My 10 gallon Build Process

I wanted to document this build since it's my first tank that isn't "nano".

I'm building my 10 gallon and I've already done the hardscape, and tomorrow I'm going to actually add the plants and start cycling it. I'm going to add bottled beneficial bacteria and take some sponges I have in my mature tank so hopefully the cycle will go faster ( I'm hoping it'll only take 10 to 14 days)

I got a piece of ghost wood at my LFS that I'm using as well as some River rocks and mountain stone. I'm moving my neon tetras that I foolishly bought 6 months ago for a five gallon, and so I'm moving them to 10 gallon. It will be heavily planted with a fluval heater, Marina slim HOB filter, and a full spectrum light. I bought a timer for it, but I didn't realize that the timer wasn't for my type of light, so as seen in the picture I just used electrical tape to dim it, and I'll have to buy a cheap timer for it. Any suggestions are appreciated. Also, the fluval heater is a little tall for my tank, is it ok if the very bottom of the heater is touching/a little buried in the sand? It will be about 1/4 of an inch buried. I don't want the sand to burn and the temp will be about 76-78 degree's.

I will post pics tomorrow when I put the plants in!

AAnd this is my first time doing a "build" thread so sorry if things seem all over the place.

Looks awesome, almost moon-like at the moment, can't wait to see it planted up!

Update: Plants are in!! Everything looks like a wanted it to be. Filter is running and I added some mature filter sponges and bottled beneficial bacteria to hopefully speed up the cycle. I also added some fish food and a pest snail to produce ammonia. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Wow, looks fantastic!

BettaFishGirl said:

Update: Plants are in!! Everything looks like a wanted it to be. Filter is running and I added some mature filter sponges and bottled beneficial bacteria to hopefully speed up the cycle. I also added some fish food and a pest snail to produce ammonia. Any suggestions are appreciated!

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I'm really liking it!

Very nicely scaped.

Now I have to be patient and let it cycle.....

What fish are you thinking about?

Lcc86 said:

What fish are you thinking about?

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Around 6 months ago I didn't know a lot about fishkeeping, so I got 5 neon tetras for my 5 gallon because they were "small". Well, now I know they can't be in a five gallon, so mm moving them into a ten gallon and going to add a couple more tetras.

I tested the ammonia and it was at .25 ppm after I added a pinch of high protein fish flakes and a pest snail yesterday....should I add more fish flakes to produce more ammonia??

BettaFishGirl said:

I tested the ammonia and it was at .25 ppm after I added a pinch of high protein fish flakes and a pest snail yesterday....should I add more fish flakes to produce more ammonia??

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Get some pure aquarium grade ammonia. It's easier to calibrate how much you put in.

sharkweek178 said:

Get some pure aquarium grade ammonia. It's easier to calibrate how much you put in.

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I can't just use the fish flakes/pellets? Im not going to be setting up another tank for a while and would just use the fish pellets/flakes rather than getting a whole bottle of ammonia, but if I have too I will.

BettaFishGirl said:

I can't just use the fish flakes/pellets? Im not going to be setting up another tank for a while and would just use the fish pellets/flakes rather than getting a whole bottle of ammonia, but if I have too I will.

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I got ammonia for my tank setup and it makes it SO much easier to dose than using food. A bottle of ammonia doesn't cost much at all. Go to your nearest Ace and pick up some. Just make sure that it doesn't have anything added like perfumes and stuff... It's really cheap as well...

I just tested the water. Ammonia is at 0, nitrite a tiny bit above 0, maybe 0.05, and the nitrate was at 10-20 ppm, I could tell since the colors are so similar. Is this normal?? I haven't gotten any pure ammonia yet since suve been really busy, but I put a pinch of fish flakes in this morning. And I finally found the tiny snail, i haven't seen him since I put him in!

Do not use ammonia with live plants. There is no need, if the plants are growing, and it risks everything. I have never "cycled" a new tank in thirty years, but always used live plants including floating.

The ammonia previously, do they add chloramine to your water?

The nitrates, have you tested your source (tap) water on its own for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?