Setting up new tank

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Esoter1c

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Dec 26, 2006
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Hello, Ive just finished cleaning my 20g tank (I bought it from my boss who had it sitting in his garage), I started off by giving it a bleach bath and then it had two rinse baths and then a 30 minute shower so Im fairly certain all the bleach is gone and its all nice and clean.
Anyways, on to the question(s).
He had an undergravel filter beforehand, and so the aquarium has the plastic grates, but I bought a HOB filter for it, should I put the plastic grates back into the aquarium, will this help or be a problem? The gravel of course will sit overtop and Im not putting the rest of the filter back in, so all the plastic grates would be doing is just holding the gravel, does any suggest this, does it even make a difference?
I also have a stocking question, Im going to do a fishless cycle (Can anyone remind me how to get the initial injections of ammonia? Can I buy it at my LFS?, I've read adding some fish food to your filter will help with that but is that practical?) and so after its done cycling, I was looking at some Tiger Barbs (maybe 3+a feature fish), are these hard to maintain? What other kind of fish could I add since they are semi-aggressive, if not, does anyone else have a good combination they can recommend?

Thanks for your help!
Esoter1c
 
glad your starting out right. when you fill it up make sure you put extra dechlorinator that will remove any extra bleach. i bought my ammonia i think at walmart. its been some time. make sure its 100% ammonia with nothing added to it.

they cycling sticky just in case.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598
 
You should probably get more tiger barbs. Perhaps 5-7 so they can spread out the aggression. It will also help stop them from provoking any other fish you add. http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile20.html http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_tiger.php You should take the undergravel filter grates out, as that will allow wastes to settle and accumulate beneath it. I believe you can get ammonia at any drug store or in the cleaning aisle. Just make sure it doesn't have any added fragrances or detergents in it. Do you have a gravel vacuum and net yet? http://www.firsttankguide.net/siphon.php
 
Thanks for the tips, I do have a gravel vacuum and two nets, will 5-7 tiger barbs be too many though for a 20gal aquarium? I dont want to overstock, but I do have a filter that will filter my water 10 times per hour, theoretically, does that mean I can overstock a bit (not that I plan to.)?

Oh also, will adding too much dechlorinater have a detrimental effect, cause then I'd always rather add too much than add too little and be sorry? I have the Aqua Plus stuff.
 
I think that should be a fine amount of barbs for that size aquarium. However, I have never had them personally. Did you check out the links I gave you? I know at least two had personal experiences of people that own tiger barbs on the bottom portion of the page. Most filters don't actually filter the amount they say they do. It is really less than the advertised amount.

As to the Aqua Plus, I don't use it but I Googled this... http://www.arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=230098
 
Why not just make it a barb tank? There are many types of barb other than just tigers. Or if you like tigs, then perhaps a half and half of regular and albino, just for interest?

Nix the grate at the bottom unless you want to actually use it as additional filtration as a bottom filter. Make sure there are plenty of hidey-holes (rocks, driftwood, decorations) and plants for the semi-aggressive barbs to hide in when they aren't in the mood to be picked on. Also, a corydoras or small pleco to keep the bottom nice and clean might be beneficial.

I always use a little extra water conditioning liquid after cleaning my tank (I always clean with vinegar OR bleach) just to neutralize any clinging residues. As long as you don't severely overdose the tank, there should be no problem. Just make sure you have the temp and the pH just right before you add your barbs in.

And for the record, mine absolutely ADORED frozen bloodworm cubes. ^_^
 
What do you always clean with vinegar or bleach. I'm pretty sure you shouldn't need to use bleach on weekly maintainence. Just to clarify for any beginner's, I'm pretty sure Kyohti is not talking about using this chemical around the actual tank. Such harsh chemicals, like bleach should never be used around your tank.
 
I did read the links about the tiger barbs, now Im not too sure if I do want them. I keep switching my mind over and over again about what I want lol.

I used bleach on the tank because it had been sitting in this guys garage for over 6 months, and so it really didnt look all that pretty, so it seemed like a good way to clean it, and I did rinse it thoroughly (after the bleaching, it got 2, 12hour baths and then a 30 minute shower, plus a final rinse with jugs of water, that dont contain chlorine) so Im pretty sure it will be fine.
And thanks for the link about overdosing, since it isn't detrimental, I guess I will always add a little more in just to be sure!

Im also not too sure what other stock of barbs my LFS has, I'll double check next time I go in but I'm not too sure if they have albino barbs.

Oh and as for the filtration, I bought an AquaClear HOB filter rated for 50gal tanks, so it says it filters 200 gallons per hour.
 
Dont install the ugf plates unless youre going to run it.Btw its a great xtra biofilter if your fish arent diggers.
I agree a school of tiger barbs might be a bit much for that tank,and just 1 is likly to be aggressive to the other fish
 
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