Questions about new tank

[sharkbait_]

Hi everyone,


I'm currently trying to cycle an 11.4 gal tank for a betta I recently bought. I have several questions regarding my setup:

Is it important to test hardness and alkalinity? I have the API master test kit already but it doesn't measure those parameters.

I bought a marina S15 filter because everyone seems to recommend AquaClear, and they're both made by Hagen. I've seen several people talking about adding their own media or modding a filter to make it more efficient. Is there anything I can do to maximize my filtering potential?

I think the heater I bought (Jäger 50W?) isn't sufficient for my tank. On nights when I open the windows and put the fan in my tank's temperature will drop 2-3 degrees. Should I buy a stronger heater? (My tank is rimless and doesn't have a hood--screen top is in the making--but I didn't expect it to fluctuate to that extent.)

Finally, I added some "south shore rock" or something from my LFS, which looks similar to Texas holey rock. However, my pH was 7.4-7.6 before and 8.0 after. I'm assuming I need to take the rock out, but do I need to start my cycle over? I'm about a week in and have yet to see any nitrites.

Since I'm going to be redecorating and don't have a light yet, I was wondering if anyone has strong feelings about real plants vs silk plants. I have sand as substrate but have never had live plants in a tank.

Thanks in advance!

 

[TangoTank]

With the rock, yes take it out. It could have killed your BB, the pH swing, but I wouldn't start over. Just do several PWC's insteada one big one to not shock the bacteria to bring the pH down. As for the heater, I don't know too much about them as my house is 77 degrees year around. But unless it's a typo your tank is 11.4g then I'd think a 50w should be sufficient. Maybe the windows open & fans on are too quick of a temp change for the heater to keep up.

 

[Mebbid]

i wouldn't worry about the filter being inadequate, especially for a betta tank. But if you really wanted you could always add more filter media to the chamber. Either ceramic rings, filter floss, or another pad.

What's the tank temperature compared to the room temperature on a normal basis?

The rock shouldn't pose any problems for the tank. If you like it, feel free to leave it in. Also, the pH regularly swings during a fishless cycle. The pH raising to 8.0 won't hurt the bacteria any.

Finally, as for plants. I am a huge advocate for real plants. While they are more work they look MUCH nicer than silk as well as helping keep the tank clean.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

So if I read your post right you are cycling for a betta tank. I don't know that it is worth waiting 1-1 1/2 months to cycle a tank for a single betta because with regular water changes and keeping an eye on your parameters it would be very easy to cycle your tank with your betta in that way. A betta has a fairly small bio Load and should be fine being added to the tank now. I don't mean for this to be taken the wrong way by any body as I'm all for cycling a tank before adding fish but for a single betta in an 11 gallon you should be fine just adding it. By the way live plants are the way to go in terms of decoration. What kind of lights do you have and I can recommend some plants based on light requirements.

 

[TangoTank]

...

The rock shouldn't pose any problems for the tank. If you like it, feel free to leave it in. Also, the pH regularly swings during a fishless cycle. The pH raising to 8.0 won't hurt the bacteria any.

Finally, as for plants. I am a huge advocate for real plants. While they are more work they look MUCH nicer than silk as well as helping keep the tank clean.

Isn't there a possibility that rock contains carbonate? Rocks are always what they are labeled. Try a test on it, pour some vinegar on it, see if it bubbles. If it does, it's no good for FW.

Also, fake plants can tear the flowy long fins of Bettas or any fish & Bettas like to rest in plants more specifically than other fish

 

[Mebbid]

Isn't there a possibility that rock contains carbonate? Rocks are always what they are labeled. Try a test on it, pour some vinegar on it, see if it bubbles. If it does, it's no good for FW.

Also, fake plants can tear the flowy long fins of Bettas or any fish & Bettas like to rest in plants more specifically than other fish

There's plenty of rocks out there that buffer the pH safely. Aragonite is by far the most common.

pH also swings as the tank goes through it's day / night cycle. Try testing the pH at a few different times during the day to see if the rock is the cause of the pH swing or if it's just part of the natural tank cycle.

 

[sharkbait_]

Thanks for all the help!

Regarding the rock, I did put it in a bucket of water overnight and test that, I think the pH was 8.2 or something really high. I was hoping it was surface dust or something and was only willing to risk it since there were no fish. I just tried the vinegar and it did bubble Good to hear that I don't have to start over, and thanks for helping me catch that.

I would say my house is similar to the tank temperature wise; we've been leaving the windows open all day (in MA) and the tank goes from 80 during the day to 78 at night.

I'm hoping my betta will be ok with neon tetras and panda corys (cories?) so I definitely want to do a full cycle.

I have heard that plastic plants are bad for bettas but thought silk was safer. I'm definitely open to live plants, just very uneducated. My only reservation is the cost of lights and that I only know of one pet store within an hour (other than petco) that sells live plants. I'd appreciate any info on plants or lights.

