by Huberto Fri Jan 13, 2012 9:55 pmi am new to fish keeping and possibly got over excited. either i have overstocked my tank (i hope not i love my fish) or my filter is not strong enough. i have a 15g that was a starter kit so the filter came with it. i just had my water tested today and i have all high levels and dont want my fish dead. i did a water change today and gravel vacuum as suggested by the pet store. please help me out!
4 posters
May be over my head
Huberto- Posts : 6
Join date : 2012-01-13
Location : Fort Myers
mike205- Posts : 175
Join date : 2011-03-10
what all is in the tank?
we need more info
we need more info
Huberto- Posts : 6
Join date : 2012-01-13
Location : Fort Myers
3 swordtails 1 male
2 platys
2 green corys
panda cory
6 bloodfin tetras
and the filter is a tetra whisper pf10
been up and running since christmas
2 platys
2 green corys
panda cory
6 bloodfin tetras
and the filter is a tetra whisper pf10
been up and running since christmas
mike205- Posts : 175
Join date : 2011-03-10
hmm sounds like your overstocked to or that your tank wasnt fully cycled yet
Huberto- Posts : 6
Join date : 2012-01-13
Location : Fort Myers
i had the water tested before any fish entered and the levels were fine. any possible solutions??
mike205- Posts : 175
Join date : 2011-03-10
what are the fish doing?
Huberto- Posts : 6
Join date : 2012-01-13
Location : Fort Myers
fish look lively and are swimming normally
mike205- Posts : 175
Join date : 2011-03-10
then whats your wondering why you getting high reading?
im thinking your overstocked but you should be fine if you do 2 water changes a week and you should be good for alittle bit
im thinking your overstocked but you should be fine if you do 2 water changes a week and you should be good for alittle bit
Huberto- Posts : 6
Join date : 2012-01-13
Location : Fort Myers
ok thank you! 
Fern- Admin
- Posts : 2620
Join date : 2011-03-09
Age : 41
Location : Fort Myers FL
Another filter would help it out a bunch also dont keep any fry from the live bearers.
I thought that was a 20g......
Come into boardroom and I will get you hooked up with the 2nd filter that you need
I thought that was a 20g......
Come into boardroom and I will get you hooked up with the 2nd filter that you need
Huberto- Posts : 6
Join date : 2012-01-13
Location : Fort Myers
ill be there this week for another water test anyway so ok
Fern- Admin
- Posts : 2620
Join date : 2011-03-09
Age : 41
Location : Fort Myers FL
I only work weekends, and for your own sake dont get help from Jon..... 
joefish72- Posts : 530
Join date : 2011-06-16
Location : Fort Myers
There could be a lot of things that caused your issue so lets chat before you go buy another filter.
You say the water was fine before you added fish. So how many did you add, and how fast. Your water could have been fine with no bio load. Then you add a dozen fish all at once or over a week or two and the biological cycle can't keep up. Effectively causing a mini cycle.
Did you add the water from the fish bags to your tank? Who knows what could have been in the pet store water. I'm not knocking any store, just saying that 6 bags of water could have also changed your parameters.
Last, for other who want a kit tank, be warned that those "kits" are mostly junk. They often include a filter too small, a cheapo heater, and a couple dollar type items. Your better off spending $20 more on individual items than killing $20 worth of fish and then spending $50 fixing the problem.
With that said I would suggest you buy a complete test kit (get drops not strips) for your house rather than relying on the pet store. This will let you test your tank water, then test the water you plan to add to the tank, then test the tank again after you do a water change. Then the next morning test the tank again and see what changed.
If you are on well water you could be getting amonia, nitrates, nitrites from your water. City water can have copper, chlorine, chloramine, and god only knows what else they put in there. So a test kit is your best friend.
Hope this helps a little.
You say the water was fine before you added fish. So how many did you add, and how fast. Your water could have been fine with no bio load. Then you add a dozen fish all at once or over a week or two and the biological cycle can't keep up. Effectively causing a mini cycle.
Did you add the water from the fish bags to your tank? Who knows what could have been in the pet store water. I'm not knocking any store, just saying that 6 bags of water could have also changed your parameters.
Last, for other who want a kit tank, be warned that those "kits" are mostly junk. They often include a filter too small, a cheapo heater, and a couple dollar type items. Your better off spending $20 more on individual items than killing $20 worth of fish and then spending $50 fixing the problem.
With that said I would suggest you buy a complete test kit (get drops not strips) for your house rather than relying on the pet store. This will let you test your tank water, then test the water you plan to add to the tank, then test the tank again after you do a water change. Then the next morning test the tank again and see what changed.
If you are on well water you could be getting amonia, nitrates, nitrites from your water. City water can have copper, chlorine, chloramine, and god only knows what else they put in there. So a test kit is your best friend.
Hope this helps a little.
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