10g

Well, my ready made setup went out the window! The person I was getting the tank and stuff told me they had everything. Well, in reality all they had was a tank, stand, and a filter that they can't find. She told me that they had killed everything they ever put into the tank. Well, with no heater, no lights, plants, and probably not a very good filter, it's like - DUH!!!! No wonder they killed all the fish (and frogs). So, I'm back to square one. I have a 10g and an 18g with no equipment. The 18g doesn't have a hood. ARGH!!!!!!!!
Ah well, I will continue to research unti the day comes when I have the money to do everything right. Hopefully that will come with a decent size tank!!
Thanks for all your helpl!

Chad
 
Don't give up hope. You could run a very nice unplanted, unheated tank. You would still need a filter, but for less than $25, you can pick up an AquaClear 100, or the mini--shopping online is cheaper! Look at http://www.bigalsonline.com/ And See how cheap you can get it.

White clouds, a hill loach, and a paradise fish would thrive in an unheated tank if the room stays above 65. It would still need to be cycled, but the lack of light and heat would not be a problem.
 
Yes, you could easily setup a nice White Cloud tank. They really do best between 65-70 IME. So room temp is fine with the occasional cold snap or heat wave not a problem for these beauties. As a species tank you could setup the 10 gallon with an AC Mini as Oriongirl mentioned, a few easy low light plants like Java Fern and 7-8 white clouds no problem. They are cheap and hardy. Just try and find a spot to put them where the tank temp will remain the most stable (ie not a window or near a radiator).
 
Originally posted by Chad
3-4 Platy's - females for now to keep the population down!
Click to expand...

Just 2 cents of word of warning...

1 female platy/sword/molly could have you at 20 - 40 of'em in a month.

ie. they very well could be pregnant when you bring them home, also they could have (considering there fairly small, comming from a LFS) 20 babies 3x (and if get 4, 4x that many) in a couple of months.

You could just give them away, but there/it is, so exciteing your gonna want to keep'em all lol

But anyway, have fun with'em... if your doing the fishless cycle it'll be ready for'em! :D
 
Good News!

My wife came home and told me that she was going to buy the rest of the tank setup for my birthday in a couple of weeks!! WHOOO HOOO!
So, here is where I am at...
5 Platy's or Swordtails
3 Panda Cory's
5 Oto's
?? shrimp (what do you think for a 10g?)

Substrate - I hear sandy is better for the cory's??
Filter - Whisper 10
Heater - 50w
Plants - REALLY undecided
Background - ??
Cycling - FISHLESS
Of course I'll have the rest of the stuff..nets, buckets, thermometer, etc...

What do you think?

Chad
 
Plants are going to rely on the lighting your tank has. I always suggest Java Fern for starters. It is nice to look at and practically takes care of itself.

The fish selection sounds fine. Probably 5-10 shrimp would be best.

Small rounded gravel is fine for cories. Water quality is super important for them so make sure to do lots of water changes.

The ottos should probably be bought last after alage has started to come to your tank.
 
When you say basically takes care of itself, do you mean I can put them in and basically ignore them? What kind of care do they really require? Do I need to buy fertilizer?
Another question or two - I need to buy some 5g buckets for water changes. It would seem to me that I would need more than 2 since if I have to do a major water change after my cycling is done, I would need to have either a larger bucket to hold the new water, or at least one more 5g to hold the extra water, right?
Also, do a lot of aquarists attach their power cord/surge protector to the wall or somewhere above the tank? How common is it to have water dripping down onto the power cords?

Sorry if this doesn't make sense. Didn't get much sleep last night!!

Chad
 
Java ferns shouldn't be planted, especially if you go with sand. They attach themselves to rocks and wood, and feed from the water column. Fertilizing isn't needed--I honestly don't do anything special for my tank with java ferns, other than removing the tons of babies that I get. It's a really low light setup--less then 1 wpg.

I use a large tub for catching my old water--I use it on all my house plants and for trees, shrubs, and planted containers in the summer. I got mine at Home Depot--about $7, 40 gallon tub with handles. A large, new trashcan stores the water until I need it--easy to treat for chlorine/chloramines, and it's always on hand when I need it.

I use power strips that have sliding locks to close the outlets. I make there sure is a drip loop for everything coming out of the tank, and that the powerstrip is not directly below the tank. Haven't had any problems or scary moments. ;)
 
Wow that's a lot of stuff to read thru. Once your tank is cycled I'd say you need a background and some plants (fake plants are fine). The plants will give your pandas a place to hide. Not that great for viewing them, but it adds to their security.

I would think that with 3 pandas a small shoal of fish in this tank would be fine. Assuming you don't want neons or cardinals (many people including myself have these), what about lemon tetras or harlequin raspborra? I'd say about 6 for a small shoal would be ok. Never had shrimp so I won't comment on those :) .

I actually use one bucket and a 2 gallon jug. The 5 gallon bucket is for the old water and use the jug to refill. Takes a while to refill, but patience has been learned and its easier not to dump water in too fast. I would think with two 5 gallon buckets you'd be fine. That would be a 50% water change and that's a pretty decent amount. I do a 20% water change monthly myself.

I noticed you asked about power cords. Common practice is to have them loop down past where ever you have them plugged in. That way any water leakage will flow down to the loop and not to the plug. All in all good luck and happy viewing.
 
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Hardy plants that are tough to kill: Cryptocoryne, Anubas, Java Fern, Java Moss, and possibly Bolbitis.

Like OG mentioned anubias, java fern, and bolbitis do not need to be planted in the gravel. I have an anubias in the gravel tho and it's doing fine. You just have to make sure not to bury the "rhizome". Basically it is the base that the stems connect to, so just bury the roots.

Another good possibility for a bottom feeder would be 3 kuhli loaches. Check out a pic of them, you might be interested. They are long but thin, so not too much of a load on your tank.

I think you have a very good idea of stocking level now and have made good choices so far. I am a big fan of platies, my 2 personal favourites are all red or sunburst (yellow & orange).
 
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