First Fish Tank

[dohntaut]

hmm thats some pretty good information, thanks
i dont have any 13W spiral bulbs on me, i only have the higher wattage ones, like 60W+ and they dont seem like they would fit in the fixture.
2/16/10
ammonia 0 ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm
ph 7.6

 

[OldMan47]

If you read the packaging carefully, chances are the ones marked as 60W equivalent will actually be 13W bulbs. That means they should give the same plant growth as a 60W incandescent while only consuming about 13W of power and only producing about 13W of heat.

 

[dohntaut]

turns out that my angel fish grew a bit since i bought him and started nipping at my betta more aggressively now. i dont really want to put him back in the jar but i might have to for now as his tail is shredded up(hes a veiltail i think but looks more like a crown tail now). any suggestions, i thought of getting a refugium but the ones i see online look a bit pricey, maybe just look for a seperate 5 gallon to set up.

2/17/10
ammonia 0 ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm
ph 7.6

2/18/10
did not test

2/19/10
ammonia 0 ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm
ph 7.6

so i looked at the flourecent lights that i had and it says that it is 23 watts but is equal to 100 watts of brightness. i put these in and they are much brighter, had to use some clips to raise my hood so that it doesnt rest on the bulbs, hopefully they can help my plants grow.

 

[dohntaut]

2/20/10
did not test
2/21/10
ammonia 0 ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm
ph 7.6

 

[dohntaut]

2/22/10
ammonia 0 ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm
ph 7.6

does this mean that im pretty close to a cycled tank, its almost been a week of these results? i have not done any water changes since. my betta has been placed into a jar until i find a separate tank for him.

 

[Always Learning]

It certainly looks that way

As for the Betta. If the Angel has been nipping him then yeah, I'd agree with getting him another seperate tank. A 5g is about right for one on their own.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, in Fish-In cycling, once you have seen it stay at double-zeros (zero ppm ammonia, zero ppm nitrite(NO2)) for two days without any water changes then you pretty much know your fish-in cycling is complete. We like to watch it 3 to 5 days further just so it will have gone at least a week before you try a small fish addition. Fish should only be added as a 2 or 3 fish addition if they are medium or 1 if large or a half dozen if they are very small. There should always be at least a week between additions.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[dohntaut]

2/23/10
ammonia 0 ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 20ppm
ph 7.6

so ive had these results for just about a week now with no water changes, i think i have completed fish in cycling. So how often would i have to change water in a cycled tank? or whats a general routine to vacuum the gravel, like 25% a week or 50% every two weeks?
Also if i get a 5 gallon tank for my betta is there a way to share the water with the main tank?, this way i wont have to buy a seperate heater and filter, or what are some other possibilities?

 

[waterdrop]

All aquarists that gain a few years experience like to tweek and modify their maintenance routines depending on their goals and test feedback, but we like to get beginners started with a good routine that they can form a baseline of experience with.

Perform a weekly water change of 25 to 50 percent of your water using good water changing technique. Never slack off on the gravel cleaning that goes along with this. Sponge your inner tank walls and decorations just prior to the water change and choose some special item each week to get a special cleaning like your lid or your outer glass or your external cannister hoses or something. Rotate this special cleaning among the different things you think of.

Perform a monthly filter clean where you rinse out the media in tank water and clean the filter parts. Always do a full cleaning of the impeller and its area based on manufacturers intructions and always lube any silicone rubber seals or other parts you have in the filter. Periodically do a full clean of the tubing and connecters.

As a beginner you must be critical of whether these baselines are right for you. Monitor your NO3 (Nitrate) readings and see if they stay below 15 to 20ppm *above* whatever your tap water NO3 measures as. So if you have 10ppm NO3 in the tap then 30ppm and below is where you want your stable NO3 number you see each week to settle. If it keeps creeping up beyond that then you will need to filter clean on a more frequent basis. Notice your filter flow and get used to it. If it lessens or seems obstructed then by all means do a filter clean. If you are overfiltered and your filter seems hardly dirty on a monthly basis and your flow stays strong then you can consider lengthening your filter maintenance point by a week.

Floss media may need to be changed after only a few or one filter cleaning(s) and it should be changed if it is falling apart. Fluorescent tubes need to be replaced yearly. Test kits and other chemicals have varying expirations. Many tropical fish themselves have fairly short natural lives and will need to be replaced. Beginners should plan a quarantine tank for this purpose as that is the ideal way to keep your display tank free of disease.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[dohntaut]

thanks for all the help so far, here is an updated picture of my tank when my betta was still in it, he is currently in a vase until i find a permanent home for him

the coconut will eventually go into the smaller tank that will house my betta.
the stocking now is
1 angel fish
3 zebra danios
2 x ray tetras
when will the angel be too big for the tank? should i go by the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule
i noticed some algae growing on my heater and parts of the glass, should i go buy a fish that eats algae?
the plants still seem to be dieing, i actually think that its my angel thats eating it, are there other hardy plants that i can buy that wont get eaten/ can my tank handle having more plants?
i guess i just feel like i need something new in my tank to make it look nicer, any suggestions? also any ideas for rearranging the setup would be helpful

 

[OldMan47]

An angel will probably be getting too big for that tank in 6 months or maybe less. I keep mine in a 6 foot tank and it works out well but they are over 4 inches tall and still well under a year old.

 

[dohntaut]

hello everyone, it has been quite a while since i posted here.
just a quick update as to how everything has been going:
all my fish are healthy and my tank has not really changed much.
i did start to get an algae problem, but my water quality seems to be good.
algae also grows on my plants and they seem to be drooping more, are they dieing?

15 gallons
1x angel fish
2x xray tetras
3x zebra danios
1x golden algae eater (i hear they tend to become omnivores later on)

quick picture taken with my phone

thanks everyone

 

[BethK]

You really need to rehome that Angel, for 1, it should be in a pair, 2nd point, it will out grow that tank and will damage it's self, 3) That algae eater will become aggressive once matured and has a high chance of eating a smaller fish,.

You've done a good job, being here and asking for help with cycling but your stocking needs a big rethink, tetras should be in a min group of 5, due to them being a shoaling fish, I maybe wrong but I think danios need the same too.

 

[dohntaut]

yeah i was actually thinking about that, the angel is about 4 inches tall from the top fin to bottom fin is he already too big? i did want to have a better shoaling(or is it schooling?) effect in the tank as well. i heard that both the x ray tetras and danios do best is groups of about 6 or more.
so what would be the best way to do this?

would a 15 gallon be large enough for 6 danios and 6 x-ray tetras, i would also want to have some sort of "center piece fish"
i will head over to my lfs sometime this week to see if they can take my angel.
and as for the algae eater, i havent had any problems yet, but if i do notice something i will transfer him to my empty tank. any ideas on the algae issue? i have 2 23 watt flourecent bulbs on for around 8 hours a day sometimes more.

thanks a lot

 

[BethK]

eah, they'd be fine in a 15gal