empty and cloudy

[blizowman1]

ok so ive just started my 29 gallon tank i put the gravels in which i rinsed over and over for about a hour. i put two 25lb bags in which some say is to much and some say is ok i myself think it was just the right level cause im planning on adding some plants.... i bought a peice of driftwood from my lfs and washed it in the dishwasher on heavy wash about 4 times and then soaked it a couple times about a hour at a time cause it all didnt fit in anything but the tub lol. i filled it all up started my aquaclear 70 with sponge, biomax, sponge (should that be in a different order????) and added my seachems prime....let it run for probably 5 hours and did my first test to see what everything come up as......
*PH 7.2 -7.6 (im a little color blind it was hard to tell on some of these)
*Ammonia 0 - .25ppm
*Nitrite 0
*nitrate 0

last night my water had seemed to clear up then today i decided to try and add a couple airstones.....well that didnt work at all and now my water is kinda cloudy again i have no fish yet and no plants .
But my water doesnt seem to be getting clearer this time im thinking its just where i was messing with my rocks but would like some reassurance...

What would be a good stocking list for this tank i know i would like either some angels or gouramis as centerpieces or maybe one of each if possible probably some kind of tetras to begin with a nice little school of maybe six ....but idk what kind yet ...if any ideas or recommendations let me know. I know there is a good couple of questions in this post but im hoping to get some answers...THANKS

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Hi,

Your water is loudy because your tank is cycling. Cloudy water is a sign of a bacterial bloom, which is good. It will go away on its own.

If you got one angel, you would have to make the stock work around them, as angels can either play with their tankmates or their tankmates will play with them. If you got a pair I would just leave them in there, they'd be a lot happier.

A blue, moonlight, pearl, gold, opaline, snakeskin, or any variety of dwarf gourami would make an awesome centerpiece.

There's a lot of tetras, what kind were you interested in?

 

[blizowman1]

how can my tank be cycling when I haven't added anything but the prime to it I started with all new stuff I haven't put fish ammonia plants or even a bottle of bacteria in it

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I'd say it's from the new substrate. Put some Polly fill in your filter to help collect small particles and do some water changes. It will settle eventually.

 

[blizowman1]

what do you think about like 6 serpae tetras maybe 4 other fish not schooling but something nice to look at then maybe idk an assortment of maybe 4 or 5 corys otos and maybe something that would clean the glass then either a pair of gouramis or maybe just one or maybe one angel i havent decided which i want...or would they live together

 

[Mumma.of.two]

what do you think about like 6 serpae tetras maybe 4 other fish not schooling but something nice to look at then maybe idk an assortment of maybe 4 or 5 corys otos and maybe something that would clean the glass then either a pair of gouramis or maybe just one or maybe one angel i havent decided which i want...or would they live together

Serpae tetras are quite nippy so of you get them nothing with long fins. So them or the angel. I would suggest 8 instead of 6 to curb the nipping. 6 or more cories or 6 or more ottos. They like to be in schools. Ottos will eat algae of the glass. IMO its better to have 1 angel or 1 gourami to avoid aggression altogether.

 

[blizowman1]

so i may be alittle confused but if im taking it the right way 8 tetras 12 cats and either 1 gourami or 1 angel is 21 fish isnt that to many and really thats not much in the actual middle of the tank except my tetras and the centerpiece. i was hoping to have a little more of something in the middle swimming around

 

[Mumma.of.two]

so i may be alittle confused but if im taking it the right way 8 tetras 12 cats and either 1 gourami or 1 angel is 21 fish isnt that to many and really thats not much in the actual middle of the tank except my tetras and the centerpiece. i was hoping to have a little more of something in the middle swimming around

Oh I was just saying the cories and Otto like to be in groups of 6 or more. So maybe choose one or the other? Choose an angel or a gourami then your school of tetra and something else.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Oh I was just saying the cories and Otto like to be in groups of 6 or more. So maybe choose one or the other? Choose an angel or a gourami then your school of tetra and something else.

So maybe an angel or gourami, 8 tetra, 6 cories and have you considered a bristlenose? It really depends what you like!

