new guppy tank?

Question

Okay so I got my new 10 gallon today that I will keep guppies in. I put in the gravel and the water, and hooked up the filter. I don't have the heater yet, I plan to get it in a day or two. My question is, how do I know when it's okay to start adding the guppies? I've read a week somewhere, 3 days somewhere else, but I really want to know what is it that magically happens to make it suddenly okay for a fish? Is it something I can test for with my water testing kit?

so what if I just stole some water out of an already set up tank? (I have a 65 gallon freshwater tank) Would that make things happen faster, since it's already got bacteria and all in it?

Answer 1

Since you have a 65 gallon tank, you could easily treat it as a regular waterchange for the 65
you can take out 10 gallons of it and put it into your new 10 gallon, and just replace the water in the 65 with new conditioned water, that way you have done an easy waterchange but at the same time a new tank started
Also take out some gravel from your 65, which also holds some of the bacteria
You can also squeeze the filtercartridge from your 65 into your 10, and you have bacteria in there
I would wait at least 1 week though, for the new filter to establish and then add your guppies
and yes you can test your water
nitrite and ammonia are suppose to be at 0 and nitrates are suppose to be at 20ppm



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 2

Your tank needs to go through a cycle, which is basically the nitrogen cycle. Your filter needs to establish beneficial bacteria that will break down the fish poop. When fish poop, it rots, creating ammonia, which is toxic to fish. Bacteria have to grow in the fitler that break down the ammonia into nitrite. The nitrite is still toxic, so other bacteria break it down into nitrate, which is much less harmful, but still toxic in high amounts. The best way to remove nitrate is through water changes (using a siphon to move water and poop from the gravel into a bucket). You can either use fish to start the cycle, or use fish food (I prefer fish food, that way, you aren't hurting any fish).

Here is an article about fishless cycling: http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles/how_to_do_a_fishless_cycle.html

To use fish to cycle your tank (BAD), just be sure to keep up on your water changes, and slowly add fish to the tank. Start with one, remove 10% of the water twice a week, then, next week, add another fish, and do the same water change deal.

Cycling can certainly try your patience, but it is much better than having dead fish. This process can take 2 weeks to 2 months, it just depends. If you are doing a fishless cycle, don't add fish until your nitrate readings are at 0. If you do a cycle with fish, you should add one fish immediately and keep the water as clean as possible. Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

EDIT: Bacteria "starters" that are sold in bottles or in packets rarely work, and you should NEVER trust your fishes' lives with them. If you can get a hold of live filter media (that somebody had running in their tank and has been kept "live" in water, you can squeeze that into your filter to add some REAL bacteria).

EDIT 2: Taking just the water isn't much help. Next time you clean the fitler, take the used media and sqeeze the liquid into the new filter. This will force the bacteria into the new filter, and they will immediately start the nitrogen cylcle (which is when you want to slowly add fish 2-3 at a time, prefferably all males because females are often pregnant when you buy them).

Answer 3

To be completly secure, bypass with a million guppy in keeping with gallon of water. you are able to unquestionably push that coaching lots, as long as you have the tank properly filtered and shop up the water ameliorations. (I unquestionably have 7 guppies and a 2" little one pleco in a 5gal tank, yet dont tell the a million" rule Police) The tank will want some form of filter out, a small heater and a delicate in case you elect to enhance plant life. And in straightforward terms purchase men till you have area for a lot of guppies. I unquestionably have given away 50 guppies from my 18gal tank tank - this month. I wont say what share are left, regardless of if it is nevertheless overstocked ;-) Ian

Answer 4

We are no experts but do have two 40-gallon tanks and due to moving had to empty both tanks and fill them up again within couple hours ... so, what we did was add API Tap Water Conditioner together with the water. Whenever we're changing or adding water, we try to have it as close to the desired temperature that is good for the fish as possible. Then we'd wait maybe 20 or 30 minutes and put our fish in there. Worked out just fine.

Answer 5

What makes the water ok is when certain beneficial bacteria start to grow in the tank. Also, of course, when the water conditioner kicks in and removes all the bad stuff in the water! lol Check petsmart for the beneficial bacteria starter. It doesn't really matter how long you wait for the water to become ready...24 hours is ok. However, longer is better. Some people do indeed prefer to leave the tank up and running for 24 hours. One more thing...You might want to remove the gravel and rinse it to remove dust and small particles before you put it in (they can harm the fish. just use regular tap water)

Answer 6

I've heard 24 hours. But it would probably be better to wait about 3 days. The reason they tell you to wait is to get all the chemicals out of the tab water and the chlorine. And if you are getting guppies and you don't want babies make sure that you only get males or females. Males are prettier. Because when it comes to breeding they are worse then rodents.

Answer 7

i used to keep guppies best way i found was to leave for 7 days after switching on the heater
did you know one of the best feeds are the baby guppies the fish give birth to
still use your normal feed but not as much

Answer 8

If you want to add guppies right away you do not have to wait!!! Simply go to a store like Walmart and buy "Start right for aquariums" it helps condition the water and start an ecosystem quicker just don't add too many fish!

Answer 9

How bout 3 days.

Answer 10

i'd say 4-7 days should do...you really jsut need to get the tnak going