Download New tank leaflet.cdr

Action plan for your new Aquarium
Once your aquarium is in position with all the equipment (follow the manufacturers instructions), gravel,
decorations and water in place turn the power on to test everything is working satisfactorily.
Now add Biotap (Tap water conditioner) to the water followed by the Aqua Bio (bacterial culture) 1 hour
later, if you are having live plants add some Aqua trace 7 (fertiliser) now and also Bioextract (Black water
tonic) to help keep plant leaves clean and shiny.
We use Biotap to remove chlorine, chelate metals like lead, copper and zinc, to add plant extracts to
protect the fish after handling and a change in their environment and to mature the water with Vitamin B.
We use Aqua Bio to help establish a health colony of bacteria within the biological filter as to begin with
there is none to break down the fish waste. We keep adding bacteria for a couple of months or until the
ammonia (NH3) and nitrite (N02) are near zero.
Aquatrace 7 is used to provide the plants with the trace elements they require; For even better plant
growth consider using a carbon dioxide set as well. They start from as little as under £10.00 depending on
the size of the aquarium but make so much difference to plant growth, the health of the aquarium and
your fish. Bioextract not only makes plant leaves clean-and shiny, it discourages algae and encourages
many fish to spawn giving your aquarium water an Amazon look to it.
Quantity of waste
For the first couple of months it is important to make a few
extra water changes on your fish tank
NO2
NITRITE
NH3
AMMONIA
0
1
2
3
4
5
Time in weeks
NO3
NITRATE
6
7
8
9
A new tank is biologically less stable than a well established tank. The reason for this is that a new
aquarium will tend to have higher waste levels than a mature aquarium because it takes time for the
cleaning bacteria in the filter to establish in sufficient numbers to be able to "cope" with the waste produced
by the fish.
Have a look at the graph above.
To begin with the fish produce waste which is broken down to ammonium (NH4) and ammonia (NH3). These
levels rise over the first few weeks to what can be dangerous levels. As the bacteria grow they start to get
the NH3/NH4 under control and turn It into Nitrite(NO2) which then rises over the next few weeks to what can
also be dangerous levels. However, now another type of bacteria starts to establish and break down the
Nitrite but only after the ammonia levels have dropped so low as not to damage these new bacteria.
By the 7-8th week these new bacteria have normally caught up and got the nitrite (NO2) under control
turning it to nitrate (NO3) which is relatively safe.
So as we can see, the fish in a new aquarium have to run the gauntlet twice before everything settles
down.
Loss of fish in this period was often referred to as "New Tank Syndrome". We can stop this "New Tank
Syndrome" from happening in the aquarium by simply making a few extra water changes over the first
couple of months, adding Bacteria, not over stocking and feeding sparingly. Have a look at the action plan
for new aquariums over leaf!
New Aquarium Action Plan & Stocking Schedule
Having setup the aquarium wait a few days before adding the first fish. Plants can be added after a
day or two however. We have called the day that the first fish are introduced to the tank Day 1 as it is
not until then that anything really happens in the aquarium as far as fish waste is concerned. On a well
planted aquarium there is an advantage to leaving the plants to settle for a few days before introducing
fish.
Set Up
Day
Day 1
Water change & Conditioners
Water Treatments
Plant Fertiliser
Biotap + Aquabio
Full Dose Bioextract
½ Dose Aquatrace 7
st
1 fish in + Biotap + Aquabio
Day 4
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
½ Dose Bioextract
½ Dose Aquatrace 7
Day 7
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
½ Dose Bioextract
½ Dose Aquatrace 7
Day 10
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
½ Dose Bioextract
½ Dose Aquatrace 7
Day 14
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
½ Dose Bioextract + Ammolock?
½ Dose Aquatrace 7
Day 17
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
½ Dose Bioextract + Ammolock?
½ Dose Aquatrace 7
Day 21
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
½ Dose Bioextract + Ammolock?
½ Dose Aquatrace 7
Day 28
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
Full Dose Bioextract + Ammolock?
Full Dose Aquatrace 7
Day 35
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
Bioextract
Aquatrace 7
Day 42
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
Bioextract
Aquatrace 7
Day 49
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
Bioextract
Aquatrace 7
Day 56
25% + Biotap + Aquabio
Bioextract
Aquatrace 7
After a couple of months your aquarium should be on its way to being biologically well established.
After this period change 25% of the water every 2 weeks but if you have a small or heavily stocked
tank then there is no harm in changing 25% each week. Always add Biotap to new water! Always
add Biotap and Aquabio when adding new fish!
The above action plan is a guide as to when to do water changes. This sequence has worked best for
us. However, a couple of days either way is not going to make a lot of difference. It is best not to do a
water change on the same day as adding fish, or maybe even the day after, as this may cause the fish
stress, but certainly the day before is no problem. For the safety of your fish always test your
water for ammonium/ammonia and Nitrite before introducing new fish! We recommend you test
your aquarium water at home during the running in period to monitor progress. This can be done
economically with easy to use test kits available in store.
Day 1
Day 10 – 14
Day 24 – 28
onwards
In a fish only aquarium introduce 5 or 6 fish for each 100 litres.
Do not feed for a couple of days and only once per day very sparingly thereafter.
In a well planted aquarium introduce 5 or 6 Algae-eating fish or shrimp for each 100
litres. Do not feed until the next fish are in.
Introduce 5 or 6 medium or 10 – 12 small fish for each 100 litres.
In a well planted aquarium start feeding only once per day very sparingly.
In a fish only aquarium continue feeding only once per day very sparingly.
In a well planted aquarium more fish may be added each week until fully stocked, as
long as waste levels stay low. Please test water before adding more fish.
In a fish only Aquarium more fish may be added every 2-3 weeks until fully stocked as
long as waste levels stay low. Please test water before adding more fish.
After about 2 months feed the fish 2-4 times a day only as much as they can eat in a
few minutes. Pay attention to special feeding habits of some fish and vary the diet.