What the heck am i doing :)

[DannWunderlich]

okay here is the dirt

i have had a 10 gallon tank for like 2 months - i started with 2 goldfish then added 4 fancy guppies (3 female, 1 male) then a week or two later i threw in some cory's. then a month later i added 2 tiger barbs (lettme be honest i am trying my best here - the fish lingo is shaky)

now in the last few days i added 2 african dwarf
i have a 20 gallon biofilter and the lid/light thingy

ok so my question(s) is/are this:
-am i over crowding my tank?
-should i be leaving the light on 24/7
-can anyone recommend a very quiet air pump
-if i move over to a 30 gallon tank how much will it cost (all i have currently is the tank - no lid, light or filter


tell me what i am doing wrong, i am sure that there are about 4 million things

[blazeyreef]

First, welcome to the site! I can tell you one thing, props for joining. That shows that you really do care about the fish you are trying to make the best possible home for. You will learn so very much here.

Now onto your questions...

to be truthful, yes your tank is way overstocked. In addition, the goldfish are coldwater fish and the guppies, barbs, coryadoras and frogs are all tropical fish (or amphibians). The goldfish really need to be in colder water to be healthy, as if not they can be more vulnerable to diseases. So it really is best to go either one way, or the other. Also the goldfish will need at least the 30 gallon, or larger depending on the species you have.

No you should not leave your light on 24/7, the only thing that would do is stress out the fish and cause a huge algae problem you dont want to mess with.

as for the air pump, I never use them so I really cant help you on that.

Yes you really should move over to the 30gall, but as I stated earlier you will need to choose between either coldwater with goldfish or tropical. The price... it is variant but considering you would need a new filter and new gravel, if you wanted a new light you could do that, it will cost you a bit but it would be a very wise decision. HTH a little, nice to meet you as well

[DannWunderlich]

thanks for the advice - the gold fish would be the first to go

ideally, i would love to start over and make my tank really unique - i love the frogs - but one already passed away (within 3 days) and i assume it is becase my goldfish will never stop eating - i fed the fish first, then tried to give bloodfish to the frogs - but i guess that didnt work out.

if i were to start over in the 30 gallon i know i would take the tigers and frogs with me (maybe grab some more tigers cuz they like company)

- i would love to add a larger docile fish though
-any ideas of some REALLY cool fish that all get along?

any ideas on top of the questions above?

(i am ADD so bear with me)

[blazeyreef]

im ADHD so I understand

If you start over, then yes going tropical would be the best option. You could have a large, docile fish though tiger barbs are not exactly docile... I would try something like maybe a gourami or something for your large fish. And as for fish that get along, most any tetra, rasbora, coryadoras etc. would work.
Let me know if you have any more, or more in depth questions

[SpeedEuphoria]

Is you tank cycled? Do you have a test kit?

You should read articles on the nitrogen cycle and try to be patient before adding fish or do some research into the fish before hand.

[MisticX]

what i would do FIRST, is
understand the nitrogen cycle in your tank.

second,
cycle your tank,

third
make a notebook with fish caracteristics
AKA
guppy,
need 1 male 2-3 fenales
need 22-26C (72-78F) to thrive
can live between 20-32C
semi-active fish,
reproduces as often it has the opportunity.
.... and so on.

GRAB THE MOST intell you can on your fish (or wanted fish)

do not mix peaceful with semi-aggressive or aggressive or even predator.
exception semi-aggressive with peaceful schools

fourth
create a quarantine tank.
buy fish in species, 3-5 at a time.
put them in quarantine, and HAVE PATIENCE ...
having a successful tank needs a LOT of patience.

[Sum22]

I've been reading about african dwarf frogs (ADFs) and I've seen people say they can't swim very well and that a 30g might be a bit too high for them to swim to the top of in order to get air. I've seen ranges of 14-16" max height for the frogs, so I'd caution you on putting them into the 30g. Frogs are also delicate and you have to make sure the water quality is really good for them to survive. Do you have a test kit? If not, get one to test for ammonia, NitrItes and nitrAtes

Frankly, at this point you have two tanks, then I'd consider setting up the 10g with the ADF's and something else. Then you could worry about what to add to the 30g. As has already been mentioned gold fish like cold water and they don't do well with the tropical fish you have.

As for the quiet air pump, in my experience, every air pump I've had starts out quietly and gets louder the longer it is used for.

Cost for a hood with light and filter for a 30g will cost about $70-80. The hood and lights run about 40 and you can get a filter somewhere between 30-40 depending on the filter. I've seen biowheel filters for 35-40 and the regular filters for 25-35. I actually just priced that stuff out today as I'm getting ready to start a 30g and I needed a hood and eventually, I will be getting a new filter. You could always go with the filter and use a plastic lid from one of those storage bins as a temporary hood until you are ready to invest in a regular hood and light later on.

How about a heater? Not to add more pressure, but you want to make sure you have an adequately powered heater for the 30g tank. I think 150w would be plenty. That would probably cost around 25 for the heater.

[DannWunderlich]

HEY i wanted to update y'all

things are going well in the tank - everyone is stable and the frog is eating well

i need a way to move my guys 7 1/2 hours to mizzou (i am bringing my tank to college)

got any ideas - i figure just bags with alot of air and then try to open them every now and again to get fresh air

once they are there though - there is no where to put them when the tank is re-cycling

help me out here

____
on another note - how is this for a deal

55 gallon with stand
hood light and filter - biowheel type rated for 70 gall
also has an undergravel filter
all is liek new in good condition

-125-150 - that is a pretty good deal right??

a guy at work asked me if i was interested, i guess he was a breeder and now jsut wants to get rid of some equipment - he heard i was loving my tank so he offered a dirt cheap price

-Dann

[DannWunderlich]

oh and he is including a filter

[haykay]

no bad at all go for it!