Request for filter media (Orleans)

[briannesbitt]

Hi everyone,

My son (6 yrs) and I are setting up a 45 G aquarium together.  We started out by building our own custom DIY stand at the end of April.  You can see the pictures here:
http://www.canadianaquariumconnection.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12157

... and our final weight test passed with flying colours!
http://p.twimg.com/AriXC0jCQAA1JNC.jpg


We are attempting to perform a fish less cycle using household ammonia.  We are about 3 weeks in and according to our water tests seem to be right back where we started as the cycle seems to have been reset for some reason.  After our initial 3-5 ppm ammonia dose it took about 15 days for the level to decrease down to 1.0 ppm but then just stayed there for the next few days.  So we decided to dose it back up to the 4-5 ppm range and start again :-(

We would love to be able to seed it with some filter media if anyone would care to provide us some?!? We are in Orleans but can pickup anywhere from central to east end.  My son is being very patient and enjoys the testing but we both look forward to the day when there will be fish in there as well!

Thanks!

[daworldisblack]

... and our final weight test passed with flying colours!
http://p.twimg.com/AriXC0jCQAA1JNC.jpg

Haha! Awesome! Very nice stand! I have a seeded filter sponge if you're interested but you'd have to pick it up at meadowlands/fisher area - perhaps you might find someone closer but let me know otherwise!

[Peekay]

Love the pics!     I'm half of a mom/son fishkeeping team too.  Would love to help with media, but I'm in the wrong end of town. 

Hope you find some, and get to the fishes part soon!

[briannesbitt]

Hey thanks for the comments.  The stand was a fun project for the 2 of us to complete together.  I think it would have held 1000 lbs+ but we enjoyed "the test" !

I actually grew up not too far from the meadowlands/fisher area.  So far you are my only hope so beggars can't be choosers!  I could come by after work but I would need to drive it right home so it makes it alive!  Tomorrow I can't but maybe wed or thurs?

Unless someone else steps up I'll take what I can get!

[Laura]

I'm central, but am always happy to help. Let me know if you need options.

[daworldisblack]

Hey thanks for the comments.  The stand was a fun project for the 2 of us to complete together.  I think it would have held 1000 lbs+ but we enjoyed "the test" !

I actually grew up not too far from the meadowlands/fisher area.  So far you are my only hope so beggars can't be choosers!  I could come by after work but I would need to drive it right home so it makes it alive!  Tomorrow I can't but maybe wed or thurs?

Unless someone else steps up I'll take what I can get!

Yeap either day works. I'm home in the evenings Let me know. Just PM me to confirm.

[briannesbitt]

Thanks everyone.  Laura & daworldisblack I have PM'd both of you to see what works best for timing.  Thanks!

[briannesbitt]

What is the best way for transportation?  Just a ziploc bag with a bit of aquarium water and keep the trip under 1 hour before getting it into my filter?

Also we should ensure the ammonia level is 3-5 ppm for when it gets put into my aquarium to ensure they have some food? (fish less cycle)

We did try a filter media from another individual at about day 4 of 23 days so far, but looking back I can think of a few errors that might have caused some issues.  The guy I got the previous filter from used an ammonia remover insert so maybe the bacteria levels weren't  that high?  The ammonia level of my tank was between 4-8 ppm (test chart colours are very similar) so maybe too high and actually killed the bacteria that did get added?!?

Not too sure but hopefully this time we will have better luck.

[daworldisblack]

yeap media in a little aquarium water should be good. So long as there isn't an extended period when the media is dry. As for Ammonia, I was going to suggest putting in the Zebra Danios since you have them on your fish list anyways. They are real hardy fishes and I had them to help cycle all my tanks thus far. Now I use driftwood and snails from older established setups. Might be a thought to consider.

[briannesbitt]

I guess to do that I would have to do a ~100% water change at this point to bring the readings back down to 0 and pretty much start a fish in cycle with the help of media from yourself and

Its a 45 gallon tank and I have seen suggestions of 1 small fish per 10 gallons when starting out so a small school of 3 would be a good start if we decide to go that way??

Have to think about it!

Also do most of you use Prime when doing water changes?  I guess just de-chlorine / chloramine isn't enough here in Ottawa since I understand (and have tested) that the tap water has about a 0.5 ammonia reading.

Thanks for the help!

[briannesbitt]

Also read on the other thread you have some trumpet and zebra nerite snails... might be a nice addition :-)  !!

[Shawn84]

If your looking for zebra danios I have some that i breed. Just let me know how many u want.

[daworldisblack]

I had 3 in there when cycling my 10Gallon. Not sure what the fish/gallons rule is for cycling but perhaps there is a number out there. You want sufficient waste from fishes to supply food to the bacteria but also not too much to make the water toxic. You might have to do a little research there (its been a while for me :p). You can have as many Trumpet as you'd like but the Zebra Nerites I am not giving away as they don't breed in freshwater

[exv152]

I guess to do that I would have to do a ~100% water change at this point to bring the readings back down to 0 and pretty much start a fish in cycle with the help of media from yourself and ...
Also do most of you use Prime when doing water changes?  I guess just de-chlorine / chloramine isn't enough here in Ottawa since I understand (and have tested) that the tap water has about a 0.5 ammonia reading.

I wouldn't do 100% water changes because it does no good to the cycle process. Large water changes can even slow down or reset the cycle. Cycling a tank takes time (30-45 days for the full cycle) especially if you have no plants. I would add about five hardy fish and take it from there, adding only smaller groups of 2-3 fish at a time every couple of weeks. Feed sparingly and do 30-40% water changes every week or so. Also, it's worth noting most test kits will read both NH4 and NH3 as the same, the difference being ammonia vs ammonium. Prime is an excellent product to use because it turns ammonia into ammonium, making it far less toxic to your fish and just as easy for the beneficial bacteria to consume.  And, yes, ammonium is in our city water. Just my two cents.

[briannesbitt]

General consensus for populating a fish-in cycle seems to be:
"the first # in your tank size (in gallons) is how many fish you can stock assuming a small sized schooling type fish.  This is not an absolute, though. Let's say I am cycling a 50 gallon. I plan to stock a school of 6 tetras in this tank. Instead of getting 5 of the 6 tetras as the guideline says, I'd get 6."

So 6 young zebra danios sounds like a good number for my tank.  Looks like tomorrow night will be a busy one!

@exv152: the only reason I am going to do an ~100% water change is that I was doing a fish less cycle and have the current water dosed with household ammonia up to 5 ppm... I doubt the addition of the zebras would go well in its current state :-)  The rest of your statements I agree with once I reset and start the fish-in cycle.

[briannesbitt]

So last night we picked up 6 zebra danios and a wee little baby!  As well some plants, snails and seeded filter media!  Shout out thanks to daworldisblack and Shawn84.

Also a pre-thanks goes to Laura who is also making some donations to us next week!  Thanks to all! 

Those danios sure are fast and really seem to be "playing" in the water like a bunch of kids.

[exv152]

Another tip regarding ammonia - if you keep the pH under 7 it's going to be mostly ammonium you're dealing with. far less harmful, something I forgot to mention eariler.

[touchofsky]

Good luck with your new acquisitions.  This is a great forum!

[briannesbitt]

Just a quick update.  The danios are still doing well.  Also according to our water readings yesterday our ammonia is now at 0 and we got the nitrite spike!  Did a water change yesterday and still have been doing them every few days to make sure they stay happy.  Not long now!

Thanks again to all for the help.

[daworldisblack]

woooo! Was wondering where you ended up with this Good to hear!