(Alot of) Generals questions for my starter tank?

[CaptainMako]

A little confused about the wording in 4, sorry.
So if the tank in question was about 40 gallons, I would go for a 50 gallon filter?

 

[Vircomore]

Roughly, yes.

When you're buying filters, each one will usually advertise something like "This filter is good for up to ## gallons."

You want to try and look for one that is a good amount above what your tank holds. If you get the minimum that matches your tank volume, you won't have much wiggleroom if you ever want to add more fish.

There is almost no downside for using a filter that is over your tank's requirements, but there is every downside for using a filter that is under your tank's needs.

 

[CaptainMako]

Alright, thanks for that tip.
PPM is usually measured differently based on concentration, yes. Do you simply use a technique like the 1 gallon trick to find out how many drops something like 5ppm would be?

 

[Vircomore]

Alright, thanks for that tip.
PPM is usually measured differently based on concentration, yes. Do you simply use a technique like the 1 gallon trick to find out how many drops something like 5ppm would be?

Yep. The reason I used "ppm" is that PPM is the measuring scale that the API Master Test kit measures on. So you add ammonia slowly to the 1 gallon of "test water", and you test that water after each addition until you get a result of 5ppm on the test kit. From there, it's just multiplication, addition, and some division.

The test kit comes with 4 vials, so try and use the vials in a bit of a "rotation" and make sure they're rinsed out well between each use.

 

[Deep Seven]

Just trying to spot errors.

14. Once the ammonia levels begin to drop, add nitrite to the testings and ‘dose up’ the tanks on the same every two day schedule. Essentially, if the readings come to 3ppm, make up the difference by adding 2ppm of ammonia to get back to the 5ppm. Again, dosage will vary with concentration.

You have the nitrate test added at step 14, supposed to be nitrite. At step 16 you start testing for nitrates.

17. When another ammonia and nitrite test reads 0ppm, dose a full 5ppm. Test again at the same time the next day. If there is a reading of 0ppm of ammonia and nitrites then cycling is done.

I used bold to add what I thought was missing. You want to see ammonia and nitrites drop to zero 24 hours after dosing ammonia. All you should see at that point are nitrates if the tank is cycled.

Kudos to you for the research you're doing before starting your tank.

 

[CaptainMako]

Yep. The reason I used "ppm" is that PPM is the measuring scale that the API Master Test kit measures on. So you add ammonia slowly to the 1 gallon of "test water", and you test that water after each addition until you get a result of 5ppm on the test kit. From there, it's just multiplication, addition, and some division.

The test kit comes with 4 vials, so try and use the vials in a bit of a "rotation" and make sure they're rinsed out well between each use.

Good to know. Can those and things like fake plants and gravel be rinsed off with regular faucet water? I can understand if it must be treated water.

 

[Vircomore]

Yep, regular tap water.

The gravel may have to be rinsed several times over, until the water coming off of it is relatively clear - otherwise your tank water will end up looking like that.

 

[CaptainMako]

Yep, regular tap water.

The gravel may have to be rinsed several times over, until the water coming off of it is relatively clear - otherwise your tank water will end up looking like that.

Alright, that will save me some time.
I'm intending to get a fake plant, just to save real ones for when I have more experience. Most of them are harmless material, right? I know some fish tend to eat plants in the tank as another source of food.

As for rocks, I was hoping I could find some they could hide in without going too far on the decorative side. Preferably some sort of rock tower ridden with good size holes so nothing gets stuck. Is this a good idea, or will I have to worry about fry getting trapped or some other occurence?


I trust this place well enough, ,much more than Petco. I'm sure the fish will be healthy, but I was curious about borrowing from an established tank. I may be a little timid to ask, but I was curious as to just how much it speeds the process of cycling up. If I do borrow from the store owners, would gravel be the best choice? Should I even borrow at all?

 

[dkpate]

If it's from a store, I would say no, since you don't know what weird things are hiding in there. If you have a friend with a healthy established tank, then go for it. Just get a cup of their gravel, put it in a brand new foot of pantyhose, and give it a squeeze every day while it's in your tank. I seeded one of my tanks that way, and had a LOW bio-load of fish, and my tank never even had a cycle, since there was enough bacteria to handle the small amount of fish waste.

 

[CaptainMako]

That would be fantastic, but my friends all got rid of theirs a long time ago. Shame.
What about the plant and rocks? The thought occured to me that fry might get trapped in the tower, I don't know their swimming capability.

 

[dkpate]

I have never had fry, so I am not able to help out there, but I have rock houses for my loaches, and they like to squeeze themselves into small places, and they can get themselves out.

 

[CaptainMako]

Alright, I won't worry about it too much.
Just so long as I am able to inspect it and it looks big enough, i'll try to settle it firmly in the gravel.
I'm really excited about this, unfortunately it could be months off.