Help please!!!

[Cliff]

+1 to the above

When we say our tanks are cycled, we are really saying our filters are cycled. The bacteria that you need to remove the toxins form the water keeping your fish safe and healthy will be in your filter media. If you replace your fiter media, you loose your cycle and also loose the bacteria that you need. I know many manufactures tell you to replace the filter media every month or so, but that is wrong. I have some filter media that is about 3 years old now and will last many many more year as I regulary clean it in old tank water once a month.

[Paintcraze]

Did you really fill the tank with DISTILLED water or do you mean regular bottled water? There is a big difference!

[Thlorian]

Don't know what kind of filter that is but if you replace most of the contents of the filter every time you do a water change you got the root cause of why most of your fish died.

I have a Tetra Dual Whisper 60 Power Filter and I change the white carbon bags and carbon once a month. Should I NOT be changing them this often? Thanks . . .

[Thlorian]

Did you really fill the tank with DISTILLED water or do you mean regular bottled water? There is a big difference!

I double-checked the labels and I actually used spring water jugs and not distilled - what is the difference please and is one or the other better/worse for a tank please? Thanks . . .

[Thlorian]

+1 to the above

When we say our tanks are cycled, we are really saying our filters are cycled. The bacteria that you need to remove the toxins form the water keeping your fish safe and healthy will be in your filter media. If you replace your fiter media, you loose your cycle and also loose the bacteria that you need. I know many manufactures tell you to replace the filter media every month or so, but that is wrong. I have some filter media that is about 3 years old now and will last many many more year as I regulary clean it in old tank water once a month.

Ok are you talking about the white bags with carbon in them, or the black foam "pads" that lie outside of the filter bag but between the filter bag and the whisper power filter? Thanks...

[Paintcraze]

Spring water is fine, you don't want to use distillled water.

[Cliff]

Ok are you talking about the white bags with carbon in them, or the black foam "pads" that lie outside of the filter bag but between the filter bag and the whisper power filter? Thanks...

Both

I would also suggest cutting a small slit in the white bag and pore out the carbon, replacing it with eaither sponge material or some other biological filter media.

[CrunchyLeaf]

There really doesn't need to be any carbon in your filter at all. Carbon is often used to remove medications from the water. As Cliff said, it would be good to remove the carbon and put in a different media that would facilitate the growth of beneficial bacteria.
The reason I recommended that you buy a test kit is because your local Petsmart/Petco is most likely going to test your water with the test steps, which aren't really accurate. If they do use the liquid tests, you're going to have to trust the employee to shake, mix and time the tests accurately.
You are going to need to test your water a lot throughout the life of your tank so it won't go to waste.

[Thlorian]

There really doesn't need to be any carbon in your filter at all. Carbon is often used to remove medications from the water. As Cliff said, it would be good to remove the carbon and put in a different media that would facilitate the growth of beneficial bacteria.
The reason I recommended that you buy a test kit is because your local Petsmart/Petco is most likely going to test your water with the test steps, which aren't really accurate. If they do use the liquid tests, you're going to have to trust the employee to shake, mix and time the tests accurately.
You are going to need to test your water a lot throughout the life of your tank so it won't go to waste.

Ok thanks - and thanks to everyone here for your quick and informative tips. I did have Petsmart run the test via strips and it looks as though I will have to wait about a month for my tank to "develop" more in it's cycle. Here are the test results:

Ammonia = .50
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 0
pH = 6.2
Alkalinity = 20
Hardness = 25
Chlorine & Chloramine = 0

[Thlorian]

Ok I found something called a NH3/NH4 kit buried in the back of my the bottom console of my fish tank. I must have bought it a few years back and never used it! It has some PH indicator and some reagents so I will figure this out and try to get an accurate reading - thanks