when setting up a new aquarium what chemicals should i purchase to treat the water before adding fish?

Question

I am setting up a new aquarium for my son and need to know what to buy to pretreat the water and what to treat the water with after fish are in-during water changes. We have tap water and in our other tank have been loosing our guppies left and right, however our black moor seems fine

Answer 1

If this has already been answered, then please forgive me, but really the only chem you should look to use to start off a new tank would be water conditioner. This and only this (because if you are using tap water it will most likely have Chlorine in it, as well as other potential Chlorimine elements and other hard elements).

If you have a water purifier as I do - then all you need to do is fill it up, and cycle away (and may I make a suggestion? If you do this it will not only take less time, but it will also be less messy). Do a fishless cycle. If you have old media filters from a disease free tank then you could use that to seed the tank, but it is not absolutely necessary. With that being said - get some clear/pure Ammonia from one of the lower grade Grocery Stores in your area (like a farmer's market or something similar), and look for plan ol' No-Name brand Ammonia (that has no fragrances or surficants in it). The way to tell is to look at the ingredients, or simply shake it up (if you get foam - put it back and look for one that only provides air bubbles when shaken at the top of the bottle).

I'll stop my babbling - check out this site as it's an awesome resource on fishless cycling!

Good luck!
http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm

Answer 2

Best thing to do is to find a good aquarium shop and ask them to give you some water from their tanks. It is not totally necessary but if this tank is for your son you don't want his fish to die on him. By getting shop water you will already have the bacteria growth that will take time to achieve when starting a new system. The chemicals you need to treat your tap water is a product called 'stress coat' or any other 'water ageing treatment' to remove chlorine particles added during treatment. - Handy hint - when it rains heavy use this to your advantage. Put a couple of big buckets out in the rain and you will have pure water for a tank change. Nothing better than natures own. Hope this helps.

ps With a new tank don't stock the fish too full to soon, they will need to be put in a couple a week to be successful

Answer 3

If you don't have a heater in your other tank, that is why they are dying. Guppies are tropical fish and need temps from 74-78 degrees. Goldfish are coldwater fish and need 60-65 degrees. There is no happy medium, if you adjust for one, the other is slowly stressed to the point their immune system fails and they die.

A new tank should be dosed with a product called "Cycle" which is bacteria in a bottle. It speeds up the nitrogen cycle so you can add fish sooner. You should only have one or two fish in a tank until the nitrogen cycle is complete (about 3 weeks).

To remove chlorine and chloramine, use a product called "De-Chlor" it is a cheap liquid that removes both of them immediately.

The rule for how many total fish in a tank is one inch of small thin fish per gallon of water. As fish get larger and heavier, they need more and more water to stay healthy.

Also, don't forget to do your regular (weekly) partial (25-30%) water changes to keep the ammonia levels at 0.

Answer 4

The ONLY treatment you need is called "Tap Water Conditioner" made by Aquarium Pharmacuticles(sp). You don't need the power of aloe-vera, or anything thing else with "stress" infront of it. You simply need the bond of chloromines to be broken up, because that is what will fry(burn to deterioration) your fishes gills, which is why they die in tap water. I've been kepping several fish tanks fresh and salt for over 10 years now and that is the only thing that I use in my tanks. Do a yahoo search on fish tank cycling....any other answeres about you fishes deaths should be answered there

Answer 5

Since you have guppies, I'm guessing you're talking about a freshwater aquarium. For tap water treatments, just buy a water conditioner created especially for this purpose. All pet stores that has a fish section have it, it's easy to find =) Also, be SURE to check your water quality again. Petco offers a free water quality checking service, take advantage of that. If you don't want to run to Petco every so often, then they have a kit that you could buy to check your water quality. Since guppies are easy fish to take care of, and they still die, your water quality shouldn't be too good =(

Answer 6

Fish don't react well to a chemical in tap water called chloramine. Buy a chemical called Start Right (I believe that's the brand name), and double-check with your local pet store on the best treatments. Also double check the water's acidity levels, as that will mess fish up.

Answer 7

Listen to Chuckdiesell99!!! PRIME will remove chlorine, chloramine, will convert ammonia into a safe non toxic form, detoxifies nitrite and nitrate ,provides slime coat. Will not harm the biological cycle that is required for a stable aquarium. Will not harm your bio-filter. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT!!!! GET THIS!! :) Also, make sure you purchase test strips to know your waters chemistry, ph is a main factor for the thriving of your fish. Good luck, I have been thru all this, feel free to contact me .

Answer 8

As you have a goldfish, NO MORE FISH. You need a good dechlorinator, such as prime. As i dont beleive your tank is cycled, also buy bio-spira. Finally, that black moor needs a tank of 15 gallons all to itself, or a larger tank with 15 gallons per fancy goldfish

Answer 9

By far the best product for removing chlorine/chloramine is Prime. Its made by Seachem, a very good company

Answer 10

you shoild buy a water treatment such as ammo lock or stress coat and its usually a teaspoon of it for every ten gallons and you use the same stuff during water changes too