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.
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.