New Aquarium Jitters?

Question

I have a new aquarium. It is a 30 gallon tank. I've got rocks, a filter, a heater, foliage, rocks and a air bubble maker (I don't know what it's called) I'm new to this. The tank is second hand, as is the filter, heater and air thing. I have new rocks, foliage and the thing that goes in the filter. I've had it all running for about 2 weeks, which I have read that I have to do before putting fish in it. Is there anything that I am missing? I don't want to spend a lot of money on fish, to just find out I missed a key piece and they all wind up dead.

Answer 1

You are freaking out..... Just put the damn fish in the tank.... I have three tanks all with exotic fresh water fish. I put them in three days after I set up each tank. They all still alive... expect my rope fish cuz my f*cking oscar ate it. Your fish will be fine

Answer 2

Try going to the pet store and getting some special drops to put in the tank. I use a product called "Chlor-Out". Also, I *strongly* reccomend you purchase an algae cleaner fish. They are called Placostamus (Spelling wrong....). If you have a few algae cleaners, you won't have to worry about your tank getting cloudy. If you want to put your own rocks in the tank, make sure you boil them or microwave them first to kill off any bacteria. I made the mistake of putting some pretty rocks in there, and the whole tank turned a murky green colour... The fish were fine, but the water was disgusting. I might add that if your fish breed, make sure you get a special container you put in the tank for the pregnant fish. When the babies are big enough to be let out, put a plant or something in front of the filter. They are fairly weak and get sucked into that thing really easy!

Anyway that's all I can think of, have fun with your tank!

Answer 3

Do not get an algae eater. They do nothing to prevent the water from clouding up and they will die from starvation in a newly set up tank. Make sure the water is dechlorinated from a waterconditioner. There are many brands. It is upto you if you want to do a fishless cycle or a fish cycle, read Kay B's answer. When i set up my 30 gallon i bought 6 zebra danios. They are cheap and hardy and survived the cycling period. I did not add any new fish until my tank was fully cycled, it took me 3-6 weeks. I did weekly 25 percent waterchanges every week too, making sure to vacume the gravel with a siphon and i only fed the fish a small amount once a day. After my tank was cycled i added 2 mollies then waited a couple weeks and added 2 more mollies, then waited a week and added 3 blind cave tetras. The last fish i added was 1 plecostamus.
I will tell you this, common plecos (usually the cheapest) grow to 2 ft long. All plecos poop alot. They may clean up one mess but they make another one. Plecos and other algae eaters, besides eating algae need supplementation with cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, romaine lettuce, algea wafers, and drift wood for fiber.
But the thing is that if you dont overstock and dont overfeed, and do weekly partial waterchanges ( makiing sure not to go over 50 percent) and give the tank only 8-12 hours of light, then you will not have algae problems. Its a myth that all tanks need an algae eater. ( a rather retarded myth at that)
Another retarded myth is that fish grow to the size of their container.
Always make sure to research each species of fish before getting it to make sure it wont outgrow the tank and to see what its compatible with.

Answer 4

You have left it up and running long enough it sounds like, and you should be okay to add fish now... However, I would not purchase a lot at one time. Add one or two, see how they do a few days, then add one or two more and so on. Another option is to take a sample of your water in a plastic bag to the local pet/aquarium store where they can test it for you for the PH. Also, be sure that your temperature is good. Beyond that, just be sure that your fish are compatible with each other or some may come up missing despite your care of the tank. Best of luck! An aquarium is a wonderful thing.

Answer 5

Well what chemical have you put in the tank? You may need tap water conditioner to make tap water turn into safe aquarium water for fish. Do not put your fish in water straight from the tap. No matter what water you put in use the water conditioner to be on the safe side. and you might want to get some clarifier to keep the water from being cloudy. Your water should be crystal clear. Also you need to get a Bacteria Supplement, A health boost for your aquarium. Use when setting up new aquariums, adding fish, during routine water changes and after medicating. The beneficial bacteria helps to stabilize your aquatic environment, reducing ammonia spikes and aiding in the nitrogen cycle to reduce "new tank syndrome." and consider getting some stress coat for the fish.

Answer 6

You need to get your tank cycled (basically building colonies of beneficial bacteria that will 'remove' ammonia and nitrite from your tank). Without these bacteria ammonia and nitrite levels will spike and potentially/usually result in losses of fish.

Hardy species can tolerate and survive high levels of ammonia and nitrite in the tank; less hard species usually die within days or weeks due to ammonia and nitrite poisoning.

How a fully cycled tank works: fish and decaying organic matter produce ammonia. 1st-stage bacteria convert ammonia to nitrite. 2nd-stage bacteria convert nitrite to nitrate. Water changes (and plants) remove nitrates. In a fully cycled tank ammonia and nitrite should always be undetectable and nitrates under 40ppm (invest in a water test kit). Running an empty tank without an ammonia source really doesn't do anything.

Some people cycle tanks with hardy fish (which some consider inhumane), while others perform fishless cycling (using ammonia or raw shrimp instead of live fish to get the cycle started). You can also try using seeded bio-media ('dirty' filter media). Using this or squeezing it into your tank will introduce a lot of bacteria and accelerate the cycling proces (which unassisted can take 4-6 weeks.

Answer 7

Everyone one gets jitters (not everyone admits it ).

You will be fine. You have done everything well so far. buy a few fish at a time and start off with fish that are easy to look after. Try some hardy fish.

After a bit of time, you will want another aquarium because you will want more and different fish.

Answer 8

You sound well-prepared for keeping fish! Kudos to you! Start with a few small fish (whatever kind you want - goldies or tropical, just be sure to have correct temps), not a lot. See how they go. Be sure not to overcrowd the tank. Good luck and happy fish-keeping!

TDK

Answer 9

you have done very well, buy no more than 4 small fish and feed them sparlingly for about a week.

then you can buy more fish - you need to get your bacterial cologny up and running properly as it takes 24 hours for them to double and they need to double a few times before you have enough to have a fully stocked tank.

good luck!

Answer 10

It sounds fine, but if you are nervous, go buy a fancy guppy for a dollar and throw him in there. If he doesn't keel over within a day or two, the tank will be fine.