Bubbles on top of tank

Question
Matthew,

We have had a problem with fin rot I think??? We have completely gotten rid of all our fish and started over. We filled our tank two weeks ago, but don't have any fish in it yet. It is a ten gallon tank and we use a charcoal filter. We are getting lots of bubbles on the surface. Can you advise me on the bubbles and proper steps to fix the fin rot? I checked the water with litmus paper and we have sort of hard water, but everything else looks good. Thanks for your time regarding this matter.

Answer
First of all, before adding fish, you will need to cycle your tank. Read about the cycling process (aka the nitrogen cycle) here:

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=2678&page=1&pp=10


The bubbles are probobly from the lack of water current, excess waste that has built up on the top from previous fish, or high NitrItes, NitrAtes, or ammonia.

For fin rot, the best fix is to dose two cheap, common meds. Melafix and Pimafix is a really good remedy for just about everything. What Was your water change schedule? You could do %50-%25 a week. Larger more frequent water changes are always better.


Please keep me posted about your problems!



Thanks,
    ~Matt