A few Qs

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MrBubb

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jul 18, 2012
Messages
1
Hello all!

I posting to make sure I haven’t overlooked something vital in my tank. The last thing I want is to get all set up just to have everything die. Besides that I am a college student and every dollar spent needs to be spent wisely. As far as experience goes last year I looked after a Betta and a mystery snail in a 3 gallon for a friend. I am attempting to make this freshwater tank because it makes it 1000x easier to sleep at night. I have been search engining a lot of these questions and searching forums but some are just too specific.

Tank size: 10 gallon (20L x 10W x 12H)
Expected inhabitants: Cherry Shrimp with Amano Shrimp (around 10 cherries and like 3 amanos) and some 1 school, probably 7-8, of Tetras (the ones on the smaller friendlier side)
Plants: ??? Options: Java moss, Java fern, Anubias, Cryptocorynes, and Vallisnera
Lighting: No hood or light but near a window, however the window faces north so no east west direct sunlight.
Filter: A whisper Tetra brand filter (waterfall, filters up then pours back into tank), box said good up to 10 gallons, comes with those biobag things—supposed to remove nitrates and ammonia
Heater: A cheap Tetra brand heater said good up to 5 gallons
Temp range : 68-80 F depending on the Tetra species I get as well as what plants –the heater is auto set to 75 F so it will probably be that.
PH range : 6-7 ideally at 7.0 === Hardness: 6-10 dgh === ammonia/nitrites: 0 === Nitrates: Does anyone know what would be an acceptable amount? 10-20 ppm?

My questions are...
1 What order do I do this in? I have the materials, I assume it goes like this -- but tell me if I am wrong (or right)…. get substrate, fill tank with substrate and water, make sure ph/ammonia/nitrates are good, get plants (rinse/soak to get rid of chemicals), add plants, let cycle? Fishless cycle? How long? add shrimps/tetras.
2 What type of plants will be the best for the shrimp tetra combo, as well as how many. I know too many plants can mess up some things. Preferably fast growing I heard java moss takes forever.
3 Will my shrimp population stay in check with the tetras getting most of the eggs? I’m not trying to breed or anything as I would have nothing to do with them. Ideally I would want only a few cherries to survive per breeding cycle.
4 Do I have to buy ammonia and nitrate testing/fixing kits? I know the PH kit will be vital. The Bio Bag things that get loaded into the heater makes me think that I might be able to bypass this.
5 Will the filter (waterfall type) add too much current for the shrimp or tetra? (I remember the Betta hated that thing and would always hid in still waters, I eventually only used it an hour every once in a while) If yes, is there a fix for this? Something to disrupt the current?
6 What would be the optimal substrate for shrimp with tetras—I know some of this relies on the plants.
7 I know the heater says 5 gallons but could I get away with using it in the 10g, my apartment stays a constant 73 and I would use the pull out the heater to get the water changes the right temp. Or will the heater cause cold spots regardless?
8 Could you recommend a good species of Tetra with these shrimps?

My apologizes for the length of these inquiries. Any answers to any of these questions would be immensely helpful.
 
Hi and welcome. My replies below in blue....

Hello all!

I posting to make sure I haven’t overlooked something vital in my tank. The last thing I want is to get all set up just to have everything die. Besides that I am a college student and every dollar spent needs to be spent wisely. As far as experience goes last year I looked after a Betta and a mystery snail in a 3 gallon for a friend. I am attempting to make this freshwater tank because it makes it 1000x easier to sleep at night. I have been search engining a lot of these questions and searching forums but some are just too specific.

