New Ten Gallon Tank Help

[afurlow96]

I just got a new ten gallon tank starting kit, the exact kit i got was right here - Aqueon » Basic Aquarium Kit | Products , a ten gallon tank that comes with a lid, 2 iridescent bulbs, a filter, and i believe aerator. I have some additional questions to help start my tank.

I apologize if this post gets lengthy, I'm new to the aquarium world and have a bunch of questions.

I bought 5 pounds of sand and 5 pounds of gravel, so the bottom of the tank is a mixture of the two, mostly sand and bottom and gravel on top as i figured that would hold the sand down better, I got a couple of water plants as well, and the lady at Petco said they would survive just fine under the two iridescent lightbulbs.
From what i understand, i am supposed to keep the tank empty of fish for a couple of days, so right now it is full of water and the plants, as well as water treatment, there is also a filter and aerator running but i am concerned with the actual power of the two. Aqueon » Aqueon QuietFlow? Power Filter | Products That is the filter / aerator i have, an Aqueon Quietflow 20 (says its suitable for up to 20 gallons and mine is 10 so it should be great, right?). The water plants also came with the roots wrapped up in sponges, i left the sponges on the roots and just buried them under some gravel and sand to anchor them down, i hope thats all good. Should i be changing water regularly while there are no fish and it goes through this cycle, or just let it run solo for about a week, will there be enough filtration with what i currently have, will there be enough oxygen, and will the plants survive?

Now that i got the questions about the tank set-up out of the way, the fun part, the actual fish. I love how the Dwarf Gourami looks and would definitely like one in my tank, i read that having two can cause problems, as they will likely fight, i also like some of the cichlids, but my understanding is they are too aggressive to put in a tank with another fish. Aside from those two fish, i would like to have some schooling fish, which should i be looking at? Guppies do not really interest me, and i do prefer bigger fish but understand i am limited with the size of my tank, if they can't be bigger at least make them colorful or have cool designs .

Final off topic question, is it safe to stick my hand in the tank to move the gravel around every once in awhile?

Big thanks in advance to anyone who helps, especially if you managed to make it through this whole post and answer the questions.

 

[jglover]

You need to read up on cyclcing your tanks. There are several good articles in this website as well as many that can be found through google. You also need a good test kit, the API freshwater master test is the best. Essentially you are going to spend the next several weeks monitoring your tank until you have a decent bacteria colony established to process the fish waste. There are to ways to do that.

Fishless cycling is where you dose your tank with ammonia on a regular basis and monitor the water quality until you see ammonia and nitrite drop to zero. Fish in cycling is more challenging and requires substantial water changes to be performed until your tank is cycled. It can easily be successfully completed but requires more vigilance on your part to make sure your fish survive.

You did not mention a heater, your tank will require one unless you elect to keep only cold water fish. A dwarf gourami definitely will require a heat. You'll need at least a 50-75 watt heater.

Your lighting should be fine but I'd opt to swap out the incandescent bulbs for some compact fluorescent as they will run much cooler.

Your filter provides 125 gph of filtration, plenty for a 10 gallon tank. However, depending on whether you choose fish-in or fishless cycling, that will determine how long before you can add fish. If you go with fishless, it will be a few weeks before the tank fully cycles. Your plants will be fine either way, provided they are low light plants..what kind did they sell you? Ideally,I'd remove the gel crystals prior to planting as they are just for holding moisture in the packing.

One dwarf gourami will be fine in a 10 gallon, you can also stock a small shoal of tetras or rasboras along with a small group of bottom feeders such as cories or otos. I have a DG, 5 glowlight tetras and four otos in my 10 gallon, running an Aqueon Quietflow 10 and a sponge filter....that is just a little over 100% stocked. Plus I have the tank planted with java moss, anacharis, hornwort and an anubias. The water parameters have been stable since day one but I started with a fully seeded filter, the Aqueon was a back up on my 20 gallon tank, so I was able to add my fish immediately.

Most important right now for you is to read up on the two cycling methods and get the API test kit and heater. Good luck and keep asking questions!

 

[afurlow96]

I told the person helping me that i wanted a plant that required very little maintenance and she said the ones she got me would be pretty easy, its like a bundle of 3 or 4 different plants all together.. About the "Fish-in cycle" , the reason i got this tank was because someone bought me a 1/2 gallon tank for a goldfish, not sure what kind, he is around 2" and relatively sleek and slim, should i move him to the 10 gallon to help it cycle? i mean keeping him in the 1/2 gallon tank is practically killing him, right?

 

[jglover]

Goldfish are a coldwater fish and even the smallest of them will eventually need a tank that is about 30 gallons or more. They are also very messy fish, meaning they poop quite a bit. You could house the goldfish in the 10 for a while until you can find a new home or get a larger tank, but a goldfish will outgrow a 10 gallon tank sooner than most people think. You could use the goldfish to do a fish in cycle but you could not keep the fish in that tank, nor could you keep tropical fish as they require water that is too warm for a goldfish to thrive in.

If you have no other options, then yes, it is best to move him to the 10 as a 1/2 gallon tank is not suitable for anything other than a temporay home for a betta or osme shrimp....and that is pushing it as well for the betta. But realize the goldfish will need to be moved to a larger tank quickly.

 

[afurlow96]

So it sounds like i should
1. Find out what a Fish-in cycle is, and how to do it
2. Move the goldfish from the 1/2 gallon to the 10 gallon
3. Do the Fish-in cycle
4. Move the goldfish to a bigger home, and move in tropical fish with a new heater... what heater do you suggest? and how do they work.. sorry, may seem like stupid questions but i am very new.

 

[jglover]

A ten gallon tank will need a 50-75 watt heater. Cobalt Aquatics Neotherms are good but on the expensive side. Aqueon Pro Line are also good and more reasonably priced. I'd look for a good brand submersible heater with a thermostat control. Stay away from the preset temp ones lke the Tetra HTs.

Also, for a fish-in cycle you will need a water test kit and a means to change the water every couple of days. A siphon and bucket is the easiest way to do it....a 5 gallon bucket give you an instant 50% water change.

 

[afurlow96]

Thank you for all the help, i did some looking around and it seems with a fish-in cycle i am getting the fish to let out its natural stuff into the water to help create some bacteria and i will have to do 20-50% water changes every couple of days... this is not so bad since i have been changing that goldfishes water every couple of hours because i felt so bad for him, i think i'm going to move him in now then unless told otherwise..

Thanks again for all the help, but one more thing, I'm interested in something 'different' like a shrimp or something odd to hang around the bottom of the tank, i know there are those "ghost shrimp" for like 50 cents but you can hardly see them, not so interesting.. any ideas of something like that? also what would it eat?

 

[afurlow96]

Ended up moving the goldfish from the 1/2 gallon tank to the 10 gallon tank to start "fish-in" cycle.. people say its cruel to the fish but after moving this goldfish i am very happy to immediately see him perk up, swimming the whole length of the tank an examining all of the plants, in the half gallon bowl he never really moved so i would say this is definitely an upgrade.

 

[jglover]

Fish-in cycle is not cruel provided it is done correctly. You have the basics down, just keep changing the water, likely it will be every day at a minimum, whenever your ammonia and nitrites rise to warning levels.

Sounds as if the goldy is enjoying his new home!

 

[jglover]

Regarding shrimp, I'd start with ghost shrimp. They're easy to keep and are cheap. You can get a feel for shrimp with ghosts. They'll eat whatever the goldfish does not, along with any algae and some biofilm that forms in the tank.