 

[blizowman1]

dont bristlenose get big ...
so im thinking 6 to 8 tetras
probably gourami 1 or 2 (i just seem to like them more than the angel which i know will get pretty big)
6 cories

what about the red tail sharks i really like how they look but get bigger so 1 would be it

then maybe a couple pair fish nothing thats gonna have hundreds of babys

 

[Mumma.of.two]

dont bristlenose get big ...
so im thinking 6 to 8 tetras
probably gourami 1 or 2 (i just seem to like them more than the angel which i know will get pretty big)
6 cories

what about the red tail sharks i really like how they look but get bigger so 1 would be it

then maybe a couple pair fish nothing thats gonna have hundreds of babys

No bn plecos only get 5-6 inches. One is fine for a 29.
Rts get 4-5 inches and really mean. They need 55gal or more.
What about male guppies? No babies and really colorful.

 

[blizowman1]

I just want to add your are helping alot with my stocking list because its kind of overwhelming at times and it makes you want more and more tanks so you can have so many different kinds.


so 8 tetras (which kind did you recommend i want some with nice coloration)

1 bristlenose pleco

6 corys

1 or 2 gold or honey gouramis ??? 1 or 2

maybe 2 male guppys and 2 swordtails???

does that sound overstocked

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I just want to add your are helping alot with my stocking list because its kind of overwhelming at times and it makes you want more and more tanks so you can have so many different kinds.

so 8 tetras (which kind did you recommend i want some with nice coloration)

1 bristlenose pleco

6 corys

1 or 2 gold or honey gouramis ??? 1 or 2

maybe 2 male guppys and 2 swordtails???

does that sound overstocked

Glad to help

I like rummies personally (they can be a bit sensitive though). Or maybe lemon tetras?
Bnp Good
Cories Good what kind are you thinking?
Don't know much about honey gouramis except they stay small. I have a golden gourami. IMO only one of those. They can get to 6 inches and rather bossy. Look in my profile and you'll see pic if him
Guppies and swordtails good.
Then IMO you'd be fully stocked

 

[blizowman1]

yea the rummys look nice and a light coloring with bright spots should be good for my tank
i like the panda corys but ill probably only be able to find albino so thatll probably be what i get

8 rummys
1 bristlenose
6 corys
1 bright gold gourami...my lfs has ones with red eyes
2 or 3 male guppies???
2 or 3 swordtails???

FULLY STOCKED
heck yea lol

 

[Mumma.of.two]

yea the rummys look nice and a light coloring with bright spots should be good for my tank
i like the panda corys but ill probably only be able to find albino so thatll probably be what i get

8 rummys
1 bristlenose
6 corys
1 bright gold gourami...my lfs has ones with red eyes
2 or 3 male guppies???
2 or 3 swordtails???

FULLY STOCKED
heck yea lol

Sounds good! except maybe 3 guppy one swordtail or 2 maybe 3 swordtails no guppies. I'm not 100% how all male swords would work but I know all males guppies do. Or 2 of each

 

[blizowman1]

sweet thanks for helping me narrow down my list its been driving me nuts lol and all your tanks are awesome your gourami is so bright....I've got a dual t5 fixture I currently have a 10,000 k bulb and a actinic which is blue and heard promotes alot of algae growth should I change the actinic to a 6,700k or colormax or just leave it alone

 

[Mumma.of.two]

sweet thanks for helping me narrow down my list its been driving me nuts lol and all your tanks are awesome your gourami is so bright....I've got a dual t5 fixture I currently have a 10,000 k bulb and a actinic which is blue and heard promotes alot of algae growth should I change the actinic to a 6,700k or colormax or just leave it alone

Your welcome! and Thanks!
It's fine, if you swap it out IMO you'll have too much light and then you'll need co2. The actinic doesn't grow plants (it's more for SW) it'll just make a nice bluish color for your tank.

 

[blizowman1]

wouldnt the colormax be the same as the actinic excpet the freshwater version maybe

 

[Mumma.of.two]

wouldnt the colormax be the same as the actinic excpet the freshwater version maybe

To tell you the truth I don't know what a colormax bulb is sorry lol.

 

[blizowman1]

ok so i've been looking for the right ammonia for a week and can't do it so my lfs about a hour and a half away from where I live and actually trust ,told me to just use the tlc start smart supplement and add some starter fish at the same time the bottle is 4oz of bacteria for every 50 gallons my tank is 29g...they told me to pour the whole bottle in my tank and put my fish in there to feed the bacteria ....it being so much bacteria im afraid alot will die without a sufficient amount of fish so would it be a bad idea to get all my tetras at once to start my tank with then give it a couple weeks to start adding the rest a couple fish at a time probably my corys and pleco next the the guppys and swordtail then my gourami