First tank. 20g freshwater. Few questions.

[Bwana]

I set up a 20G freshwater tank a couple days ago. It's my first "real" tank, so hopefully it'll work out. I just found this site today, so im reading all I can.

My water started to get a little "white cloudy" today. I dont have any of the testing equipment, so i dont really know what's going on... ill go pick up test stuff tomorrow. Is this just the cycling starting? The store gave me some Bio Spira(nitrating bacteria), and told me to put in 2/3 of the bag now, and the other 1/3 when i get fish (they said within 3-5 days). I'll post my test results tomorrow when i get the equipment.

Should i go ahead and put in a couple fish tomorrow? The lfs recommended..ah crap, i cant remember the name...they were small black & white horizontally striped fish...said they were very hardy, and would get the tank started.

Dont know how well the cloudyness will come out in the pics...but here's a couple. I'll probably add a few more rocks and a couple more plants eventually, and the gargoyle is already out of there.
:rolleyes: :D

(before it got cloudy)
http://home.comcast.net/~smatrixt/IMG_2202.JPG
(Cloudy)
http://home.comcast.net/~smatrixt/IMG_2205.JPG

[Aquarius0015]

Zebra Danios. They are very hardy, very active fish, very cheap fish. And yes, the cloudiness will disappear, every fish owner experiences cloudiness now and then. Don't add any chemicals to clear it up, time will do this for free.

A few unsolicited suggestions:

Your heater is submersible, right? If so, orient it horizontally and place it near the bottom of the tank (underneath the filter intake would be best). This distributes heat more evenly.

You seem to have the general idea that the thermometer should not be too close to the heater. Unfortunately you are using the stick-on LCD kind which are notoriously inaccurate. Peel it off, throw it away, and invest $1.20 in a regular glass thermometer (or two or three if you're like me, lol).

[Bwana]

I'll add the thermometer to my list for tomorrow's shopping spree.

The heater is not submersible. How much are submersible ones, and are they that much better even for a small(ish) tank?

The dial on the heater has been set to around 75ish, and the termometer has been reading around 78-80...so one of them is off :p .

Should i go ahead and put a few of those guys in tomorrow too?

[Aquarius0015]

I would bet money that the thermometer is more off than the heater.

I would only put in zebra danios if I was sure I wanted a tank with lots of visual 'action.' Personally, I prefer medium/slow movers and they would not give the aesthetic I prefer, but it's up to you. But do try to add a few fish right away. The bacteria in BioSpira dies if it does not have food (fish waste). If the bacteria dies, then you'll either need to buy some or do a cycle (and no one wants to do that!).

[Bwana]

I went to the store, and picked up all my supplies (except a submersible heater....now i remember!)

Anyway...i tested the water before i put the fish in, and i got:
Ph - 7.5
Gh - 7* (around 120ppm)
Ammonia - .09ppm
Nitrite - 0, maybe a little
The glass thermometer is reading around 78*.

I got 3 Zebra Danios. I like the faster moving fish because they keep my interest longer :cool: (stupid ADD :p ) They seem to be doing alright in their new home. I'll be keeping an eye on them, make sure everything is alright.


http://home.comcast.net/~smatrixt/IMG_2208.JPG

[HarmonyAZ]

Are you SURE your heater isn't submersible? It looks just like mine, which is.

Also, I just added a stick-on thermometer on the recommendation of an aquarium book. It read 84 while my heater was set to 78. I went and got a glass thermometer and it matches the cheap stick-on. I've brought the temp down and the glass thermo and the stick-on matched all along. So in my case the heater is the one that's way off, not the stick-on.

[Aquarius0015]

Ammonia - .09ppm

Are you sure there was ammonia *before* you put the fish in? There shouldn't be any if there are no fish to produce it...

Someone who has more experience with BioSpira and cycling in general should be able to tell you more than I can.

What brand of heater do you use? If it has any sort of device that clamps onto the edge of a tank, it's probably a HOB heater, but if it just has suction cups with some sort of plastic bracket it's probably a submersible.

[Bwana]

Hrm, i guess it is submersible. I thought i remembered reading in the instructions not to submerge it completely...but i just re-read them, and it says it can be submerged. Moved it down near the bottom and put it horizontal. :D

Maybe there was no ammonia, the scales on the tests were kind of hard to read...maybe i didnt let it sit long enough for the color to develop. I'll test it a little later, and tomorrow, see how it's goin. I fed them, and they ate...so that means poop, so maybe there might be some ammonia in there now *shrug* we'll see.

[Bwana]

Just checked the Ammonia again...and it came out 0...so i guess i didnt let it sit long enough before looking at the color *shrug*