Everybody has seen them - the all-in-one tank setups that are sold in pets stores and department stores. They come with everything you need except water and fish. Even a packet of food and a pouch of water conditioner. That noted, what part of the market is this product aimed at?
People new to the hobby, obviously.
It has to be tempting... But think before you plunk down your cash.
A small tank is far more of a challenge than many people realize. Here are a few things I have noticed in the several days I have had one set up.
Temperature control. The tanks come with no means of controlling temperature. You will need to buy a heater, because it doesn't take a long time for a small volume of water to cool by 10-12 degrees. Not only is this stressful to your fish, but depending on how warm you keep your house, it could cause the temp to drop below the tolerance level of some fish. Try to find a heater made for a tank under 5 gallons...
Lighting. These little tanks come with a light fixture. Most of the time, it is an incandescent tube type bulb - 15 watts is common. Other than the fact that the color of this light will make the tank look muddy and dark, it will impart a fair amount of heat into the water. Most of the light put out by an incandescent bulb is beyond the visible spectrum. For as long as the light is on, they make efficient heaters for these tanks. You can replace the bulb with a compact florescent bulb - for anywhere between $5 and $15.
Water quality. It is much easier to maintain good water quality in a large tank than it is in a small one. The reason is simple. In a large tank, there is more water there to dilute the mistakes. Think of it another way. Compare a glass of water and a gallon jug of water. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each and mix well. Which one will have more color? The small glass, of course. Now imagine the food coloring is ammonia from fish waste, or decomposing food. The ammonia (toxic, by the way) is measured in parts per million, or mg/l. If you add 1 milligram of ammonia to a liter of water, you have 1ppm of ammonia. Add that same milligram to 4 liters, and you have a concentration of 0.25ppm (mg/l). The smaller the tank, the less time you have to react to changes. A pinch of food in a 10 gallon tank will produce enough ammonia to allow the biological filter to get started, aka cycling the tank. Thinking of the above, what do you suppose that pinch of food will do in 2 gallons?
Stocking. Most people new to the hobby, as well as some experienced people tend to put just a fish or so too many in a tank. The effects of this mistake can be disastrous in a very small tank. Just adding 1 fish can increase the bio-load in the tank to the point where it will start to cycle itself over again. Ammonia will climb, then Nitrite (also toxic but not as bad) will climb, and finally, Nitrate will begin to rise. One fish too many in a 2 gallon tank is like 5 fish too many in a ten gallon tank.
Maintenance. OK, water changes are pretty easy when you're doing a 50% change on a 2 gallon tank. But the gravel still needs to be vacuumed. That's gonna be fun!Talk about having to move fast.
There are a lot of factors to consider when dealing with a tiny tank. Are they for beginners? No way.
I am currently working with one of these little gems. My wife bought it for her new Betta. I set it up and got it going. The gravel had been in one of the media trays of my canister filter for about a year now, just sitting there in case I ever needed it to jump start a tank. It had a good bacteria base. The tank took right off with a snail and a few ghost shrimp. The day after it was set up, I found hints of Nitrate. Never any ammonia or Nitrite. Addition of a bit of food produced no measurable ammonia or Nitrite. Just a gentle increase in Nitrate. So I let her go ahead and add the Betta. That was yesterday.
I got up this morning to find that we had a trace of ammonia, and about 1ppm of Nitrite. This is bad - never let the Nitrite get over .25ppm. I did a 75% water change, followed by a 50% water change a couple hours later. Four hours after that I retested. I had 0 ammonia, but Nitrites were rapidly approaching the 1.0 mark again. Another big water change. It's four hours later now, and guess what? Yup. Time to change water again, because the Nitrites are on the rise again. Not as bad as before, but bad.
With a larger tank, it would take much longer for these toxins to build up. But this isn't a bigger tank. By morning, the bacteria base should be to the point where it can keep up. But this entails testing every four hours.
Guess who doesn't get to sleep tonight?
And does this little Betta appreciate all my efforts? No, every time he comes over to my side of the tank and sees me, he flares at me. The little ingrate.
In summary, while the small tank may seem like the perfect way to "get started", it is actually far more likely to result in failure than a larger one. Do yourself a favor - buy the largest tank you can reasonably get for your first go at fish-keeping. I have been doing this for over 30 years, and this little glorified fishbowl is about to make me pull my hair out.
