Newbie/Is This a Good Deal?/Advice

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RanchuHappy2Cme

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Oct 4, 2018
Messages
1
Hello,

I'm very new to aquarium stuff, but what I have been doing so far has really peaked my interest and has been very beneficial to some mental health problems for me.

It started when my roommate moved back to her home state and couldn't take her Betta with her because she was afraid it would die so I agreed to take care of it. Never really thought of myself as a fish guy. However I've grown pretty attached to him over the last 5 months I've had him. He started in a cheap plastic 2 gallon tank that he didn't have much room to swim in and algae always bloomed so I was constantly having to clean his tank which was stressing him out and I felt bad. Went to get him a 5g tank but found out for an extra dollar at Walmart I could get him a 10g with a filter/LED hood. Since then he has been super happy and I just love sitting by his tank and watching him dart around his new home. Although his water is a little cloudy at the moment (although I heard it might be because I just did my first water change where I left 50% of the original water in because I read it's bad to change all the water). Anyways, this has sparked a huge interest in me for bigger tanks and variety. I've been doing research and I like the idea of a fancy goldfish tank, especially Ranchu.


As for the deal stuff, I have recently just bought a 40 gallon Hex tank with it's stand (In practically brand new condition) for $60 from a lovely elderly woman up the road from me. My coworker also gave me a 55 gallon tank he bought and never used for $20. From the research I did those tanks collectively could have cost me an arm and a leg and my best friend thinks it's some sign from something that maybe I should get into the hobby and I can kinda see that. Should I have waited to get bigger tanks? I guess it doesn't really matter since I already bought them, but I guess for future reference some advice would be nice.

As for the tanks I just mentioned, I'd REALLY like to have something planted as I already take care of an abundance of houseplants and really enjoy tending them. I've spent hours just watching Green Machine on youtube and am just mesmerized by the beautiful aquascapes. I don't know much about things yet, so should I slow it down, or just do it and see how it goes? And any suggestions on what I could do with these tanks? Any help would be awesome!

Thanks!
 
I take it you are doing a fish in cycle on the 10g tank?? I think your cloudy water might be a bacteria bloom.....not good for the betta. If the tank isn't cycled you will have to do 50% water changes every other day. If you can get an API Freshwater master test kit this will help you in cycling. Test the water frequently until cycled. This could also potentially save your betta's life. If you got some old gravel or substrate from the 2 gallon tank you can add it to the 10g and seed it with beneficial bacteria. An old filter from the 2g would also help seed it.

Nice job on getting nearly free tanks. If you got the money to set them up I'd get them filled, filtered and started. Add plants, no fish. Let them cycle. In the meantime you can plan your fish you want in those tanks.
 
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