First tank build

I am a Newby said:

my plan was top just let it cycle naturaly and to wait for plants to take maybe 1 month or so before i start adding some shrimps and few tetras nothign else.

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Hi! Welcome to the forum! I love your tank idea it sounds great. But I have one question and two recommendations... Ok, first, my question is, is what are the measurements measured in? Cm or inches?

Now there were two things that stood out to me... You said that you would wait a month before adding any shrimps... Since shrimps feed on tiny bits of algae and biofilm, it is recommended to wait at least 6 months to let the correct amount of algae and biofilm to grow.

The second thing I want to mention is the tetras... I hope by "a few" you mean six or more (8 or more is better)

Rocky998 said:

Hi! Welcome to the forum! I love your tank idea it sounds great. But I have one question and two recommendations... Ok, first, my question is, is what are the measurements measured in? Cm or inches?

Now there were two things that stood out to me... You said that you would wait a month before adding any shrimps... Since shrimps feed on tiny bits of algae and biofilm, it is recommended to wait at least 6 months to let the correct amount of algae and biofilm to grow.

The second thing I want to mention is the tetras... I hope by "a few" you mean six or more (8 or more is better)

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Ty mate. Measurments are in centimeters .
Regarding tetras idea is to have 7 smallest one i can find in store (dont know names of them). 7 is because of superstition of not useing even numbers
Shrimps are cherry and was thinking of 5 only and all same gender so no breading and i would feed them if not enough algae or biofilm by then.
1 month is what i was told to wait for and then add only shrimps for a week and after week add tetras.
Waitting for month hopeing plants start growing as sign of cycled tank as i have no test kits to test for anything, all i know is our tap water comes in 7,6 ph and thats it.
Talked to few local guys and they all said they just use chlor stop in tap water and nothign else as we have good water without amonia,chloramines,nitrates exc.

I have question avbout water aggitation on surface just did 60% water change this was first one and wonder if this surface aggitation is enough for gasses to exchange? here is short video. Bad recording on my part hard to record with baby in one hand lol.

Also i wonder should i touch anything for a while or just let it sit for 10days before i do next water change???

I am a Newby said:

Ty mate. Measurments are in centimeters .
Regarding tetras idea is to have 7 smallest one i can find in store (dont know names of them). 7 is because of superstition of not useing even numbers
Shrimps are cherry and was thinking of 5 only and all same gender so no breading and i would feed them if not enough algae or biofilm by then.
1 month is what i was told to wait for and then add only shrimps for a week and after week add tetras.
Waitting for month hopeing plants start growing as sign of cycled tank as i have no test kits to test for anything, all i know is our tap water comes in 7,6 ph and thats it.
Talked to few local guys and they all said they just use chlor stop in tap water and nothign else as we have good water without amonia,chloramines,nitrates exc.

I have question avbout water aggitation on surface just did 60% water change this was first one and wonder if this surface aggitation is enough for gasses to exchange? here is short video. Bad recording on my part hard to record with baby in one hand lol.

Also i wonder should i touch anything for a while or just let it sit for 10days before i do next water change???

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You definitely need to get a water testing kit.
A lot of the members on the forum use the API Master test kit. It is invaluable in the fishkeeping hobby. I'm not too sure that just because plants are growing it means that the tank is cycled.

Are you adding any good bacteria to the tank to start it off?

connorlindeman said:

You definitely need to get a water testing kit.
A lot of the members on the forum use the API Master test kit. It is invaluable in the fishkeeping hobby. I'm not too sure that just because plants are growing it means that the tank is cycled.

Are you adding any good bacteria to the tank to start it off?

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As of now i dont have one and i could not find any kist for sale all they have is basic one that tests for 3 in 1 pH, KH, GH and they are strips.
I added start plus in first fill and now again in water change not sure if they add bacteria in it so im gonna go buy biofill 20ml botlle tommorow with good bacteria to add.
For plants hopefully i wont get lied and some guys will deliver me some triming from their aquarium in next few days to try planting it more heavily and they are the one that told me they never add anything just set up wait for month or 2 for plants to grow in and that sign of good cycle ready to slowly ad fish then.
I dont know if they right i will add bacteria anyways.

