Newbie: Simple questions before fish go in.

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911kalevich

AC Members
May 28, 2008
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Hello everyone.
My name is Matt and I just bought a TopFin 20gal Starter kit. I am new to owning fish and want to do everything the right way. I have read the Stickys already and took what I could from them not knowing many of the terms.
So Ill start with some simple questions:
1.) My tank is setup and filter is running. I put in the additives that came with the kit and plan on letting it filter and "cycle" for week or so (What the fish store told me, though I have read here up to 6 weeks..For 20gal?). It was setup yesterday and I plan on testing the water everyday while cycling. How long for a 20gal tank should I be testing before adding fish? ( once levels are right obviously).

2.)I am not planning on overcrowding my tank. I would like to keep it simple and healthy. Currently have red gravel, 2 palm trees, and 3 small fake plants in there. Again, Im not going to get too crazy before understanding all there is to know. I would like to have a few larger fish rather than several smaller fish, any suggestions? I was wanting to do 2-3 Bala Sharks, But I have read 20gal will eventually be too small. Would it be if I was only doing 2-3 fish ( 4max ) in the tank. Again looking for a couple larger fish rather than small fish. If my thinking is off, just need some insight.
Thanks everyone!
-Matt
 
1) Here is a synopsis I provided for another member:

Inside of a tank there are things that decay: fish poop, plants, fish food, etc. You can never have enough mechanical filtration to take all of this stuff out. If you wanted to keep the tank clean, you'd have to clean the tank every three days! Not fun for anyone.
When this stuff decays, it decays into ammonia. Ammonia is deadly toxic to fish. Thankfully, there are bacteria that exist in nature, all around, which after a while congregate in our filter an on the surfaces of the aquarium, which eat this. Unfortunately, they turn it into something called nitrite. Nitrite also is deadly toxic to fish.
After a while new bacteria, which are also floating in the air and such, congregate in our filter and on the surfaces of the aquarium. These break down the nitrite into nitrate. Nitrate is only toxic to fish in large quantities. We remove them with water changes and live plants.
Once a tank has enough ammonia eating and nitrite eating bacteria that at any given time you cannot detect any trace of either ammonia or nitrite in the water, the tank is cycled. Why is it called cycling? Turning ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate is known as the nitrogen cycle. How do you know when its done? A good set of liquid test kits such as the API Master test kit.


So you need ammonia to start the nitrogen cycle-or the bacteria have nothing to feed on and so no reason to congregate. Simply leaving the tank alone for two weeks will do nothing. From personal experience and from many, many other people's experiences, it WILL take a tank 4-6 weeks to cycle.
Now with this in mind, perhaps the two methods of cycling will make more sense.

The bacteria which break down the ammonia and nitrite are called beneficial bacteria, and are your biological filtration.

2)You should get some caves:). Fishies need places to hide completely and feel secure. Awesome that you don't want to overcrowd. Unfortunately it's the size that the bala sharks grow to that will make them too large for your tank. Are you looking for pretty? Personality? Unusualness? Just something that looks like a Bala shark?

Hope this is helpful :). Check out our Photo Gallery
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=30

and planted tank group.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/group.php?groupid=7

There is also a thread going around right now with FW tank pics.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154315

3)Check out these two threads:
Non aquatic plants they try to sell you:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153803
And Useless junk they try to sell you:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=153731

Almost no LFS gives good advice. Researching is the best way to go before you buy.
 
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first of all welcome to AC
your tank is cycled when you have bacteria that first turn the ammonia produced by fish into nitrite and then into nitrate
6 weeks sounds about right to cycle but you could speed this up by finding filter media that is from an established tank
your tank is cycled when water test show no ammonia or nitrite and less than 40 parts per million nitrate
this can be done with either hardy fish like zebra danios or through a fishless cycle where you have a diffrent thing to produce ammonia like a piece of fish or one of the ammonia products
the bala sharks will get way to big for the tank as they get up to a foot long
another choice would be one of the gouramis as most of them dot get to big and they have very nice color
or you could try a pair of convict cichlids but you might have to deal with huge amount of fry
hope this helped
 
Simple guys, thanks for the solid info. Sometimes it is easier to hear someone put it in simpler terms. The stickys can confuse some who are just getting started...but I DID read them! lol
-Matt
 
Do a fishless cycle with ammonia.

Make sure you have a good liquid test kit.

No bala sharks. They like to be in a group of 5-6 and need to be in a 6 foot tank.

Try a dwarf Gourami as your center piece and cory on the bottom, maybe some lemon tetras for the top.
 
:welcome: to AC Matt!

The others have covered things very well. Starting off right will save you loads of stress and money. Good for you for asking before fish go in!
 
Thanks everyone! I take advice well having wasted thousands on cars in the past haha. No Bala's for this tank, thanks for the input. The more I look at it , the more I'd feel bad for them. Its bad enough seeing all the Balas at the fish store bunched together in a 20gal.
I am going for the fishless cycle w/ammonia as suggested. I want the fish to be spoiled so it's worth the time invested. So I am looking at what, about 5-6 weeks for this cycle?
Like I said before, I have been on plenty forums, I read all I can but sometimes I just need to ask and have a question answered to fully comprehend it haha
You all have been kick ***!
-Matt
 
We are here to help! Ask away whenever you are in doubt.
 
rbishop said:
Do a fishless cycle with ammonia.

Make sure you have a good liquid test kit.

No bala sharks. They like to be in a group of 5-6 and need to be in a 6 foot tank.

Try a dwarf Gourami as your center piece and cory on the bottom, maybe some lemon tetras for the top.
Click to expand...
Could you elaborate on these fish. I found the dwarf Gourami, cannot find or know of "cory". Lemon tetras were a simple find. Thanks!
-Matt
 
Cory-short for corydoras. If you take a visit in planetcatfish.com, you will notice over 200 species of cories exist.:grinyes: Only about 20 though are sold and even then only about 10 are really often seen.:grinyes:
 
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