Some comments/suggestions on setup

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TryinFishOut

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Jul 16, 2004
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Here’s my ten gallon setup so far… I bought it a few days ago.

-10 gallon standard size tank
-Canopy with 15watt lights
-Filter (running at 100 gph) Aquaclear Mini
-Heater, 50 watts (currently set at 78 degrees)
-Gravel, about 1 inch layer
-3 thermometers (lol dont ask)
-pH/Ammonia/Nitrite test kits
-2 random decorations
-Siphon gravel cleaner
also got 2 guppies to cycle

alright, heres some questions I have...

(1) The filter is running at 100 gph (full power). Should I lower it?

(2) Should I get a powerhead/air pump? Is it worth it?

(3) Can anyone name me some communable fish that can be kept safely in a 10 gallon (after its cycled)?

Alright I have an Aquaclear mini filter for my 10 gallon tank. Here's a few questions I got associated with it...

(4) On the box it shows that there's 3 layers to a filter... however the box itself only comes with 2 of them. Do I have to buy the 3rd, topmost filter layer? is it even that important?

(5) Does the ammonia/nitrite killing bacteria live in the filter? And if it does, how to I avoid killing it whenever I make a filter change?

Also if anyone has any suggestions/comments about my setup or has any answers to the filter question on top, feel free to say em :)
 
Welcome. You've come to the right place and are starting out much farther ahead than I did with my first 10g fish killing machine. :rolleyes:

(1) No, leave it on full, get the most out of your filter. If you have a need to decrease surface agitation, well, we can discuss that if and when it comes up.

(2) No. I like having a powerhead in my bigger tank, but in a 10g you'll get plenty of circulation from your filter. I find airpumps too noisy in general, but I do have one for an emergency hospital setup.

(3) Small schooling fish: a school of tetras or rasboras (maybe 6, of one type only, there's not room for both!)

Or a betta and a couple other peaceful fish.

And some ramshorn snails or ghost shrimp for cleanup. If you go shrimp, you'll have to add a very small amount of iodide to your water, there's a thread on it in GFW.

(4) No, you don't even need the activated carbon. Keep it aside for anytime you had to medicate. Add the carbon after treatment to remove any leftover medication from the water. Double up on filter sponges, forget the rest.

(5) The bacteria do not kill ammonia or nitrite, these are just compounds, as such, not living and therefore cannot be killed. One species converts ammonia to nitrite and another nitrite to nitrate. They will grow on every surface in your tank, but especially the filter media. It has a high surface area and flowing water - read fresh source of O2 and food.

You don't need to make a filter change anywhere near the suggested frequency. Every couple weeks give the filter pads a good squeeze and rinse in the bucket of water you just syphoned out in your weekly water change. Just to get out accumulated mulm (partially decomposed fish poo, scales, plant matter, uneaten food, etc.) Then put them back in. Just keep in mind that you don't want to expose the media to chlorinated water (i.e. untreated tap water) or dry periods.

Frequent water changes are your best ally. At least 30% at least once per week.

Get KH and NO3 test kits.
 
Okay, bear in mind that I'm a newbie too, but here's my opinions on it so far.

1) if the filter is creating so much turbulence that the fish are having a hard time swimming against the current... or if it's knocking over/uprooting plants... I would turn it down. Otherwise it should be fine for a 10 gallon

2) that filter is moving a lot of water in a relatively small aquarium, so I doubt a powerhead is gonna be necessary. Check the decorations you bought to see if they have an airstone in them, or if they don't just buy a small bubble wall and hook it up to a small air pump.

3) tetras, guppies, and small danios should work well for you, as well as a small cory cat or some other scavenger

4) ???

5) It's my understanding that the bacteria grows on everything in the tank, but especially the substrate and filters. If you do pull out the filters and replace them, you're taking out some of the bacteria... but certainly not all of it. At worst, it'll have to go through a mini-cycle to regain some of the bacteria on the filters again, but it's not a major ordeal like the original cycle.

Please everyone, correct me if I'm wrong here.
 
nice

yay ppl are actually helping me (unlike those cheesy aquariumhobbyist.com forums :() but yeah anyways, heres some of my thoughts...

To the (1), the filter was creating a very strong current and lots of ripples (or should I say waves) and the 2 guppies were having troubling fighting them (or so it seemed) so I just put it at 1/2 power...

To (2), yeah I guess you guys are right a powerhead aint needed.

