Need advise on setting up my puffer tank

[boosted23]

Lol, i see. I will give it time. I am just excited and want him to interact with me. I started transferring snails to this tank a couple days before i got him. There were about 20-30 good sized snailes in the tank. Now they are all gone. My local petco said i can come and get as mamny of their pest snails i want for free so i will do that till i get a 10 gallon to use for snail/whatever else he eats breeder/holding tank.

he is funny when i try to feed him freeze dried shrimp or mealworms. He is swimming and i put the tongs in the water in his path and he just stops, looks at it for a minute, then slowly starts to descend while looking at it kinda like he is say thanks, bit no thanks. It is quite ammusing to see. when he is swimming i slowly come up to the tank, he see's me, not startled but swims the opposite direction. He is pretty cool and interesting.

[Pufferpunk]

Are you still checking parameters? Try live earthworms. You can get them at Walmart.
How heavily decorated is the tank? Can you post a FTS?

[boosted23]

Yes i check parameters daily, this morning it is ammonia 0.25-0.50 ppm, nitrite 0.25-0.50 ppm, nitrate between 5-10ppm. I have been dosing the nitromax one day and then the liquid gravel vac the other with 30%water change every other day. I don't understand why i am still reading like this? could it be the co2?

I will go to walmart tonight and pick some up to try. thank you for that suggestion. also... this is so noobish but what do FTS stand for its meaning...

The tank is decorated like you see in the pics of before. except the plants have gotten a little bigger. when i get off work, i will post a updated newer pic for you to see.

[Pufferpunk]

Toss the Nitromax, do an 80% WC & add Tetra's Safestart. Any "bacteria product" that suggests daily dosing is total crap!

[boosted23]

It says dose every other day till ammonia levels are good. Then dose at waterchange or adding new fish. The liquid gravel vac is the same way. Dose each on alternating days. If it doesnt change in a day or two now that i dosed the filter itself instead of the water column, then i will have too. This is getting irritating cause this stuff cost $50 and it hasnt done nothing really for my tank. petco has the safestart sitting on the shelf for $8 for a small bottle. It says it will dose 15 gallons of water. Will that bottle be good for my tank or will i have to buy a bunch of them to equal 150 gallons?

[bertie 83]

I'm with pp, dose safestart and you will save shed loads of stress and effort

[boosted23]

Ok, question though. The safestart is sitting on a shelf. Would it be good or is it supposed to be refrigerated for storage? Also would the little bottle be good enough? Would i put it in the water or filter itself? I am asking cause i dont want to waste anymore money on useless, bad, stored incorrectly products...

[bertie 83]

Add it straight to the filter, it's the only stuff that we have evidence of working

[Pufferpunk]

It says dose every other day till ammonia levels are good. Then dose at waterchange or adding new fish. The liquid gravel vac is the same way. = TOTAL CRAP!!!

Either it contains LIVE, established nitrifying bacteria which will INSTANTLY cycle a tank or it contains dead bacteria, which is a total waste of $$$. See if you can return it. Check on Amazon for a larger bottle.

[bertie 83]

Or buy two bottles. For a small puffer in a partially cycled tank though, 1 bottle should give the boost it desperately needs.

[defool89]

One bottle? He mentioned it is made for 15 gallons so im wondering if he should buy 10 bottles if their isnt a large one for his 150* I think is his size.

I also thought it should be in a fridge. I use turbostart and I alwYs kept it cold. I used a bottle that said it supplies upto 140. Idk if 1hot bottle will suffice.

Im curious too

[boosted23]

Thanks for the info so far. I will take pics and stuff tomorrow. Tonight i found out my grandmother is in the hospital on life support and had a heart attack while on life support. She was bleeding from the mouth and they dont know whats causing it and if they cant stop it then she will probably die...... She and the rest of my family are on the east coast and i am on the west coast..... This is pretty stressfullto deal with so if i dont get on for a couple of days, you know why.

[bertie 83]

Hope she makes a speedy recovery, my thoughts are with you and your family.
Your tank is partially cycled, also you only have a small puffer. It enables you to fully stock a tank. A bottle or two straight to your filter should set you up I would imagine. I am generally one for following exactly but common sense is kicking in on this one.

[boosted23]

Well........ Sadly my grandmother passed away this morning. Terrible news to hear while at work. My work let me off and i came home. I tested the water in the tank and my ammonia was at 0ppm but my nitrite spiked to 5+ ppm. I am doing an 80% waterchange but not vacuuming substrate. From what i read, this means i am halfway through the cycle. Hopefully this waterchange keeps the nitrites at bay and it finish's cycling quick. Dont need no more added stress right now. I will be testing every couple hours to watch.

[defool89]

I didnt want to say anything till I heard back. Sorry for you loss.