good morning! new with questions starting tank...

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oneball

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
May 26, 2008
Messages
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I got a tank out of drydock at my parents house, 15 gall or so 10x20. I went and bought new rock, a top filter ( the salesman tal;ked me out of running that AND a bottom filter, said i didnt need it. recommended a "gravel vacuum", or a tube that sucks the crap out of the gravel when you replace the water, still not sure about that decision) took it all home and hooked it up. We have well water, heavy in rust it seems, because the water is yellow. I am going to take the water out, but my wife says i can buy clarifier to clear up the water. what would you guys recommend!? Thank you in advance for all of your help!
 
It sounds like the recommendations were actually right. You would want to go with a Hang on Back(HOB) type filter and skip the undergravel filter. They are hard to keep clean and if you want a planted tank, they will mess with their roots.

The gravel vacuum is quite possibly the best investment I've made into this hobby. It is used for cleaning the gravel, removing water during a Partial Water Change (PWC), and sometimes even filling the tank up (google: python gravel vacuum).

I'm not certain about the well water, I'm sure if you let it run with the filter for a while it will eventually clear up. I've seen some other people's tanks that were yellow/brown and cleared up over time.

Good luck and welcome to AA! :)
 
Usually you'd use water changes to remove discoloration from the water, but since the discoloration is coming in with the water this may be one of the few situations where using Activated Carbon would be helpful.

I agree that a HOB filter will provide plenty of filtration for your tank and a gravel vac is an excellant investment to make water changes easier.

Welcome to AA!
 
are there any additional filter i need to run besides the charcoal filter in the external filter?
 
In general you would want some type of polyfiber (foam insert) in there. I'm not sure if you are talking specifically about removing the color or just in general.

My Aquaclear 50 has a bag of charcoal, a polyfiber sheet, and a "biomax" bag. I've heard some running with out the biomax stuff.
 
i want to do live plants also, what else would i need to have in the tank to support live plants?
 
Depending on the stock lighting that came with your aquarium, you may still be able to do live plants with success. The key is sticking to easy plants that do well with less light. Anubias, Crypts, Java Ferns, and Java Moss are all excellant options. There are some additional plants that you can try if you have just a touch more light to work with.
 
Hi Oneball, welcome to AA!

I use stock lighting on my 15 gallon tank and have heaps of success growing plants. Purrbox is right, you are limited in what types of plants you can have, but there are definitely low-light (and low maintenance) options.

For lighting, I have a single 20w fluorescent tube. For plants I have Broad leaf hygrophilia, anubias nana and java fern. A weekly dose of Flourish Comprehensive trace ferts and some added potassium and that's all I need to do, maintenance-wise....
 
awesome! i might just try that. three days running the filter by the way with AC has totally cleared the water up, just like you said. thank you for the help!!
 
Just remember to do the full cycle before adding fish. Make sure you have a good liquid test kit (API makes a good one) and some ammonia to fuel the cycle. Take your time and experiment with things, and you will find a lot of satisfaction in it.
 
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