Help On Cycling

[stangels]

Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days ago we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on how to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no information is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try to adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our main concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!

[NetMax]

"stangels" > wrote in message
...
>
> Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days ago
> we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon
> aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on how
> to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no information
> is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try to
> adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our main
> concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish
> are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the
> level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust
> the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!
>
>
> --
> stangels

Regarding the cloudy water, this is normal and can be ignored. It poses
no threat to the fish, but the cures can be stressful. It will clear
later on its own, and if it doesn't then there are ways to diagnose the
cause to be able to correct it.

Regarding the pH, it is highly recommended to leave the pH as it is, as
pH altering chemicals can be quite stressful. It is quite possible that
your Angelfish were born in higher pH water, and they would not even
appreciate your efforts. Also altering pH while cycling would be a
double whammy for stressing the fish, and would be mostly ineffective as
your water change routine would return you to your source water
conditions anyways.

Regarding cycling, this is your (imo) only priority. Unless you have
some aged filter media or Bio-Spira, you will be hard pressed to control
the ammonia and nitrite levels, so be vigilant with your test kit and be
ready to make frequent water changes, as large as necessary to control
the water conditions.

--
www.NetMax.tk

[Jim Anderson]

In article >, stangels.1mbqw8
@news.fishkeepingbanter.com says...
>
> Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days ago
> we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon
> aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on how
> to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no information
> is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try to
> adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our main
> concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish
> are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the
> level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust
> the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!
>
>
> --
> stangels
>

I have kept tank breed angels in 8.0PH and they breed like rabbits.

Most LFS get there angels from local breeders (because they multiply
like crazy), so they should be ok in your local water (in my area
anyway). I think the GH is more important, my old RO unit took my 8.0PH,
300ppm GH water and output 8.0PH, 2ppm GH.

Being new to the hobby, I would discourage playing with the water
chemistry. Maybe you should use RO water from the grocery store, in my
area it is $0.27usd per gallon. Or install an RO unit.

Cycling a tank with Angels will kill them all, they are very sensitive
to ammonia. Buy some bacteria in the bottle like Cycle and add to the
tank per the instructions.

Good luck.

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

[Robert Flory]

"stangels" > wrote in message
...
>
> Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days ago
> we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon
> aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on how
> to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no information
> is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try to
> adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our main
> concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish
> are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the
> level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust
> the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!
>
>
> --
> stangels
It is probably not necessary to worry. Most likely the angels are aquarium
bred and will do just as well as at a lower pH maybe even better.

Better a stable pH thay playing around with the pH.

bob

[anemone]

I wouldn't put my fish through the stresses of cycling....i love the
fishless method with ammonia because it gives you a nice large count of
beneficial bacteria
"stangels" > wrote in message
...
>
> Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days ago
> we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon
> aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on how
> to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no information
> is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try to
> adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our main
> concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish
> are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the
> level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust
> the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!
>
>
> --
> stangels

[Margolis]

Well it seems universal here.

Just follow NetMax's advice.

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[stangels]

Thank you for your information...however we are confused again, we were told at the fish store that we were not suppose to do any water changes at all. I have read though we should do 10 to 15 % water changes....which one is correct?? Thanks!!





"stangels" wrote in message
...

Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days ago
we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon
aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on how
to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no information
is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try to
adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our main
concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish
are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the
level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust
the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!


--
stangels

Regarding the cloudy water, this is normal and can be ignored. It poses
no threat to the fish, but the cures can be stressful. It will clear
later on its own, and if it doesn't then there are ways to diagnose the
cause to be able to correct it.

Regarding the pH, it is highly recommended to leave the pH as it is, as
pH altering chemicals can be quite stressful. It is quite possible that
your Angelfish were born in higher pH water, and they would not even
appreciate your efforts. Also altering pH while cycling would be a
double whammy for stressing the fish, and would be mostly ineffective as
your water change routine would return you to your source water
conditions anyways.

Regarding cycling, this is your (imo) only priority. Unless you have
some aged filter media or Bio-Spira, you will be hard pressed to control
the ammonia and nitrite levels, so be vigilant with your test kit and be
ready to make frequent water changes, as large as necessary to control
the water conditions.

--
www.NetMax.tk

[Sue]

"stangels" > wrote in message
...
>
> Thank you for your information...however we are confused again, we were
> told at the fish store that we were not suppose to do any water changes
> at all. I have read though we should do 10 to 15 % water
> changes....which one is correct?? Thanks!!

You don't do water changes for a fishless cycle but you must do water
changes when cycling with fish.

