Hi,

Hope I am in the right place.

I am going to do a 50% water change on a 29 gallon tank that has been running for 6 months and was told, on the sight, that my tank had not cycled.

How in the world do I used dechlorinated water. I usually add the water and then put the appropriate amount of Aqua Safe in the water. Is that Okay?

What else do I put in there. I read the article on cycling and am still not sure.

Everyone on the sight talks like pros and I am feeling so overwhelmed. I don't know if I am capable of raising fish.

Could someone please give me a play by play in not to bright peoples terms.

Your help would be really appreciated.

Paula, that is ok it was very overwhelming to me as well.

First I am going to move this thread to the water section. You will catch on to where things go and how to do this "computer use" soon.

Now for the cycling thing. Let's see how I caught on.........

Fish produce waste that is ammonia (or bad bio bugs) this is very harmful to the fish. Once the ammonia is started it turns to nitrites (another bad bug) this can also harm the fish. The last stage of the cycle is nitrates (good bugs). The nitrates (good bugs) immediately convert the fish's waste (ammonia and nitrites) to them. sorta make sense?????
If not let us know.

When doing a water change it is recommended that you use a water conditioner (dechlorinator). As you fill the buckets to change the water you should put the conditioner in there. Hopefully that clears it up for you, if not please let us know.

All of this stuff can be very overwhelming, but don't let it discourage you. Keeping fish is a challange yes, but rewarding too.

Hi Paula,

It is confusing. You need 2 or 3 buckets, de-chlorinator and your filter systems whatever you are using, up and running. You need ammonia, nitrite and nitrate checking kits too if you want to be sure of progress and quality.

Cycling basically means getting the water chemistry perfect for your fish to live happily and healthily in.

Most people like to do this before they get a fish or two so there are less problems.There are articles here on how to do it. Especially useful is Kokos description of cycling which can be found on the home page- the very first page of this site.

You need to add the dechlorinator to the bucket of water by the way before it goes in the tank if you already have a fish in there. (I'm sure you know that!) or alternatively leave the bucket of water to be used next sitting out for a few days which gets rid of the chlorine too. Be sure to take the old water from the bottom of the tank where it is dirtiest, best done with a vacuum pump that you can get at fish shops.

Good luck.