Hello everyone,
I finally got the 10 gallon I've always wanted, but now I've got a few questions about it (well, I hope they are only a few!) First of all, the cycling...
If I were to fishless cycle, would pure ammonia be the best way to go? I've also heard of just tossing some fish food in there to simulate ammonia. I currently have a male betta in a one gallon (I want to add him to the 10 gal when its set up) and was wondering whether putting his "dirty" tank water into the new set up when I change his water would do the same thing as the ammonia/fish food. I've also heard that fishless cycling is a waste of time, and real cycling only starts when fish are added in, but I only heard this said once.
Secondly, I had a few questions about biological filtration. No one in my area seems to sell ceramic rings at all. The tank I bought has a pretty generic set up - it came with the HOB filter. I started looking at substitute biological media, and nylon pot scrubbers came up. Seems as though they're available enough, so I got one and stuck it behind the carbon filter that the tank came with (the carbon filter that I'm hoping to get rid of as soon as I get plants). Now, a lot of aquarium owners seem to be "layering" their filter media - how are they layering them? Horizontally in the filter well? I just stuck the pot scrubber vertically behind the carbon filter for now, but I'll move it if I should. I plan to replace the carbon filter with just regular old quilting batting or that kind of filter floss you can cut out yourself (once again, after I get plants). Is this enough filter media? Do I need a third layer?
Sorry if this is getting long! Am I missing anything? Is there any information you guys could all give me to help me out? I know I should add just a few fish at a time, and I'm just a tad bit fuzzy on quarantining. For instance, if I bought 2-3 platys and they all seemed fine after a good amount of time, then I added my betta, is there any risk of him contracting something funky because they are from two different environments? Even if the temperature and ph are the same? Sorry for all the questions! If I need to go out and buy ammonia or grab some different filter media, I will. My family are all suspicious of the biological filter media, so I'm walking on the edge of a knife with the idea of adding it in! I'll go out and buy some ph testing supplies asap. Thanks for any help guys,
Kat
I finally got the 10 gallon I've always wanted, but now I've got a few questions about it (well, I hope they are only a few!) First of all, the cycling...
If I were to fishless cycle, would pure ammonia be the best way to go? I've also heard of just tossing some fish food in there to simulate ammonia. I currently have a male betta in a one gallon (I want to add him to the 10 gal when its set up) and was wondering whether putting his "dirty" tank water into the new set up when I change his water would do the same thing as the ammonia/fish food. I've also heard that fishless cycling is a waste of time, and real cycling only starts when fish are added in, but I only heard this said once.
Secondly, I had a few questions about biological filtration. No one in my area seems to sell ceramic rings at all. The tank I bought has a pretty generic set up - it came with the HOB filter. I started looking at substitute biological media, and nylon pot scrubbers came up. Seems as though they're available enough, so I got one and stuck it behind the carbon filter that the tank came with (the carbon filter that I'm hoping to get rid of as soon as I get plants). Now, a lot of aquarium owners seem to be "layering" their filter media - how are they layering them? Horizontally in the filter well? I just stuck the pot scrubber vertically behind the carbon filter for now, but I'll move it if I should. I plan to replace the carbon filter with just regular old quilting batting or that kind of filter floss you can cut out yourself (once again, after I get plants). Is this enough filter media? Do I need a third layer?
Sorry if this is getting long! Am I missing anything? Is there any information you guys could all give me to help me out? I know I should add just a few fish at a time, and I'm just a tad bit fuzzy on quarantining. For instance, if I bought 2-3 platys and they all seemed fine after a good amount of time, then I added my betta, is there any risk of him contracting something funky because they are from two different environments? Even if the temperature and ph are the same? Sorry for all the questions! If I need to go out and buy ammonia or grab some different filter media, I will. My family are all suspicious of the biological filter media, so I'm walking on the edge of a knife with the idea of adding it in! I'll go out and buy some ph testing supplies asap. Thanks for any help guys,
Kat