Finally gave up on the 20 long.

[10Gallon]

Hi guys. It's been a long time since I've posted, mainly because I've been frustrated with the 20 long. Never figured out what was wrong. First, I had a hard time getting the tank to fishless cycle. Put in 3 different brands of bacteria-Topfin, Dr Tim's, and Marineland. Then I tried filter media from the 10 gallon. I kept trying and finally got it to cycle after about 7 weeks. Then the fish I would put in would all do the same thing. After a few days they would start hiding and rarely come out to eat. Then after a week or 2 they would start dying. Keep in mind anytime there were fish in the tank the ammonia and nitrites were 0. After a few weeks of this l thought l knew what was wrong. l had made a long intake tube out of plastic tubing to get the intake on the other side of the AquaClear 50. Thought the tubing was emitting some kind of chemical or something that was killing the fish. So l removed the tubing and drained as much water as l could without removing the sand, and filled it back up. Got 5 Zebra danios and the same thing happened with them. Ended up shutting the tank down and throwing out the sand, plastic plants, and heater in case one of those things was causing the problem.

 

[10Gallon]

Part 2 since the post was so long. l decided l didn't want a tank that big in the small apartment, and had an extra 10. So l had a heater and sand for it, and bought a glass versa top lid for it. The only things l'm using that were in the 20 are the thermometer, shipwreck ornament, and AC50. Set it up tonight and will attempt the fishless cycle. lf all goes well l'll get a light for that size tank. Hope there's no issues this time. The thing that bugs me the most is l never found out what the problem was.

 

[10Gallon]

Forgot to mention that the 10G that's been going almost a year is doing great. That tank always did well. The Glowlights and Corys are thriving. I had White Clouds in it. But I put them in the 20 since the 10 was overstocked. After 2 weeks in the 20 the White Clouds died.

 

[10Gallon]

l'm sure there are some who may think l'm crazy for going with a 10 instead of trying again with the 20. l don't mind going with the smaller tank. Water changes will be easier(I use 50% tap and 50% distilled water in 1 gallon jugs from Wal Mart. That's less jugs l gotta haul from Walmart to the car, and into the apartment). Even thought about starting up one of the 5.5's l have. Guess l'll always be a nano tank guy lol.