Hi there, this is my first post on the forum. I have been reading around on here and other sites for a while and have decided to join in. I currently have a 10 gallon Topfin starter tank from Petsmart. The only fish I have in there is my male Elephant Ear Betta, Brock (from Venture Bros..). My reason for getting a 10 gallon, a death trap as my dad would call it (he used to be a regional sales manager for Tetra.. has a lot of experience with freshwater tanks and ponds), is that it is really the largest tank that can fit comfortably on my desk. I live in an apartment with a roommate and we have to share the same tiny room. I really can't have a tank in our living room and a 20 gallon would be pushing it here at my desk. I'm really willing to do as much maintenance as needed since I know it will take more than a larger tank. I used some SafeStart and Aquasafe to treat my water.
I ordered an API master test kit but haven't received it yet, so I took a water sample to Petco and they did a strip test and everything was safe except the pH was a bit high. I'm weary about the accuracy of their test, but I'm still glad I got a vague idea of how the tank is going since I set it up yesterday.
One issue I'm having with the filter that came with the kit (big surprise..) is that the current is too strong for my betta.
I have some live plants, but it was dumb of me not to write down all of the names. I'm thinking I'll have to get different lighting for them to thrive but I'm not really sure where to start. I'm using Fluorite substrate with some plant food liquid.
Also, I want to eventually add some ADF to my tank. What number of frogs would you suggest so that the waste load isn't too crazy? Also, when would be a good time to add my first frog?
Another issue I will eventually have to face is that I'm a college student who goes home for breaks. I will be bringing my entire tank back for the month long winter break, but I'm not sure what to do for the 4 day long Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanks for reading through this jumbled post! I appreciate it.
Here are a couple pictures. The cloudy picture was taken when the dust from the Fluorite was still settling.
I ordered an API master test kit but haven't received it yet, so I took a water sample to Petco and they did a strip test and everything was safe except the pH was a bit high. I'm weary about the accuracy of their test, but I'm still glad I got a vague idea of how the tank is going since I set it up yesterday.
One issue I'm having with the filter that came with the kit (big surprise..) is that the current is too strong for my betta.
I have some live plants, but it was dumb of me not to write down all of the names. I'm thinking I'll have to get different lighting for them to thrive but I'm not really sure where to start. I'm using Fluorite substrate with some plant food liquid.
Also, I want to eventually add some ADF to my tank. What number of frogs would you suggest so that the waste load isn't too crazy? Also, when would be a good time to add my first frog?
Another issue I will eventually have to face is that I'm a college student who goes home for breaks. I will be bringing my entire tank back for the month long winter break, but I'm not sure what to do for the 4 day long Thanksgiving holiday.
Thanks for reading through this jumbled post! I appreciate it.
Here are a couple pictures. The cloudy picture was taken when the dust from the Fluorite was still settling.