To (3) I've chosen to get one of the following 2 choices: either something like a group of 5 danios, or get 3 cories + some slow peaceful non-grouping fish

To (4).. bit confused (especially from happychem :p) but yeahh umm I'll draw a 'diagram' to show you guys what I mean

3 layers of a filter
__________________

Biological Layer
__________________

Chemical Layer
__________________

Mechanical Layer
__________________


Alright these are the 3 layers... the spongy stuff goes to the Mechanical layer and the carbon stuff goes to the chemical layer. So basically what you guys are telling me to do is to remove the carbon from the Chemical layer and replace it with more of the spongy stuff (same stuff in mechanical layer)?

As for (5).. Sounds alright but I have another question based on it: Currently I have spongy stuff and carbon in my filter... if when im done cycling I remove the carbon and add in another sponge thingy, will anything bad happen?

Thanks so far guys :D
 
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The guppies were probably just fighting the current for enjoyment. I have the powerhead in my 33g on full power. The Otos, Swordtail, and Cories (especially the cories) like to try to swim up the current from time to time. I think it makes them feel more at home with the moving water.

Sorry about the confusion. A little more detail may help.

You don't need chemical filtration, as provided by the filter people. It's a popular misconception. Activated carbon is useful for lazy fishkeepers. What you need are weekly to twice weekly water changes, there's no way around it.

Activated carbon is an adsorption medium, nope, that's not a typo, ad, not ab. It has many porous sites that organic molecules 'stick' to. Eventually these sites get filled and the carbon becomes useless as chemical filtration, it does, however, remain a useful site for bacterial colonies, but why bother with activated carbon when you can just use another sponge? It's cheaper and easier to work with.

The other form of chemical filtration is that reprehensible ammo-lock, ammo-sorb, or what have you stuff. All this does is pull ammonia from your water, doing what your biological filter would be doing in a properly cycled tank. So again, not necessary.

Filter sponges will serve as both mechanical filtration and biological filtration. I like to cut a hole in the middle of one of the sponges (running parallel the long side) and slip it over the filter intake. This keeps bigger stuff from getting sucked into your filter as well as fry. It just generally keeps the whole filter housing much cleaner. Sponges are cheap too, bonus.

So for day to day use, all you need is a couple of filter sponges.

Now there're a couple times when carbon can come in handy, so it's good to keep some around. First, if you need to medicate your fish, after the medication period, add the carbon to your filter and do water changes to get out left over meds. Second, if you accidentally spill something into your tank, or add too much, add the carbon to help pull some out.

In both these cases water changes are a must, but the carbon can be useful to get what's left over.

I hope that helped to clear up my last explanation. And no, you can remove the carbon now at no detriment to your tank.

Remember, water changes! There's no substitute, magic pill or snake oil that can replace the removal of old water and replacement by fresh water. Think of it as living in a box with no source of fresh air, just circulation through a filter that replaced O2. It'd get pretty musky in there pretty fast. Same deal for a fish in a glass box.
 
Originally posted by happychem
Welcome. You've come to the right place and are starting out much farther ahead than I did with my first 10g fish killing machine. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I had one of those once. :argh I wouldn't have had one if this forum had been around.

IMO, happychem is covering all the questions you asked quite well, so I'll touch on a couple of other things.

You didn't mention it, but don't let the LFS get you caught up in the pH changing game unless you have extremely high or low levels. Most tap water will do fine for the majority of fish unless you are trying to breed some of the more particular species.

Also, start getting familiar with some on the online stores like BigAls (bigalsonline.com) and thatfishplace.com just to name a couple. You can save money on equipment, food and stuff.

Welcome to the hobby and you are doing the most important thing by gather information.

WARNING THIS HOBBY IS ADICTIVE! START SAVING YOUR MONEY NOW FOR A NEW TANK. :D
 
hehehe

seems that my questions are answered :)

soon I'll be removing my activated carbon and replacing it with another sponge.

However... another problem has occured... the temperature has risen out of control. My heater is set at 74F, but one side of the tank is at 79F and one side is at 81F! I cooled it down with an icecube pack but I fear that the temperature may rise tomorrow (im wondering that maybe its the incadesent bulbs making it...) ALSO out of curiosity, is it normal for one side of the tank to be warmer/colder than the other?

*Im also going to need to choose my species more carefully, as I want my tank to have a specific theme.. maybe something like Amazon theme or something along those lines.. any suggestions?

p.s. yeahh im saving money already... for something though i dunno what yet :p Maybe I can start saving for a 60g tank and a freshwater stingray (in case u dont know theyre my fave animals :D)
 
Incadesent bulbs can raise the temp. Check your location too. Are you cclose to any vents or other things that could effect the temp? What kind of heater do you have? I'm thinking with all the water you are moving the temp should be fairly stable.
 
hmm so basically the more water moving then the more stable/cooler the temp will be?

also is it normal for one side of the tank to be warmer/colder then the other?

finally, can anyone suggest any possible themes I could do to my aquarium?

thnx :)
 
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