Sue

[anemone]

During fishless cycle, no water changes are done till the very end of the
cycle...then a test is done an hour later to determine if it is safe to add
the fish.
"stangels" > wrote in message
...
>
> Thank you for your information...however we are confused again, we were
> told at the fish store that we were not suppose to do any water changes
> at all. I have read though we should do 10 to 15 % water
> changes....which one is correct?? Thanks!!
>
>
>
>
>
> NetMax Wrote:
>> "stangels" wrote in message
>> ...-
>>
>> Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days
>> ago
>> we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon
>> aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on
>> how
>> to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no
>> information
>> is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try
>> to
>> adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our
>> main
>> concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish
>> are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the
>> level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust
>> the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!
>>
>>
>> --
>> stangels-
>>
>> Regarding the cloudy water, this is normal and can be ignored. It
>> poses
>> no threat to the fish, but the cures can be stressful. It will clear
>> later on its own, and if it doesn't then there are ways to diagnose
>> the
>> cause to be able to correct it.
>>
>> Regarding the pH, it is highly recommended to leave the pH as it is,
>> as
>> pH altering chemicals can be quite stressful. It is quite possible
>> that
>> your Angelfish were born in higher pH water, and they would not even
>> appreciate your efforts. Also altering pH while cycling would be a
>> double whammy for stressing the fish, and would be mostly ineffective
>> as
>> your water change routine would return you to your source water
>> conditions anyways.
>>
>> Regarding cycling, this is your (imo) only priority. Unless you have
>> some aged filter media or Bio-Spira, you will be hard pressed to
>> control
>> the ammonia and nitrite levels, so be vigilant with your test kit and
>> be
>> ready to make frequent water changes, as large as necessary to control
>> the water conditions.
>>
>> --
>> www.NetMax.tk
>
>
> --
> stangels

[NetMax]

Unfortunately, fish stores can be notoriously poor with the quality of
their advice (hence the activity on the newsgroups ;~). It's not unusual
to be given advice by someone who doesn't even own a home aquarium (it
isn't a legal pre-requisite for employment). Advice can also be highly
circumstantial, so knowing the application and/or sequence will sometimes
yield different instructions.

During cycling, if you don't change the water frequently enough to keep
the level of ammonia and nitrites low, then the fish will suffer and
quite possibly die. During cycling, it's highly unlikely that you could
reasonably change enough water to significantly affect the cycling
process. The total amount of ammonia consumed determines the total
population of bacteria, but it takes only a 'whisper' to promote
bacterial growth, and as you have a steady ammonia supply (the fish), I
would not even be concerned about the total bacterial population as it
will balance out just the same.

Note that 10 to 15% water changes are quite possibly ideal *after* you
are cycled (even this % will vary according to your fish load and types
of fish). During cycling, it's quite possible that this size water
change would be too small. The best way to decide how much and how often
your water changes should be, would be based on facts rather than
opinions. These facts are obtained using a simple tester which will
indicate ammonia concentrations (or nitrite or several other parameters
of interest, depending on the tester purchased).

Opinions and advice are great for ideas on where to go or look next, but
water tests are there and see things people can't.

Regarding fish store advice: the fact that you were sold Angelfish to
cycle a tank pretty much confirms the quality of their advice to less
than average, and 'average' hovers around abysmal (jmo of course).
--
www.NetMax.tk

"stangels" > wrote in message
...
>
> Thank you for your information...however we are confused again, we were
> told at the fish store that we were not suppose to do any water changes
> at all. I have read though we should do 10 to 15 % water
> changes....which one is correct?? Thanks!!
>
>
>
>
>
> NetMax Wrote:
>> "stangels" wrote in message
>> ...-
>>
>> Hi my husband and I are new to the fish hobby. A week and two days
>> ago
>> we bought six silver tiger angelfish and put them into a 40 gallon
>> aquarium that was already set up. We have done extensive reading on
>> how
>> to properly cycle a tank. Unfortunately on the internet no
>> information
>> is the same. We want to know if during the cycle process we can try
>> to
>> adjust the ph levels and adjust the water clarity of the tank. Our
>> main
>> concern is ph levels. It is currently at a 7.2 border 7.4....the fish
>> are eatting and swimming around no problem but we are aware that the
>> level should be lower for the fish to thrive. Should we try to adjust
>> the ph or just wait until the tank is done cycling? Thank you!
>>
>>
>> --
>> stangels-
>>
>> Regarding the cloudy water, this is normal and can be ignored. It
>> poses
>> no threat to the fish, but the cures can be stressful. It will clear
>> later on its own, and if it doesn't then there are ways to diagnose
>> the
>> cause to be able to correct it.
>>
>> Regarding the pH, it is highly recommended to leave the pH as it is,
>> as
>> pH altering chemicals can be quite stressful. It is quite possible
>> that
>> your Angelfish were born in higher pH water, and they would not even
>> appreciate your efforts. Also altering pH while cycling would be a
>> double whammy for stressing the fish, and would be mostly ineffective
>> as
>> your water change routine would return you to your source water
>> conditions anyways.
>>
>> Regarding cycling, this is your (imo) only priority. Unless you have
>> some aged filter media or Bio-Spira, you will be hard pressed to
>> control
>> the ammonia and nitrite levels, so be vigilant with your test kit and
>> be
>> ready to make frequent water changes, as large as necessary to control
>> the water conditions.
>>
>> --
>> www.NetMax.tk
>
>
> --
> stangels