New 29 g tank

[SparKy697]

I really get a lot of info from reading other peoples posts here. I especially enjoy watching your new projects as they progress. Since I’m new to this hobby again I thought I would follow your lead and show how my tank progresses to maybe help others who are in the same boat.

Not that I have anything necessarily better or different but my first tank is quite simple as compared to most of you veterans, and I thought that maybe somebody else who is interested in starting simple might benefit from my mistakes and all your input.

Here it goes:

-29 gallon tank, base and hood (single lamp) bought as a kit.
- Penguin bio-wheel 200 filter ( a little bigger is better was my thinking)
- Visi-therm Stealth 100w heater


Put it all together and filled it up on 12-3-2006. I added de-chlorinator and let it all set over night. The next morning I began my first ever fishless cycle. After reading for over a week about everybody else’s experience, I thought I had the info I needed…. First mistake! Check your math, check your math, check your math. Oh did I mention that you should check your math? Three major water changes later my ammonia was down to about 5ppm so I decided to leave it there. I think that if I were to do it over again, I would not even try to calculate how much ammonia I needed. I think I would use a little eye dropper and add a little at a time and then test until I got the reading I wanted.



Day 3: No noticeable change in the Nitrite level so I went back to the articles section on this site and found the part where it says to turn the temperature up in the tank to help the bacteria get going. This worked quite well!

Day 5: Ammonia down to around 2.0 ppm and Nitrite was ~.5 It’s alive!!

Went out this Saturday and found some cool rocks at the landscaper. I stayed away from the ones that looked like they contained Iron or Limestone. Bought way too many but had a nice selection to choose from.


Day 7: Ammonia down to ~1ppm and Nitrite up to ~2ppm.

I plan on making plenty of mistakes. It’s how I learn… Any and all criticism is welcome.

 

[Mosaic]

Wow, neat rocks in that first pic. I've never seen anything like them.

 

[LandGhoti]

I see you have "The Kramer" in the background. Fish should prosper well in that environment. LOL.

Yes, cool rocks. I've not seen anything like those before either. Please update with fish pics.

 

[SparKy697]

I have had that print hanging there for so long that I kind of forget it is there. Good eye!

I will have to go back to the landscaper and find out what the rocks are called. I really did not pay attention to the names, I was more looking for coolness. I just can't make up my mind about their placement yet, something just does not look right. Maybe some driftwood would help the look...

 

[SparKy697]

Day 8

I got up this morning and tested the water:

Ammonia < 1ppm
Nitrite > 2ppm
Nitrate > 5ppm

Nitrite and Nitrate have not changed in the last 24 hours. They have been on an upward swing until now. I'm thinking that nitrite may have peaked?

I added ammonia to bring the residual to just a little over 1ppm. On a post I read the other day, somebody had worked out the math to show by adding a 10% ammonia solution (ace hardware brand) at the rate of .34ml per 10 gallons of water should give you a 1ppm increase. I gave it a try and it worked. I'm not sure that you can say that this will be a constant for all conditions but this should be a good place to start when adding ammonia.

I think it's getting closer to fish time..... Hmm, fish. I have always liked angels and have been thinking that is what I would like to do here. I'd love to see 4 angels and a few support fish although I'm not sure yet if I have enough room in this tank to do 4.

I'd sure like to hear input on making this a community tank that centers on angel fish.

 

[fish 'n' fries]

As I recall when I was reading and getting ready to put angels in my tank...29 gallons was the smallest tank anyone recommended (they do get to 6 inches not counting fins) so you're ok there. For adults the recommendation was 10 gallons per fish. That said, you probably could start with four knowing that if two paired you'd need to move the other two out so they didn't get beaten/killed.

For other fish the big no-nos are things that are nippy (tiger barbs etc) and many say neons (very expensive snack for angels)...

BTW, I have to add another kudos for your rocks--very nice!

 

[SparKy697]

I have been finding similar advice about angels too. It sounds like I might get by with the four like I wanted for now. Hmm, it would be kind of a shame if they outgrew the 29 gallon and I had to go out and get that 75 I have had my eye on! "Honest dear, I had no idea they would get that big!" Madness is ok if you have a plan.

Thanks for the input fish 'n fries, I'm starting to think that maybe I should go back and pickup some more rocks and put them up for sale The price was quite right, I think I paid .11/lb.

My update:

Day 9. This morning I found the ammonia level down to less than .5 ppm. I added 1.5 ml of 10% ammonia and that brought the level up to 2 ppm. When I got home from work I tested again and found the ammonia was down to .25 ppm. I'm feeling confident that the bacteria that feeds on ammonia is doing quite well. The nitrite is still around 2 ppm and has not really started to come down yet. If I understand correctly, I will need to keep feeding ammonia as needed until the nitrite elvels come down to 0 ppm

I put a good pinch of flake food in the tank today too because it seems like the nitrite has been stuck at 2 for a number of days. I read that the food will provide some phosphate and that may help kickstart the cycle.

 

[rich311k]

You are doing just fine. You have a good handle on all of this. I started with 4 angels in a 36 and now have a 29 too. I couldn't bear to part with any of them.

 

[tropicalfish]

nice!
I am just curious, is that a Top Fin tank?

 

[SparKy697]

It's an All-Glass brand tank. I bought it as a kit with the tank, lid, and base.

 

[SparKy697]

You are doing just fine

Thanks rich311k. To be honest what ever I have learned is from this forum. I had my first tank when I was somewhere about 10 years old. Given what I have learned here, it's a mystery how anything lived at all. I even had a few plants in the past, and somehow they lived!

