Cycling/Stocking/Planting/etc Questions - Aquarium Advice

Renn · 06-13-2006, 01:17 PM

Okay, like I said in my previous post, I'm just about to start my first tank. It's a 10-gallon, a little small, but I'm willing to do the water changes and have the patience to make it work. So I just have a few questions-

1) I'm planning on stocking it with 5-6 Black Skirt Tetras, and about 3 Skunk Corydoras. I just want to double-check that that's not too much fish to live comfortably. I'd probably add the corys first after letting the setup run a couple of days, but I've been reading something about cycling with ammonia or shrimp??? That confused me, as what I've heard is to let the setup run with plants for a couple days, then add some of the hardier fish and let it cycle for a week or so, then add the rest of the fish... Was I mis-informed?

2) I bought my tank from a friend, and he threw in two hanging filters and a heater. The heater is in good condition, and I think I'll use it, but I'm not so sure about the filters... Would it be okay to use them? I don't know what kind of a setup he had in the tank before. Would it just be better to buy a new filter?

3) I'm at a complete loss over planting. I have no idea how I would grow the plants, or even plant them, and I don't want to even start to mess with the lighting. With my setup, do I even need plants? Or could I get away with just fake plastics?

4) What kind of substrate should I use? I'm trying to find something that would be easiest to clean, but I also know that the corys might need something special as they're bottom feeders... Which brings up another point...

5) What about feeding? The last fish I kept, I was about 5 years old and just dropped in a pinch of the flake food every day. Now I know that I need to do more than that, but there's so much information out there that it can get very overwhelming. Would I be okay just using TetraMin or something regularly for the tetras, some pellets for the corys, and giving something different as a treat once in a while? I know my parents wouldn't let me do anything with live food, or anything I'd have to keep in the fridge/freezer. So what else could I do to vary the diet?

6) Okay, this may be a minor question, but I was in the Bahamas on a school trip over spring break, and I have a ton of shells and sand dollars and sea biscuits, and even the remains of a sea egg... Would it be okay to put any of these in the tank? If so, would I have to do any kind of treatment other than rinsing them? I'm wary of using anything with any sort of chemicals on anything that would go in my tank.

Well, that's pretty much all I can think of for now... I'll probably have a ton more questions once I actually start setting all this up- I'm a little paranoid about messing something up. Thank you!

rich311k · 06-13-2006, 01:29 PM

1) I think those fish will be fine. You can and it is generally recommended to cycle your tank without fish. Here is an article about how to do it. ignore the SW part it works for FW as well. Fishless cycle

2) What kind of filters are they? No reason you can't reuse them if you clean them well. A new filter, I prefer Aqua Clear, will not run you very much for a ten gallon tank.

3) Read the stickies in the planted section. And post a question over there.

4) Cories need gravel without any sharp edges. Sand is a good choice for them and it looks cool.

5) A pinch a day of flakes is fine. You can mix it up with some freeze dried and frozen foods.

6.) Chances are shells and stuff will raise your KH so I would leave them out.

06-13-2006, 01:17 PM	#1
Renn Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3	Cycling/Stocking/Planting/etc Questions Okay, like I said in my previous post, I'm just about to start my first tank. It's a 10-gallon, a little small, but I'm willing to do the water changes and have the patience to make it work. So I just have a few questions- 1) I'm planning on stocking it with 5-6 Black Skirt Tetras, and about 3 Skunk Corydoras. I just want to double-check that that's not too much fish to live comfortably. I'd probably add the corys first after letting the setup run a couple of days, but I've been reading something about cycling with ammonia or shrimp??? That confused me, as what I've heard is to let the setup run with plants for a couple days, then add some of the hardier fish and let it cycle for a week or so, then add the rest of the fish... Was I mis-informed? 2) I bought my tank from a friend, and he threw in two hanging filters and a heater. The heater is in good condition, and I think I'll use it, but I'm not so sure about the filters... Would it be okay to use them? I don't know what kind of a setup he had in the tank before. Would it just be better to buy a new filter? 3) I'm at a complete loss over planting. I have no idea how I would grow the plants, or even plant them, and I don't want to even start to mess with the lighting. With my setup, do I even need plants? Or could I get away with just fake plastics? 4) What kind of substrate should I use? I'm trying to find something that would be easiest to clean, but I also know that the corys might need something special as they're bottom feeders... Which brings up another point... 5) What about feeding? The last fish I kept, I was about 5 years old and just dropped in a pinch of the flake food every day. Now I know that I need to do more than that, but there's so much information out there that it can get very overwhelming. Would I be okay just using TetraMin or something regularly for the tetras, some pellets for the corys, and giving something different as a treat once in a while? I know my parents wouldn't let me do anything with live food, or anything I'd have to keep in the fridge/freezer. So what else could I do to vary the diet? 6) Okay, this may be a minor question, but I was in the Bahamas on a school trip over spring break, and I have a ton of shells and sand dollars and sea biscuits, and even the remains of a sea egg... Would it be okay to put any of these in the tank? If so, would I have to do any kind of treatment other than rinsing them? I'm wary of using anything with any sort of chemicals on anything that would go in my tank. Well, that's pretty much all I can think of for now... I'll probably have a ton more questions once I actually start setting all this up- I'm a little paranoid about messing something up. Thank you!

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06-13-2006, 01:29 PM	#2
rich311k Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 8,972 Images: 35	1) I think those fish will be fine. You can and it is generally recommended to cycle your tank without fish. Here is an article about how to do it. ignore the SW part it works for FW as well. Fishless cycle 2) What kind of filters are they? No reason you can't reuse them if you clean them well. A new filter, I prefer Aqua Clear, will not run you very much for a ten gallon tank. 3) Read the stickies in the planted section. And post a question over there. 4) Cories need gravel without any sharp edges. Sand is a good choice for them and it looks cool. 5) A pinch a day of flakes is fine. You can mix it up with some freeze dried and frozen foods. 6.) Chances are shells and stuff will raise your KH so I would leave them out.