Setting up a new aquarium

Is there anyone who keeps aquarium fish.
I need a bit of advise.
My daughter as got an aquarium set and it's all ready to take the fish , she was told to leave it 2 weeks and then take a sample of water to be tested.
She took the sample today and was told the ammonia was to high and to leave it another 2 weeks.
The children are going crazy because they want fish in the tank.
Does it really take so long for a tank to settle for goldfish?
And why would the ammonia be high?
Any advise please.

 

Hi Lynn, I'm just giving you this advice as an amateur but who has a goldfish of 14 years old.

They are much stronger than you think. Two weeks of water left without the fish in seems abit strange to me after all they will have to live in whatever water you continue to use won't they? I suppose if your tap water has a strange component to it then maybe??? All I remember is to leave the cold water in the tank until it got to about room temperature, then immerse the fish in their original water containers into this so the two temperatures could get even (sorry rubbish about technical terms etc!) Then release.

You will probably get lots of views telling you different, but I think if it's an aquarium in the house then there's not so much to worry about. In fact I call a goldfish (cold water fish) tank exactly that, to me an aquarium is for tropical fish. But that's just me - I have to use plain speak or I don't understand!!! Not to say you haven't got to look after them after all they are reliant on you. I have just seen goldfish left for 10 days with no food, had a good filter in the tank though, gggrrrrhhh.

Hope this maybe some help.

cheers

 

"And why would the ammonia be high?"

Good question. Was it tap water? If so I'd be concerned about drinking it! If it was pond / rain water then maybe it would be better to start again. I'm not sure what's going to get rid of Ammonia in the tank - is the filter and all that jazz running? And plants in the water?

I would add a step to Borrowers recommendation:

"then immerse the fish in their original water containers into this so the two temperatures could get even (sorry rubbish about technical terms etc!) then open fish's container and fill up with water from aquarium, leave another 30 minutes (so fish can get used to the water) Then release."

A good fish-supplier will fill the bag with Oxygen, from a "bomb tank", so you will have plenty of time to get it home, and the fish won't be stress. At the very least they should "balloon" the bag with air so that the fish have plenty for the journey home.

I agree that Goldfish are pretty robust, why not get a couple and see how they get on? Tiddlers are probably only a pound or so each. At least they will have something to look at! then after a week or two you could get some bigger / more fancy fish.

 

Hi Lyn are you talking about an Aquarium for Tropical fish or a tank which will hold Goldfish?Mr Kandy says you can't have ammonia in your tank unless you have fish in there to produce the ammonia in the first place unless you have got really rubbish water.:confused:

Can you put up some photos of your tank set up as it sounds like you are cycling your tank ready to take fish.We set up a tropical Aquarium for me at the begining of the year{something I have wanted for umpteen years}and though we were impatient to put fish in it had to wait until the conditions were right in the aquarium to take the fish.

Any more info from your end would be a great help before your kids do your head in:thumb:

 

Sorry I might have mis-lead you a little.
It's my daughters tank she as got it for her children at her house.
I have ponds with fish but never had a tank in the house..
I thought it was strange to say there is ammonia without fish.
And it seems a long time to wait to put goldfish into the water.
It was filled with tap water 2 weeks ago.
It's a kit ?
I haven't seen it yet until Tuesday as they have been on holiday.
But she says it as the light filter etc.
Which as been running for the 2 weeks.
It as plants in it and gravel.
Just needs the fish.
They are having fantail gold fish.
I'll get some photos on Tuesday when I'm baby sitting.
When we were children I can never remember all this trouble to keep goldfish.
We used to get them off the rag man and put them in anything we could find.
They lived for years.:D :o
Thanks for the info.
I'll get back when I have some photos.

Sorry about this photo but I have had a problem with my camera / card today.:confused:

 

It's been about 7 weeks since the tank was first set up from new.
They are still having problems with it .
The nitrate level is still far to high.
They have been to the Aqua shop ,on Sunday they told us to cut down on the feeding ( there are 3 tiny gold fish in there) and go back next week to get some chemical stuff if it's still to high.
Someone as told me adding salt will help this.
They would rather use the natural salt if possible.
Any advise please.

 

Eeek! I kept cold water and then tropical fish for years and never once tested the water!! Never had a problem, my fish lasted for years, all sorts; from goldfish to angels, guppies, platys, tetras, cardinals, swordtails and loaches.

I even had platys produce (live-borne) young and guppies that laid eggs that hatched and most grew to a good age.

I say put the fish in and get the tank going!




ooooh! I so fancy having a tank again .... now I wonder where I could put it ... :D

 

Lyn please don't put any more food in the tank it sounds like you are poisoning them {EEK}

I will ask Mr Kandy when he gets home tonight but the more you feed the fish,the more they poo which then starts to rot when it is in the bottom of the tank.This is where all the nitrate and amonia comes into play.

Please don't add table salt as it might not do them any good.We occassionally put salt in our Tropical tank but it is salt especially for Aquariums and not table salt.I will get back to you later as I now have to dash off for a Dr's appointment

Daisee's go for it if you want to start again.We could all help each other with advice on here.:thumb: By the way,Guppies are livebearers and are called Millions fish because they do just that:wink::thmb::D

 

Hiya,

We have a tropical tank.

Like Kandyfloss syas above high nitrate levels are to do with too much food in the tank, don`t feed them every day, we feed ours every three or four days, and only enough so that all the food has been eaten within about two minutes of it having been put in.

If there is any food still visible scoop it out. They can last for a very long time without food.

I am not the expert on this in our family-my hubby is. He used to keep a show Koi pond at his old house, and now settles with a marine tank and two tropical tanks.

I was overfeeding ours, and I got a right telling off from him when he found out-but I wasn`t to know. I am amazed at how little food they need.

 

Thats not a tank ! :p

What filter is it running? looks like under gravel, but your powerhead is way to high to be effective, more water too ! should not be able to see the waterline

 

I will - thanks for the encouragement!

btw - I used to go away on holiday for a week and leave my fish. If you have good plants they can graze on the algae but mostly they're in no danger if left for a few days.

And Stu - I missed that - yes the water level should be much higher.

 

O.K thanks all.
Off to phone my daughter now to tell her she's doing it all wrong. :dh: :lollol:

More water less food lower power head.:thumb:


Just spoke to my daughter.
The tank is now topped up.
Feeding stopped.
How far into the water should she put the power head?

 

The top of the PH should be just under the water. Depends if you have a valve for bubbles.

 

Other thing is don't leave the lights on all the time as this will increase the water temp. I keep tropicals and have no need of thermostats for this reason. Fantails are cold water and won't like it too warm plus the warmer the water the more active the bacteria.

 

She is now wishing she had gotten her children a guinea pig.
This aquarium lark is far to technical. :lollol: