Is my tank setup correct?

[foofoodar]

My mother-in-law bought a male betta fish for my children, and I was tired of watching it suffer in the 1/2 gallon bowl, so I purchased this 15.8 Gal tank setup from petsmart, it fits perfectly in the space I wanted it in:

National Geographicâ„¢ Aqua Oasis Starter Kit | Aquariums | PetSmart

I threw away the pump as it seemed like junk and just had 2 small pieces of foam and a very small bag of carbon, and the water flow was WAY to fast and bubbled like crazy on the lowest setting, so I replaced it with an aquaclear 30, which should filter my tank size about 9.5 times an hour and runs a lot smoother.

I started this tank on Friday 7/25 and used seachem prime and let it run for a day, checked the water and everything seemed correct with a test strip, so I put the betta in on 7/26, then on 7/27 I added 5 serpae tetras and 2 ghost shrimp and the tank seemed slightly cloudy I am assuming because of adding the betta and the bacteria bloom , one of the ghost shrimp died the next day, as I was doing more only research I found out about seachem stability, so I added my first round of that last night to help with the tank cycling, and this morning it was pretty much crystal clear again, fish all seem happy along with the one ghost shrimp that is left.

I purchased the API Freshwater Master Test Kit and my readings are as follows:

PH around 7.5
Ammonia around .25PPM
Nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 5.0 ppm

Does this seem correct, from everything I was reading it sounded like Ammonia should be off the charts, followed by Nitrite, followed by Nitrate?

I am lost as to where to go from here, I am going to test again tonight since I added the Seachem stability, but when am I suppose to start doing water changes, and can I add anymore Serpea Tetras or anything else, along with how many ghost shrimp can I/should I get, I don't want to overload the tank, the betta doesn't really seem to care about the other fish, he sits up top on a leaf and tends to go crazy and swim around every once in a while.

Thanks for any thoughts or help.

 

[Fishobsessed7]

The serpaes will nip your betta

 

[foofoodar]

The serpaes will nip your betta

I have been watching them, obviously not 24/7, but I haven't seen them interact with the betta at all, they pretty much stay on the bottom of the tank. I saw the betta and the ghost shrimp stare at each other, but the betta wasn't flaring up or anything.

 

[RadMax8]

I would recommend reading this very informative article on cycling your tank with fish in it.

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

Keep an eye on your ammonia. When your tank is cycled, you should have none. Same for the nitrites. Your nitrites will probably start to rise very shortly.

 

[icydeath]

Also, you may want to invest in liquid test kits as they have a longer shelf life and are much more accurate.

 

[mikem691]

These are very nice tank set ups (except the filter) I got the 23 gallon at my petsmart about a month ago on sale for $89.99 coulnt pass it up with the same foot print as a 29. If you used the bacteria starter you are going to get weird readings just test daily and do a water change when ever amo or trites are high until you get readings of 0 for amo and trites and keep nitrates below 20 with water changes. I also agree on the serape tetras they are fin nipers.

 

[foofoodar]

Did some more water testing tonight:

PH 7.5-7.6
Ammonia .25PPM
Nitrite 0 - .25PPM
Nitrate 10-20PPM

So would you say this tank is maxed out? Or is there anything else I could put in it? I assume I can put more ghost shrimp, just not sure how many...

 

[foofoodar]

Also, you may want to invest in liquid test kits as they have a longer shelf life and are much more accurate.

I just got the API freshwater master test kit, I assume I don't need to test for anything more than what is in there?

 

[foofoodar]

Any other thoughts? Just wanted to make sure I am doing this correctly, my kids love this tank!

 

[Mattyfelts]

Shoulda done a full cycle first, just do lots of water changes to keep params in check. The ghost shrimp could become a better or serpae snack but maybe not. Bettas are actually pretty good community fish. Lets see some pictures!

 

[RadMax8]

Just keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrites. When they start to climb, change the water. Don't add any more fish until your tank has cycled. Good luck.


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[foofoodar]

Do the water spikes not happen very quickly, as I just tested the water again last night after 2 days and it is still the same as it was with the last test I posted?

 

[trennamw]

You've been really thoughtful about your setup well done!

The filter might not be enough, I thought that one topped out at 10 gallons? I may be mistaken. It's a good choice for bettas as they don't love current.

The ghost shrimp don't last long, it's possible you didn't have anything to do with it dying.

Betta tankmates isn't a science. African dwarf frogs are a common recommendation.

If someone didn't mention it, aquadvisor website helps calculate if a tank is full.

The betta may really like some plants. Mine likes a tangle of pennywort floating on top.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

 

[trennamw]

I just got the API freshwater master test kit, I assume I don't need to test for anything more than what is in there?

You probably don't. I'd bring a sample to the store and see if you have extremely hard or soft water. If it's extremely soft you may need a KH/GH test kit and small small small doses of cichlid salts and buffer. This is very unusual, but I mention it because I found I have this issue (after I lost a few bettas).


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

 

[foofoodar]

How often or when should I start doing water changes, its been 9 days since I setup this tank, and the levels in the tank don't seem to be changing much:

Yesterdays water readings are:

PH - 7.5-7.6
Ammonia - .25 to .5 PPM
Nitrite - .25 PPM
Nitrate 10-20 PPM

The water is crystal clear and all the fish seem to be very happy, the betta was living in pretty bad conditions before he was placed in the filtered tank and he is starting to look a lot better and seems a lot happier.

Also does anybody have any thoughts on the filtering system I have, I currently have the aqua clear 30, and was tempted to get a fuval C4 5 stage filtration, it is a little larger, and sounds like it may be better, I understand I'd have to run them in tandem for a while to build up the beneficial bacteria, or is what I have perfectly fine? I honestly would worry about too much water movement if I had to run them both for a while...

Thanks for the help!