10g Cycling question.

Arcsis

Arcsis

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Jul 6, 2008
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blog.sanriotown.com
:help:
I setup at 10g divided tank with water & 3 bettas starting 8/24. I just moved into my dorm with all new tank stuff, woot! Unfortunately I didn't have time to cycle before I had to move, and didn't think it'd last in the move anyway.
It's been just over a week now & I've seen no changes, other than the water has become cloudy.

Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
(I'm getting a ph kit soon)

I did change out around 20% of the water last week, there was a bunch or slilmy, stringy white stuff floating around. I wanted to gravel vac & get some of that out. I added a second, small filter at that point too. I was using a tetra 10i but it seems really strong fir the poor boy in that compartment, even though the far section was kinda grody. I put a tetra 1-3i on there.

I just don't know if I'm on the right track or not... :nilly: I've only had single-fish tanks up until now with 100% wc's. If there's anything I left out that would help, let me know.
 
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Arcsis,

Having a 10G can be enjoyable but IMO they are so small that water params can go south on you quick and require a ton of maintenance. As you will find in other areas, keeping a small amount of water cycled and heathly is much harder than in a larger body of water. A 20G long or high is not much larger but much easier on both you and your fish. (can be found cheap on craigslist if on a budget)

1) Do the 3 compartments have a inlet/outlet that allow water to flow between them?
2) If not, are you running three different filters/heaters for each?

As far as the stringy white stuff, it could be substrate, decorations etc... If you have not rinsed all items that are going into the tank properly, some cloudyness can occur.

100% water changes can be VERY stressful to you fish as well as the bacteria needed to keep it cycled. When you test your water, is it before or after the water change? 3-4 days should allow you a true water param test/results.
 
I have several 10's and they are quite enjoyable but none have been divided. I run different types of filters on them and have no problems. Since your tank is uncycled you are getting an algae bloom. You will soon have ammonia. After that it turns into nitrites which are slightly less lethal than ammonia but still very stressful on the fish. Once you have steady nitrates of </= 20ppm your tank is in a healthier state.

When your ammonia shows up, do 50% water changes or more but not 100%. Hopefully you have some sort of substrate as that will help in cycling. It would be better if you could get substrate and/or used filter media from an established tank.

There is no shame in having a 10. Just keep a close eye on the fish and water until cycle is complete. I do a 30% +/- WC every week on my tanks and have some very healthy fish.
 
Go to a local LFS and grab a bag of gravel from their tanks. It will help make things less stressful, provided it's not covered in disease.
 
100% water changes will not affect your bacteria provided you are using dechlor if required and matching tem[s.

Your tank is undergoing a typical start up. What kind of dividers do you have between them? I would be doing at least 25% changes daily until your bacteria catch up.
 
I totally forgot to mention the dividers! They made out of the plastic craft mesh that you can get a walmart or any craft store, built using [this idea].

I washed all the plants/decorations/gravel before I used them, but I've read of a few other people that were having cloudy water problems with their colored gravel. So I'm not sure if it's that, or part of the process. I thought I was thorough in washing it. :huh:

As far as the size, I really can't accommodate a 20, as I live in a dorm.

I'll do a small wc today & see what happens.
 
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The cloudyness is prob due to a bacteria bloom which is pretty normal when cycling a new tank. I would suggest that you buy different filters though. I have tried tetras before, and I am lucky if I get 6 months of use out of them. They are plain out crappy filters IMO. My suggestion is an Aquaclear 20.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19169/si1378645/cl0/aquaclear20powerfilter

If you dont want to do multiple filters, I would suggest a small powerhead or even an airstone to help circulate the water between the sections of tank (powerhead would be better). Even mesh will cause some circulation issues and you may find that one end of the tank is pretty good and the other looks like someone sneezed in it. Good luck.

SubluxT7:headbang2:
 
I don't see a cycle started on your tank yet Arcsis. What are you using to feed the bacteria and get them growing? If there is no ammonia present, you have some very nice clean water that has done nothing to cycle the tank. That is what your water parameters look like to me. Have a read of the thread on cycling and see if you are really making any progress. There is a link to it in my signature.
If the tank in your blog is the one we are talking about, you have not started to cycle that little filter yet and may not see much change very quickly. In that situation, your bettas are the thing trying to cycle your tank and you are doing a fish-in cycle. In that case you need to just change water as needed to keep your fish's water at less than 0.25 ppm ammonia and 0.25 ppm of nitrites. If there was a cycle on your filter, you would be seeing a slow increase in nitrates but you are not. You will need to monitor as time goes by and watch for the beginnings of ammonia or nitrite build up. When you see the ammonia start to build, it is time for a water change. If you continue to treat the tank as if it was a betta jar, it will act like one and will take forever to cycle. If there is no detectable ammonia in your water, you don't need to change it. Using that criterion, your tank's filter will cycle to ammonia for you. Then if you change water whenever nitrites are detectable you will get the second half of your cycle established and will start doing water changes when your nitrates reach 20 ppm. For a light load like 3 bettas in a 10 gallon, that could take a while to happen.
 
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