Recommend items?

[Baddog671]

I want to buy some Prime from Dr. Foster's to help condition my water and subdue ammonia, but if I need some other items I'd like to do it all in one shot.

Right now I have:
19g freshwater tank
API master kit
black gravel bottom
2 rocks I pulled from the stream behind my mom's house
1 cheap decoration for my Pleco to hide in
1 neon tetra (a few others died, no more till water is stable)
oversized HOB filter
bubbler
some foods
a gravel vacuum

What are powerheads and should I get one?

Not too interested in live planting at the moment.

One thing I'm really interesting in getting is some kind of new canopy & lighting combo. Right now I have a cheap plastic hood with a broken flap, and a standard light (t5?) Would like something that looks nicer and is brighter. Don't want to hang any lights like is popular with the Tao

 

[Fishperson]

You don't need a powerhead if you filter is powerful enough. What brand and model filter is it? And what are you willing to spend on a canopy/light? And what are the dimensions for the tank? Also, what kind of pleco is it? Most likely it shouldn't go in that tank. Welcome to AA!

 

[Fishfur]

You might want to soak those rocks you found in some vinegar.. or even CLR if you have any. Of course you will rinse anything you soak the in off very well afterward.

But if you see little bubbles coming up from the rock in the acid, it means there is calcium in the rocks. That is not necessarily bad, but if you are going to keep fish that like soft water or a pH lower than 7, the calcium will add hardness and possibly raise the pH, depending how much there is in the rock. If no bubbles, no worries about calcium altering the water parameters.

Also make sure to scrub them well, no knowing what they might have been exposed to in a stream. The pleco is most likely going to outgrow your tank in no time so if you can rehome it, be a good idea. Not needed to eat algae, there are better fish if you need an algae eater.

 

[Baddog671]

Sorry for the delayed response!

You don't need a powerhead if you filter is powerful enough. What brand and model filter is it? And what are you willing to spend on a canopy/light? And what are the dimensions for the tank? Also, what kind of pleco is it? Most likely it shouldn't go in that tank. Welcome to AA!

Filter is a budget friendly Tetra 30-60. Seems to move a good volume of water and is pretty quiet. I have no complaints on it so far.

Wouldn't mind spending a few bones on the light/canopy, but I'll put my high end at like 150? I'm still not very familiar with the costs of general items.

I.D. is 23.5"L x 11.75"W x 15.75"H, and the I.D. on the opening lip is 23-5/16"L x 11-9/16" W.

Pleco is your common variety and is about 5".

You might want to soak those rocks you found in some vinegar.. or even CLR if you have any. Of course you will rinse anything you soak the in off very well afterward.

But if you see little bubbles coming up from the rock in the acid, it means there is calcium in the rocks. That is not necessarily bad, but if you are going to keep fish that like soft water or a pH lower than 7, the calcium will add hardness and possibly raise the pH, depending how much there is in the rock. If no bubbles, no worries about calcium altering the water parameters.

Also make sure to scrub them well, no knowing what they might have been exposed to in a stream. The pleco is most likely going to outgrow your tank in no time so if you can rehome it, be a good idea. Not needed to eat algae, there are better fish if you need an algae eater.

I did the vinegar trick you suggested and absolutely nothing. pH tends to hang around 8 when I check it.

A friend of mine has 5 salt tanks and is starting up a couple fresh tanks, so if space becomes an issue he has a second home available. I've taken a fancy to cherry shrimp lately, so that may be a replacement LOL

 

[Fishperson]

Common plecos will grow well over a foot, so that needs to be rehomed. Will you be growing plants in this tank? The way to know what the color of the light is is by the kelvin rating. I think lower, like 5000 and under, is reddish, and higher, like 12000+ is bluish. Between 6000 and 8000 is a good looking color, IMO. Do you know the kelvin rating on this light?

 

[Baddog671]

Common plecos will grow well over a foot, so that needs to be rehomed. Will you be growing plants in this tank? The way to know what the color of the light is is by the kelvin rating. I think lower, like 5000 and under, is reddish, and higher, like 12000+ is bluish. Between 6000 and 8000 is a good looking color, IMO. Do you know the kelvin rating on this light?

At this time I'm not too interested in planting, but if I'm buying new hardware now I'd like to get something that keeps this option open in the future.

I don't know my current bulb, other than it says 15w. I'm sure it's whatever the cheapest options are. It's not very bright, I'd like something that illuminates a lot more.

 

[Fishfur]

A powerhead is a pump, basically. Often used to run a sponge filter, or circulate water faster or in directions other than a filter output can manage, or to lift water from one height to another, say from a sump to a tank. They can look something like an outboard boat motor in shape, or they can be little rectangular shape things that sit on the bottom. Pumps of other types are also used, such as the Koralia nano pump I use along with my filters, to give my fan shrimp a good current to feed in. These types of pumps, often attach to the tank wall with suction cups+ magnets, are only for circulating water or making it go in a particular direction or directions, in the tank.

What type of light fixture do you have now ?. That is, does it use a tube or a screw in bulb ? Both are available in various types and wattages, so you should be able to get one that is at least brighter than what you have now.

Common spiral type screw in flourescent ones for the home are generally cool white, which won't grow much in the way of plants and tends to make things look a bit bluer than they would in 'warm' light, or redder light.

We can't see these colours btw. If you think of a rainbow, all those colours are in what we see as white, or sun light. But man made lights tend to be either blueish, yellowish or reddish, depending what type they are. For our vision, they are fine. To make fish colours pop, you want light that's designed for that. To make plants grow, you want light designed for that purpose.

Daylight type bulbs, of any wattage, tend to make most things look pretty good, because their colour spectrum is made to be as close to sunlight as they can get. So if you get bulbs rated at 6500 K to 6700 K, they are going to make fish look good and plants grow too.

The spiral ones come in 9, 11, and 23 watts, at least, if not more. Tube wattage will vary with size mainly. What used to come in 20 or 40 watts, for example are now more likely to be much lower in wattage, to save energy. For fish viewing, you need a light bright enough to allow the entire tank to be illuminated enough to see everything. Precisely what you can get depends what type of fixture you have in the first place.

 

[Fishperson]

To keep the plant option open in the future for low-medium light plants (therefore less cost, but GENERALLY, less good looking) you could have a finnex fugeray. It's LED so you don't need to replace it and it doesn't use much electricity. For medium light plants, a finnex ray 2 would be good, also LED. Both of those make the fish and tank look good IMO.