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jacob9799

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Oct 30, 2011
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Hello everyone!

My name is Jacob. I am a high school senior in a small town in Alabama. The only LFS's i know of are Wal-mart, Petsmart, and Pet Co.

The past several weeks, i have been heavily researching how to set up and run a quality freshwater aquarium. I have had tanks when i was younger, to different (usually low) levels of success. Needless to say, i have learned a TON!! I kinda feel bad about how those fish i had were living! but never again!! not on my watch, haha! :nono:

Yesterday I finally broke down and bought a aquarium kit from Wal-mart and most of the supplies I will need. :clap:

I started a journal to keep things somewhat scientific, and to help me keep track of changes and things of that nature.

Budget being an issue, it will be a week or two before i get fish, which I had sort of planned.

list of supplies
aquarium kit- filter (bio media, charcoal secondary filter), hood with 2 incandescant 15W bulbs, 10g tank.
Start Right
Start zyme
10 pounds of small size gravel for substrate
"digital thermometer" (the stick on tank kind. definitely NOT digital. haha!)
4 dwarf lily bulbs
1 terra cotta pot (i think i finger painted it in kindergarden. for use as a hiding spot)
1 marble dolphin sculpture my sister bought in cancun in 2002 ish

I have tried to do everything by the directions. Youll see on the journal I added 2 tbsp of table salt. Since iodine is very close to chlorine, the water conditioners I used SHOULD take any iodine away especially by the time i get fish.

10/29
6:15 PM--- 10 #/ gravel +9.5 G H20
6:25 --- 1 TSP Start Right
6:27 --- Start Zyme
6:34 --- Placed 4 Dwarf Lily’s, dolphin, pot.
7:15 --- 2 TBSP table salt.
7:30 --- water temp: 85*
8:20 --- WT 84*
10:30 ---- WT 83*
10/30
9:45 AM--- WT 81* turned hood lights on
11:30 --- WT 82*


things to buy:
Heater
air pump and accessories
t5 bulbs?
water test kits
REAL digital thermometer

questions:
Since I don't have fish yet, when should I change my water?

Do I NEED t5 bulbs for my lilys to grow? (assuming they do...they WERE free. lol)

How will the marble dolphin and terra cotta pot affect the water's chemical structure?



THE FUTURE OF MY TANK:

I will buy/make a few more hiding spots... the tank seems bare.

If i need a heater, i am thinking about the Hydor Hydrokable..... any ideas/pointers? I like that it is pretty much invisible and will distribute heat evenly.

I plan on getting the whisper 20 air pump, mainly because i want to do a full bubble wall on the back wall, or maybe a bubble hose. BUT, I am open to other ideas and suggestions.

Maybe some kind of bottom carpet plant, like 2 or 3 palm sized patches.

FISH!!!!

I'm thinking a pleco( required :))

7 (ish) zebra danios, or neon tetras/ equivalant.... I have been successful with tetras, but I want to experiment. Would tetras and danios school together?

and a few- maybe 2- Blue gourami. male and female(possible more than one female.)

again, I am open to ANY AND ALL suggestions, criticism, feedback, and questions... I don't mind explaining why i did(n't do) something. This is a learning process for me and my goal is to be like a sponge and soak it all up!!!

I will post pictures in just a minute!!
 

allaboutfish

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Jul 12, 2011
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memphis, tn
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johnathon dunn
no pleco! maybe 3 ottos AFTER 2-3 months of the tank being cycled. zebra danios need 20 gallon tanks and blue gouramis need larger. this is what id do
1-DWARF gourami OR 3-sparkling gouramis
6- cardinal tetras or similar sized schooling fish no bigger than 2 inches.
3-ottos(after 2-3 months and you'll need to feed zucchini)
i also wouldnt advise adding the marble dolphin or clay pot bc the marble dolphin isnt mad for aquariums and you said you drew on the pot. regarding lights you'll need flourescent bulbs in daylight spectrum.
 

