Advice

[matdehaast]

Hi guys here is something I posted on another forum and just want to put it up here aswell as you seem more active.

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Posted by me:

Hi guys.

Happy Christmas to all.

So it is a good day i decided to clean me fish tank for the first time since getting it about 1-2 months ago. I find that algae build-up was bad and even after a little glass clean a few weeks ago it has come back and is stuck at the bottom. I have 4 Guppies and 3 Tetras in the tank and I wondering if mabye I am overfeeding them causing the algae to grow quicker. I feed them every morning about 5-7 flakes of goldfish flakes. So any info would be great and any suggestion ect.

Thanks alot
Regards
Matthew
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Reply:

Welcome to the forum!

When you mentioned you cleaned it for the first time, have you performed water changes or gravel cleaning?

How many hours a day do you keep the lights on?

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And I replied back:

Well I am only discovering gravel cleaning and water changes since reading this forum yesterday as the people i purchased my tank from never mentioned any of it. So i will head out today to get the required stuff. So yesterday I added about 20% more water as that is the amout i losted so far due to evaperation. And I replaced the gravel completely . But again I do not really know what I am doing. Can you give me suggestion on it. Btw my pump is no doing well and doesnt pump much. Should I purchase a new one?

And the light I used to keep on for about 10-12 hours aday but for a few weeks I havnt had it on at all to be honest
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Thanks guys all info would be great

[jman]

check you lighting because algae is growing off your light.

[Lady Hobbs]

Welcome.

What caught my attention immediately was where you wrote "I changed the gravel." All your bacteria lives in that gravel. Changing it will require all new bateria to grow again and you have now lost your cycle.

I recently did the same thing to my angel tank but mind you, I also added two inches of used gravel on top so my set-back period was less than a week.

You can either dump the gravel you removed on top of the new or put it in nylon sockings and tie up bags of it. Just let them lay in the bottom to "seed" the new gravel. Do not change the filter and continue to use the old one and once again go thru the cycle. If you see you are having "white water" do not be alarmed as this is part of the New Tank Syndrome. It, in itself, will not harm your fish but the ammonia and nitrites you have again will. You must monitor this water daily again and do water changes when those levels get up there to dangerous levels. For this you need a Master Test Kit which runs about $14 at PetSmart.

The algae you experienced may be due to the cycle you have gone thru. That often happens but disappears once you cycle is complete and when wiped off will then stay gone. It can also be due to high nitrates.

I do not think you are over -feeding at all. I feed my fish 3 times daily but the difference being my tanks are cycled. During cycling, you must cut back on the feedings to avoid too high of ammonia readings. More food=more poop=more ammonia. Left over food can also cause more rotting in the bottom and more ammonia so feed every other day until you have cycled or you can even go several days.

Do no gravel cleaning until that tank has had plenty of time to cycle. Doing so will just keep setting it back. Your tank had probably just gotten to the point where it had cycled. It takes a couple months to get a good cycle established and then you can do your cleaning. I would bet money that your tank had reached the point that you had just gotten the high nitrates and that caused this algae.

If you need to rinse off your filter during a cycle, just swish it around in used tank water that you intend to throw away. Never rinse it off under tap water or the clorinated water will destroy the bacteria living on it......which you need.

Make sure you always used de-clorinated water!

I am happy to see you here but rather disappointed that your other forum did not offer you better answers to your problems.

[jeffs99dime]

welcome to a.c. good choice in picking this forum. you will not be let down here.--jeff

[matdehaast]

Lol sounds like my luck doesnt it but I am going away for 2 weeks in 2 days time and would have to leave my fish to fight this battle on there own tbh. Anything I can buy at the petstore to give them some boost to help regrowth of bacertia?

Hopefully they will survive as I have only 4 Guppies and 3 Neon Tetras in the tank.

Thanks alot for the fast and detailed replies. I am just angry at the pet store for never informing me about any of this.

Regards
Matthew

[jeffs99dime]

BIOSPIRA-- it's kept refrigerated at the store. don't use CYCLE.

[matdehaast]

Ok thanks. I am heading to the store today.

[jeffs99dime]

no problemo. just make sure it's kept refrigerated at the store too. if not, don't buy it.

[matdehaast]

Ok. This all really came about because there was a thick layer of algae on the bottom of my tank as no one told me about water changing and how to clean the gravel. So from what I understand I should change about 20% of the water each week. Aswell try clean my gravel every 2 weeks, But how and with what is my question. Is there any Vacuum type machines?

[jeffs99dime]

there are many gravel siphoning systems available. my preference is the "python no spill clean and fill system." there are many other types out there though. one thing, when you siphon the gravel (substrate) make sure you don't dig too deep, as this will rid the gravel of beneficial bacteria. i usually do about 1/2 to 1 inch into the gravel and only half the tank at a time. my water changes (w.c.) consist of 65- 70% per week. when you go to the lfs (local fish store) just ask them about the different cleaning systems they offer. also, i would suggest reading the free e-book on the left hand menu on this forum. it has invaluable information it it. --jeff

[matdehaast]

How much gravel should i have in my tank? here is some pics.

[jeffs99dime]

that looks like enough gravel.

[Lady Hobbs]

You can only get the bio-spira at a LFS. If you don't have one near you, you can get the Stress Zyme at Walmarts but the bio-spira is much more superior.

Will anyone be coming in to give your fish a bit of food in your absence? They can go several days without food but I would not let them go two weeks. Perhaps a friend can pop in and give them a small amount every few days?

PS......About posting pictures. Please read in Announcements regarding posting pictures. The ones you posted were 1280 x 960 that were way too large and threw the borders off the posting areas. When you take pictures, resize them, save them to your computer and then upload them here and you will have nice thumbnails which will keep the thread moving nicely for others who have slower dial ups. (thanks)

[jman]

that looks like just enough gravel. from the second picture but not from the third and 4th

[Lady Hobbs]

I would have more gravel, BTW. The frame on the bottom of your tank is not even covered so I would double what you have now which would probably give you two inches. Two to 3 inches is the norm. And gives you enough to get your plants, etc, to stand up.

Good luck.

[matdehaast]

Ok. Went out to the fish store today and spent $250 on various stuff. I purchased a master test kit and my results are as follows.

27/12/2006

PH: 7.2-7.6
Ammonia: 0.25-0.5 ppm (mg/L)
Nitrite: 0 ppm (mg/L)
Nitrate: 5-10 ppm (mg/L)

This is after my major problem the other day so I would regard it as being good I think. What is your take?

The photos below show what the tank now looks like.

I am not getting anyone to feed my fish as I cannot trust anyone near. I have purchased a special tablet type thing that will release the daily needs for 2 weeks.

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Regards
Matthew