freshwater question... Sorry

[pondy]

Im sorry I know this is a saltwater site but this is the only site that I know of that the people really respond fast and accurate. So forgive me for the FW question.... I was wondering if it is normal for a new freshwater system to be mercy... preameters are all great and it is all pretty new... it is the 3 day it has been set up.. Is this normal????

 

[vanquish]

Yes. Make sure you are running carbon in your hang on back filter. Also, if you have a friend who has an FW tank, see if they wont give you a cup or two of water from their filter. If you add this to your tank, you can jump start your bacteria growth, which will keep the water clean. If you dont have a friend close by, just ask your LFS for some of their tank water. The water should clear up after a week or two of cycle.

 

[pondy]

Vanquish,
thanks a ton. So if you were me you wouldnt put any fish in the tank???

 

[vanquish]

No, not if it is only three days old. The tank must do something called cycle, no matter if it is FW or SW, and this process usually takes some time. http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/bi...rogencycle.htm

 

[ryanhayes9]

so maybe thats why my fish died so fast......

 

[pondy]

Alright,

Thanks a ton for the info. It sure did help me out a ton. Ididnt knowt hat fresh water tanks had to cycle. Well Im going to go and do that right now. Very much appericated information. Thanks. Dustin

 

[pondy]

so the mercy water will go away if I put some water from a friends tank in it??? In two or so weeks???? Would it take as long if I put a lot of water from a friends tank in it???

 

[vanquish]

Well, the faster your bacteria get going the faster the cycle can start and end. If you want it to go quickly, sure use a generous amt of water. If you really want to get it started well though, you should borrow some gravel from a friend's tank. You can do one of two things:
1. Just take some gravel which has algae and bacteria living on it and litter it on the gravel you have already.
2. If you don’t want to mix the two gravels (or you want to return your friends) you can take a woman's nylon and fill it with a cup or so of your friend's gravel, tie it off, and just set it on the bottom.
In either case, wait for your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite to spike and then return to zero, over the course of at least a week. This is how you know your tank has cycled.

 

[mikediii]

You can also buy some "bacteria in a bottle" to help speed up the process. Stres Zyme is one brand and its less than 5$. Every 7 days you can add some to speed up your bacteria growth.

 

[mikediii]

If your tank is cloudy you may have minute particles that are too small to be picked up by your filter floating around in it. Especially if you didnt rinse the gravel before putting it in the tank. Good luck and enjoy

 

[pondy]

ok, I did rinse the gravel, but Imight not have rinsed it enough. Im going to do a bit of a water change before I put like 5 or six gallons of my friends aquarium water in the tank. He is just about to clean his, would it be benificial if I were to put his used filter bag in the aquarium???? Just wondering

 

[fishguy83]

I'm not an expert, but I don't think it would be an issue, but might want to get a 2nd opinion
I would just make sure your friend's tank is healthy - no ich or anything else bad, before using stuff from their tank...