# testing the water



## little (Mar 10, 2006)

I am confused, so you test your tank for water conditon, ok,, great, easy.. then you realize you have high amonia levels, so now I get to sit around and watch my fish knowing there going ot die at my hands becuase it seems there really is no good way to get rid of it?? except do water changes everyday. well thats all good but then i figure in a few days at 30% new water a day, in a few days your pretty much going to have freash tap water all over again, and every thing is all good intell the amonia spike kicks in AGAIN and you do it all over again, never really get your tanked cycled at all do you?? I read somewhere and somewhere else all the cemicals are just as bad as whats wrong with your water. So now I got tigar barb thats got this really funny opic gloss, shine reflection mold, foggy look on it's skin you can see it really good on the black parts when it turns in the light, I have no clue what it is, I have looked and looked , it's not ick or ich? , or velvet, no spots or sores, no poping eye thing ,no pine cone scales, <dropsy?>, eats like a pig still . and been this way since friday. So whats the deal here? 
i am lost here ,,,,, and i have new fish coming on thursday,, HELP


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

Im sorry to hear about your fish being sick. Personally, In my opinion, the best thing to do it NOT to get those new fish yet. You really should get your tank cycled before adding any one else to it. I always suggest a fishless cycle - its better in the long run and no one suffers for it. The water changes wont affect the cycling, most of the bacteria are in your filter media. As long as you DONT change it out it will continue to grow.


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## rbishop1 (Feb 17, 2006)

Hang in there! All's not lost! Use the search function and look for "cycling" and as already stated, IMO, fishless is best!


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## little (Mar 10, 2006)

ok, maybe thats my problem, I dont have any ""media"" or i dont think i do unless it's the little carcoal fillters on the underground gravel system. And I really wish I had know about all this cycling in the fisrt place, i think it would of been alot better, I still have to make my other have believe me, he swears that all i need to do is change the water from time to time, and all is good. none of his mollies never died when he was a kid and thats all he did


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## rbishop1 (Feb 17, 2006)

The charcoal attachments are not really doing you any good and in some people's opinions, can be detrimental, eventually. Consistent water changes are a must, maybe a reason for your other half to remember that was all that is necessary. We are shooting for, and will achieve an optimal water qualty for your fish, not just an acceptable one. In addition to the cycling reading, ensure you obtain some liquid test kits for ammonia, pH, nitrites and nitrates,(liquid more reliable than the test strips type).

Please, also note in your next post, the size of your tank, what and how many of each fish you have in it, whether you have live plants, if using well water or city water, temperature of the tank and if you have a heater installed and any chemicals or medicines you may have already added.


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## rbishop1 (Feb 17, 2006)

What type of filter do you have? This may seem like a tremendous amount of questions, but the more info presented, the easier it is for the forum members to help you. Believe me, you will get conflicting advice, but it is all well intended and expresses what has worked well for them and sometimes, for many others.

Looking forward to your next post!


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## little (Mar 10, 2006)

as study shows, i need to add a better filter, i am guessing internal, my tank is 60 g with canopy, so i cant hang anything on it over the edge, right now i just have 2 undergravel filter, found out that does not do to much, and my fish are pigs and slobs, lots of food/waste/ plant pieces. we have hard well water here, even out of the house filter is is bad, 
I am now the proud owner of a Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kits
I will beable to check the water here shortly, the temp is in the green! well i think its about72, it is in the green on the one stuck to the inside of my tank,,, i had 4 plants then went to 2 < dang barbs!> if i am correct it;s a frill ??? the tank was given to me so this is all new and fun!!! I am using what came with it. well salt was added, wardleys 3-1, ich cure was poured in there to shut me up, only to make matters worst>> stress coat was also added. I think i am turning my fish into druggies, did a water change again today hoping to help my sick fish, since i have no clue whats wrong i have no idea what to treat with!

my fishy house has 3 tiger barb, 1 one pleco, one catfish, silver tip shark, and somewhere i might have a pea**** eel unless he got away, so now what is my next move? internal filter?? any recomandations???

THANKS FOR ALL THE HELP!!!!!!


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## little (Mar 10, 2006)

OK< tested my water, the ammonia in gone, nitrite is high and the nitrate is low but there, how long does it take from here?


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## Mr Aquarium (Jan 18, 2005)

Here ya go, this is Very good reading and you should understand how things work,
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-chem.html
also click the NITROGEN CYCLE link in the artical, also very helpfull,
I know how this stuff works, but this goes more in depth and was a good read,


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Okay, you're halfway there. Since you put salt in the water, for whatever reason, you don't have to worry about the nitrite as much as you otherwise would have. Salt helps make nitrite safer for fish, you see.
About another week of doing nothing should start to get rid of the nitrite and give you nitrate. At that point, change some water every week and you're good to go.
As for filtration, the more the merrier. most canopies have an open spot in the back to let you hang stuff, bt if your doesn't then yeah, I guess an internal one would work for you, or an external canister filter which sits under the tank.


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## little (Mar 10, 2006)

i added salt to help my fish,,, I can get a canister filter and plan on it in the next week, I am just not sure whats the better brand, there are so many media types for diffrent types of filters, I want to do this right with out going broke, But i am the type who wants to go buy a filter for 200g tank and use that !!! more POWER!!!! 
And I had thougth I ahd read all the links for fishy stuff,, guess not, the more I read the better chance it will make sence to me,


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## msdolittle (Mar 4, 2006)

Dumb question alert.........

What kind of salt? And.......if I'm having an ich problem, I read adding salt will help because ich doesn't tolerate it?


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## sambi7878 (Dec 23, 2005)

msdolittle said:


> Dumb question alert.........
> 
> What kind of salt? And.......if I'm having an ich problem, I read adding salt will help because ich doesn't tolerate it?


Aquarium salt that you can find on your lfs or any non-iodized salt. Yeah! It helps in treating ich. salt tries to remove the natural coating on the fish scales so that the meds can easily pass through their skin. IMO, salt treatment should only be in half doses cause it may fully destroy their coating if wrongly done.


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## little (Mar 10, 2006)

ok, dumb question, if adding the salt, does that make it brackish ??? I was told my eel needs a little salt thats why i started adding it , now i keep reading it's helpful, are there any fish that will 100% not tolerate the small amount added??


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## msdolittle (Mar 4, 2006)

I think I'd do best to just skip the salt then.....I'd be afraid to add too much and do more damage than good. I'll just stick with the ich medicine.


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