People new to the hobby, obviously.
It has to be tempting... But think before you plunk down your cash.
A small tank is far more of a challenge than many people realize. Here are a few things I have noticed in the several days I have had one set up.
Temperature control. The tanks come with no means of controlling temperature. You will need to buy a heater, because it doesn't take a long time for a small volume of water to cool by 10-12 degrees. Not only is this stressful to your fish, but depending on how warm you keep your house, it could cause the temp to drop below the tolerance level of some fish. Try to find a heater made for a tank under 5 gallons...
Lighting. These little tanks come with a light fixture. Most of the time, it is an incandescent tube type bulb - 15 watts is common. Other than the fact that the color of this light will make the tank look muddy and dark, it will impart a fair amount of heat into the water. Most of the light put out by an incandescent bulb is beyond the visible spectrum. For as long as the light is on, they make efficient heaters for these tanks. You can replace the bulb with a compact florescent bulb - for anywhere between $5 and $15.
Water quality. It is much easier to maintain good water quality in a large tank than it is in a small one. The reason is simple. In a large tank, there is more water there to dilute the mistakes. Think of it another way. Compare a glass of water and a gallon jug of water. Add a couple of drops of food coloring to each and mix well. Which one will have more color? The small glass, of course. Now imagine the food coloring is ammonia from fish waste, or decomposing food. The ammonia (toxic, by the way) is measured in parts per million, or mg/l. If you add 1 milligram of ammonia to a liter of water, you have 1ppm of ammonia. Add that same milligram to 4 liters, and you have a concentration of 0.25ppm (mg/l). The smaller the tank, the less time you have to react to changes. A pinch of food in a 10 gallon tank will produce enough ammonia to allow the biological filter to get started, aka cycling the tank. Thinking of the above, what do you suppose that pinch of food will do in 2 gallons?
Stocking. Most people new to the hobby, as well as some experienced people tend to put just a fish or so too many in a tank. The effects of this mistake can be disastrous in a very small tank. Just adding 1 fish can increase the bio-load in the tank to the point where it will start to cycle itself over again. Ammonia will climb, then Nitrite (also toxic but not as bad) will climb, and finally, Nitrate will begin to rise. One fish too many in a 2 gallon tank is like 5 fish too many in a ten gallon tank.
Maintenance. OK, water changes are pretty easy when you're doing a 50% change on a 2 gallon tank. But the gravel still needs to be vacuumed. That's gonna be fun!Talk about having to move fast.
There are a lot of factors to consider when dealing with a tiny tank. Are they for beginners? No way.
I am currently working with one of these little gems. My wife bought it for her new Betta. I set it up and got it going. The gravel had been in one of the media trays of my canister filter for about a year now, just sitting there in case I ever needed it to jump start a tank. It had a good bacteria base. The tank took right off with a snail and a few ghost shrimp. The day after it was set up, I found hints of Nitrate. Never any ammonia or Nitrite. Addition of a bit of food produced no measurable ammonia or Nitrite. Just a gentle increase in Nitrate. So I let her go ahead and add the Betta. That was yesterday.
I got up this morning to find that we had a trace of ammonia, and about 1ppm of Nitrite. This is bad - never let the Nitrite get over .25ppm. I did a 75% water change, followed by a 50% water change a couple hours later. Four hours after that I retested. I had 0 ammonia, but Nitrites were rapidly approaching the 1.0 mark again. Another big water change. It's four hours later now, and guess what? Yup. Time to change water again, because the Nitrites are on the rise again. Not as bad as before, but bad.
With a larger tank, it would take much longer for these toxins to build up. But this isn't a bigger tank. By morning, the bacteria base should be to the point where it can keep up. But this entails testing every four hours.
Guess who doesn't get to sleep tonight?
And does this little Betta appreciate all my efforts? No, every time he comes over to my side of the tank and sees me, he flares at me. The little ingrate.
In summary, while the small tank may seem like the perfect way to "get started", it is actually far more likely to result in failure than a larger one. Do yourself a favor - buy the largest tank you can reasonably get for your first go at fish-keeping. I have been doing this for over 30 years, and this little glorified fishbowl is about to make me pull my hair out.
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