What Do I Need To Add To My Tank?

Hi,

I have had my tank set up for 2 weeks now. It is a 30 gallon tank with live plants and driftwood. I have 9 tiger barbs and 6 cory catfish. It has a sand substrate. It has a standard florescent light hood. I have an AquaClear 50 filter that I have also added SeaChem Matrix to. It is being heated to 75 degrees, which seems like a good level for both Tiger Barbs and Cory Catfish. I used SeaChem Flourish Tabs for the plants to help get them established. I also added a little liquid plant food because there are a few plants planted in the driftwood and their roots don't reach to the sand yet.

Unfortunately, I believed the guy at the fish store that I could just start my tank with fish and bacteria. And keep as many fish in my tank as I have. After doing my own reading, it seems like that's not the best idea to start with fish. And perhaps my tank is overstocked? I am using SeaChem Stability along with SeaChem Matrix to keep the tank safe for the fish, along with treating water for water changes with SeaChem Prime.

So far, I have measured my levels - Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, KH, GH and Ph every other day. All seem stable and good. (And the fish seem very active and happy). Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites have all stayed at 0. Ph is pretty steady at 7.6. KH is 5 degrees and GH is still a bit high at 176 PPM. I have brought it down from much higher in the beginning. We have really hard water here in Florida so when I've done water changes I've used part RO water mixed with tap water to reduce the hardness. I didn't want to do it too quickly, so I'm doing it a little at a time. I'm doing 5 gallon water changes every week, treating the water with SeaChem Prime (This also detoxifies any ammonia, nitrates and nitrites, so that's good for the fish).

The Tiger Barbs seem to happily school and swim together, no one is getting picked on. The Cory Catfish seem quite happy too. They school together and like the Java Fern clumps and driftwood to hide in.

I have read the whole post for beginners.

Here are my questions:

Do I need to add oxygen to the tank for the fish?
Do I need to add CO2 to the tank for the live plants? (I attached a picture so you can see the amount of live plants) So far after 2 weeks, the plants seem to be flourishing. The long one has even grown several inches up toward the light.
Is my lighting adequate for my plants?
Is a 5 gallon water change per week enough/ideal for my 30 gallon tank and the number of fish I have?
Is there anything else I should be doing for the fish to help them until the tank's cycle is established?
How will I know when the tank's cycle is established?
Is my tank overstocked with 9 Tiger Barbs and 6 Cory catfish? (My filter seems more than adequate and maybe if I do more frequent water changes, they will be fine?)

I would appreciate any/all input and advice!

Thanks so much!

 

Some neon tetras would look nice in there. I don't think you will be overstocked.

 

I never had much luck keeping tiger barbs in a community tank. There are some color variants of them that will all school together so you can have a variety of colors.

 

You probably have enough surface agitation from the AC50, so an air stone will probably not be needed.

I can't help you with the plants. They certainly look better than my artificial plants! I do know that different spectrums of florescent bulbs available, especially for growing plants. Do you have standard bulbs or grow bulbs?

For stocking, I don't think you are overstocked at all. I have more fish in my 20g. It has 2x AC30's.

Your AC50 is about 1.5" wider than my AC30. This is how one of them is packed with media.

AC30 media basket 1

• Islandvic
• Nov 18, 2018

AC30 media basket 2

• Islandvic
• Nov 18, 2018

My 20 gallon is overstocked, but my water stays clear and parameters stay good.

As for water changes, it will depend on your water parameters. Many people go off their nitrate levels and attempt to keep them at or below 40.

Did you ever see a spike in ammonia and nitrites, then fall back to zero ? Have you seen any nitrates yet?

Usually as a tank cycles, there are spikes in ammonia then nitrite. As nitrites start to appear the ammonia and nitrites start to fall back to zero and stay there.

You have plants though, so that is foreign to me and the way the water parameters change during a cycle may differ.

An easier way to drain and refill the tank is to get a 25ft hose and some fittings from the hardware store or Home Depot/Lowes.







You can use the barb to attach the long hose to the end of your gravel siphon vac tube. Then stretch the hose out the door or into your shower to drain the tank.

The other fitting allows you to screw the other end of the hose to your sink faucet so you can refill the tank.

On my 75g, I shut off the filters, add dechlorinator and then refill from the faucet.

This allows me to do 50% water changes on my 75 gallon easily without buckets.

It will make it easy for your 30 gallon also.

 

Seems fine. As long as there’s surface agitation from the filter you don’t really need an air pump. I’d say it’s pretty much fully stocked, tiger barbs get 3-4 inches fully grown

 

Some neon tetras would look nice in there. I don't think you will be overstocked.

Thanks, I am not looking to add any fish! I am so happy with my tiger barbs and cories

I never had much luck keeping tiger barbs in a community tank. There are some color variants of them that will all school together so you can have a variety of colors.

I want just tiger barbs and cories. I don't want a "community tank"! If I ever upgrade to a bigger tank, other color variants might be really cool

 

I agree that your filtration is good and that you won’t need an air stone.

As far as the plants none of them look demanding so I would say unless you would like more plant growth you don’t need to add oxygen, CO2, or replace the light. Fluorescent can be expensive in the long run but if what you’re doing right now is working then I wouldn’t change anything.

You’ll know your tank is established when you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrates. You’ll know how much you need to change based on the nitrates, if you do 5 gallons every week and your nitrates stay below 20 because of your plants then you’re good. If they increase higher then increase your water change to 10 gallons. Since you already have prime then you should be set moving forward!

I don’t know much about Tiger Barbs so I’ll leave the stocking question to everyone else but so far you look well prepared!

 

You probably have enough surface agitation from the AC50, so an air stone will probably not be needed.

I can't help you with the plants. They certainly look better than my artificial plants! I do know that different spectrums of florescent bulbs available, especially for growing plants. Do you have standard bulbs or grow bulbs?

For stocking, I don't think you are overstocked at all. I have more fish in my 20g. It has 2x AC30's.

Your AC50 is about 1.5" wider than my AC30. This is how one of them is packed with media.

Did you ever see a spike in ammonia and nitrites, then fall back to zero ? Have you seen any nitrates yet?

Okay, that's good to know about an air stone. Thanks!

I just have standard bulbs.

It looks like you don't have any activated charcoal in your filter media. Am I seeing that correctly and is there a reason for that?

Once the ammonia level was .25 (right before the first week was over and the day before I did a 5 gallon water change), but I treated with SeaChem Prime (that's supposed to neutralize ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites too) and the next day and after the water change, it came up 0. Nitrates and nitrites have only been 0. Nitrates registered between 0 and 20 on my test strips a few times, but when I double-checked it with the test tube test, they came up 0. I know test strips are not known for their accuracy . . . that's why I got the test tube tests. Perhaps I didn't shake the test bottles enough, I read that if you didn't do that, then you won't get a completely accurate test.

Seems like my tank has possibly had a little ammonia and a little nitrate. But today, all read 0 with the test tube testing.

Thanks for the tips on water changes! That does sound a lot easier than my 5 gallon bucket

Do you think I need to do 50% water changes. I thought changing too much at a time might shock the fish?

Seems fine. As long as there’s surface agitation from the filter you don’t really need an air pump. I’d say it’s pretty much fully stocked, tiger barbs get 3-4 inches fully grown

Great, glad to know I don't need an air pump. Yes, I thought I was fully stocked. I thought they only got to 3 inches. If they all grow to 4 inches, I might need a bigger tank!

As far as the plants none of them look demanding so I would say unless you would like more plant growth you don’t need to add oxygen, CO2, or replace the light. Fluorescent can be expensive in the long run but if what you’re doing right now is working then I wouldn’t change anything.

You’ll know your tank is established when you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and some nitrates. You’ll know how much you need to change based on the nitrates, if you do 5 gallons every week and your nitrates stay below 20 because of your plants then you’re good. If they increase higher then increase your water change to 10 gallons. Since you already have prime then you should be set moving forward!

What is a good and cheaper alternative to fluorescent lighting that is good for plant growth too? I was looking at LEDs, but some people said they weren't great for live plants and others seemed to think they were fine . . .

Okay, thank you for your really simple and straight-forward explanation of how to know when a tank is cycled. (I've done a lot of reading, but that really helps me!) I'll just keep testing and watch my ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and adjust my water changes accordingly! Thank you

 

Great, glad to know I don't need an air pump. Yes, I thought I was fully stocked. I thought they only got to 3 inches. If they all grow to 4 inches, I might need a bigger tank!

2.8-3.9 inches. I’m setting up a tiger barb tank as well, 36 bowfront. Yours should be fine for 10 or so

 

View attachment 521385

2.8-3.9 inches. I’m setting up a tiger barb tank as well, 36 bowfront. Yours should be fine for 10 or so

I see, 4 inches! Years ago, I had a 55 gallon tank with about 11 Tiger Barbs in it and a Pictus catfish. Those tiger barbs were all about 3 inches long fully grown. Tiger barbs are so much fun and they loved the space of the 55g. But we don't have space for a 55 g tank right now, otherwise I would have gotten one!

