Advice on new tank

[LittleMossHead84]

So I am 2 weeks into a 10 gal planted tank and wanted some advice. I am currently running a tetra whisper standard filter which I am replacing with a sponge filter, a glass heater that I am upgrading to a stealth submersible. I have a 15W bulb and a diy co2 reactor. I have some pretty standard beginners plants like a spiralis, lutea, cardinal plant, moss ball, and some stalks of anacharis. I have a variety of tetras and just recently added 10 ghost shrimp. I really wanted rcs but I have to wait until next friday. So I guess that brings me to the couple of questions I have for ya'll;

How many shrimp can you have in a 10 gal and is it okay to have different varieties?
I have been testing my tank and I am getting these readings: Ph-6.4,N03-0, n02-0, ammonia-.50. I have to buy a kH test. I dont think these readings are normal, can someone help me out?
Also when I purchase my GS today the guy said my nitrate levels would spike? And to also do a 20% water change in 4 days? And that in 2 weeks I may have a deadly ammonia/nitrate spike that could be deadly to my lil tetras?

I think that is a good place to start. I had some other questions answered in the aquascape forum but realized I would probable be better off in planted tanks. Its a lil late and I am not sure if I supplied all the information ya'll will need to help me out so if not please let me know. I have also included some pictures so if anyone sees anything wrong or weird then can give me a heads up.

Look forward to the future conversations.

 

[LittleMossHead84]

And some more pictures

Some of these are from last week so yes, I no longer have the diy co2 and airstones running at same time.

 

[cars4fun2001]

you did not cycle you tank did you. Your ammonia is to high and you need to do 50% water changeor more. If you dont get that down your going to lose fish. I am amassed that you haven't lost any already. Give me a few and I will find you something to read that will explain it better then I can at this hr of the night

 

[cars4fun2001]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html

Its a little late to do a fishless cycle now but I think you need to read that so you know what those numbers should be and what they mean. What are you using to test the water? Strips? I just cant believe a .5 ammonia and no dead fish. How long have the fish been in the tank? Please do not add any more tell you get the tank leveled out

 

[mfdrookie516]

Very nice looking tank. Here is an article on cycling with fish... this should clear everything up for you. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ady-have-fish-what-now-116287.html#post983258... Just keep the ammonia down as low as you can. .5 shouldnt be too bad, but ammonia is poison, so the longer they stay in there, the more "poison" they are exposed to. It would be best if you could put them in another tank and do a fishless cycle, plus it would go alot faster too

 

[LittleMossHead84]

Setting up a New Planted Tank

This is what site I followed to an extent along with advice from guys from my lfs.

 

[LittleMossHead84]

And when I first went to the store my tank had been running for 5 days with nothing in it. I read the website in my last post. I told the guy I wasnt getting fish for 6 weeks and he said that my plants wouldnt make it wo my fish?? whatev.

Oh well, if you fail try again. I am going to sleep after I do a water change . More plans to come tomorrow morning and now a saga begins...with the help of you guys I will make my tank right. Thanks for the helpful info already.

 

[LittleMossHead84]

cars4fun just a fyi:

a·mass (-ms)
v. a·massed, a·mass·ing, a·mass·es
1. To gather for oneself, as for one's pleasure or profit: amassed a fortune. See Synonyms at gather.
2. To accumulate or assemble a large quantity of: "The astronomers had amassed compelling evidence that the galaxies indeed were speeding away from the earth and from each other" (George Johnson).
v.intr.
To come together; collect.

 

[LittleMossHead84]

So Im assuming that my tank is okay this morning. I changed the water last night and this morning(after my ammonia was still at .25) after a couple of hours of running it is now at 0.

mfdrookie516-thanks for that article. Helped a ton and explained everything!
Cars4Fun-thanks for that article too couldnt have understood the latter without it

 

[DragonFish71]

Just keep checking that ammonia daily. It can still rise and fall until you're completely out of the cycle. Do your water changes and all will go fine.

BTW, tank looks great!

 

[cars4fun2001]

yea I was running on about 36hr no sleep and typing fast.. I meant amazed. Things like that are what happen when you have dyslexia and use spell check then hit the correct all button. I had to go back and reread my post to figure out what the heck you where talking about. I was trying to let you know that you needed to do a water change asap. Just keep a eye on you ammonia level .40 is toxic to fish. I would do 50% water changes when if it gets above .25. Everything will turn out great. That link you posted left out a few very important parts. What he is saying could work but you would need a lot more plants then you have. Look at the photo at the top of the page. Your tank would have to look close to that. You have a very beautiful tank. I like the direction you are going with it.



