10g Brainstorming

Bloop

Bloop

AC Members
Oct 27, 2007
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After a brief foray into fishkeeping (under the watchful guidance of an outdated book from the 1980s) I've decided to start over, this time with what I hope will be real advice. I've already learned about the nitrogen cycle (my previous tank had been up 48 hours before adding fish) and will make sure to be more patient this time.

What I want to know is, does anyone have any recommendations for filters for a 10g? I was looking at the Aquaclear 20. Do people still use undergravel filters? I used one on the last tank, which quickly collected grime and algae, and became a real pain to clean. If not, how do I introduce oxygen into the aquarium?

Also, does anyone have any suggestions for a good schooling fish? I'm interested in keeping the bio-load low for easier maintenance, so please take that into consideration. I was looking for Tetras of some kind.

Finally, I'd appreciate any information about testing. How often to do it, what to test for.

Thanks again. :thumbsup:
 
welcome to ac! oxygen is introduced into the aquarium through surface disruption, so any filter that disrupts the surface of the tank water will add oxygen. Aquaclear's are great filters, i use an ac30 on my 10g. some people use undergravel filters, but I believe that reverse undergravel filters are more recommended (I have never used either, so my advice is limited). As far as testing, most recommended is the API liquid test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I also have the ph test kit. On a cycling tank you will have to test pretty frequently to track your progress (daily)...on a tank that is finished cycling, you could check weekly initially (before your weekly water changes). To be honest, now that my tanks have been going consistently for awhile, i check more like monthly or if I see anything that makes me wonder (fish issue, water clarity issue, more dead plant matter than usual, etc...)
 
Thanks for giving it another try!

The AC20 should handle your needs on that 10 gallon tank. Be sure to rinse out your old media in used tank water, not throw the pads away when they clog and put in new ones. You do not want to throw your beneficial bacteria away and cause your tank to re-cycle.

Yes, I use UGF and RUGF in conjuntion with HOB and canisters. They are not old school and give you the most biological filtering for the money. But they do require maintenance such as gravel vac'ing so they do not build up debri in the substrate. A lot of folks have never used them and repeat horror stories that come from insufficeint care and poor practices on the fish keepers part, not the filters.

Get yourself a good liquid test kit, like the one made by API. It should test for ammonia, nirites, nitrates and pH. Once you become familiar with your tank you can reduce testing drastically and occassionally test just for nitrates. The dip test strips are highly inaccurate and I recommend you do not use them. You should also test your tap water once and awhile to see what it has. When doing the pH on your tap, do it on a sample that has set out overnight in a shallow dish.

Be sure to use a good dechlorinator like Prime, one that handles chlorine and chloramine.
 
Thanks for the quick replies!

So, seems like the API test kit is highly recommended. I'll make sure to get that one.

Would the AC30 be sufficient by itself, or should I combine it with a UGF (which I'm admittedly still wary about)? Keep in mind that I don't plan on following the 1" fish per gallon rule...maybe 0.5 or 0.75 per gallon. Point is, I want to set this tank up for success by giving it a light bio-load.

Also, is it recommended to skip the middleman and simply buy RO/DI water instead of dechlorination? Or do most products do a good enough job that the effect is negligible? (I know that in saltwater fishkeeping not using RO/DI can have bad consequences)
 
an ac30 is perfectly sufficient for a 10g. you don't need ro/di water for a freshwater tank. tap water is perfectly acceptable and a dechlorinator should work perfectly fine (prime is a good one). If you are concerned, get the master test kit and test your tap water to get an idea of what you are working with.
FYI, most people here put little to no stock in the inch per gallon rule as it doesn't take into account the girth/depth of the fish, its eating habits and waste production. there are ALOT of posts about appropriate stocking for a 10g which you might want to skim through. Good luck, sounds like you are going about starting your tank in the right way!
 
The AC30 will be fine, you do not need the UGF.

You should use your tap water. The RO/DI water is devoid of the minerals you need to buffer your tank parameters and maintain your pH. In a FW tank the RO/DI usage can cause problems unless you are adding things back in to make up for what you are leaving out. Unless your tap water is way out at the extremes, do not use it.

Please post what you would like to have in your tank and we can offer advice on the stocking. Any calculation based on inches per gallon is useless, IMO. There are too many factors involfed besides length, such as, sex, diet, agressiveness, water temp, territories, adult size, male/female ratios, and others.
 
All right, looks like I'm going for the AC 30, Prime Dechlorinator, and API Test strips.

Well, I didn't really expect the inches per gallon to fly (very few ____ per gallon rules work anyway).

I'd like some sort of hardy schooling fish. I was thinking maybe some (4 or 5?) Neon Tetras.

Also, I've got some stuff left over from this aquarium, but I'm kind of hesitating about using it. It battled algae problems for quite a while, and the gravel vac still has some residue inside which I can't remove. Would using this run a risk of introducing algae into my new aquarium? I plan on washing the gravel until it runs clear. Should eliminate any cross-contamination risks, right?
 
I wouldnt go with test strips...they have been known to be less than accurate.... Get a good "LIQUID" test kit....I would go with the API Master Test Kit
 
as for cleaning your gravel vac, get a bottle brush and scrub it. You can also use diluted bleach to clean your supplies, just make sure afterwards you flush it with lots and lots of hot water and then soak it in dechlorinated water until you can no longer detect the odor of bleach, and then a little longer. you could use a stiff brush to try and clean the gravel, but gravel for a 10g isn't very expensive so its up to you if its worth the effort of cleaning or if you would rather just buy new. has the gravel been dry? if so, the contamination risks are low.
also, to reiterate what the above poster said, liquid test kit is much more accurate.
 
I can't seem to find an API test kit anywhere. They're not Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, are they?:huh:
 
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