I like the bowfront tanks, those are nice tanks.

 

Great, glad to know I don't need an air pump. Yes, I thought I was fully stocked. I thought they only got to 3 inches. If they all grow to 4 inches, I might need a bigger tank!

It's definitely not fully stocked, but I agree that the lights are good and you don't need an air pump or CO2

 

It's definitely not fully stocked, but I agree that the lights are good and you don't need an air pump or CO2

If it's not fully stocked, how many tiger barbs and cories do you think I could add?

 

I think you could at least do 3-4 more of each

 

I've cycled many tanks with fish in, no bottled bacteria. I've kept combined ammonia and nitrites at 1ppm or below, and never had any trouble with the fish. I do water changes based on my test readings, not a set schedule. Having live plants speeds up the cycling process.

You'll see ammonia show up first, the after a few day nitrites will appear. Again, add ammonia and nitrites together and keep at 1 ppm or below with water changes. It's a math deal. If you have 1 ppm of toxins, a 50% water changes will reduce them to .5.

Ammonia will start to lower as nitrites increase. Then ammonia's gone, and nitrates will appear. A cycled tank is zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and a you will have a nitrate reading. Keeping nitrates at 5 to 10 ppm is generally considered good, but they can get up to 40 or so without affecting the fish.

If you use bottled bacteria, all bets are off. Your water readings won't make sense, and you're not supposed to do water changes for a period of time. It's not an "instant" cycle as they claim. You also won't be able to watch your cycle progress with test readings.

 

I've cycled many tanks with fish in, no bottled bacteria. I've kept combined ammonia and nitrites at 1ppm or below, and never had any trouble with the fish. I do water changes based on my test readings, not a set schedule. Having live plants speeds up the cycling process.

You'll see ammonia show up first, the after a few day nitrites will appear. Again, add ammonia and nitrites together and keep at 1 ppm or below with water changes. It's a math deal. If you have 1 ppm of toxins, a 50% water changes will reduce them to .5.

Ammonia will start to lower as nitrites increase. Then ammonia's gone, and nitrates will appear. A cycled tank is zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and a you will have a nitrate reading. Keeping nitrates at 5 to 10 ppm is generally considered good, but they can get up to 40 or so without affecting the fish.

If you use bottled bacteria, all bets are off. Your water readings won't make sense, and you're not supposed to do water changes for a period of time. It's not an "instant" cycle as they claim. You also won't be able to watch your cycle progress with test readings.

Correct, old filter media is the only way to instant cycle. However this tank is already cycled

 

Anubias plant.I love this plant

 

Tank looks good! I would recommend doing 10-14 gallon water changes every 3-4 days until your cycle completes. Use the apI master kit to test water conditions. Then atleast 8gal change even when it does cycle thru. But once the cycle is complete that would be once weekly not evry 3 days or so. You will know your tank is cycled when you get 0 readings for ammonia and nitrites, you will only read for nitrates which are removed during water change. You should get enough water agitation from your filter which will supply enough oxygen for your fish. Personally, I don’t care much for air pumps, so I run 2 filters on my 40gal. Give mI more filtration and more water agitation (O2) and allows mI to alternate cleaning each filter so I don’t disturb my beneficial bacteria too detrimentally.. But you seem to be on the right path with all the seachem products and with your tank.

 

Tiger Barb Tank, correct there was no activated charcoal in media basket.

It is included in all Aquaclears and I ran it when I first bought my AC's, but I never replaced them after they were used for a month or so.

Most members on the forum advise that bags of charcoal are good for only around 4 weeks, then they generally do not adsorb anymore and require replacement.

Also many do not run charcoal unless for a specific purpose, such as removing left over medications after a treatment regimen.

I think carbon has it's uses, but probably not needed 24/7. It is cheap to manufacture and easy profit for companies, so it is pushed by most brands of filters.

Also when you don't use it, you have more room in the media basket for either more mechanical or biological filtration!

Here is a link for DIY Filter Media. It gives basic ideas for adding your own media to your filter and using intake sponge pre-filters.

As for the water changes, I do 50% water changes because my drain and refill hose makes it easier on the 75g. I might as well do 50% while I have the equipment out. I perform the PWC on it every 7-10 days.

When I was still using the bucket method on the 75g, I certainly did not perform routine 50% changes though!

I don't think it shocks the fish because the pH stays stable. Only thing that goes down is the nitrates.

