Getting started.....with a 29 gallon....

[new2betas]

Yay! I did it. I found a great deal on a 29 gallon from a local family who advertised their upcoming yardsale on craigslist and I was able to buy it from them early!
It came with a heater, Regent filter with replacement cartridges (know nothing about the brand) and a bunch of rock and other ornaments. I am happy with the deal. All for $50. Picture below.

 

[roka64]

Congrats! That is a nice deal! Did you ask what kind of meds they used in the tank?

 

[Sum22]

Your filter looks like one of those that comes in the kits that walmart sells. Not saying that it is a bad thing since I have one of those for my 10g, but when you change the filter you have to replace the whole cartridge and you get rid of a substancial amount of the good bacteria.

 

[new2betas]

Congrats! That is a nice deal! Did you ask what kind of meds they used in the tank?

Yikes....now I'm nervous. I forgot to ask. I will shoot them an email and ask them. What should I do to the tank/filter/heater as a precaution??

 

[Tifta]

Looks nice Dottie! Congrats

 

[meegosh]

I'd say it can't hurt to clean everything with a diluted bleach solution. Just to be on the safe side... That is quite the deal, craigslist will occasionally have some really good deals on aquariums. Good luck with the new tank!

 

[saffikeagan]

Ohhh...nice.

I've got a walmart filter too

I keep a mesh bag in the filter along with the biological filter so that it's also established for any other tanks, biological filter change, etc.

 

[sogreene]

many people don't replace the filter pack---they rinse it out really well in aquarium water during the pwc, you don't lose as much beneficial bacteria--the only thing you would have to look into is if you wanted to continue to run carbon, you'd need to add a carbon pack, or mesh bag with carbon in the filter behind/in front of the standard cartridge.

 

[Sum22]

Carbon comes in those aqua tech filters. However, I do have to say that I changed my aqua tech filter insert about every 3 weeks and I never had any problems. I figured I had enough gravel and a rock in the tank to handle the couple of days it took for the bacteria to build up on the filter.

 

[new2betas]

Yeah, I noticed that the filter cartridges I got with the filter are the ones with carbon. I would like to avoid the carbon if necessary. If I do a search at say, petsmart, might they have cartridges for it that don't have carbon?

 

[Purrbox]

I'd recommend pickup up some polyfiber and cutting it to fit. It's much less expensive and works just as well.

 

[new2betas]

Joy,
How do I fit the polyfiber into the filter...doesn't it need some sort of "frame" like the other filter cartridges have?

 

[Sum22]

You just stuff it in there. If you want a frame, you could always cut the carbon out of the aqua tech filter, remove the floss and then wrap the poly fiber around the frame.

You could also look at the whisper bio bags. The come with a plastic, reusable frame. You might find one that fits that filter.

 

[Purrbox]

The poly fiber is fairly stiff to start with so it stands up pretty good on its own until it gets well used and ratty.

 

[saffikeagan]

My walmart filter like that came with a blue filtery thing that did have carbon in it, but it also came with a second inserty thing which I assumed was the biological filter as it looked like a cross between floss and a sponge.

 

[new2betas]

I think I'm gonna cut the carbon out of one of these filters and put some plain filter material in there and use it that way.

 

[new2betas]

Update with photos

I now have gravel, slate rock, and water in my 29g tank. About how much ammonia should I start with to do my fishless cycle? I did add my old filter cartridge from my 10g tank that I replaced a few days ago behind the filter cartridge in the filter of the 29g hoping that it would help create some beneficial bacteria quicker. I also just noticed what appears to be some nematodes floating around in the tank....I guess those could have come from my 10g filter cartridge, huh? I boiled the rock for 30 min this morning so they couldn't have come from that. I also cleaned the tank, filter, heater the day before yesterday with a bleach/water solution.
Also, I am getting mixed opinions on whether to add live plants during the cycling process or wait until the cycle is over....pros and cons both ways would be nice. Thanks!

 

[Purrbox]

If you are going to fishless cycle, wait on the plants until after the cycle is complete as high levels of ammonia + light = green water more often than not.

If you want to add plants right away then I'd recommend going with a silent cycle instead. Plant heavily and let the plants get settled in for 2-3 weeks. Then start adding fish slowly keeping an eye on your Ammonia and Nitrite. If done right, you'll never see a spike in either.

 

[new2betas]

If planting heavily, then that is what takes care of the ammonia and nitrites if I add fish? I am thinking of adding my two female bettas in this tank so I can have their old tanks as QT tanks. Is it okay if the tank stays like it is until I order plants (sometime this coming week) without adding ammonia or anything? I did add the old filter cartride from my established 10g...that is okay right?

 

[Purrbox]

If there's no ammonia source for several days, then the beneficial bacteria will start to die off so the benefit of adding the old filter cartridge will be insignificant. You could put the old filter cartridge back in it's old aquarium until you're ready to add an ammonia source to the new aquarium.

The plants allow for a silent cycle because the provide a large amount of surface area for beneficial bacteria and once established they consume Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate along with other nutrients.