EGGBERT
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Greetings all—w/a shoutout to AIKEN who’s helped me tremendously, & much of whose advice i’ve incorporated into my routine. Huge Thanks, Aiken
So, i have a 5gal that currently houses a hillstream loach, a mystery snail, & a horned snail. Crushingly, i lost my beloved betta; i have a few theories as to COD—regardless, his transition was the push i needed to setup a 10gallon.
My hope/plan—following successful cycling—is to move the hillstream & the mystery snail to the 10gal, & perhaps get another hillstream to keep the current one (Pancake) company—i’d then adopt another betta to be the primary occupant of the 5gal (perhaps w/a couple more horned snails, which full size r tiny—or another small bottom feeding fish—a different type of loach? & any recommendations on this front would be greatly welcomed!).
Re the 10gal, it’s got a hanging cartridge filter, a heater, aeration, a lid w/lighting, live plants (including a few plantlets from the other tank).
I added 3 components to the filter: 1 heavily used filter cartridge from the 5gal, a slab of sponge (Fluval bio-foam), & a pouch of Seachem’s Matrix nuggets.
My hope is that the friendly bacteria on the used cartridge & the plant life from the 5gal will contribute to at least a slight acceleration of the process.
The substrate consists of gravel & some sizeable (~1” diameter) smooth stones (prepared/intended for aquarium use).
I added a bottom feeder food tablet to generate ammonia content.
The process was initiated yesterday; I filled the tank w/tap water treated w/Seachem’s Stability & Prime.
Tested the pH today—it’s above neutral, but i’m wondering if i should raise it, as in another cycling-related thread someone said something about 7.8 pH being optimal for encouraging the cycle; is this true? I could readily raise it/maintain it w/Seachem’s alkaline buffer.
Should the water chemistry be tested every day? Every few days? & what about water changes during this process (frequency, amount)?
Re water hardness:
KH is betw. 100-200 (this # because the instructions r to ‘count the # of drops until the solution turns yellow—but further along it says BRIGHT yellow’—a confusing distinction imo: i’m a visual artist who’s very attuned to HUE/PIGMENTATION).
Same confusion for me re the GH, which i interpret as betw. 0-100 because, again, the instructions say ‘count the drops until the water changes from orange to green’, but it doesn’t say whether it’s barely changed to a faint pastel green or if it should be more intense. If anyone can offer a heads-up on this point i’d be HUGELY appreciative!!!!
Did i exclude any key points that might help u guys better help me? Please advise, & HUGE THANKS to one & all…

So, i have a 5gal that currently houses a hillstream loach, a mystery snail, & a horned snail. Crushingly, i lost my beloved betta; i have a few theories as to COD—regardless, his transition was the push i needed to setup a 10gallon.
My hope/plan—following successful cycling—is to move the hillstream & the mystery snail to the 10gal, & perhaps get another hillstream to keep the current one (Pancake) company—i’d then adopt another betta to be the primary occupant of the 5gal (perhaps w/a couple more horned snails, which full size r tiny—or another small bottom feeding fish—a different type of loach? & any recommendations on this front would be greatly welcomed!).
Re the 10gal, it’s got a hanging cartridge filter, a heater, aeration, a lid w/lighting, live plants (including a few plantlets from the other tank).
I added 3 components to the filter: 1 heavily used filter cartridge from the 5gal, a slab of sponge (Fluval bio-foam), & a pouch of Seachem’s Matrix nuggets.
My hope is that the friendly bacteria on the used cartridge & the plant life from the 5gal will contribute to at least a slight acceleration of the process.
The substrate consists of gravel & some sizeable (~1” diameter) smooth stones (prepared/intended for aquarium use).
I added a bottom feeder food tablet to generate ammonia content.
The process was initiated yesterday; I filled the tank w/tap water treated w/Seachem’s Stability & Prime.
Tested the pH today—it’s above neutral, but i’m wondering if i should raise it, as in another cycling-related thread someone said something about 7.8 pH being optimal for encouraging the cycle; is this true? I could readily raise it/maintain it w/Seachem’s alkaline buffer.
Should the water chemistry be tested every day? Every few days? & what about water changes during this process (frequency, amount)?
Re water hardness:
KH is betw. 100-200 (this # because the instructions r to ‘count the # of drops until the solution turns yellow—but further along it says BRIGHT yellow’—a confusing distinction imo: i’m a visual artist who’s very attuned to HUE/PIGMENTATION).
Same confusion for me re the GH, which i interpret as betw. 0-100 because, again, the instructions say ‘count the drops until the water changes from orange to green’, but it doesn’t say whether it’s barely changed to a faint pastel green or if it should be more intense. If anyone can offer a heads-up on this point i’d be HUGELY appreciative!!!!
Did i exclude any key points that might help u guys better help me? Please advise, & HUGE THANKS to one & all…