New aquarium, any advice?

S

slease

AC Members
Dec 3, 2003
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Denton, TX
www.stephenlease.com
I am just getting in to the hobby. I've purchased a 10 gallon aquarium with a whisper power filter. I've put some money into it already(quite an expensive hobby). I purchased a heater and decorations, let the tank run a couple days and then bought some fish. Looking back on it I probably should have gotten fewer but I purchased 7 zebra danios to start cycling the tank. They've been in there now for a few days and appear to be doing well. I haven't yet purchased an ammonia test kit but plan on doing so soon. I did about a 10% water change today to help them with the ammonia levels. With the fish already in the tank, what can I do to help these guys get through the cycle? I also put Compact Flourescent bulbs in the hood and popped a dozen lilly bulbs from walmart in the tank hoping the plants could eat up some of the nitrogen. Any other hints? Decor tips?

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hey

see this thread - New 10 gallon tank ( 1 2 ) - same advice goes for you!!!
nice looking tank though!!!
 
Biospira

You can skip the cycle completely if you get BioSpira. It works less well when there is ammonia built up in the tank, so another near 100% water change would be wise.

Otherwise, my advice, keep a journal.
 
Yeah, 7 Danios is a lot to start cycling a 10g with but you can get through it. I would purchase a master test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites and ph at the least. Its also real helpful to have a nitrate test, especially if you have no live plants.

You're probably looking at daily water changes of 10-25% depending upon your ammonia and nitrite levels. I agree with anonapersona that you may want to look into Bio Spira. It will cost you some more money (probably about $15 or so) but it will save you from four weeks of daily water changes.

I added it to a partially cycled tank myself and found it to be very helpful but not an instant fix. Because I already had ammonia in the tank it took enough Bio Spira to treat a 30 gallon tank to bring my 10 gallon through its cycle. It did work though and cycled the tank after two days.
 
Well, as far as decor tips... I think those short plants should be in front of/around that driftwood piece instead of behind it. But, it's looking good! Welcome to the hobby and to Aquaria Central!
 
Actually, I think those grasslike short plants are just going to get tossed into a box somewhere, they really aren't appealing to me anymore. lol. I'll probably replace them with some of the live plants that are just now showing roots.

I'll look into those master test kits. Petsmart seems to only have them for as low as 20 dollars. Some country needs to mass produce ammonia and nitrate strips like what is done for pH strips. 10 bucks for a box of ammonia test strips is rediculous. But I suppose it must be done. :D

Thanks for the help everyone and if anyone else has suggestions, keep em coming.
 
I got my master test kit for about $20 I think. I believe its made by aquarium pharmaceuticals and it tests for ph, ammonia, nitrites, and general hardness. I bought a nitrate test later (next time I'll get the strips for this one because the process is a pain).

It is sort of pricey but its pretty valuable to have. You'll only use it a lot until the tank is cycled and then you'll probably only test once a week or so.
 
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