 

[TangoTank]

Thanks for all the help!

Regarding the rock, I did put it in a bucket of water overnight and test that, I think the pH was 8.2 or something really high. I was hoping it was surface dust or something and was only willing to risk it since there were no fish. I just tried the vinegar and it did bubble Good to hear that I don't have to start over, and thanks for helping me catch that.

I would say my house is similar to the tank temperature wise; we've been leaving the windows open all day (in MA) and the tank goes from 80 during the day to 78 at night.

I'm hoping my betta will be ok with neon tetras and panda corys (cories?) so I definitely want to do a full cycle.

I have heard that plastic plants are bad for bettas but thought silk was safer. I'm definitely open to live plants, just very uneducated. My only reservation is the cost of lights and that I only know of one pet store within an hour (other than petco) that sells live plants. I'd appreciate any info on plants or lights.

Silk are ok. Live plants will eat NitrAte which can only be removed normally thru water changes so it helps complete the Nitrifying cycle but they aren't necessary. But I like to consider them a lil extra insurance

My Amazon Swords seem to do the best & I'm very low tech... just lights & fertilizer. I use Leaf Zone but there's others out there. It's probably $10 & I've had my bottle about a year for my 4 small FW tanks. I dose about every 3-4 PWCs. Does your tank have any built-in lighting? If so, there's a bulb for every kind of fixture & has a Full Spectrum bulb available. For a small tank hood that just takes those skinny long bulbs, Walmart has an Aquaculture CFL w/ the aquarium supplies. Whatev bulb you look at, make sure it says 6500 +/- lumens (or says Daylight or Full Spectrum). Compact Fluorescent (CFL) is best b/c it's efficient on energy AND doesn't add too much heat to the tank or exceed the wattage of the light hood.

If your tank doesn't have lighting, you can buy a lamp or clip-on w/ an adjustable neck--they have 'me for $5/6 at Target. Or I bought one for $4 at a thrift store! Then, at Walmart at the regular light bulb section, I bought a 6500 lumens CFL that was for a fan, I believe & I think it said Daylight on the front. The boxes are reddish colored (where other boxes have a blue hue referring to "cool"), you will probably be in that section awhile turning over boxes & reading the backs, but don't give up! I think it was $7, coulda been $11. I forget b/c I looked at SO MANY!! LMK how it goes!

And enjoy Sharkweek, it starts in 4 mins! Ima die-hard fan!!

 

[sharkbait_]

I did some shopping today and picked up a lamp and driftwood. I looked at Walmart and Lowe's for a bulb and couldn't find anything over 2600 lumens. Did you mean 6500K? Also, I read somewhere that you should aim for 2 watts per gallon, so I think I'm looking for a bulb with around 23 watts, does that sound right? Would you mind linking me to a bulb that would work on amazon?

 

[BlazedSaint]

Silk are ok. Live plants will eat NitrAte which can only be removed normally thru water changes so it helps complete the Nitrifying cycle but they aren't necessary. But I like to consider them a lil extra insurance

My Amazon Swords seem to do the best & I'm very low tech... just lights & fertilizer. I use Leaf Zone but there's others out there. It's probably $10 & I've had my bottle about a year for my 4 small FW tanks. I dose about every 3-4 PWCs. Does your tank have any built-in lighting? If so, there's a bulb for every kind of fixture & has a Full Spectrum bulb available. For a small tank hood that just takes those skinny long bulbs, Walmart has an Aquaculture CFL w/ the aquarium supplies. Whatev bulb you look at, make sure it says 6500 +/- lumens (or says Daylight or Full Spectrum). Compact Fluorescent (CFL) is best b/c it's efficient on energy AND doesn't add too much heat to the tank or exceed the wattage of the light hood.

If your tank doesn't have lighting, you can buy a lamp or clip-on w/ an adjustable neck--they have 'me for $5/6 at Target. Or I bought one for $4 at a thrift store! Then, at Walmart at the regular light bulb section, I bought a 6500 lumens CFL that was for a fan, I believe & I think it said Daylight on the front. The boxes are reddish colored (where other boxes have a blue hue referring to "cool"), you will probably be in that section awhile turning over boxes & reading the backs, but don't give up! I think it was $7, coulda been $11. I forget b/c I looked at SO MANY!! LMK how it goes!

And enjoy Sharkweek, it starts in 4 mins! Ima die-hard fan!!

"I use Leaf Zone but there's others out there"

I use seachem Florish( seems to be very very good for my plants, im doing a plant in cycle(tried to use fish they all died : ( ) and my plants didnt look so hot for a little bit, added a dose of florish and they stopped turning brown, infact they are green and healthy now, now to rep one product against the others, ive just had personal success with florish by seachem