Took the Leap, but missed the landing, 26 Gallon Tank.

[Narrator]

I have always been very interested in aquariums. I remember having tons of fish as a child but never really felt like I was in control of a small ecosystem. I find that thought very exciting now that I am older. Over the last few weeks I have made a few mistakes in buying some very small tanks. One from Walmart, a 1.5g tank and the second from PLW which was a 5g tank. After keeping each of them for about a week I started to feel for the fish inside them and decided today to buy a larger tank.

Today I Purchased an Aqueon 26g Bowfront tank. It came with a Hood, Heater, and large filter. I did make the mistake of not cycling my tank before adding fish. This may be a problem, as I cannot return them, I added 4 Mollies, 1 Bumblebee Catfish and a few baby snails. The temp right now is sitting at 80 degrees. Hopefully I can get some decent advice on the next step. Very Glad I found this Forum though.I don't want my fish to die.

 

[anibis]

I did the same kinda thing. I kept fish as a kid, but haven't had a tank in 15 some years. Then I got a 3g for Christmas. Went to the lfs, took their advice when they said a platy and a molly would be fine in that tiny tank. I did some research that night and found out this was far from true. Went up to a 10g, then returned it and got the 29g I have now. It's much better to have a decent sized tank, opens up your stocking options quite a bit. They are also far prettier and easier to maintain good water quality.

It's not necessarily a problem that you have to do a fish in cycle. It's possible to do it and keep the fish happy, it will require pretty much daily water changes until the tank is cycled, so roll your sleeves up! Once you get the hang of it a partial water change will take about 15 min, it's really not that big of a deal.

Have you purchased a API master test kit yet? This pretty important to have so you can keep track of ammonia/nitrites, which will tell you when/how much water to change.
If you don't have a test kit I'd do 30%-50% water changes daily just to be sure you keep the fish happy. Be sure to use a water conditioner like Seachem Prime, and match the water temperature. Prime is the only water conditioner that will detoxify ammonia+nitrite for 24-36 hours, this feature is very helpful when doing a fish in cycle. Other water conditioners will work, they just don't have that added feature.

You will also need a gravel vacuum to syphon water out of the tank, and a few buckets. Any bucket will do, as long as it's NEW and ONLY used for aquarium purposes. Home Depot has 5gal buckets for $2.60, that's what I use. Just rinse them out and they're good to go.

A glass thermometer that mounts inside the tank is also helpful. The ones that stick to the outside of the glass are not accurate.

The Aqueon filters aren't the best. My advice would be to get a bio sponge to put in front of the media cartridge. This way when you change the filter cartridge you won't lose your biological filtration. Don't change the filter cartridge for at least 6 weeks.

Mollies do have a large bio load, so I'd feed them sparingly. Once a day, only as much as they can eat in a minute. You may want to get some sinking pellets for the cat fish as mollies will gobble up anything and everything in sight.

Here's a good sticky on fish-in cycling:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

There's not much else I can think of, welcome to the site!

 

[Narrator]

Thanks for the pep talk. I actually know the lady that runs the local Pet-Lovers Warehouse. She said that she had some small filters from a well established two year old 20 gallon tank. She said they needed to be changed. She told me to drop it inside my current filter to help speed up the cycling and give my fishies a chance. Haven t gotten them yet but wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not. The filter that came with the tank looks pretty nice, however I dont have alot of experience with filters. Its called a Quietflow.. or at least that is what is on the box. I do plan on getting a better filter if needed. Going to get some fabric for my backdrop tomorrow then I might post some pictures. I already have a glass tube thermometer inside the tank and it currently reads 80 degrees.

The bummer is that I was not able to set the tank up in the spot I wanted due to its size. Moving this thing when I have the cabinet built is gonna be terrible...lol

 

[anibis]

As long as your friends tank is healthy I would do it, media from an established tank is the best way to get the cycle started on a new tank. Just make sure it's kept in a bag of dechlorinated water so it doesn't dry out and kill the bacteria.

The Quietflow's are Aqueon's HOB filters. They aren't designed all that well, especially when it comes to hanging on to your bacteria when you change the media cartridge. There's just the little cage thing, which doesn't have enough surface area for much bacteria to grow on. It also has the little blue part that you put in the outflow that has the same problem. I just never thought that was enough. The media cartridges are a bit of a joke too, almost no carbon, and not much floss. It's not a bad filter to have for the time being though, it'll still work, you just may not have crystal clear water. You can mod the Quietflow by adding custom media, there's a decent youtube video on it.

I only ran my Quietflow for a week, and ended up buying a Fluval C series which has a much better design. The C4 is $50 on Amazon, if you do upgrade your filter that's what I would recommend.

I had to move my 29g 3 days after I set it up. I had it on my dresser at first, but I was concerned about the weight and ended up buying a stand. It wasn't too bad, took maybe an hour. Make sure you get all the water out before you move the tank. I would also re-use about 10g of the water you take out just to be sure there's no big swing in water chemistry, pH more than anything.

I would still get am API master test kit, they run about $20 on amazon, $30 in the store. The kit will last years, it's something everyone with an aquarium should have.

 

[Narrator]

I will order the test kit ASAP, Until then I will do a heavy water change, My guess would be around 30%. Or should I go less.. I will most likely use your recommendation on the filter. As far as the media from the established tank, I will most likely transport it in a bag of water from the host aquarium. Pretty sure its a healthy tank. I have been looking at it for over 3 years. But I will still do a water test prior to using the media. Thinking of looking into some LED lights. This one came with florescent lights... Also one more question.. My water comes from a shallow well so no need to worry about chemicals, however I wonder if there is anything I should be worried about using well water with fish?

 

[threnjen]

My favorite hang on back filter is the Aquaclear series. They have a media basket which is incredibly customizable. Probably the 70 for a 29g, maybe the 100. I would leave out the carbon and get an extra insert of bio rings, and add a prefilter sponge on the intake, and you'd have the perfect filter.

Anibis has given you good advice, just wanted to mention another filter that I really like!

 

[TXaggie]

I just want to second the Aquaclear as a HOB, I use an Aquaclear 70 on my 29 gallon and love it. I ditched the carbon, doubled up on the biomedia and added some Purigen (you don't have to have this, it's just an additional water clarifier). The flow is strong, but I can clean the thing (squish out the sponge every 2 weeks or monthly) in about 5 mins. The sponge is the only part you replace and they're pretty cheap.

Best of luck with your set up!

 

[Narrator]

I went looking for a filter today. I will probably make a choice in the next day or so. Unfortunately I woke up this morning to a dead bumblebee catfish. Thats what I get I guess The mollies seem to be doing just fine. I did a quick test of the water with strips (not too reliable I know) until my master kit arrives that is all I have until then. With the strips everything checked out fine. Ill just keep cycling for now. Hope my other fish will be ok..

 

[venymae]

Water from any source is different. Sure you won't have the added chlorine or chloramine, but there could be other naturally occurring things. You can send you water in to get tested (we do it yearly at my parents house to ensure safety for drinking, and you find out other fun stuff too!) At the least I would let your well water set out for a day and then test it with your strips(or API), just so you know what your base results are. Not all well water is created equal

 

[Narrator]

Woke up this morning to a dead Dalmatian molly. I removed the rest of the fish and relocated them to a friends tank next door. He has a well established tank with only mollies as well. The tank doesn't look cloudy. I do have a aeration concern. I don't think my water is getting enough oxygen ( I could be 100% wrong) but I did notice the fish staying at the top quite a bit.

 

[venymae]

fish gulping air can be aeration, ammonia poison or nitrite poisoning. Water quality is probably your most likely culprit, especially if you don't have a good filter with a bacterial colony yet.

 

[threnjen]

I'm sorry

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[threnjen]

Whoops I didn't get to finish. I'm sorry about your Molly. This must be so stressful.
I would do 30-50% changes post day until your testy kit arrives

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[threnjen]

Sorry I don't know why I try with my phone. Changes every day until test kit arrives.

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[Narrator]

Thanks. Fish are safely swimming in a well established tank with a few other mollies. So no fish in my tank atm. There is however a few snails. Should I leave them in until the tank cycles completely? I can move those as well if needed.

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[Narrator]

Here is the tank I'm using. Not finished yet. Just wanted to give you guys a feel for what I have.

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