Super excited!
Just got my 26 gal bowfront tank kit up and running. After 2 days added a few fish, currently on day 3 and monitoring ammonia waiting for the tank to cycle.
Interested in doing all the research necessary to make this a successful and happy place for my fish.
A few questions I have:
1) My ammonia levels have not started to rise yet. Besides the weekly water change coming up (I'm only on day 3), should I do any water changes before the ammonia goes up? Or wait for this?
2) I introduced a blue gourami and 3 neon tetras to the tank. After adding the tetras I found out they require (or prefer?) a lower pH than my tank, which has been reading 7.6 + every day since I started. All the fish seem happy and have been increasing in activity. Should I get any product to slowly lower the pH to a specific level, or should I leave it since there are no problems?
3) The light that came with the kit hood is an 18" 8000K 15 watt. I have read advice that a tank my size (and keep in mind mine is more like a 20 gal + 6 gal in height) should have a much higher wattage. I do not have any live plants yet. Do I need a stronger light for live plants? Should I wait until the tank has cycled before adding live plants?
4) Maybe a stupid question, but my Petco air pump came with NO instructions and I am new at this. Is there a way or technique to change the intensity of the bubbles? Also, mine has 2 outputs, but since I read that Gourami's dont like strong currents, I am only using one. Should I let the air flow freely out of the unused output? My only concern is the longevity of the pump...
5) Last question
After learning about the tetra's tank preferences, I am going to further research any fish species before I buy, and not rely soley on the pet stores willingness to put fish in a bag for me. Is there a one-stop-answers-all website or resource with detailed information on different species?
Excited to be part of this. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Just got my 26 gal bowfront tank kit up and running. After 2 days added a few fish, currently on day 3 and monitoring ammonia waiting for the tank to cycle.
Interested in doing all the research necessary to make this a successful and happy place for my fish.
A few questions I have:
1) My ammonia levels have not started to rise yet. Besides the weekly water change coming up (I'm only on day 3), should I do any water changes before the ammonia goes up? Or wait for this?
2) I introduced a blue gourami and 3 neon tetras to the tank. After adding the tetras I found out they require (or prefer?) a lower pH than my tank, which has been reading 7.6 + every day since I started. All the fish seem happy and have been increasing in activity. Should I get any product to slowly lower the pH to a specific level, or should I leave it since there are no problems?
3) The light that came with the kit hood is an 18" 8000K 15 watt. I have read advice that a tank my size (and keep in mind mine is more like a 20 gal + 6 gal in height) should have a much higher wattage. I do not have any live plants yet. Do I need a stronger light for live plants? Should I wait until the tank has cycled before adding live plants?
4) Maybe a stupid question, but my Petco air pump came with NO instructions and I am new at this. Is there a way or technique to change the intensity of the bubbles? Also, mine has 2 outputs, but since I read that Gourami's dont like strong currents, I am only using one. Should I let the air flow freely out of the unused output? My only concern is the longevity of the pump...
5) Last question
After learning about the tetra's tank preferences, I am going to further research any fish species before I buy, and not rely soley on the pet stores willingness to put fish in a bag for me. Is there a one-stop-answers-all website or resource with detailed information on different species?Excited to be part of this. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
, thanks for joining!
