Neil

Hi!
just started here today and got a tank yesterday, so this is my first attempt.
Wanted to get into reef tanks while back but was too much for my situation.
Someone thew out a 20 gal. tank with all the fixin's and wow what luck.
So scrubbed it yesterday and got new filter "Cascade 100" and a 12" air stick that only blows bubbles in the first 1/3 of it so got to take that back.
100w heater in their, it also came with a second Hagen heater thats 2x bigger but does not say what W it is, left it out.
Added 20lb gravel, aquarium wood, some slate and plants from a lady's outside fish pond, healthy fish.
Letting it cycle now, this morning however found the new filter seized, looked into the propeller and gave it a nudge and of it spun, pumping out more then it did yesterday, maybe its lubed now, the other surprise it that the water went a touch cloudy, guess the algae forming.
So here are some pics so far

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capekate

Hi Neil and welcome to fishlore!
what luck to find a tank and all the fixins! nice....good luck with that.The photos look great!
Im wondering why you have algae after one day of setting up. That looks like a lot of algae in the photo. Im wondering if it was a good idea or not to use the plants from a backyard fish pond for your indoor aquarium? Could be some bacteria has been released in your tank. What kind of wood are you using? Is it real wood or a decoration? Was it boiled and scrubbed down first?
Are you planning on cycling your tank with fish or going fishless?
keep us posted on your progress.... ~ kate

Isabella

ALREADY looking gooood !

COBettaCouple

Welcome to fishlore! It looks like you're off to a great start!

Neil

Hi! thanks for the replies.
Day 2 and the algae has almost totally disappeared, a yellowish slight tinge in the water so it might be the light since I don't have a proper aquarium bulb yet. been trying to take pictures but the reflections are awful even without the flash.
The wood is real wood and was in the pond that the lady had her Koi in it and was from a proper aquarium store. I put it in boiling water first. I was concerned that the algae might overtake but this morning gave me a relieved surprise as it had greatly reduced.
I want to cycle it with fish, am planning to add 2 guppies or mollies to start with, I do want a communal setup, would like bright colored fish so if some one has suggestions I would be happy to listen



Finally after 30 tries got a decent pic. The rose quartz is to weigh down the wood

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capekate

Hi Neil
I hear that guppies are very sensitive fish, are you sure that you want to cycle your tank with them? The zebra danios are a hardy fish that is used to cycle a tank often. If you plan on cycling with fish you are going to end up doing a lot of water changing to insure water quality for your fish. You will have to do water testing as well to measure your progress in the cycle. I cycled a tank without fish and it was cycled in 3 weeks and didnt have to worry about doing water changes til the day before adding fish. When I cycled with fish it took me over two months! With the water changes, it slows the cycle down. Unless you plan on using some bio spira to kick start your cycle you should be ok.
What fish do you like? I see you are thinking of guppies and mollies. The dalmation mollies are very kewl fish, sailfin mollies are very nice too. You can have mollies and platy together as well and the platy come in an assortment of colors if your looking for bright colors.
~ kate
PS... I LOVE your driftwood..!!! your tank is looking great!

Neil

They look interesting. I did add "Cycle" liquid to the tank, it also says on the bottle adding a cap/week "maintains the balance", however I would rather hear from people who have experience with that. When i go (tonight I hope) to exchange the air stone and get a proper light i will ask what they have and when to add. Yup sailfin mollies look great . itr is also interesting how fast the tank has cleared, even from this morning I can see total clarity.
Been 6 months since been eager to get a tank, real hard not to want to get a fish in their as fast as passable even if it is just 2, just something to swim around LOL.
Thanks !! for the feed back.

Tom

Wow, congrats, it looks great. That is one beautiful tank. You said you added fish, what type?
Tom

timg

Hi there! welcome to the forum.

the discoloration is probably due to leaching from the driftwood. If you are using guppies to cycle, be sure to do very frequent small water changes, (10% every day or every other at least, as they are somewhat sensitive to poor water conditions. Also, be very careful not to overfeed them, as this will increae the ammonia levels very quickly. Good luck with the new tank though, it already looks great!

Neil

Thanks!!
got back from the store 80$ poorer and a couple fish richer LOL
SO I got 2 Platies and a new hood/lights for the tank. I discovered taking pictures of fish is like fishing, takes great patience LOL, so when I get better ones I will post them. ( I gave then some tetra food about 6-8 balls, guy told me not to use the goldfish food I had)
So here is how it stands

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COBettaCouple

platys are funny little stomachs with fins. we love them! great platys there that you got.

capekate

Nice Platies there, are those the sunset platy? About cycle... I used it as well, but after hearing from others here it wasnt a good idea. Seems that it is the wrong bacteria for the tank and will produce mini cycles or something to that effect. Hopefully someone else will come on board and explain it better for you.
~ kate

Neil

I thingk they are, they have that yummy orange glow to them LOL, the tank didnt say anymore then Platies, but their were "sunset" type fish as well I liked, same coloring but of course dif breed.
Yup would love to hear more about the "cycle" type liquid. Also whats the best way to feed Platies?

Thanks!

capekate

Hi Neil
well with only two fish in the tank you will not need much. Only a few crushed flakes per fish, per meal, twice a day. You will be able to tell if you feed them too much when uneaten food ends up at the bottom of the tank and sits. Of course, that food there will be good to get your cycle going tho. For the fish you have I would if it were me, take about four good size flakes and crush them up a bit, as they will not eat the whole flake, its too big for them. Dont crush them up to the size of sand tho, just into smaller pieces.And feed them at least twice a day..I feed my guys three times a day. About 7 hours apart.
Good luck with your tank and fishys!!
~ kate

freshwaterguy

wow i like the platys and the tank and wood looks very nice together, i am currently cleaning my first driftwood although it is not as big as the pieces you have it just makes the aquarium look nice and natural and can provide security for fish.

Very nice good luck to you and your fish.

Neil

Thanks!
I have read that they like variety, i would like the tank to be self sufishent in a way, is their live food that can be grown in their, shrimps or something, sea monkeys LOL.
Right now feeding them morning and evening

COBettaCouple

Cycle is the wrong type of bacteria.. the 2 types of bacteria that you need for a cycled tank have 15 hour life cycles and only a product called BioSpira has them. It has to be refrigerated to extend the bacteria's life expectancy and has a short shelf life. The bacteria in Cycle tend to create mini-cycles and our tanks didn't really cycle until we stopped using it and then let the tanks cycle.


As for feeding the platys, we just drop a small pinch of livebearer food in 2x a day, monday to saturday. you can find food especially for livebearers at the drfostersandsmith.com website and maybe locally if you have a good LFS.

Neil

Thanks!