First Tank. Need Advice On Ammonia And Ph Levels.

Hi new to the hobby and new here. Would be grateful for any advice thanks. I've bought my 1st tank a fluval flex 34 which is going to be a planted tank. The only stock will be a single male Betta fish. The tank is planted and scaped. I am dosing daily with tropica fertiliser just incase this is useful info for any advice I receive from anyone.

I'm  stuck now on how to get ammonia into the aquarium with a fishless cycle. I went to my LFS today to purchase a bottle of ammonia. The member of staff serving told me this was a out of date method. She tried to sell me a bottle of something I don't recall the name of.  They said if used it the tank Would be ready for fish next week. I said I was happy to wait the weeks to cycle properly. They then told me this was a out of date method too. According to them I had to add fish the 1st week after this product to cycle the tank. They said waiting weeks was a myth.

I would like to know the best method for getting ammonia into the tank. I'm reluctant to use the prawn method. Worried about the smell. Want to keep the wife happy!

Also I want to raise my ph levels. The hardscape and soil have lowered it down to 6.0. I was hoping to use a bag of crushed coral. But was told this wouldn't work and to use a chemical that would raise it to 7.2 I believe. Which is the best safest method?

I left the shop without buying either product as I wasn't sure. Thanks for any advice. Sorry this post is so long!!

Thanks for the welcome and the advice. Ok that's great. I will monitor the plants and take it from there. Will think about the coral. I hadn't really considered the hardness etc I don't really want to increase this. Thanks again.   

Hi thanks for the advice. Not pets at home this time. It was a chain however. Lots of them at garden centres around this part of Wales. I've got everything on the list apart from Dr Tims. Ok look forward to the next part. Happy to get all the knowledge I can get before deciding which method.

As I was leaving the shop I was told by the staff member to ignore advice on forums. Basically said just get the fish and see how it goes. Left shop thinking "yeah but I want to do all I can to make sure I don't kill it!"

Welcome @Betta2020 

As a current newbie returning to the hobby I can only praise this forum for its content and members that are so knowledgeable and helpful.

In regards to the ammonia I would just follow a method that you are currently looking to explore i.e Dr Tims that way it doesn’t confuse you. I would also invest (if you haven’t already) and get yourself a test kit. There are complete ones on the market such as API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

This will enable you to test your water at every stage during the cycling process and ensure that when it’s showing 0 for Ammonia etc you’ll know when it’s ok to add the fish. As already mentioned you have live plants which will help.

Once again welcome and I look forward to see pictures and hear your process progress!

Simon

Hi @Betta2020 and welcome to the forum 

Your tank looks great, I'm sure that your future betta will love it. 

There is a lot of information available from the internet, shop staff, other fishkeepers, and quite a lot of it is contradictory, or quite different at least. There seems to be no one way to do anything, and as knowledge & technology move on the advice that is given also changes. There will be people that have always done things one way and everything has been fine, others another way, and so on. There are people who have successfully kept fish together that are considered incompatible, and people who have had issues with fish that are considered acceptable tank mates. Unfortunately sometimes it's a case of taking the middle road and trying to do your best - the exact same approach as you mention with wanting to do all that you can to make sure that you don't kill your fish.

I've got everything on the list apart from Dr Tims.

Hi @Betta2020

So, you have a 'Master' Test Kit? Which one do you have? I also note that you are using aquarium soil. Which one? Tropica, by any chance? If so, you may not need to buy any additional ammonia. Tropica soil would appear to leach ammonia into the water column. I have not used it myself but take a look at this:

https://forums.thinkfish.co.uk/general-fishkeeping-chat/new-beginnings/msg47427/?topicseen#msg47427

JPC

A belated welcome

Good to see you have adopted a responsible fishkeeping approach, putting the life of the forthcoming fish first, rather than a blase approach of "hope for the best". Your forthcoming fish is going to have a lovely new abode – your tank looks great!

It’s disappointing that some/many LFSs don’t acknowledge the fishless cycling approach as a “tried and tested”, fool-proof method. While it is in their interests to sell products, it would be better all round if they acknowledged its merits and encouraged those who adopt that approach. There will still be many customers who don’t have the patience to see it through and, in those cases, a bottled bacteria product is a better approach than a fish-in cycle with no such product. As I understand it, though, the evidence of effectiveness of these products is still quite varied – some folks have a successful cycle, others don’t; it depends on various aspects such as storage from manufacture to use, ingredients of the specific product, etc.

Your water supplier’s website will be a great place to get details of your specific postcode’s water hardness/softness – in CaCO3 mg/l or German degrees hardness and PH. However, Fishtales mentions some discrepancies between hers and her test results.  Worth looking at both, though.

As for ammonia, you may already have got the Dr Tim’s. Another popular option for fishless cycles is Kleen-Off.

As for discussions about different LFSs, chains or otherwise, this is something we've discussed on here fairly recently. Many of the chains are franchises, and, even within that and even within stores, there is huge variation - often it comes down to the level of interest of a particular staff member. As it happens, I was very impressed by a local PAH during a visit back in Sept and their various processes for the welfare of their fish across the chain - for unrelated reasons, I hadn't been in one for 5 years but was aware back then of the variation from store to store, and this probably still applies, although they have streamlined their welfare processes re checks and monitoring of the fish and associated record-keeping, etc. As for independent LFSs, there aren't that many around these days, it seems.

I read the thread in the link about tropica and ammonia. Noticed it said on there about driftwood leeching ammonia too. I have the white fungus growing on it as mentioned. What I wasn't sure was if the possible leeching from the tropica or soil was a good think for me at the moment?

Hi @Betta2020

Have you measured ammonia in your tank? If so, what was the result?

JPC

@jaypeecee forgive me. I've just retested as I've realised I've been doing the test for ammonia wrong. Ammonia is present. It's reading 0.25ppm

@jaypeecee forgive me. I've just retested as I've realised I've been doing the test for ammonia wrong. Ammonia is present. It's reading 0.25ppm

Hi @Betta2020

OK, thanks for that. That level of ammonia is toxic to fish. What we need to do now is to repeat the test - at least daily. We need to determine if it's increasing or decreasing or not changing. Please also measure nitrite just to be on the safe side.

Turning to your lighting, how long is the lighting on for? Initially, six hours every day gets a lot of recommendations. You will get a lot of nutrients (fertilizers) from the Tropica Aqua Soil. But, the plants may also need a source of carbon. Are you currently adding anything to the water column for the plants?

JPC