Dburgess1231

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Oct 21, 2011
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NORTHERN OHIO
no pleco! maybe 3 ottos AFTER 2-3 months of the tank being cycled. zebra danios need 20 gallon tanks and blue gouramis need larger. this is what id do
1-DWARF gourami OR 3-sparkling gouramis
6- cardinal tetras or similar sized schooling fish no bigger than 2 inches.
3-ottos(after 2-3 months and you'll need to feed zucchini)
i also wouldnt advise adding the marble dolphin or clay pot bc the marble dolphin isnt mad for aquariums and you said you drew on the pot. regarding lights you'll need flourescent bulbs in daylight spectrum.

this build would still be overstocked when fish reach full grown... 10gal tanks are hard not to overstock. maybe some black mollies, since they eat algea?or a school of small tetras/rasboras.
 

allaboutfish

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Jul 12, 2011
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memphis, tn
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johnathon dunn
this build would still be overstocked when fish reach full grown... 10gal tanks are hard not to overstock. maybe some black mollies, since they eat algea?or a school of small tetras/rasboras.
thats not overstocked. putting 1 mollie in a 10 gallon would be overstocking it since mollies are very big waste producers and get pretty big. theyre better for 30 gallon tanks.
 

jacob9799

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Oct 30, 2011
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okay, why should I not use plecos?

i went back and looked, i had misread concerning the blue gourami. It clearly says 20+ G.... i picked it laaate last night.

also, the marble is polished and sealed. The clay pot (that was fingerpainted with nontoxic paint in 1999) has been sitting outside since before 2005. I can take it out, but i have seen a lot of people implement similar pots in their own tanks.

I understand if you advise AGAINST using these items... but I need to see a plausible reason before I disturb my tank setup again.

One of the things im looking for in fish is compatibility of course, but i do NOT want any red or orange fish. I killed enough 50 cent gold fish when i was little. lol
 

allaboutfish

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Jul 12, 2011
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memphis, tn
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johnathon dunn
the paint might leach into the water, but clay pots themselves are awesome decor and very cheap. the dolphin i dont know if it will do anything to your water i personally wouldnt put it in there. plecos are very heavy waste producers and all of them get too big for your tank. if this was a 20 gallon there would be alot of options for plecos. plecos dont clean much and if you think having one will cut down maintanence it wont. it actually would increase it. something else you can do for cheap is go out and find some rocks you like from outside and wash them off really good and bake them in the oven for 30 minutes and then let them cool.
 

jacob9799

AC Members
Oct 30, 2011
42
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no pleco! maybe 3 ottos AFTER 2-3 months of the tank being cycled. zebra danios need 20 gallon tanks and blue gouramis need larger. this is what id do
1-DWARF gourami OR 3-sparkling gouramis
6- cardinal tetras or similar sized schooling fish no bigger than 2 inches.
3-ottos(after 2-3 months and you'll need to feed zucchini)
newbie question, but i havent learned the nicknames of most fish yet, what are ottos? and in 2-3 months, if they can eat zucchini, i have a feeling they will have out grown the tank. Just looking in from the outside. (yes, im sure its cut up zucchini, but still)

and the reason i picked 2 larger, show fish was that in he future, they could be breed and that could be a small source of income to use on aquariums. I know that if the fish is an identifiable breed, petsmart and petco both will buy them back to sell.
 

RisiganL.

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Feb 24, 2010
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Raleigh, NC
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Risigan Logendran
Plecos generally get big and produce a lot of waste. Your common pleco gets 18" easily, and I have seen some that have surpassed that length. I see no problem with the pot as long as it was nontoxic paint. You could have a dwarf gourami, 6 neon tetras, an oto catfish, and some ghost shrimp if you wanted. I would also recommend some plants to add some hiding places in your tank. Live is prefered, but plastic is ok as well.
 
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