New Guy, New tank, new fish, new PITA

[FNG]

Sooooooo,

I came home from work the other day to find my girlfriend and I have just inherited a 30 (29?) gallon freshwater aquarium from her brother who decided he didn't want it in his new place.

Anyways, before I get home from I work, they have the tank in place, full of water and fish. Up until this point, he has been "winging it" as far as taking care of the tank, which really means adding fish occasionally to replace the ones that have died off.

Not wanting to buy new fish every few weeks, I came to the world wide web looking for a place where I can find a little help.

I'm sure there's a place to for a "I don't know what the F I'm doing" kinda guy, so I'll be looking to start a thread there soon.

If nothing else, I'll be entertaining someone....

 

[Hholly]

Lol. Good luck! Here's a good article that should help you out.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium/

 

[FNG]

Thanks!!

As promised, here are two videos of what we've got:

Fish Tank: Tank - YouTube

Betta Tank: Beta - YouTube

Please pardon the muffled audio. My phone is in a case that muffles my voice.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

to AA! We hope you enjoy

 

[Convict2161]

Welcome to AA

 

[FNG]

Thanks a ton. Bought the test kit today and just finished a water change. Apparently what I've inherited is plenty of work!

Anybody care to help me identify what sort of fish I've got in there?

 

[FFEMT58]

Lol the best member interduction yet.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Identitys

You've got an angel fish 4 greentiger barbs which are the ones that are green with stripes an albino Corey cat that is the one that is on the bottom and some kind of tetra that is half black and half white. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[FNG]

Lol the best member interduction yet.

You've got an angel fish 4 greentiger barbs which are the ones that are green with stripes an albino Corey cat that is the one that is on the bottom and some kind of tetra that is half black and half white. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Thanks! How about the sharkish looking fellas?

Anyone know what kind of plants those are?

You guys are a huge help!!

I'm planning on frequent tests and water changes for a while.

 

[callisto9]

I love the username. LOL

You're in the right place. This is where I started, too, and it's a great place for help! Welcome!

 

[callisto9]

Plants look to be anacharis, camboba... the other two I can't identify. The anacharis is the one in the back left corner.

 

[FNG]

I'm not even going to apologize for the dumb questions....

The light, leave it on all the time? Off at night? Get a strobe for effect? (kidding)

Edit: / Scratch that. Just read in the Noob guide to turn the lights off at night.

 

[callisto9]

For a planted aquarium, I'd say on for about 8 - 10 hours.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Fish

The shark looking fish is a sword tail

 

[FNG]

I'm clear on the swordtail, but I am wondering about the two much larger fish that actually look like sharks....

 

[FNG]

Alright, so I've been watching my levels, and have performed one 30% water change followed by a 15% water change about 24 hours later. Roughly 8 hours after that last change I'm showing 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and 10ppm Nitrates.

This is good right? Too soon to think it's cycled though right? The gravel and decorations/fixtures were the only things coming from the last setup that would have any good bacteria.

pH is a bit high at 8.2, which is just about where my tap water is. If I'm reading things right, big changes in pH are worse than my high pH, so should I leave it alone?

Also, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

 

[bigbanker]

You've got h. Rasboras and bala sharks. They are actually a member of the minnow family. They'll need a larger tank in a few months.

 

[bigbanker]

Alright, so I've been watching my levels, and have performed one 30% water change followed by a 15% water change about 24 hours later. Roughly 8 hours after that last change I'm showing 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and 10ppm Nitrates.

This is good right? Too soon to think it's cycled though right? The gravel and decorations/fixtures were the only things coming from the last setup that would have any good bacteria.

pH is a bit high at 8.2, which is just about where my tap water is. If I'm reading things right, big changes in pH are worse than my high pH, so should I leave it alone?

Also, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a tootsie pop?

So the filter is new as well yes? If so I'd say you are not cycled although the numbers look great! Keep it up. Leave the ph alone. It is fine where it is. Newer fish may have a hard time adjusting but this will be helped by drip acclimation when added.

Does the beta have a filter?

And to answer your question: 13677533 licks!

 

[FNG]

New filter media :/

Those fish came with the tank, so I'll start looking for a new home soon I guess. I was afraid of that. I'm afraid the previous tank owner did little to no research before selecting/adding fish.

 

[bigbanker]

No worries. It does happen. You are off to a wicked good start and I'm proud of and for you. Keep up on the water changes, rethink your stocking a tad, and you will be golden.

All that being said! Lucky you for getting suck a pretty tank!