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Kennyyoli

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Apr 29, 2012
Messages
27
Fred the Beta is thriving and my daughter and I are really enjoying our 5gal setup, and we are considering doubling up to a 2nd 10 gal aquarium.( Fred will continue to live in the 5 gal) My noob question is this. When I startup the 10 gal, should I utilize some of the existing water from the 5 gal we currently have to kickstart with the good bacteria, or just do a complete new startup cycle for the 10 gal? Also looking for stocking suggestions for the 10 gal.
Thanks
 
Kennyyoli said:
Fred the Beta is thriving and my daughter and I are really enjoying our 5gal setup, and we are considering doubling up to a 2nd 10 gal aquarium.( Fred will continue to live in the 5 gal) My noob question is this. When I startup the 10 gal, should I utilize some of the existing water from the 5 gal we currently have to kickstart with the good bacteria, or just do a complete new startup cycle for the 10 gal? Also looking for stocking suggestions for the 10 gal.
Thanks

Oh c'mon go BIGGER than a 10! LOL. It's more about the filter being seeded than the water. Is your current 5g cycled or still in the process? What helps with a new tank is to use a filter/filter media that has been seeded and/or deco's, substrate from an established tank, those are the areas your bacteria live. Are you planning on doing a fish in or fish less cycle with the 10?
 
Definitely go bigger then a 10. You'll be disappointed with the little amount of fish you can put in there. I'd suggest a 30 gal. It's really not as big as you think. The filters are still relatively cheap that you'd have to buy. Your not spending that much more for the stuff for a 30 then a 10. Bigger filter and bigger light. If you go on Craigslist you can get things really cheap. You can find a whole setup for cheaper then just the tank.
I found a 29 gal for $90 and it came with hood, light, decent filter, stand, heater and air pump and lots of little extras.
Your going to spend
$12 for a 10gal
$15-$20 for a filter
$15-$20 for a heater
$10-$15 for an air pump
$20-$25 for a hood with light
That's $72-$92 for a 10 gallon
 
Just got done measuring and I think we could handle up to a 25 or 30 gal in out proposed spot. The 5 Gal Fred is in is cycled and doing great. I was planning out doing a fish less cycle with some of the water from a water change of the 5 gal for a bit of a kickstart. Searching around for some "deals" right now on a 20- 30 gal.
 
I've got a 29 g tank I'm not using. I'm near Chicago.
I like the 29's. They fit on the 20 long stand, same dimensions for the lights etc.
 
Hi! I just want to clarify that if you get a 10 gallon starter kit, the total price will only be ≈50 dollars. However I would still get a 30 gallon, you can do so much more!
 
Umm I don't think water kickstarts aquariums. Decor, filter media and plants do though.
 
Samzter said:
Umm I don't think water kickstarts aquariums. Decor, filter media and plants do though.

+1

BB grows on surfaces, like gravel,.filter.media, tank walls etc. If you want to help your cycle along a bit, take some of the gravel from the mature tank, put it in a clean/New mesh bag and hang it next to the filter intake. Will do a lot more than sharing water will.
 
Barakis said:
+1

BB grows on surfaces, like gravel,.filter.media, tank walls etc. If you want to help your cycle along a bit, take some of the gravel from the mature tank, put it in a clean/New mesh bag and hang it next to the filter intake. Will do a lot more than sharing water will.

+2

I always use whisper filters an they use the same size cartridges for most models so I just take them out of my established tank and put them in my new tank. I put a few guppys in, wait a week and boom cycled.
I think filter media works better then gravel but still is better then nothing.
 
OK, so we ended up with a 29 gal, with some gravel and plastic plants and a little house looking thing off of craigslist. No filter or airpump though. Was thinking of an Aquaclear 50 for a filter. Anyone have any input on that system?
 
OK, so we ended up with a 29 gal, with some gravel and plastic plants and a little house looking thing off of craigslist. No filter or airpump though. Was thinking of an Aquaclear 50 for a filter. Anyone have any input on that system?


I have 3 aquaclears; 30, 50 and 70. The 70 is on my 29 gallon tank. Get the biggest filter you can afford. I've had many HOB (hang on the back) filters and I like aquaclear the best. I also learned the motor is the same in 30, 50 and 70, so the difference is the actual filter box and how much filter media there is. In my opinion the more filter media the better. Also the higher the gph the better.

If it were me I would get new pea gravel or sand. Which one kind of depends on what kind of fish. There are threads on here also about Walstad or dirt tanks. Those types are for planted tanks.
Best wishes on your new tank adventure! :fish1:
 
I would go with AC 70 for fultrarion. To start seedin use the media from the beta filter, rinse it in the new tank.
 
OK, So I am starting up the 29 gal, and going to do a fishless cycle, and seeding with a bit of media swiped from my 5 gal tank. I have in the past been using test strips for my water tests, and when I purchased the filter for this tank, I also invested in a API master test kit. I had always thought my tap water was "out of whack" in some way, based on my nitrate levels in my existing 5 gal tank. My baseline tests from my tap revealed no ammonia or nitrites, but 30 ppm nitrates color between 20 and 40ppm). and Ph was 7.4 . I tested my existing 5 gal and found 0 Ammonia, 0 Nirites, and 20 ppm nitrates, which is less than my tap water. On my water changes I use Stress Coat to neutralize chorine in the tap, but that doesn't do anything with nitrates. After testing my tap I expected to find my nitrates ABOVE what my tap is in my running tank. Any ideas what would be causing this. Is there another additive that I should use with my tap nitrates being that high?
As usual, thanks in advance for the advice. This community is awesome. :)
 
OK, So I am starting up the 29 gal, and going to do a fishless cycle, and seeding with a bit of media swiped from my 5 gal tank. I have in the past been using test strips for my water tests, and when I purchased the filter for this tank, I also invested in a API master test kit. I had always thought my tap water was "out of whack" in some way, based on my nitrate levels in my existing 5 gal tank. My baseline tests from my tap revealed no ammonia or nitrites, but 30 ppm nitrates color between 20 and 40ppm). and Ph was 7.4 . I tested my existing 5 gal and found 0 Ammonia, 0 Nirites, and 20 ppm nitrates, which is less than my tap water. On my water changes I use Stress Coat to neutralize chorine in the tap, but that doesn't do anything with nitrates. After testing my tap I expected to find my nitrates ABOVE what my tap is in my running tank. Any ideas what would be causing this. Is there another additive that I should use with my tap nitrates being that high?
As usual, thanks in advance for the advice. This community is awesome. :)


my tap water is currently 45PPM nitrate, as the legal regulation is 50 for human consumption, so count yourself lucky lol. all I can say is if your tank is less than your tap, then the BB is doing its job well.

de-nitrifying bacteria does exist in your economy, but unlike ammonia and nitrite, the bacteria that deals with nitrate doesn't like fast moving water, so generally grows on ornaments rather than filter media.

After I have done a water change, my tank water still drops in nitrates, even though the source water is higher, not sure how it drops so quick but it works.


in answer to your question, you can do 2 things, either use RO (reverse osmosis) water for your tank (costs a few dollers for a 5/6g barrel, or buy filters) then add a buffer. meaning your new water will always be exactly what you want it to be with hardness, PH, and nitrates.

you can buy nitrate removing media, and nitrate removing filter balls, but due to the bacterias living requirements (as above) most people generally say they don't work.


sorry if i have gone on a bit, hope it helped in some way lol. (P.S. make sure you shake the nitrate bottles as advised, this really is an essential part to get a proper reading)
 
Yes, I have been pretty diligent on that end. Bottle 2 for nitrate test gets shaken for 30 seconds before adding to the test sample, and after adding the whole thing gets 1 minute of shaking, then nothing for 5 minutes, then read. I saw a youtube video from Aquaripure... Looks interesting, but it's a bit of $$ and I really cant do one right now. Maybe sometime in the future.
 
Just saying start a stocking thread soon so u can get some ideas! I would do rams and a community around it.
 
+1 for the Rams! Neons or Cardinals also look sweet. For substrate I like sand, it's very cheap and it looks nice.
 
Just started cycling the big tank, so it'll be a bit before we start the search for 'occupants" ...lol Already chose a gravel substrate, just didn't feel comfortable with sand, plus I had some gravel already and I am trying to keep the cost down. Not getting hours at work so we are definitely on a budget. My daughters 5th birthday is Tuesday and she wants fish for her present. Never too young (or old) to get the "sickness" lol
 
Well you can get 50 pounds of pool filter sand or play sand for $7.00.
 
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