Dubs1281
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2013
- Messages
- 611
As of now I have a 10 gallon qt. I am going to upgrade it to a 20 next dollar per gallon sale at petco. But I have a few questions. The whole point of a qt in my opinion is to monitor the fish and keep it stress free. But I have tried using gravel and decorations so it can hide and feel safe, but they never come out to eat or I never see them to know what there health situation is. Right now it is bare. No gravel, no decorations. For a couple reasons, I can always see the fish and it can always see when I feed it. And second, the filter, and myself, can pick up the waste/leftover food easier. Whick is the right way to do it?
Second is filtration. First I got a sponge filter. Then I tinkered around with a filter I bought with a tank of craigslist that never worked. I got it running perfectly and is now on it. It does 200 gph and is rated for 45 gallons. My question is is it bad to overfilter a qt?
Third is heating. I have struggled to heat this tank. I have a 50 watt tetra submersible heater that only heats it up to 78º, which it is incapable of doing that. And a 25 watt Chinese ebay heater that I am unsure if its even working. What watt do I need? For a 10-20 gallon? I have a 150 on my 30 gallon which heats it to 90º+. And a 150 on my 55 which gets it to 80+. Why won't 75 watts heat 10 gallons past 75º?
My next question is lighting. Right now I have a reading light for it. And no hood. When I buy the 20 I should buy a hood and light. But do I want bright or dim lights.
Medications... I am using carbon in my hob right now and plan on just using filterfloss when using meds. Thats okay right?
And finally the last question. Two tanks share this qt. A cichlid, and a south American community. One requires a high ph and hardness, one a low ph and hardness. Should I try to roll down the middle or lean to one side?
Thanks for bearing with me on everything! !!
Second is filtration. First I got a sponge filter. Then I tinkered around with a filter I bought with a tank of craigslist that never worked. I got it running perfectly and is now on it. It does 200 gph and is rated for 45 gallons. My question is is it bad to overfilter a qt?
Third is heating. I have struggled to heat this tank. I have a 50 watt tetra submersible heater that only heats it up to 78º, which it is incapable of doing that. And a 25 watt Chinese ebay heater that I am unsure if its even working. What watt do I need? For a 10-20 gallon? I have a 150 on my 30 gallon which heats it to 90º+. And a 150 on my 55 which gets it to 80+. Why won't 75 watts heat 10 gallons past 75º?
My next question is lighting. Right now I have a reading light for it. And no hood. When I buy the 20 I should buy a hood and light. But do I want bright or dim lights.
Medications... I am using carbon in my hob right now and plan on just using filterfloss when using meds. Thats okay right?
And finally the last question. Two tanks share this qt. A cichlid, and a south American community. One requires a high ph and hardness, one a low ph and hardness. Should I try to roll down the middle or lean to one side?
Thanks for bearing with me on everything! !!
