrite)
Use some airline to drip new tank water into the bucket containing fish until bucket is at least ~75%, or add ~150ml to the bucket using a cup every ~5mins
Net fish back into tank
Top up tank with fresh dechlorinated water

How much fresh dechlorinated water you introduce in a short space of time to fish that are used to toxic conditions can be lethal, google "old tank syndrome." In such situations, you should add no more than ~15% of the current tank water volume of fresh dechlorinated water each day, to prevent the fish dying of shock.