Hi all,
I'm fairly new to aquaria, starting with a 6.5 gallon tank that's been going pretty well for about a year now. I was impatient, so I sped up the cycling with Biospira. Expensive, but it seemed to work well. (I've kept it in the fridge and still have some--is it any good??)
After 3 weeks of just a few ghost shrimp, I put in two zebra danios, tested regularly for the first few weeks, and then added neon tetras and guppies. I don't think I lost any fish due to poor cycling though I later lost a couple for whatever reason...
Now I've also got a 2.5 gallon glass tank that houses a pair of African Dwarf Frogs, and two 1.5 liter plastic tanks--one with a pair of female guppies, the other with tiny babies that I will probably give away soon. In spring, one or both of those tanks will be for triops, which I enjoyed raising last year with some success.
Right now I have a sudden bloom of blue-green and brown algae in the "big" tank so I'll be reading up on dealing with that. Fish seem OK so far.
Someday I might get a 50 gallon tank, but I like my small tanks and kind of enjoy the challenge of keeping them clear and beautiful for my colorful critters.
But it's a real challenge to maintain small tanks. I have the smallest heater I could find in the 2.5 gallon, but it's made for a 3-5 gallon tank and has so I'm afraid my frogs get too warm (80 degrees) if I leave even a fluorescent light on for very long. I made a cover of acrylic and that probably traps the heat, so I'll have to figure out how to make a screen top instead.
I can't find a heater small enough for the two 1.5 gal tanks, so I keep a small light on between them and cover the tanks most of the day so they absorb enough heat, but not too much light, to keep them at around 72-76 degrees. I'd love to move one up to my bathroom if I had a tiny heater... I can't be heating my whole house all winter just to keep my tanks warm enough! I probably change out too much water each week in an attempt to keep them clean. Also, I have a whole-house water filter so my water is very clean but also very alkaline... I add chemicals now and then to raise the pH.
Help!?
Sue
I'm fairly new to aquaria, starting with a 6.5 gallon tank that's been going pretty well for about a year now. I was impatient, so I sped up the cycling with Biospira. Expensive, but it seemed to work well. (I've kept it in the fridge and still have some--is it any good??)
After 3 weeks of just a few ghost shrimp, I put in two zebra danios, tested regularly for the first few weeks, and then added neon tetras and guppies. I don't think I lost any fish due to poor cycling though I later lost a couple for whatever reason...
Now I've also got a 2.5 gallon glass tank that houses a pair of African Dwarf Frogs, and two 1.5 liter plastic tanks--one with a pair of female guppies, the other with tiny babies that I will probably give away soon. In spring, one or both of those tanks will be for triops, which I enjoyed raising last year with some success.
Right now I have a sudden bloom of blue-green and brown algae in the "big" tank so I'll be reading up on dealing with that. Fish seem OK so far.
Someday I might get a 50 gallon tank, but I like my small tanks and kind of enjoy the challenge of keeping them clear and beautiful for my colorful critters.
But it's a real challenge to maintain small tanks. I have the smallest heater I could find in the 2.5 gallon, but it's made for a 3-5 gallon tank and has so I'm afraid my frogs get too warm (80 degrees) if I leave even a fluorescent light on for very long. I made a cover of acrylic and that probably traps the heat, so I'll have to figure out how to make a screen top instead.
I can't find a heater small enough for the two 1.5 gal tanks, so I keep a small light on between them and cover the tanks most of the day so they absorb enough heat, but not too much light, to keep them at around 72-76 degrees. I'd love to move one up to my bathroom if I had a tiny heater... I can't be heating my whole house all winter just to keep my tanks warm enough! I probably change out too much water each week in an attempt to keep them clean. Also, I have a whole-house water filter so my water is very clean but also very alkaline... I add chemicals now and then to raise the pH.
Help!?
Sue
Post in some of the other areas and I know you'll get plenty of ideas.
