Re: Newbie....think I made a mess....fish just don't know it yet....

["Sylvia Kohler" <skohler@entermail.net>]

I definitely wouldn't agree with turning out the light. The best you can
hope for is that the plants (and even the algae is going to help out at this
point) will help reduce the ammonia and nitrites that the uncycled tank is
obviously producing. The more heavily planted, the better off, really, and
running co2 to help the plants utilize the ammonia would be even better, but
stick to basics first, I guess. Lacking plants, let the algae help out, at
least for now. Deal with that later. Keep the light burning, and let the
plants and algae soak up some ammonia.

No one has mentioned pH. As I recall, ammonia gets highly lethal over pH of
neutral at 7.0; somewhere around 7.0 or under becomes less harmful as
ammonium. So keeping a pH somewhere around 6.7-6.8 would be best, because,
as I also recall, nitrite becomes extremely lethal as pH wanders under 6.5.
Definitely monitor the pH, keeping an eye on ammonia and nitrites at the
same time.

Nitrasorb works pretty good as I recall, but you have to keep it directly in
the path of the water, which might be tough in an emperor. Initially, you'll
need to recharge it pretty frequently, in a saline solution as directed.
Forget those liquid bacterial things. They don't work. Cycle, Stress-zyme
etc.

Don't do what I first did when I was in an ammonia panic with my first tank.
I had some *helpful* shopkeeper siphon out garbage from his undergravel
filter to help me out. Told me to dump it in the tank and let it go. I had
finally gotten things under control with water changes, and after dumping in
the load of detritus, etc. (and not enough bacteria, if any), I got ammonia
way off the scale, and was back to vacuuming gravel, etc., and massive water
changes. A squeeze from a biopad which contains bacteria would be helpful.
Getting a pad with visible bacterial colonies on it (a brown slime) and
sticking it in your filter would be better. Best would be from somebody's
disease-free tank. Doesn't the emperor filter have bio-wheels? Maybe you can
get a cultured biowheel (it will be brown) and trade your new one in.

Last, I would suggest that you ask those helpful storekeepers if they would
take some of the fish back. Not only are they not compatible, they would
outgrow it, and while you're tank is cycling, it's way too much fishload.
You'll wind up killing the fish you want to keep in the long run.

Good luck,

Sylvia


> > Sooooo you get algae! Basically you have more nutrients and light in
> > there than the plants are using, so the algae is able to get a foothold
> > in your tank. now i've never been very good at getting rid of algae, but
> > you might want to cut back on the light a bit.
>
> I would just turn off the lights for a couple of days (3-5).  The algae
> should die off and your plants shouldn't be affected.
>
> Continue to monitor the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels and make water
> changes including siphoning the gravel as the levels get too high.  Also,
> keep the airstones going you could have a potential dissolved oxygen
problem
> with the algae dying.
>
> Definitely find a way of reducing the number of fish in your tank.  With a
> little luck and some close monitoring of your tank you might be able to
pull
> through this minimal losses.
>




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