kwiksatik
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I live waaaay out in the country and we have well water - no additives. Our water is very hard and alkaline, and my test strips confirm that straight out of the tap.
I have an 8 gallon Biorb which I set up and let run for 48 hours, including the 2-day packet of water conditioner and "bacteria" that come with the tank. I equipped it with 2 tall ornamental plastic plants, a shorter stand of large leaf grass, a castle, and "bog grass" from petsmart.
At that point, my older son was desperate for his own tank, and I got lucky and was able to procure a 4 gallon Biorb from craigslist, filled with still-wet and healthy substrate and a nice thoroughly colonized sponge. (Someone was going to college and getting rid of their tank, but taking their fish for a new one!) I moved all of the colonized substrate into my larger biorb, and did a good squeeze of the sponge into the larger tank. About 12 hours later, I also added a betta and a few ghost shrimp, assuming that with perfect water and the bunches of bacteria I had added, I might be better equipped to handle a live-fish cycle.
That was 5 days ago. My tank got super cloudy for about 48 hours, but daily tests confirmed that all of my levels remained perfectly stable - there was a slight increase in ammonia, from straight up ideal to a barely greenish cast which could hardly be counted as "safe." Yesterday, the tank started to clear, and today, it is almost crystal clear. I've done no water changes, although I did siphon out some of my water in favor of adding in the bags from the pet store. My betta is having a blast, doing energetic laps around the tank, darting down to harass the occasional shrimp, playing in the grass, and just hanging out. I've never seen a betta this active - I had a few growing up, but they were, in general, pretty depressed little dudes. This guy is downright chipper. I think he might be writing a musical. He's postures with the shrimp occasionally, but they haven't actually had any physical contact. The shrimp are happily ensconced in the big spaces in the substrate and hide in a dense little stand of plastic grass.
This seems too good to be true... Also, I've been feeding the shrimp the same pellets as the betta, since they bob around in the aquarium a bit, then sink. Am I sitting on a ticking time bomb, or is it possible that my water is actually doing well? It just seems too good to be true.
As far as my second tank: It also has tested perfectly every time. I kept the sponge but replaced the filter, added live plants, let it run for 24 hours before adding my tetras and shrimp. I did not add the 2-stage packets which came with the new filter. I figured the leftover sponge would be enough. I'm using micropellets for food in that tank, which sink very rapidly. The substrate is also much finer, a larger pea gravel. I have 2 chunks of holey fake coral, bog grass and a couple little topiary balls at the bottom. I HAD 4 tetras, and one of them, not in the best of health, went to the bottom for a pellet, and just crapped out and stayed there, gasping and barely moving. The shrimp started eating him. I removed him and put him in a tertiary tank, but he was belly up within twenty minutes. Outside of that, the water is clouding more, and has not started to clarify even though we are on day... 4 of that tank. I'm hoping things will stabilize like they did in the first tank, but I know that I put a lot more of a bioload in there with my tetras. I fantasized that the shrimp would offset some of their waste and take care of any leftover food. I was also thinking of tossing in one of the live moss balls.
Any suggestions anyone? I'm totally loving this whole experience and just want it to be a success. I'll admit, the kiddos excitement pressured me into filling the tanks sooner than I would have were I a solitary adult. I just want everyone to be happy and healthy in their assigned homes.
I have an 8 gallon Biorb which I set up and let run for 48 hours, including the 2-day packet of water conditioner and "bacteria" that come with the tank. I equipped it with 2 tall ornamental plastic plants, a shorter stand of large leaf grass, a castle, and "bog grass" from petsmart.
At that point, my older son was desperate for his own tank, and I got lucky and was able to procure a 4 gallon Biorb from craigslist, filled with still-wet and healthy substrate and a nice thoroughly colonized sponge. (Someone was going to college and getting rid of their tank, but taking their fish for a new one!) I moved all of the colonized substrate into my larger biorb, and did a good squeeze of the sponge into the larger tank. About 12 hours later, I also added a betta and a few ghost shrimp, assuming that with perfect water and the bunches of bacteria I had added, I might be better equipped to handle a live-fish cycle.
That was 5 days ago. My tank got super cloudy for about 48 hours, but daily tests confirmed that all of my levels remained perfectly stable - there was a slight increase in ammonia, from straight up ideal to a barely greenish cast which could hardly be counted as "safe." Yesterday, the tank started to clear, and today, it is almost crystal clear. I've done no water changes, although I did siphon out some of my water in favor of adding in the bags from the pet store. My betta is having a blast, doing energetic laps around the tank, darting down to harass the occasional shrimp, playing in the grass, and just hanging out. I've never seen a betta this active - I had a few growing up, but they were, in general, pretty depressed little dudes. This guy is downright chipper. I think he might be writing a musical. He's postures with the shrimp occasionally, but they haven't actually had any physical contact. The shrimp are happily ensconced in the big spaces in the substrate and hide in a dense little stand of plastic grass.
This seems too good to be true... Also, I've been feeding the shrimp the same pellets as the betta, since they bob around in the aquarium a bit, then sink. Am I sitting on a ticking time bomb, or is it possible that my water is actually doing well? It just seems too good to be true.
As far as my second tank: It also has tested perfectly every time. I kept the sponge but replaced the filter, added live plants, let it run for 24 hours before adding my tetras and shrimp. I did not add the 2-stage packets which came with the new filter. I figured the leftover sponge would be enough. I'm using micropellets for food in that tank, which sink very rapidly. The substrate is also much finer, a larger pea gravel. I have 2 chunks of holey fake coral, bog grass and a couple little topiary balls at the bottom. I HAD 4 tetras, and one of them, not in the best of health, went to the bottom for a pellet, and just crapped out and stayed there, gasping and barely moving. The shrimp started eating him. I removed him and put him in a tertiary tank, but he was belly up within twenty minutes. Outside of that, the water is clouding more, and has not started to clarify even though we are on day... 4 of that tank. I'm hoping things will stabilize like they did in the first tank, but I know that I put a lot more of a bioload in there with my tetras. I fantasized that the shrimp would offset some of their waste and take care of any leftover food. I was also thinking of tossing in one of the live moss balls.
Any suggestions anyone? I'm totally loving this whole experience and just want it to be a success. I'll admit, the kiddos excitement pressured me into filling the tanks sooner than I would have were I a solitary adult. I just want everyone to be happy and healthy in their assigned homes.