Can you lets us know what you are using for testing. Do you only have gravel for the substrate or is there something under the gravel? You off to a great start. We all had to learn. I have been keeping fish for 20 or so years and I am still learning every day. I am on here to learn as is everyone else. This is a great site and there are a lot of great folks that are always happy to help you out.

Mike

 

[LittleMossHead84]

Cars, I am using a flourite red substrate. For testing I am using a API freshwater master kit, tests for ph, high range ph, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels. I gotta get the Kh tests asap. But am waiting for my paycheck today lol...went a little over my budget last week

And yes! yay for learning...lol...never stop learning

 

[LittleMossHead84]

Btw Mike....what ever happened to your diy co2 reactor? did you ever get it to work? did you find a good recipe? I saw your other post and that you were having similar problems to me with that.

 

[cars4fun2001]

boy do I understand the over budget thing. I tend to do that way to often. sounds like you on a great path. I love the looks of the larger rocks.

 

[LittleMossHead84]

I was a little unsure of the larger gravel but it definitely grew on me. I just was so against sand which is a little pain in the *** (had it on my last tank and boyfriend still has in his 40gal) and totally not into the bright colored gravel.
My next plan is to take the anacharis and tie it on a wooden skewer with fishing line so it creates a fence type wall in the back of my tank and would also keep it from floating around as the roots get developed.

 

[cars4fun2001]

yea it is working great now. I am still using the same mix. I think what was going on is I am very inpatient. Once the initial burn went away it the pressure would drop off to a point where it had to build back up to over come the resistance it had against it. Once I left it alone for a while it started put co2 out again and hasn't stopped. It is slow and steady but it is keeping my plastic cup full of co2. I noticed a marked increase in plant growth in just a few days.


Mike

 

[FishEggs]

LittleMossHead84 you dont need to worry about using co2 with the lighting and plants you have now. when you add more light, probably double what you have now, that's when you might need to put co2 in.

 

[LittleMossHead84]

Yeah, I have a question about the light. I mean I want to add more plants of course, I am just looking for species at my lfs that match my tank situation and I am definitely not adding anything for the next couple of days maybe weeks bc I want to just level everything out and see how it runs but.....I can only find 15w for 18" length??? I wanted to be running a light that atleast puts out 2-3watts per gallon of water.

 

[mfdrookie516]

you will have to upgrade the whole fixture if you want more than 15w... But, 15w will grow alot of plants. I have anubias, amazon sword, HM, java fern, java moss, and one other one (cant remember the name for some reason), and they are growing like crazy. Just to get the hang of it, id recommend keeping the current light you have and learning first, then once you get the hang of everything, upgrade your lighting. Another suggestion would be to go to lowes or home depot and get a phillips daylight bulb... i got one and my plants took off.

 

[FishEggs]

the best thing for your tank right now would be to add fast growing stem plants that will use up any ammonia/nitrates that will be produced in the tank. your cycle will take longer to fully complete but it will be safer for the fish already in the tank. you would want low light plants like the anacharis you have and hornwort but i would put more in and maybe some corymbosa. as long as they can live under the light you have the more plants the better. if they start to deteriorate and rot then take them out since that will create more ammonia and nitrites.
if you're using the stock lighting fixture which is probably a t12 or t8 fluorescent you will only be able to get 15 watt bulbs but you want to make sure it is a daylight spectrum bulb. it should be rated at anywhere from 5000k to 10,000k. you should be able to find these ratings somewhere on the package or bulb or it should say daylight on it. the GE or Philips bulbs from Lowes or HD that mfdrookie516 suggested would be fine as long as it is the same type of bulb in the fixture. to get more light you would have to add another fixture or get a new fixture with more than one bulb in it.

the cycle may take a good while to complete and my advice would be to be patient and except for adding some more plants don't change lighting or add any more fish or equipment. keep everything routine check the water params everyday at the same time and do water changes as necessary. Start a fish fund/savings and in 5 to 6 weeks everything should be stable and you can start experimenting with new lighting and fish.