If you plant a lot of fast growing plants, it is safe to add fish once you know the plants are actively growing. The best way to see this is to take a photo of the tank as soon as the plants have been put in, then you have something to compare the plants to so you can see how much they have grown.
Floating plants are fast growing plants and they provide shelter for the fish. They don't know there is not a bird or other predator waiting to eat them so if they have plants to hide under, they feel safer.

Personally I would add the fish first and then the shrimps. I word of warning - it is very difficult to spot male and female shrimps in a shop tank, and few shop workers are willing to catch individual shrimps.

if you want my honest opinion...forget stores for most things which gets very expensive..
get plants on kijiji or find someone online that will sell them locally for cheap...
for shrimps find a home breeder because more than likely they've been breeding whatever color you're looking for and usually more of a stable color than stores
also...hang on back filters are shrimp killers make sure the intake pipe has a sponge around it and even then their babies will still manage to get into it and die
best tanks for shrimp would be a tank with a dual sponge filter (easier to clean...) pull out the sponges and wash them...VS single sponge filters which have to be disassembled
or those with an internal sump with a coarse sponge right on the grill/holes to prevent shrimp/nano fish from going into it
as for nitrogen cycling ....you got 2 options...sponge from an established tank from a friend...
or redo your tank...sand in the bottom, go to the park and grab a bunch of soil and put it in mesh bags over the sand..and the gravel on top..
and voilá instacycled tank without the need for water changes...look up "walstad method"
as for ph....---> sticky monitor in the glass
easiest way is to lower your ph with things like "chola wood"/indian leaves and then increase it with your sponge filter...
you can use a pressure gauge valve or a bubble counter to give you a visual of how much air you're pumping through your sponge filter
(mind you, with a bubble counter you'll have to keep filling it with water as it'll lose water overtime)
also forget heaters...people will tell you fish/shrimp have to be at 26.74689 degrees with a ph of 7.539741...
there's no such thing in nature...most tropical fish like neons come from south america...day time waters are warm...night time they're cold
unless you live in a very cold house or you're cheap and keep the heating low you should never need a heater....
an AC for some homes in the summer? yeah sure...a heater nop...don't waste your money
as for ph...neutral 7...not lower not higher...simply forget the advice from most people trying to be scientists in the hobby...
and even less from people at a pet store..they're there to "help" you buy something
also keep in mind that some fish like neons won't breed in normal tanks...after they lay their eggs they'll eat them or the babies you'll need either a heavily planted tank
or a section of it with a plate of plastic canvas/mesh thats thick enough for the eggs to fall through and the holes small enough that the neons can't go through them to go eat the eggs
I wish you luck and hope I answered some of the questions you might have right now or in the near future.

Question about plants melting I undertsand its normal until they root and setle in but i cant find anywhere should i cut these dead melted parts of or not?
On anubia there is some brown discoloration on few leaves and valisneria is melting like crazy 6 days in and it went from green to brown to translucent on most of it.
So question is should i remove all melted parts or just let it be as it is until new leaves come out?
Ph is 7.2 ammonia is 2ppm i have added botled bacteria 10mll in tank as it states on botlee and did one 50% and one 20% water change so far both times used declorinated water.

Regarding what i can do to that all suggestions like get co2, get testing kit, more plants exc just flew out the window as in my tonw there is only 2 shops that have fish and equipment for sale and they dont sell test kits, only 1 type available to test ph,kh,dh 3 in 1 and nothing else. Plant they dont have for sale they stoped importing as there was no sale for them so no plants i can buy and there is litery no facebook aquarist group or forum i can find online to get in touch with some1 who has some for sale.

I am a Newby said:

Question about plants melting I undertsand its normal until they root and setle in but i cant find anywhere should i cut these dead melted parts of or not?
On anubia there is some brown discoloration on few leaves and valisneria is melting like crazy 6 days in and it went from green to brown to translucent on most of it.
So question is should i remove all melted parts or just let it be as it is until new leaves come out?
Ph is 7.2 ammonia is 2ppm i have added botled bacteria 10mll in tank as it states on botlee and did one 50% and one 20% water change so far both times used declorinated water.

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I have had Vallisneria melt before I just picked out melted bits and it came good after a while. Also use root tabs under my Vallisneria. Possibly adjusting to your tanks condition?

I have not had much issues with Anubias to be honest as long as you don’t cover the rhizome at the bottom. ie don’t plant in substrate. Mine are glued to rocks and in a semi shaded area (most of them) as the grow slow and end up coved in algae If you don’t.

