Beginner With A 15 Gallon Tank

[okoolo]

how long should I keep my lights on? the guys at the store said 12h...

I have decided to go with:
10 pygmy rasberas , 2 Honey gouramis and 6 cherry barbs .. hope that's not too many ..

 

[yhbae]

how long should I keep my lights on? the guys at the store said 12h...

I have decided to go with:
10 pygmy rasberas , 2 Honey gouramis and 6 cherry barbs .. hope that's not too many ..

I typically leave it on for around 8-10 hours depending on the tank.

I would go with one shoaling species, one bottom dwelling species and one center piece fish.

Something like:

Example stock link

 

[iffles]

IMHO, you should go for 2 Honey Gouramis and some pygmy/three lined cories because they are smaller than the sterbais, and will have less bioload. then choose which your like better of the rasboras and barbs

 

[OldMan47]

While working with a newly established planting, the plants often won't grow well until they can get their roots established in the substrate. It is best to start off with a short lighting period of maybe 6 hours and work your way up to longer light periods. I run 8 to 10 hours of light over most of my planted tanks but it is not a great idea to start that way.
An electronic ballast is one that uses electronic circuits, instead of a transformer, to provide the right voltage to your fluorescent lamps. They average much more energy efficient than the older style ballasts.

 

[okoolo]

While working with a newly established planting, the plants often won't grow well until they can get their roots established in the substrate. It is best to start off with a short lighting period of maybe 6 hours and work your way up to longer light periods. I run 8 to 10 hours of light over most of my planted tanks but it is not a great idea to start that way.
An electronic ballast is one that uses electronic circuits, instead of a transformer, to provide the right voltage to your fluorescent lamps. They average much more energy efficient than the older style ballasts.

thanks

ps. I just got a piece of old foam from an established tank at an aquarium store for $3 .. the guys said that will speed up my cycle

the only downside is it made my water cloudy .. well I guess that's a small price to pay ..

 

[OldMan47]

I find that cloudy water from an established filter is just exactly what I want when I am cloning a filter.

 

[okoolo]

I was advised to take out the old filter by a friend as he said it's not from display tank but the fish room and apparently that's risky.. so hopefully I'm gonna get one from an amateur hobbyist in the area

 

[OldMan47]

If the tank the old filter media was running on is a healthy tank, you should be fine with using it.

 

[okoolo]

If the tank the old filter media was running on is a healthy tank, you should be fine with using it.

well I threw out the store filter media and added a filter media from a hobbyist .. that should fix it .. he also gave me his old small tank filter .. is there a point of running
2 filters in a 15 gallon tank? (smaller on the right).I have no idea what brand it is or the rate of flow but I put a piece of foam in it to maybe stop the bigger stuff .. so is it any good?

 

[okoolo]

If the tank the old filter media was running on is a healthy tank, you should be fine with using it.

I have no idea what these plants are (ones one left ,tree stump and grass are fake)

any ideas?

sorry for double post ...

 

[OldMan47]

There is no harm running two filters on the same tank. I run two on a tank quite often so that when I need a cycled filter, like for a hospital tank, I will have one.

 

[yhbae]

In fact, I prefer to run 2 filters whenever possible. If one fails (which happens at times overnight, especially for power filters), you have some contingency. I like to over-filter and put 2 filters as long as the species can handle the current.

 

[okoolo]

thanks .. another question .. I'm considering pygmy cories but I've read that they require sand.. I have soft gravel as you can see .. would that do?

 

[yhbae]

Not sure about pygmy cories but I had quite a few different cories so far. None of them requires sand. As long as the substrate particles are not sharp, they are ok. But I do like heavier grain sand personally.

 

[OldMan47]

I like my pygmy cories and they are on a coarse sand / fine gravel. As long as the substrate is not abrasive, they should be fine. Try rubbing some of your substrate in your hands and feel whether anything about it feels abrasive or sharp. If not, you are probably good to go.