Filters

I'm afraid it is a myth that more filtration means more fish. provided a filter is adequate for the tank, getting a bigger one will do more than push the water round faster. However, depending what the media is, you could maybe customise it. Those cartridges which contain carbon are not a good media. If you have those, tell us and we can advise on what to do. If you have sponges in the filter, they are fine.

Hi @ceedy and welcome to the forum. 

What made you decide to get a tank? I'll warn you that it can be quite addictive, and when you are looking around you'll find all sorts of fascinating things that can be housed in a tank, and possibly decide that you want them all. That's basically the experience I've had. 

Have you checked on your water in your area? You will usually find that information on your water providers site. The information that we usually look for is total hardness, which will usually be given as ppm CaCO3, or mg/l, or degrees (german). It is also useful to know whether your water provider treats with chlorine or chloramine.

We'll probably end up asking lots of questions. 

A belated welcome, Ceedy

As regards cycling, a water conditioner per se wouldn't help with cycling the filter (and testing the water would just give the results of the tap water with conditioner rather than after / to verify if a cycling process has occurred) - but perhaps you meant some form of bottled bacteria specifically for cycling? If so, interested to know which one you used and how the cycling process went - we're always interested to know how different products work for different people. (This article https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/fishtank-filtration-and-cycling/fishless-cycling-how-to-do-it/ is good for helping understand the process better.)

As for your tank, what are its dimensions in cm? That will help us work out suitable stocking, as many species of fish have minimum tank size requirements (and minimum shoal sizes, etc). As well as https://www.thinkfish.co.uk/fish-profiles, https://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/ is a more comprehensive source/database of such. You'll probably notice in it that the zebra danios and golden barbs need longer-length tanks which may well account for why one might have vanished if stressed. Take a look at this https://www.thinkfish.co.uk/article/community-creator and http://www.aqadvisor.com/ to understand stocking possibilities for your tank a little better. If the fish are unsuitable for your tank size, you'd probably be within your rights to exchange them at the LFS for a more suitable species.

As for where the danio has ended up, I'd be almost certain that it's not been consumed by those fish - yes if you had shrimp and other bottom-feeding fish. I've had fish (one species in particular) kamikaze their way out through gaps where the cable leads run and end up on the skirting board, carpet across the room or plug extension unit, or squeeze through seemingly impossible gaps at the back of the filter between the suction cups and only retrievable once every single piece of decor has been removed altogether - dead fish somehow often end up in such places or inside the filter media.

Hope this helps. 

Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate were all tested and was told that they are all at a safe level. The temperature averages between 24 and 25 degrees. Not sure about GH and KH etc. are

I have been using the “dip in” type but have been advised that these are not very good, any advice please? I don’t know what sort were used at the aquatics centre.

In the mean time what are the dip test results showing. They can provide a useful steer if not an acfurate result. It is likely this is whst the fish store used also.

The test strips I am using are Tetra 6 in 1. I will certainly be looking into buying some of the suggested ones, apparently there is a stockist close by. Thank you for you advice.

Hi @ceedy

Unfortunately, the Tetra 6 in 1 strips do not test for ammonia. I also spotted this thread right here:

https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/tank-equipment-reviews/nt-labs-aquarium-lab-multi-test-kit/

JPC