Well plan was to do it tonight but somethign came up so tommorow i mess with it.
Also i just walked dog and went to shop asked them and they said all they do for their plants is same they sold me that soil with minerals and tablest in it and they add this on pic below once a week. Guessing its just to sell it but its cheap so i guess wont hurt to try and see if it helps i bought to try.

if you really want plants....amazon sells seeds etc...the problem is that you need to grow most of them with barely any water to start specially carpet plants
as for co2 you can buy a tank literally anywhere...
forget regulators which are expensive...get a solenoid (around 30bucks) to plug to you tank a bubble counter (5 bucks) and a pressure valve psi indicator (20 bucks)
plug the solenoid to your timer which you already own and then a pipe reducer from solenoid to aquarium piping..and make a couple splits on the piping..
one for the pressure valve indicator and another one for the control valve + bubble counter
if you can't find anybody that will refill the co2 tank after...you can open the release screw to release any pressure left in it and fill it up with dry ice (make sure to only use the max weight supported by the tank...read the label on it..---> co2 will expand when it cooled down <---)
and if you still can't find someone to sell you dry ice....grab a thermal lunch container and 10 bucks...go to a hospital and talk to any of the maintenance people
hospitals need dry ice for sample carrying..
but they throw out all the dry ice...since they can't dump it down the toilet because it'd freeze the pipes and make the floor look like a horror movie set...
so they leave it somewhere with ventilation to air dry...any of the maintenance people or janitors etc...should be able to grab you some literally for free..make sure you give them 10 bucks so next time they don't tell you to take a hike...
here was my 10gallon tank before I moved on to a 45gal

no chemicals no tabs...garden soil with rocks driftwood and some gravel...neon tetras..rainbow furcatas...endlers..snails...amano shrimp and fire shrimp
co2 on a 10h/day together with the lights and no water changes...no heaters
my water changes were literally whatever water came out when I did a monthly cleaning of the substrate
I had to top it off every 3/4 days...some people use fancy filters or risk tap water....
you got 3 ways of using tap water for tanks...one is to simply boil the water and let it cool down overnight
the 2nd would be to leave it in a bucket with an air filter in it full blast for 1 day...
and the 3rd would be to use an RO filter
either method will work just fine
I also suggest you see this video on youtube ---> the guy is a literal encyclopedia...video is about 25mins but he approaches many aspects of the hobby such as plants...nitrogen cycle etc...
And like I've said before...you went to the store and they "helped" you buy something else xD
PS: my new design for that tank will be an internal sump at 400gph!! 40turnover (a buddy of mine called me nuts xD)

I'll probably post it once its up and running...goal is 40 turnover or defeat...

A question about the silicone you used was it one that is specifically suitable for aquariums, because that curing time seemed fast to me, the silicone I use takes ten days to cure completely.

no such thing as "aquarium silicone"...silicone is silicone...the only difference might be the chemicals used in it which only affects the curing time...once cured its all the same...
I use the one on the picture below...and it takes about 1h to dry...3h to fully solidify and about 2 days to fully cure rock solid

kiko said:

no such thing as "aquarium silicone"...silicone is silicone...the only difference might be the chemicals used in it which only affects the curing time...once cured its all the same...
I use the one on the picture below...and it takes about 1h to dry...3h to fully solidify and about 2 days to fully cure rock solid

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Infact that is not correct Selleys make an aquarium silicone, that after a lot of research is the only silicone that should be used for aquarium building and the only one, I have used. I built a tank for someone who wanted to use a new clear silicone that I had never used before, that tank collapsed about 12 months later.

itiwhetu said:

Infact that is not correct Selleys make an aquarium silicone, that after a lot of research is the only silicone that should be used for aquarium building and the only one, I have used. I built a tank for someone who wanted to use a new clear silicone that I had never used before, that tank collapsed about 12 months later.

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that depends how you sealed it...did you build the glass on top of the support glass or besides it?
was the table flat? was he using something on the table to soften the weight load like a yoga mat?
did the tank crack or leak?
also there's different types of silicone...you have rtv ones which pretty much will start curing as soon as it comes out...you have true silicone which will take forever to cure but also be stronger
you also have vibration silicones and high temp resistant silicones which are literally the stronger ones
but if you really want to seal a tank forever...don't bother with different types of silicones...just use liquid glass