I really enjoy the scientific approach to getting started that is advocated here. Way back then the only source you had for info was the fish store guy, if you were lucky he knew a little more than the big box store guys know today.


So today, day 10.

I can barely keep ammonia in this water. I added enough to bring it up to 2pp (2 mil) this morning and by the time I got home it was almost down to zero.

The fish food trick just may have done it. It looks like the nitrite has come down just a shade or two.

I really hope to be able to buy fish this weekend. I think it will be angels and probably two clowns. Yes I know how big they get but I like them and will enjoy them while they still fit. Maybe a couple of larger snails, hopefully the loaches wont be able to suck them out of their shell if they are big enough. I'm at a loss as to what else to put in this tank. I like the idea of maybe a handful of tetras.

I'm open for ideas.

P. S. I plan on starting with small angels so I should be able to get by with some diversity in the beginning. Knowing that they will have to be moved in the future.

I'll post some updated photos tomorrow so you can get an idea of what kind of room I have and maybe give me some ideas for fish.

 

[SparKy697]

Day 11:

Ammonia seems to last only 8 hours or so and the nitrite is coming down nicely, down to ~.5ppm. I think that this weekend may be fish day!

I was given a couple of plants by a friend. The Anacharis looks a bit brown but there is some new growth and roots near the top. I don't know what the broad leaf plant is but he assured me that they would both do well in low light... We'll see.

Too much stuff in the tank? (Pardon the monitor reflection in the first one)

 

[SeanMurphy]

It looks good to me. For aesthetics and something for a pleco to scrape on, I'd hunt around for a piece of driftwood in a v-shape (real or resin, doesn't make any difference, except you have to make sure real is aquarium safe). It could go in the background and give something interesting to look at in the middle to upper part of the tank.

Also, a background would be good to hide any wires and hoses that dangle behind the tank. I just use an old pillowcase that I taped to the back. It was the perfect size, like it was made for it, and just a couple little squares of packing tape hold it to the plastic upper and lower rims and keep it from wrinkling or sagging.

Your broad leafed plant looks almost identical to mine (here). I've been told that it's most likely an Amazon Sword.

 

[SparKy697]

Definitely a background to hide the wires and such. Actually, the pointed piece in the middle is driftwood It's hard to tell in this photo but it is kind of a cool piece.

 

[SeanMurphy]

I was wondering if that's what that was. Looks good. The middle of the tank should fill in somewhat as your plants grow. Are those bits of rock on the left glued together, or just balanced? I'd be worried about someone getting under there and digging at the substrate, causing a crushing rockfall. If they're just balanced, you might want to consider getting some aquarium silicone or epoxy and sticking them together in that configuration..

Keep in mind that I'm just trying to think of every possible scenario. It's pretty unlikely for that to happen, but I've read about plecos and their digging habits. Mine piles sand like nobody's business.

 

[SparKy697]

Thank you for the input Sean!

Those rocks are just sitting on top of each other. I think that glueing them together would be the best thing to do, I'm just not sure that they are where they are going to stay just yet. We don't want to create a trap, that's for sure.

I still may cut back on the amount of big rocks. I can see where this current setup is a bit crowded and cleanup may be a bit of a problem as well. I also wanted to keep it somewhat simple as far as the plants go but I'm starting to wish I had allowed for more at this point.

I like your tank! Are you doing the whole co2 thing there? Could you post a full tank shot as well?

 

[JeffreyL]

a

"Madness is ok if you have a plan"

Well said!!! That philosophy will serve you well as time passes and Multiple Tank Syndrom hits you hard, you become obsessed with all things fishy and you eventually consider trading your TV in on a better light fixture.

Seriously, sounds like your plan is well researched, well thought out and you are adapting as you go. Not to jump too far ahead, but have you thought about what you will do with the possible babies?

Have fun & Good Luck!!!!!

 

[SeanMurphy]

I'm not running any CO2, and my set up is nearly as young as yours is. I've only gone to real plants in the last few weeks, though my tank has been up and running for years. I recently switched over to pool filter sand instead of my ages old gravel mix. You can check out all pics I post of my tank up here.

I'm on the look out for some slate to build a cave, and I'm always hunting for a decent piece of driftwood.. hard to find around here...

 

[SparKy697]

...have you thought about what you will do with the possible babies?

I have not. But I will admit that I'm hoping that a pair will develope. I know nothing about how to deal with babies but I'm thinking I could learn. A big fat tank filled to the brim with mature angels could look kind of cool!

Hmm, I was planning a 75g for cichlids, but now I'm liking the thought of the large school of angels..... Do you see this coming?


Nice plants Sean, I like the banana plants.


Today is day 12, I put enough ammonia in the tank to bring it up to 3ppm before I left to work. Tested it when I got home and it was down to zero! The ammonia part is done!

I'm a little confused about the nitrite though. When I did the test I got <.25 after 5 minutes. I let the vial set there while I checked my email and when I looked again after another 5 minutes, the color changed to show 0ppm. I ran a second test to see what was going on and it did the exact thing. In the past it didn't seem to matter how long they sat after the color developed, it never really changed one way or the other.

Can I call this tank cycled?
Is this normal for the nitrite to act this way?
Nitrate is a solid 5ppm which lower than I would have expected although I have added a few plants in the last day.

 

[SeanMurphy]

Those banana plants are a Walmart special. $3 a piece.