I recieved the MASTER TEST KIT!!! Pareme....

[siymdapolio]

Hey guys, Remember when I joined and my tank was allready full of water and some fish and no cycle! EEeek everybody was telling me I should have done a fishless cycle but I had to make the best of it. The cycling fish were 5 gold white clouds, 1 angelfish, 1 bristlenose and they all babies! No casualties too! :19:

Yesterday I finally recieved the API master test kit and COULDNT test until now :11: .....cleaning the house.

My water paremeters are
Ammonia(NH3/NH4+)- 0 PPM!!
Nitrite(NO2-)- 0 PPM!!
Nitrate(NO3-) 8-10 PPM!!

I think i have an established tank guys! Geese what do I do now?????!!!!!!!

[Levi]

totally fresh, homedawg

[siymdapolio]

Thanks Levi! Damn it feels good to be a gangster!!!

Got the MASTER KIT!!!

[Levi]

Damn it feels good to be a gangster!!!

hehheh :c3:

[Lady Hobbs]

When you do your testing, let the test solution sit in the vials for about 10 minutes. Some of the tests take a bit longer to register correct.y. And take the water from your tank in a cup or something rather than dipping the vials in the tank.

[siymdapolio]

Thanks for the advice lady hobbs. I let the test tubes sit for at least 5 minutes. and then tsted it

[BillyVille]

Hey guys, Remember when I joined and my tank was allready full of water and some fish and no cycle! EEeek everybody was telling me I should have done a fishless cycle but I had to make the best of it. The cycling fish were 5 gold white clouds, 1 angelfish, 1 bristlenose and they all babies! No casualties too! :19:

Yesterday I finally recieved the API master test kit and COULDNT test until now :11: .....cleaning the house.

My water paremeters are
Ammonia(NH3/NH4+)- 0 PPM!!
Nitrite(NO2-)- 0 PPM!!
Nitrate(NO3-) 8-10 PPM!!

I think i have an established tank guys! Geese what do I do now?????!!!!!!!

So tell all of us other newbs what you did to keep the fish alive?? Just water changes everyday?

[Tigerbarb]

Now, I would suggest getting some live plants, but be sure to boil them first (I forgot to do this... grrr) so any snail eggs/snails don't take over your tank.
I wouldn't reccommend adding any new fish quite yet, but your water perimeters seem okay for new additions.

[siymdapolio]

Well my lfs told me I will do fine but when i began reading I realized I need to be taking care of these guys. Since i did not have a API master test kit I did not knw when parameters were to high.
What i did was
ALLWAYS Took a day for a major water change which was friday for me.
in between these major water changes I decided when the water did not look so good, lots of oil and sediment on the top I would do minor water changes and that would clear everything right up again
Another thing I did while doing a fish cycle was when fish did not seem happy(stressed) Very easy to notice. I would tend to them, make sure temp is at their range, ph was normal, Had enough oxygen.

This is all I have done till I got my api master test kit and That was that :D

I also bought some plants to establish good bacteria into my tank, since it was completely new and no bacteria introduced before hand.

If there are any more questions I would love to hear them and respond.

[siymdapolio]

Now, I would suggest getting some live plants, but be sure to boil them first (I forgot to do this... grrr) so any snail eggs/snails don't take over your tank.
I wouldn't reccommend adding any new fish quite yet, but your water perimeters seem okay for new additions.
I have never heard of boiling live plants, I have not done this but I am thinking about getting some more plants for sure. MY lfs usually never has snails come with there plants but every so often they do and its only 1 or 2.

[country_boy454]

Congrats on the cycle without the loss of fish. Having the master test kit is one of the best investments an aquarist could have.

[siymdapolio]

Congrats on the cycle without the loss of fish. Having the master test kit is one of the best investments an aquarist could have.
Thanks country boy! I love the new test kit. Gives you some assurance you are doing well.!

[BillyVille]

Cool thanks, I too did the same as you on my 10 gallon tank, but I do water changes everyday. Maybe I will just pick one day like you did and do a major water change. With the plants did you just get one that was planted in a pot and sit it the tank? And how often did you feed your fish?

[siymdapolio]

Yea billyville I think this helped for the bacteria to establish a little more by not removing the ammonia everyday. Not to sure but the major water changes were good and some minor water changes here and there.

My lfs has none of those potted plants. I bought a big batch of Elodea(very hardy) and some 5 fin java fern. That is all I have in my tank right now but I want more :D!

[RainMan]

Yay for the API master kit... As always, good tips by hobbs!

From those readings... i would say you're good to go.

How long did you go without the tests?

[BillyVille]

Cool thanks

[siymdapolio]

Np billyville send me a pm if you have more questions.

Rainman this tank has been running since the second of march. so about three weeks is how long i went without the test kit and I guess thats how old my tank is too.

[RainMan]

You have some hardy fish... good job keeping a close eye on them!!

[Sasquatch]

Congrats on the successful cycle and keep us posted on how the fish are doing.

As for boiling plants ... not too sure about that one. Search the site though, there are a few threads on treating them with a bleach solution.

[siymdapolio]

This was my first tank rainman! Very easy. I must have done something right then huh!

Ok Sasquatch i am confused are we talking about fake plants here??? Tigerbarb said he boiled his plants to get rid of snails?? Wouldnt b oiling be very harmfull to the plants as well as bleaching them???

WE must be talking about fake plants yay?

[Sasquatch]

No, fake plants don't usually have snail problems when you buy them at the LFS.

We're talking about live plants. I agree that boiling them is a rather dubious method, but it could work.

As for the bleach thing, here's one thread ... check out Sailors post about 3/4 ways down the first page.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

I've done this and it's helped somewhat. I usually go for about a 10% bleach solution.

[siymdapolio]

Thanks for the help sasquatch I usually never get snails I have found 1 snail before but that was it. Appreciate the responses :thumb:

[smaug]

What the heck Im I hearing on this thread about boiling plants!!?? Thats crazy talk:c11: If you wish to kill any tagalongs such as BBA or snail spawn then use a very weak bleach solution ,exactly what ratio Im unsure of at the moment,if memory serves I use a 1/4 cup bleach to 5 cups water.Dip just the leaves for a minute or so,avoid the roots.Congrats on your test kit.

[Sasquatch]

Thanks for the help sasquatch I usually never get snails I have found 1 snail before but that was it. Appreciate the responses :thumb:

Yeah, but if you ever get two ... they'll take over you tank.

On the up side, they can be kinda funny to watch, crawling over each other and floating around the tank.

[smoochxoxo]

i know bleach isn't too harful for plants and stuff... I tried to kill my step monster in laws plant with bleach and be dang it the thing flourished!!!!! Go figure!
Boiling I wouldn't do just because it seems like it would for sure kill the plant. Maybe I should try that to the monster in laws plant (insert evil laugh here)
LoL
Congrats on your tank!!!
WAY TO GO!
:*

[siymdapolio]

:19: Thanks! so much guys much appreciated

Smooch me make me smile :D hahaha thanks a bunch!