An unexpected new tank...

Just a quick update, our local Walmarts appear to be getting out of the fish business. The nasty looking banks of tanks have disappeared from the local Supercenters and they are placing some of their tanks on decent clearance pricing. Maybe nationwide, maybe just local, I don't know. In any event I found a Walmart AquaCulture branded 14 gallon set up for $35 on clearance. So, instead of the 10 gallon, I opted for the larger 14. It still has the 10 gallon footprint, just three inches higher. Right now I have the tank set up and running, planted with some anacharis, hornwort, java fern and moneywort. No fish yet, but once the tank is cycled I'm looking to go with something on the order of three small cories, a group of five schooling tetras and one larger centerpiece fish. I'm sure the mystery snails will come along as well.

The little 6 gallon tank is humming along. Daily 50% water changes along with dosing it with Prime and Stability have kept the ammonia at bay. It hovers between 0.25 and 0.50 ppm. I just started using the Prime last evening in place of the generic Top Fin water conditioner i had been using. I've read lots of good things about SeaChem products and was lucky enough to find it locally here at a Petco, when shopping for substrate for the 14 gallon tank.

And thanks for the links on the planted tanks. They were very informative. Until I get the tanks cycled and running, I'm going to stick with t low lights plants for the moment. I've still not found a local source for some duckweed or salvinia, so I'm think aquabid will be my best bet for those floaters. i really like the look of some nice floating cover with some trailing roots.

John

Edit - No nitrites yet. Could the Prime be binding them up or are they still yet to come?
 
Last edited:
if your looking for floating plants (or any other plant) try on the swap & shop areas of the places i mentioned you can usually get some good deals from people there and i know that there have been people on there that have some bigger floating plants (red root floater and frogbit). if you still want silvinia in a week i should have some extra. i'm actually surprised that you could not find duck weed around you ether way that may be a blessing because it really is annoying to get out of a tank
 
I've not found anyone locally who seems to carry any type of floating plants, outside the basic anacharis/hornworts. So, I'm definitely going to have to look for some online sources. I think the gourami in my son's tank would like something other than a few strands of anacharis floating on the top of his tank.

So far so goods with the 6 gallon Eclipse tank. The ammonia levels have spiked up to about 1ppm or so and I finally had some nitrite readings this evening. So it seems to be proceeding with its cycle even with the fish in the tank. We've been keeping up with the water changes, basically 50% or so, pretty much on a daily basis. I've also started treating the water with Prime, thus I'm guessing even though I am getting ammonia readings, it is safely locked up as ammonium as opposed to free ammonia. All the inhabitants seem very healthy and active as well.

I've also got a 14 gallon in the works for me. The tank is set up and planted and I've got it running. I did upgrade the filter to a Whisper 30, from the Aqua Tech 5-15 that came with the set up. I felt the 5-15 probably just wasn't enough filtration for a 14 gallon tank. It did seem to provide a pretty health current in the tank though as I could see the plants swaying as the filter ran. I'm still looking at stocking option but I think I am going to go with a black and white theme....a school of black neon tetras, some panda cories and maybe a couple of small fancy male guppies to patrol the upper levels of the tank. Still that is a few weeks off as i need to get this tank properly cycled.

John
 
I checked the water quality this evening and was amazed to find both ammonia and nitrite were undetected while my nitrate readings were at 5ppm. So it appears we've gotten through the initial tank cycle without any loss of fish. In fact, everyone seems very healthy and active. I noticed last week the tetras were actually coming out of hiding in the hornwort and were schooling up together in the tank. I've made it through the worst and it seems the tank cycled rather quickly, taking only about three weeks. One thing I had been very faithful was with the water changes and adding both Prime and Stability at each change as well as following the dosing schedule for Stress Zyme. I also made sure the tank was pretty heavily planted for a 6 gallon tank so those also probably contributed to the water quality as well.

Did the bacteria supplements help? Don't know, but my guess is they may have some impact on the tanks and it seems they did not hurt at all. Anyway, thanks to everyone for there suggestions!

John
 
Thanks, I really was happy to get this resolved satisfactorly. I've also been appreciative to see thread such as your which give a nice listing of small fish. As my son's tank is only a 6 gallon and I'm cycling a 14 gallon at the moment, it is nice to see such threads to help me get the tank stocked properly. My overall goal is definitely something bigger for downstairs, but paint and carpet in the family room definitely have to come first!

John
 
Glas to hear you have found our forum helpful!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom