first 10g tank for son

Fast growing plants like most stem plants as well as floating plants like duckweed and salvinia are 'nutrient hogs'. This would be 'cause they're fast growing and therefore take up nutrients quickly. They're very useful in fighting/controlling algae (I'll testify to this) because they outcompete algae for nutrients.

Slow growers like java fern do take up nutrients, but at too slow a rate to beat down algae.

As for post-cycle NO3, plants will help, but water changes are key. You've put a lot on nitrogen into the tank over the course of the cycle and water changes are really the best route to take. As good a plant is at taking up nutrients, it needs more than just nitrogen, it also needs PO4, K and traces. With the amount of N you likely have after the cycle, you'd need to be dosing very large amounts of P, K, and traces, which would likely cause an algal bloom anyway.

Definitely go with some plants and java fern is pretty bulletproof. Hey, if it lived through my learning tank, it'll make it through yours. But for it to really thrive, I've found that adding stem plants to the tank made a world of difference in keeping down the amount of algae that grows on the fern leaves.
 
Hi,
Welcome to Aquaria Central. It's great you are trying to learn all you can, which is great. I also have a 10gallon and what you plan to have in down the road seems like it will fully stock your tank. Remeber that it takes a tank a while to cycle so add only 1 or 2 fish at a time(even if you do a fishless cycle, I still think it's better to add your fish slowly over a period of a few weeks/month, as adding too many fish at once will cause a big strian on your tanks water conditions when it is new). As far as a alternative to neons for a 10gallon, why not try white cloud mountian minnows...they are about the same size, get along with bettas and are hardy.

If you are interested in reading more there is a good begianers site out there:

www.thekrib.com

There are also some good books out there:

Aquariums for Dummies

Aquarium Atlas Fresh Water Series 1, 2, & 3

Good Luck,
mt_marcy!
 
White clouds are a good choice but keep the water temp down to around 74 or so if you use them instead of neons. They are cold water fish and like things a bit on the cooler side than neons.

Remember when you add fish to do a slow acclimation. Float the bag of fish and then take a little store water out and add soem fish tank water. Do this every 15 minutes for 2 hours and your fish will be ready to get added into the tank. Net them out of course and don't use the fish store water. If there are difference between your and the LFS water (ph, hardness, temp etc...) then this will help the fish get used to the new conditions best.
 
Actually there are a lot of good articles on the Net (and in Levine's Fishkeeper's Guide) that recommend not floating the bag but instead, if the temps are roughly similar and water parameters are similar (if you buy the fish locally they should be similar, but it would be wise to check), to just net the fish and put it in the tank. The logic is that a slight temperature change isn't as bad as the accumulation of ammonia and other nasties in the bag for 30 minutes to an hour. The stress of being caught and bagged leads to increased ammonia output. Additionally, the fish might be stressed by new visual stimuli and by seeing hiding places within the tank that it can't reach. Finally netting it keep the nasty bag water from fouling up the aquarium water. I wish I could find the article but there was a good one on the net describing various methods for acclimating new fish - the recommended way was to dose the aquarium and the bag with a stress coat product and a cholorine/ammonia removing product, net the fish and put it in the tank. It also recommended that for tropical fish the aquarium water be a few degrees warmer than the bag water and for coldwater fish for the aquarium to be a little cooler.

I've done both floating and just netting, but only with hardy fish. For fish like neons or fish from different water parameters than the aquarium's it seems like the best method of putting them in a bucket and dripping aquarium water in. Again, that's just based on stuff I've read.

EDIT: Found some of them, but not the one I was specifically referring to...
http://www.aquamaniacs.net/newfishselection.html

http://aquascienceresearch.com/APInfo/Acclimate.htm

http://www.bestfish.com/tips/050798.html

Don't forget that when you get the fish bagged, you want to minimize their stress; so when they're in the plastic bags, put those into an opaqe bag and then if you can, put that into a cooler or insulated container when you drive them home. Resist the temptation to gawk at them in the bags! Suddenly coming into the light will stress the fish further. Especially with the neons and cories you want to absolutely minimize their stress, so they get the best start on life then can in your tank; nothing sucks more than bringing home several of them and watching a lot of them drop off like flies in a few days.

Duckweed is practically a weed; it won't add oxygen to your water but it will suck up the not-so-good (from our point of view) chemicals. It grows like mad, so if it gets a foothold in your aquarium, part of your maintence will have to be picking off the excess. Your betta (and probably the rest of your fish as well) will apperciate the cover it provides, but make sure you leave some open space so that the betta can easily come up for air.
 
Last edited:
uh oh great

today when I came home from work my son said his room stank real bad and when I walked in there it was the most awful stink.

I dont have a clue what the smell was from but it was definately from the tank. I had to drain the tank out (about 60%) and throw out the hornwort? I had floating on top of the water.

I'm stumped as to what made that smell? ammonia? anyways it was quite unbearable since you could even start to smell it outside the closed door in the hallway.

Before I left work this morning there was a very very faint smell and I did a water check the night before it was 76F, 7.6pH, 0.5 Ammonia, 0 Nitrate, and 6GH. The tank is 4 days old. I had 2 feeder goldfish in there but today got rid of them along with the hornwort? and will do a completely fishless cycle.

I went down to the lfs and he gave me some Amquel+ (removes nitrate and -ite, ammonia, chloramines & chlorine. Also got some NovAqua water conditioner and fish protector.
I was previously just using Aquasafe water conditioner.

The guy at the lfs store also said the 10g kit I got from Petsmart has a really crappy 10g power filter and that could be the problem. He suggested getting another 10g powerfilter that had a grooved plastic backing that was connected to the filter bag that mine didnt have. He said the plastic grooves that laid against the back of the bag filter is where the good bacteria would grow. Well after looking at it that made sense so I guess I'd buy it but wanted to get more advice here before spending more cash on impulse buying...*looks around floor at various used and now unused air stones, tubing, connectors, decorations*

needless to say I'm spending more that I had planned for but at least now I got this board as a resource before making more mistakes.....oh well at least I'm learning heh.

PS I will plan to do another water check tonight and keep the tank on a fishless cycle.

PSS oh before I forget my friend said a future betta in my tank wouldnt survice since the power filter and air stone I have in there is making the water too turbulent for it. Is that true?
 
Don't use goldfish to cycle; when you add the tropical fish and get their temperature right you might have to cycle all over again and that's no fun. Plus its rather cruel to the goldfish. If part of the point of the aquarium is to teach your son to respect life, using goldfish cycle somewhat defeats that purpose.

The betta shouldn't mind the filter too much but you have to add a lot of plants and other material so that there will be nice low flow areas. The clay pot would make a good cave for the betta to hide in if he felt the water was a bit strong. Just make sure there's a lot of cover that will help block the current and that one side of your aquarium is relatively peaceful (you might want to keep the airstone and the filter on one side). Floating plants will help some but until you get good plant growth in the tank itself you might have to use fake silk ones. Bettas muscles atrophy a bit if they're kept in those cups so you might want to keep the filter on low until you add the other fish. As long as he has a choice between slighty higher current and lower, he'll be fine. Bettas don't love high current but they're not meant to live in those cups either.

My betta enjoys resting between leaves on his silk plants. Getting several plants he can choose between will help as well.
 
Last edited:
yeah the goldfish was a mistake that I took as advice from a friend. So now I'm just gonna stick with the fishless cycle since it seems the way to go and no risk to the fishes

but I'm still wondering about my previous questions...like the filter with the grooves behind the filter bag and the cause of the smell.
 
If you are fishless cycling then make sure to avoid adding any plants as they will eat up the ammonia.

As for the smell, could have been rotting plants, or stale water, gunk in the filter?

I don't know the brand of filters you are describing. But the majority of the bacteria will grow on the filter material (sponge, floss etc...). This material should be rinsed weekly and reused. Mine is over a year old and doing fine. Bacteria will also grow on the gravel. But the amount of extra surface area you will get on a grooved plastic surface isn't that great.

A bigger filter is generally better. For a 10 gallon with a good stocking load an Aqua Clear 150 is a great choice. It is the brand I am most familiar with. Whispers are okay but lack the ability to turn down the water flow in the smaller models. Still they get the job done.

Live plants like hornwort and water sprite (stem plants) are great as they soak up excess nitrates and ammonia and can act as a second filter system. They need flourescent light though.

As for the chemicals you purchased. I have read lots of good things about them. Don't use them during rhe fishless cycle though as they bind ammonia and nitrites and you want those levels to be high.
 
My first guess is ammonia. Was the hornwart slimy? Did the tank just smell like rotting vegetation? You did the water change and the tank is now empty. Take your time and do the fishless cycle. Resist the temptation to take shortcuts and all will go well. Also, back down on the chemicals. If you destroy all of the ammonia you won't have anything to cycle.
 
yes it did smell like rotting vegetation. There is a residual smell still. I just did a water test and pH is up from 7.6 to 7.8 from yesterday ammonia is up from 0.5 to 0.75 & Nitrates are still zero. I think this is still in the ok range for a tank of 4 days?

I think I will stick to plastic plants for now and then introduce some java fern in a couple weeks. My main thing is to make sure that smell doesn't come back so strong. I'll also do a water change daily of 10-20%.

edit: I meant to say silk plants not plastic :)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom