guppy07

I have just stated a tank. I have a 10 gallon setup that has been running for 5 days. I have not acclamated any fish into the tank yet. I have two questions really.

First, as I have been testing the water every thing looks good except for ammonia, which seems to be very important. It is running at .5 on my test kit scale "stress" is what it says. Ammonia has been present since day one. Will that go away and should that go away before I put any fish in?

Second, my water has gotten cloudy and I have read that is a good thing. It does seem like it is a bacteria bloom, not dust from substrate (I rinsed everything well before entering the tank) I also read that was supposed to clear up pretty quick. It got cloudy about day 2 and a half. It has not cleared up.

I am just wondering if I am missing anything and doing something wrong. I just don't want to put fish in and have them die right away. Thanks in advance for all the help!

Cody

read this article..http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

that should explain it..but the thing is it can day 2 weeks it can take 2 months...its good that you waited and are cycling..even if you rinse the gravel really good you can stilll get some dust from it...but either way if itsa bacerail bloom it will go away on its own and if its dust hte filter will pick that up..any questions

sirdarksol

Welcome to Fishlore, and kudos for waiting until your tank is ready.

The article Cody posted has pretty much everything you need in this situation. If you need clarification on any of it, feel free to ask, and don't worry about it feeling like a stupid question. There is no such thing around here. It's better to ask a question and head off problems than have to ask questions to try to solve problems.

Good luck.

What do you plan on putting in your tank?

Dino

Great to have you with us!!

guppy07

Thanks all for the warm welcome and advice!

Under the getting the nitrogen cycle started it says several different ways to get the process started. Obviously I have chosen not to get is started with fish. Actually I have not chosen any of the other methods either.

When I was at petsmart asking questions (Was that a good decision?) I told them about the high ammonia and they said to put a bacteria supplement in to get it started. So I bought a supplement that says it is a health boost for my aquarium. That is introduces beneficial bacteria and things of that nature. So i put the correct amount of supplement in.

All that for this question... Should I also be "feeding the tank" or one of those other options? Or should I just be waiting?

Another question... I am supposed to do weekly H2O changes. Should I start that this week or should I let the tank keep cycling with the same water for a while?

As far as putting fish in it is hard to decide because of the size of my tank. I want 1 or 8 of each. But becasue of the size I am so limited. Seriously I would like maybe to start with a couple of Dwarf Gourami. I think they look really cool and seem to be pretty hardy. Sadly I don't really like zebra danio's or the cherry barb and I keep reading those are the best to put in at first. I also like the betta, I don't think I have ever seen one in a tank bigger than 5 gal so it will be great to see its full potiential, but I read they are aggressive. Who knows.

When the tank is established I really like Cardinal tetra! And will be looking to get a bristlenose Pleco to keep that algae away. I have looked a several other bottom feeders but nothing as cool as a bristlenose.

If anyone has suggestion to first fish or any fish for that matter I am very open! Also any hardy bottom feeders for early tank entry to clean up a bit?

Thanks again I am already enjoying this forum very much! It gives me an outlet to talk about all this stuff because my wife in not at all as interested as myself! haha.

Coryd55

Most people do the cycle with pure ammonia. Alot of people steer away from the "feeding" the tank thing. Petsmart isn't always the best place to go. Sometimes they know what they are talking about though. If it is something important or you are just not sure if waht they said is correct you can always ask here. You should do water changes once a week about 25% I believe. You could get a school of neon tetras. YOu could definately fit 8 of those in a 10g. Bristlenose can up to 5 inches and it is recommended to have at least a 20G at adult size so you might want to consider that. Cory's stay pretty small and are good bottom feeders, as well as Otos. Some guppies are really nice looking. You could try those?

If you post some fish that you like anyone on here can tell you compatibility and if they will fit. Also any special req. that they need.

Hope that helps a bit,

sirdarksol

I agree that Petsmart employees often don't know much about setting up a successful tank. Working at Petsmart is usually just a part time job to them, and the information that the corporation feeds them is partially correct at best.

If I ever have to start from scratch again, I'm going to go the pure ammonia route. My first tank went (inadvertently) down the "cycling with fish" route, and then the rest of them have cycled off of the filter media from the first tank. You definitely will have to do something to feed the bacteria colonies, though.
I have one concern. If you haven't added anything to your tank, you shouldn't have an ammonia reading. This leads to one of two possibilities. First (and the least pleasant of the two) is that there is ammonia in your water supply. Second has to do with the type of test you use. If you are using the test strips, they are often inaccurate. If you are using a liquid test kit (where you fill vials with water samples and then add the test chemicals), it's either the first option or user error.

As far as fish to add, Dwarf Guorami would be neat for a tank like that, as would a betta (though not in the same tank. Bettas hate guoramis with a passion). Cories would be ok, but they prefer company of their own kind, so you'll be very limited as to what else you can add. It's possible that a betta would be ok with a couple of peaceful bottom dwellers (like a couple of cories), but you'd have to watch to make sure that it didn't take offense to something being in "its" territory. I would not suggest otos with a tank that small (especially since you are a beginner, absolutely no offense meant). They require very stable water quality, which is hard to achieve in a small tank.
There is a very general guideline of "one inch of fish per gallon of tank." It doesn't work for everything, but it works pretty well for the fish that you've suggested. Basically, the end result is that dwarf guorami and bettas tend to get to be 3", and cories (depending on the breed) get to be 2-3". You could theoretically get two dwarf guorami and two dwarf cories (the kind that grow to be 2"), and you wouldn't be pushing the tank's bioload too much. I would, however, bet more on one betta and two cories working, at least bioload-wise (though there's the temperament issue with the betta).

guppy07

sirdarksol and others,

Thank you so much I really take no offense to any advice given. Actually I really want to hear the honest (brutal if need be) truth. I am really starting to enjoy fish keeping and I don't even have any fish yet!

I am loaded with some more questions. First, you mentioned that I would need to feed the bacteria colonies. Sounds good, do you have any suggestions? Is the topfin bacteria supplement that I am using O.K?

I am glad you said what you did about ammonia. I have had the same concern. At the present time I am using test pads. I am going to get a liquid test kit tomorrow morning.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...earch&keepsr=1

That link is the one that I was going to get. If you read this and can post before 9:00 am central time that would be awesome.

Last kind of random question about the fish which the information is TRULY appreciated. I really like the Pleco. Is there any type of Pleco that would fit? Dwarf or pygmy?

Thanks

0morrokh

The bacterial supplement claims to add bacteria to the tank, but most products don't work very well. The purpose of cycling is to allow the filter bacteria to grow so that when you add fish it will be all ready to remove their ammonia, and the fish won't be subjected to high levels of toxins. So, when you cycle you need to "feed the tank" with a source of ammonia that will cause the bacteria to grow. It can only live if it has a source of ammonia. So, you need to add either pure (unscented) ammonia (which you can get at a store in the cleaning section), or something like a piece of fish or fish flakes that will decompose to ammonia. (Pure ammonia is preferred because anything else will also add other chemicals into the water.) You add ammonia until there is no longer any ammonia in the water, meaning you've got a good colony of bacteria that can support your fish.

Test kit choice is good, it's the most accurate kind and what most people here use.

There is no Pleco I know of that is small enough for a 10gal. You could have Cories though. 3 or 4 smallish Cories and a Betta would make a nice setup.

Wolfgang8810

as for "feeding" the tank i just put a cocktail shrimp in the bottom and leave it alone. While it rotts it will be giving off ammonia so that should be good.

Wolfgang8810

what about a clown pleco or bristle nose?

COBettaCouple

welcome to FishLore. Sounds like you've gotten good advice and best of luck with cycling your tank fast. Since you're cycling without fish, you can turn the heater to max. while cycling - the warmer water should help speed along the cycling process some.

0morrokh

They both get 4 or more inches long...and plecos produce a ton of waste. I guess you could technically put one in a 10gal, but I wouldn't.