My new 29 gallon set-up

[cbrkid11]

I used to have a 10 gallon tank. I wanted a new set-up and just recently bought a new set up of a 29 gallon tank.
I got a great deal....
29 gallon tank,
hood and light,
heater
2 Elite 35 filtration systems
5 pack of filters for system
Tank Stand
2 25 lb bags of gravel

all of this for $120

not bad at all..

i used to have a 10 gallon set up with the following fish which i transfered to my new 29 gallon tank. these fish were in my 10 gallon for about 2 years.
2 goldfish
3 danios
1 Chinese Algea Eater.

here is a few picture of my current set-up..
its only in the beginning stages.. lots of stuff to do to it.. but i need to learn to run it correctly before i start adding to it..

all i did was transfer the stuff that was in my 10 gallon.. that is why there is so much open space in this tank..

Chinese Algea Eater

The tank

Another shot of the tank

Goldfish shot

Filtration

ive learned a lot by reading on this board.. alot of stuff i had no idea about. guess i was just lucky before with my 10 gallon tank because i never checked the water or the ph levels or the nitrates or anything...

 

[SparKy697]

I understand that most of the beneficial bacteria live in the filter, but I'm sure that a fair amount live in the substrate as well as on the glass. My gut tells me that you may very well go through a little cycle now because of the new tank. Either way you want to get yourself a test kit.

It seems that almost everybody here likes the AP kit. The best price I have found for this kit is at Drs. Foster and Smith. You will wonder how you got along with it.

Did you take your filter from the old tank and place it on the new tank? If you did not, RUN to the store and pay what ever they want for an ammonia test kit!!!! Your fish will most likely see some nasty ammonia spikes and you will have no choice but to do frequent water changes to bring it down.

Keep reading, This site is like staying at a Holiday Inn. One day you just wake up knowing all of this stuff!

 

[tropicalfish]

What kind of a filter is that?
nice tank btw

 

[cbrkid11]

filter system is
Hush Elite 35

there are 2 of them hooked up.. just one of them is rated for 30 gallons..

pumps through a ton of water.. and i have 2 of them hooked up.

 

[Zagz]

Looks very good. You probably will suffer a mini cycle. Best to test your parameters daily as the media from your 10 gal will most likely not be enough to seed the 29 gal. As mentioned the AP master test kit has everything you need. Good luck.

 

[cbrkid11]

when you guys say mini-cycle..

what should i expect??

im kinda new to all this cycle stuff...

with my 10 gallon tank i just used the advise that i had grown up with concerning fish tanks as well as the general knowledge of figuring things out and making the right decision.. after reading all the info on this board im amazed that i kept my fish alive in my 10 gallon for 2 years...

i never chekced the ph balances or nitrite or nitrates in the 10 gallon tank, and i only did some water changes like once a month..

im new to all this fish world because of this board.. alot of this opened my mind that there is alot more to the fish world than i ever though..

so what should i expect for a mini-cycle.. and how long should it be and at what stages.. so far this tank is on like day 5 and all is well.. i had a bit of cloudy water on day 2 but that was it.. it went awsy pretty quick.. and all the fish are relly happy with good color and they are very lively...

 

[SparKy697]

Read about the Nitrogen Cycle

So you have bacteria living in your rocks. But you have little or none living in your filter. That being the case, you have cut your bacteria level in half or even less. What this means is that the amount of bacteria that is needed to handle the waste from the fish you have is the same as it always been but you don't have that much any more. What will likely happen is that as your fish create wast that makes ammonia your bacteria will not be able to deal with it fast enough to keep the ammonia down to non-toxic levels. You will need to closely monitor the ammonia and change the water in the tank to dilute the ammonia so that your fish don't suffer from the high levels and potentially die.

Also, you should pickup a de-chlorinator (Prime, Stress coat...) so that when you add that fresh water (That is as close to the same temperature as the tank) you are not killing off more bacteria with high levels of chlorine.

As time goes by the bacteria will multiply to accommodate the ammonia levels.
In the future, since you have two filters, never clean them both at the same time. This will help insure that you don't have to go through this again.

 

[cbrkid11]

the filters were both used filters... they were from the previous set up that my friend had.. i got this tank from him.. he tore it down like 2 days before i set it up.. i used the filters that he had in it allready and his tank was balanced..i also added the rocks and plants straight from my 10 gallon tank so that they would have some bacteria on them allready and that they would help to set-up the new tank.

so i think so far this tank is doing ok.. ill have to test it to see what levels it is at.

 

[SparKy697]

Did the sponge or filter material dry out during those two days? If it was kept submerged in tank water you would be in good shape. If it dried out the bacteria died.