(04-29-2017, 02:53 PM)KayR Wrote: Wow- I'm really overwhelmed with all the information here. Most of it is Greek to me. I understand ammonia and nitrogen and nitrates but have never paid attention to them. I feel like a terrible fish mommy.
I had 2 10 gallon tanks with some basic fish in them 30 years ago. Kids put some crayons in the tanks and everything died so that was the end of it for years. Last spring we set up a "pond" in the front yard made out of a toddler swimming pool and a small pump. We kept it about 6" deep with cinder blocks and large rocks in it for the birds and feral cats. Spotted some mosquito larvae in there and headed to walmart and got some 38 cent feeder goldfish to deal with them. Ended up with a pond full of tadpoles and we though the goldfish had all died because the water turned into a swamp. We couldn't see through the water at all. So we stopped adding food for the fish when the tadpoles grew up and left and left it alone. Fast forward to fall and we go to clean it out and spotted something move in the sludge water.....
We ended up with 6 goldfish that needed a new home. We put them in a 30 gallon tank we had, got a filter, got an airpump and stones.... and over 2 months we slowly changed the water from the sludge they were in to the crystal clear water they are in now.
Goldfish are extremely resilient. Sounds like you did the right thing overall. You should adjust your regimen to suit the animals you keep. I think it is certainly worth testing the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate of any tank you keep. Just because it doesn't kill them, doesn't mean it isn't stressing them and decreasing their lifespan. Once you have a good nitrogen cycle set up, it isn't hard to keep it working.
Quote:We have some live plants with no special lighting. There's no algae build up which concerns me for the pleco but it's growing so I guess it's getting enough to eat. We put in pleco blocks & wafers but the goldfish are quick to get them first. We get feeder shrimp every 2 weeks and they last about an hour if they are lucky (we get 20 at a time). A month ago we got feeder guppies and there are still 2 left!
The whole lighting bit with plants, is a complicated issue. There is a balance with N/P/K, lighting, and Co2. If you enhance any of those, an not the others, things go wonky. I am adding Co2, and fertilizers (N/P/K), ad the light I bought was still too bright. I had to dial it down. The real key is balance.
Quote:We use tap water and leave it sit for a week before we use it and we add safe start to it. We change 10 gallons each week- sometimes 2 weeks if the schedule gets crazy. We rinse off the sponge filter every week and change it every month according to the directions.
Water changes sound fine. Just my humble opinion, but there is no need to let tap water sit for a week if you are adding a product that detoxifies the chlorine and chloromines. Add the safestart, let it sit for 24 hours, you should be fine.
You are using sponge filter? As long as the spongey part is in good condition, just rinse it in tank water, (Not Tap Water) and keep using it. All that does is grow good bacteria.
Quote:The goldfish are now 6-7" and appear to be doing great considering where they came from and what they have been through. We're in the process of setting up a 10 gallon tank for shrimp and guppies- the intention is to breed our own feeders but I'm concerned I'll get attached. When we put the feeders into the tank now I always root for them to get away from Chubs- but darn s/he's really fast and just sucks them up whole in the blink of an eye.
So- should I really start testing my water every day? I really like just watching them and feeding them once a day. I am a very low-tech kind of fish/plant owner. LOL
There is nothing wrong with low tech. I would recommend getting a ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate test kit. Plus a pH & kH test kit. Once you have an established biological filter, the real reason of a water change is to reduce the nitrates. If you know what that is, you can adjust you schedule. If your combo of fish, plants, and filter only result in 20ppm nitrates after a week, you can probably let it go another week. If it is over 60ppm after a week, I'd consider an extra change or two. But without the tests, you are just changing blindly. I don't think there i any need to test daily. But weekly or biweekly, at least for a while, I would.