Tank size: 10 gallon (20L x 10W x 12H)
Expected inhabitants: Cherry Shrimp with Amano Shrimp (around 10 cherries and like 3 amanos) and some 1 school, probably 7-8, of Tetras (the ones on the smaller friendlier side) A 10 gal is somewhat limiting but there are some good stocking options. Some Tetras grow too large for a 10 but Ember Tetras are small peaceful nano fish that would do well in there; you could also add a group of 4-6 Corys (the smaller type, c.pygmaeus, c. hasbrosus or c. hastus). Some other options instead of the tetra would be endlers livebearers (like guppies but smaller). Are you buying fish locally? If so you might want to visit some stores near you and see what's available and then do some research on those.
Plants: ??? Options: Java moss, Java fern, Anubias, Cryptocorynes, and Vallisnera
Lighting: No hood or light but near a window, however the window faces north so no east west direct sunlight. Hm, without a tank light I'm not sure how the plants would fare. Java ferns and anubias might do well with just ambient light, I'm not sure about the crypts and vals though.
Filter: A whisper Tetra brand filter (waterfall, filters up then pours back into tank), box said good up to 10 gallons, comes with those biobag things—supposed to remove nitrates and ammonia. Filter should be ok; did it come with a tank kit? Usually those are overrated for their tank size. An aquaclear 20 would be better if you can get one.
Heater: A cheap Tetra brand heater said good up to 5 gallons
Temp range : 68-80 F depending on the Tetra species I get as well as what plants –the heater is auto set to 75 F so it will probably be that. Is it adjustable? Aqueon heaters are good and adjustable so that can help. Most tropical fish do best at 76-78 degrees; 75 might be doable depending on what fish you get.
PH range : 6-7 ideally at 7.0 === Hardness: 6-10 dgh === ammonia/nitrites: 0 === Nitrates: Does anyone know what would be an acceptable amount? 10-20 ppm? Have you tested your tap water yet? Most PH's are fine even if the fish don't fall quite in what the PH range is for them as long as it's stable; messing with PH can cause more harm than good so most likely whatever your tap PH is will be fine. As far as nitrates, you want to keep those low, under 20 definitely, ideally under 10.

My questions are...
1 What order do I do this in? I have the materials, I assume it goes like this -- but tell me if I am wrong (or right)…. get substrate, fill tank with substrate and water, make sure ph/ammonia/nitrates are good, get plants (rinse/soak to get rid of chemicals), add plants, let cycle? Fishless cycle? How long? add shrimps/tetras.
You might want to read this guide, particularly the first section on cycling. Letting a tank run doesn't cycle it. Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice
2 What type of plants will be the best for the shrimp tetra combo, as well as how many. I know too many plants can mess up some things. Preferably fast growing I heard java moss takes forever. It'll mostly depend on your light. Without a tank light you might be pretty limited into what you can grow.
3 Will my shrimp population stay in check with the tetras getting most of the eggs? I’m not trying to breed or anything as I would have nothing to do with them. Ideally I would want only a few cherries to survive per breeding cycle. Shrimp produce live babies (they hold the eggs for a few weeks depending on type of shrimp and then they give birth to little babies); some fish will eat the baby shrimp though so that should keep the population in check.
4 Do I have to buy ammonia and nitrate testing/fixing kits? I know the PH kit will be vital. The Bio Bag things that get loaded into the heater makes me think that I might be able to bypass this. I wouldn't trust anything that says it removes ammonia, etc. Read up on cycling, it'll explain things further. A water test kit is VITAL; the API Master liquid kit is the best (strips are cheaper in the short-term but you'll use more of them and they are generally not accurate).
5 Will the filter (waterfall type) add too much current for the shrimp or tetra? (I remember the Betta hated that thing and would always hid in still waters, I eventually only used it an hour every once in a while) If yes, is there a fix for this? Something to disrupt the current? Most fish should be fine with the current from the filter.
6 What would be the optimal substrate for shrimp with tetras—I know some of this relies on the plants. If you'd like some bottom feeders (like the Corys mentioned above) they generally prefer sand. Otherwise either sand or gravel would do. I know people grow plants in gravel successfully (I have Java Fern and Anubias in my Betta tank with gravel and minimal light and they are both growing). I am also growing plants in my larger tank with plain sand.
7 I know the heater says 5 gallons but could I get away with using it in the 10g, my apartment stays a constant 73 and I would use the pull out the heater to get the water changes the right temp. Or will the heater cause cold spots regardless?
You could try it but it might not keep it up to temp. I'd invest in a cheap mercury thermometer to place in the tank to double-check the heater. Sometimes they malfunction (I've had pre-set heaters that have stopped working) and sometimes you might have it set to a certain temp but they can be a degree or two off, so it's good to have a thermometer in there to double-check.
8 Could you recommend a good species of Tetra with these shrimps? Ember tetra is one I mentioned above; I have the in a large tank with shrimp and they haven't bothered them. Glolight tetra are another small type of tetra (not to be confused with Glofish which are danios and too active for a 10).

Oh, and you'll need a water dechlorinator. Most of us use Prime.

My apologizes for the length of these inquiries. Any answers to any of these questions would be immensely helpful.
 
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