Aquarium ready for fish yet ?

[goldfishsong]

ok so tuesady i filled my tank & put the drops ,& filter & air bubbles,& hood & light ...i was told that the water would get cloudy & stuff a day later & stay that way awhile & eventually clear up....well the waters still clear ???.....im wondering when i can add fish ?

:youtellme:im thinking maybe because of good advice from here :) :) i did everything too right LOL ,so my tank may not get cloudy ? i even bought a pail from the pet store ,they said it was "untreated plastic " ...prob a rip-off but i figured i could just always use that pail to do water changes, etc. (only for fish stuff )

[suphi]

If you're doing fish-less cycling method water will get cloudy at some point, that usually takes 1-2 months before you can add fish. It's complicated and time consuming.

But as I said before, just add fish and stick with basic method of frequent water change and you'll be fine, don't worry about bacteria culture.

[goldfishsong]

you mean i can add fish now ?

[small_ranchu]

sure. You are ready..

[mikroll]

if you can not wait for your tank to mature then consider getting a few water tests kit. NO2 is a good one. test water daily to begin with especialy if you feed a lot.

[jlo]

ok so tuesady i filled my tank & put the drops ,& filter & air bubbles,& hood & light ...i was told that the water would get cloudy & stuff a day later & stay that way awhile & eventually clear up....well the waters still clear ???.....im wondering when i can add fish ?

:youtellme:im thinking maybe because of good advice from here :) :) i did everything too right LOL ,so my tank may not get cloudy ? i even bought a pail from the pet store ,they said it was "untreated plastic " ...prob a rip-off but i figured i could just always use that pail to do water changes, etc. (only for fish stuff )


Usually the water will turn cloudy after you add fish in.

[goldfishsong]

Ive been very discouraged,my tank is still going,never did cloud up...i keep taking samples to the pet store to get tested and they keep saying no the waters not ready yet :( i think im going to just try getting a couple small goldfish & try them out...

its hard because theres so much conflicting advice & it seems so complex ...and i sure dont want to kill any fish in the process...so there the tank sits running all the time w/ no fish in it...when people come over they say oh a fish tank with no fish:)

[Cincy Ranchu]

Lots of folks get all bound up by the nitrogen cycle and spend way too much time fiddling and waiting for nitrated tot show up etc... I f you understock your tank and change water twcie a week (30%), you are probably good, if you add plants and do the same even better, and if you take a filter from an existing tank and add fish and do water changes you are bullet proof.

Cycling a virgin stand alone tank without fish is over rated and is boring:yess::exact: The nitrifiers will catch up gradually, but all this testing for a tank that is not over crowded is just busy work...

If you are jamming the tank full, >1 medium fish / 20 gallons, then just water change more frequently..:exact:

[suphi]

Lots of folks get all bound up by the nitrogen cycle and spend way too much time fiddling and waiting for nitrated tot show up etc... I f you understock your tank and change water twcie a week (30%), you are probably good, if you add plants and do the same even better, and if you take a filter from an existing tank and add fish and do water changes you are bullet proof.

Cycling a virgin stand alone tank without fish is over rated and is boring:yess::exact: The nitrifiers will catch up gradually, but all this testing for a tank that is not over crowded is just busy work...

If you are jamming the tank full, >1 medium fish / 20 gallons, then just water change more frequently..:exact:

^What he said.:worship:

We can get too hung up in the N-cycle and forget about the big picture--that is how to keep goldfish and do it well. One can attain perfect levels of Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate, etc. but that only means just that--fish can still get sick or not developing properly.