A 10 gallon tank?? Okay. I like the Penguin Filters (Emperor)... I lost the top to it, so the name is kinda not known
- These filters are great, and the bio wheel that come along with them only get better with age (literally). To me having a betta in this set up isn't advisable (just my opinion) and here's why: Betta are ill tempered and though they are only supposed to attack those of their own kind, they will pester others. This is especially true (in my case) when a betta has been kept alone for a while. Also as logan mentioned bettas do not like current, especially if it disturbed the top, they have book lungs (if thats what one calls it), they breath air from outside, going to the surface, then come back down. If the surface is shaking because of the spill from a filter the betta will start to suffocate. Its great for the neons, since they breath under water, and also get the benefit of filtered water.
As for brands, like I said earlier Penguin is GREAT, I will always trust them as a power filter. As for a heater, thus far I love marineland. I once had Topfin, until a horrible night occured. The stupid thing broke.. and my roomates love the AC temp at about 60. The tank went from 79 to 60 degrees in a short time (because of the TopFin heater breaking) during the night, and it near killed my poor fish. I have also read stories and had a friend who's topfin heater just kept on heating away till it fried the fish to death. *** Remeber that you will sometimes have to clean out the filter machine themselves, aside from occasionally replacing the filter media*** You understand when you get the power filter.
As for gravel, since your plant will be artificial, make sure you rinse it well, especially if the gravel is colored, the dye may be harmful, as one of the members mentioned in this site.
As for lights the one that comes with your tank would be fine, because of your artificial plant(s). There is one thing to remember... do not leave your tank light on indefinately, fish do need to "sleep", and will become sickly if they are under constant light. I made this mistake when I first got my ten gallon. If you really don't want to worry about this... you can purchase a timer from Petsmart, and maybe other LFS (Local Fishing Store), and just preset it for anything equal or below 12 hours. It costs about 9 bucks to the best of my knowledge.
chemicals are needed as always, dechlorinator, etc, you can find the basic sets in any pet store, brand thus far have not mattered much to me, they have all worked thus far without a hitch.
Okay this may sound nuts but when buying a thermometer, get one that does have the suction cup "snap" onto the device. Get one that is actually attached to the thing, my fish sometimes play with it, and accidently "snap" it off. Its a pain to get it back on. When I say "snap" I don't mean the suction cup coming off the tank, I mean the actual thermometer falling off the suction cup, while the suction cup is still attached to the tank wall.
Now that you'll have more fish, read up about feeding the type of fish you get, or just ask the LFS people. The reason for this is that over-feeding is common, and it causes too much yuckness in the water, causing the bad algae to show up and make life hell, cleaning the tank up, plus medicating your fish. As a precaution, and just to have around, get medication (may come in an inexpensive set) for common illnesses, ask your LFS personnel. When beginning, you'll more than liekly run into medical problems with your fish, so knowing about the common probs and solutions will keep the stress away and your fish being happy.
hehe.
