Just add fish ?? Aquarium question ....?

Question

Help

1. Bought 100L aquarium. Included - water pump, air pump + bag of small, hard, greyish 'stuff' and two "sponges" + water heater + 20ml Aquavital "conditioner", "stress remover", packets of Aquavital "nitrigon 1" and "nitrigon 2" + testing sticks !

2. Nightmare starts now.
a. Installed water pump, heater, air pump, two sponges with 'bacteria' (??) greyish stuff between.
b. Added Aquavital "nitrigon 1" packet under sponge 1 right ON the greyish "stuff"."
c. Added Aquavital "conditioner" to water.
d. Tested water after 24 hours - color shows it is very "HARD".

3. MORE
a.) For two days it is "working" with NO FISH.
b.) There's some white "dust" at the bottom of the tank. Not much and NO idea where it came from.
c.) Water is warm and crystal clear. Never got "green".
d.) Still shows "hard"

Can I add fish ? What the "heck" do I do about water "hardness" ? What fish SHOULD I put in the tank ? I don't even know WHAT I am waiting "for" :)

Answer 1

You have entered the war zone. There are so many things you need to consider before even looking at introducing fish! First of all, you need to start the water cycle. Basically that is what happens when the water cycles for 2 weeks and the "good" alge and bacteria build up. Without this, if you introduce the fish they could die. As for the water being hard, I am assuming you are talking about pH. Every type of chemial (nitrate, nitrite, pH, ammonia, nitrogen, etc) has an opposite which you will need to raise in order to lower another. After two weeks if the levels are still high, consult a pet store for their advice on lowering the pH.

I didn't know this when I started, but coral substrate (the sand at the bottom) will actually increase the pH balance significantly, so be sure that you are using the proper substrate for the type of fish you want to raise.

The "dust" you see is most likely just the substrate settling in your tank. It is nothing to be concerned about. As for adding fish, I would start with some hardy fish... that is... ones that are hard to kill. In my tank right now I have zebra danios, ottos, neon tetras, cories, a weather loach and other various bottom feeders.

To make it so that your tank will be of a LOWER maintenence, I recommend that you keep live plants (hydrocotyl is amazing--it will grow like mad and is so hard to kill) as they will add lots of oxygen to the water, a few bottom feeders, as they will get rid of the food your other fish won't eat, and some alge eaters, who will control the alge growth on your tank, plants and accessories.

Answer 2

where do i start? First off all you need to learn about the water cycle. You have done pretty everything right. Make sure you really clean your gravel before placing in your tank. Its need washing through with fresh water until all the dust had been flushed away. Depending on where you live will depend on how hard your water is. I live in a very hard water area but it doesn't do my fish any harm, and it been over 2 years now. Your water will not go green, right away. It takes a while, and is usually need direct sunlight , over feeding, and poor maintenance. Leave your tank for at least 1 month. This will give everything time to settle and your water cycle to develop. I'd start off with a couple off tiger barbs. These are hard fish and will not mind a new set up. Feed them once a day with flakes, small amounts, so all the food has gone after 5 Min's. leave your tank light on for no more then a average day off light other wise your fish will get light stress, and once a week feed them frozen blood warm and remember to change 10% off your water each week, then your tank will basically look after it self. Don't worry about your hard water, i change mine once a week and do not add any extra chemicals and my fish are fine and healthy.

Answer 3

You cannot add anything else to the tank. You are already overstocked with the fish you have. Ideally neons should be in nothing under 20 gallons. What kind of algae eater? No matter what kind it will need a tank ranging from 20-75+ gallons. If I were you I would return the algae eater. You could get away with the other fish but neons are so active it's better for them to be in a 20+ gallon. Good Luck :]

Answer 4

Try to wait a week or two before introducing the fish, this gives the tank a chance to settle, as for a choice of fish, your call but not to many 100lt is approx 20 gallons and I was told an inch of fish needs a gallon of water so you could have twenty (ish) 1" fish or ten (ish) 2"etc.

Answer 5

Don't make preparing a fish tank complicated because it's not!
Fill the tank with water, let it sit in the tank for two days, no pumps or gadgets! Then, test the water. Chances are you'll need absolutely nothing. No chemicals!

Answer 6

You put to many chemicals in the water even though thats not the problem. But just to make sure that the water is ok for fish to live in buy 2 or 3 cheap goldfish and see how they do in a week.

Answer 7

Your ready to start! Dont really worry about the test and the results because they dont really matter! (At least not to me!) Just make sure you introduce the water cycle, make sure you add the stress remover, and of course the water!

Answer 8

water hardness is not a problem for most fish,sounds to me like your ready for adding your first ones,just do a few at a time,small fish first.

Answer 9

You can add fish anytime. I would use a cheap fish first, sort of a "tester" and watch for a week or so and go from there.

Answer 10

white stuff is particles in water, add your fish, my water is very hard straight from tap never had a problem.