Large water changes are also good when fish are showing signs of stress and illness.

 

Tiger Barb Tank how many plants do you have in the tank?

 

Okay, that's good to know about an air stone. Thanks!

I just have standard bulbs.

It looks like you don't have any activated charcoal in your filter media. Am I seeing that correctly and is there a reason for that?

Once the ammonia level was .25 (right before the first week was over and the day before I did a 5 gallon water change), but I treated with SeaChem Prime (that's supposed to neutralize ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites too) and the next day and after the water change, it came up 0. Nitrates and nitrites have only been 0. Nitrates registered between 0 and 20 on my test strips a few times, but when I double-checked it with the test tube test, they came up 0. I know test strips are not known for their accuracy . . . that's why I got the test tube tests. Perhaps I didn't shake the test bottles enough, I read that if you didn't do that, then you won't get a completely accurate test.

Seems like my tank has possibly had a little ammonia and a little nitrate. But today, all read 0 with the test tube testing.

Thanks for the tips on water changes! That does sound a lot easier than my 5 gallon bucket

Do you think I need to do 50% water changes. I thought changing too much at a time might shock the fish?



Great, glad to know I don't need an air pump. Yes, I thought I was fully stocked. I thought they only got to 3 inches. If they all grow to 4 inches, I might need a bigger tank!



What is a good and cheaper alternative to fluorescent lighting that is good for plant growth too? I was looking at LEDs, but some people said they weren't great for live plants and others seemed to think they were fine . . .

Okay, thank you for your really simple and straight-forward explanation of how to know when a tank is cycled. (I've done a lot of reading, but that really helps me!) I'll just keep testing and watch my ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and adjust my water changes accordingly! Thank you

I’ve had success with LEDs for live plants, theyre cheaper energy wise and they’ll last longer. You need to look for a “PAR” rating on the light to determine if it will be good for your tank. I can’t reccomend a good light for that size tank but hopefully someone here can steer you in the right direction

 

I can second that

 

Tiger Barb Tank how many plants do you have in the tank?

I have 2 java fern clumps, about 3" x 6" big. Then 2 small plants on my driftwood, 6 medium sized plants and 3 baby plants. I'm sorry, I'm forgetting the name of my other plants. . .

So, how long should I keep adding the SeaChem bacteria that I have? I assume it depends on how long it takes for my tank to grow and sustain its own bacteria. . .

Also, both times I've done a water change, one of my tiger barbs has looked a little shocked/stressed. (Swimming less, discolored). The rest were fine, but just the one (I'm not sure if it was the same one each time though!)

I'm wondering if its because I'm using the RO water to try and bring the hardness down. My water is really, really hard. Like off the top of the API test chart hard. I've brought it down to around 170 PPM. The Ph stays consistent after water changes though, so I know that's not fluctuating at all. But maybe the change in hardness is stressing for my fish?

Tiger Barb Tank, correct there was no activated charcoal in media basket.

It is included in all Aquaclears and I ran it when I first bought my AC's, but I never replaced them after they were used for a month or so.

Most members on the forum advise that bags of charcoal are good for only around 4 weeks, then they generally do not adsorb anymore and require replacement.

Also many do not run charcoal unless for a specific purpose, such as removing left over medications after a treatment regimen.

I think carbon has it's uses, but probably not needed 24/7. It is cheap to manufacture and easy profit for companies, so it is pushed by most brands of filters.

Also when you don't use it, you have more room in the media basket for either more mechanical or biological filtration!

Here is a link for DIY Filter Media. It gives basic ideas for adding your own media to your filter and using intake sponge pre-filters.

Okay, great. That's good to know about charcoal. And thanks for the link for the DIY filter media.

 

Well to be honest your tank could cycle without you knowing. Ammonia converts to nitrates and plants use nitrates.
For all we know it's already cycled

 

I would personally stop adding the bacteria now, since there's no way to tell if your tank cycle is fully up and running until you do---particularly since you have a bunch of plants. It's hard to tell right now if the 0 nitrates is from not shaking the bejeezus out of the nitrate test bottles, or from the plants eating it all immediately, or from your cycle not being established... but if you stop adding the bacteria you should be able to see if you get a rise in ammonia or not (thus figuring out if your cycle is up and running or not).

I have plant-specific LEDs and my plants are exploding. But your plants are fairly undemanding, like someone else already mentioned (anacharis, moneywort, java fern, some swords?), so you can take some time to figure out if you want to get heavily into plants or not before investing in a fancier fixture/ferts/CO2/etc.! (Once you go plants you can never go back! lol)