Hello,
Like many out there I fell into the petco trap, and believed the guy when he told me that yes, I could most certainly put a fish in without filtering the water for at least 24 hours. Little did I know, that not only did it need to filter for longer than that, but that I actually had to cycle my tank first. Now I have my very first fish (a Betta of course), I love him to death but I am having to cycle my tank with him in there. I am in the process of reading up on it, however, one thing that keeps coming up is a biological filter. Do I absolutely need to have a sponge filter in order to build a biological filter or can carbon do the trick? This is my set up http
/www.walmart.com/ip/Tetra-Aquarium-Starter-Kit-5-Gallons-Fish-Aquatic-Pets/12177653?sourceid=1500000000000003260550&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=12177653. Is this filter reliable enough? Should I buy a sponge filter? If so, could you recommend some good reliable ones?
My second issue is that my tetra 5-15 submersible heater just isn't cutting it. It is supposed to keep the water at 78 degrees and when I do the daily water changes I try, TRY to match the temp. of water coming in to the one in his tank but I always go over a few degrees. So most of the time right after a water change it is at 80 degrees but it always drops to 72-74. I have been having to keep the water at those temperatures because I don't want them to fluctuate so much but I would like it to be at the 78-80 degrees. Can you guys reccomend a good reliable 5gal heater? Do I buy one that is for a 10-20 gal just so I can have the option to bump the temperature up to 80? I've heard the Marineland Stealth is good, but I've also read it fries fish...yikes. What is your experience?
Like many out there I fell into the petco trap, and believed the guy when he told me that yes, I could most certainly put a fish in without filtering the water for at least 24 hours. Little did I know, that not only did it need to filter for longer than that, but that I actually had to cycle my tank first. Now I have my very first fish (a Betta of course), I love him to death but I am having to cycle my tank with him in there. I am in the process of reading up on it, however, one thing that keeps coming up is a biological filter. Do I absolutely need to have a sponge filter in order to build a biological filter or can carbon do the trick? This is my set up http
/www.walmart.com/ip/Tetra-Aquarium-Starter-Kit-5-Gallons-Fish-Aquatic-Pets/12177653?sourceid=1500000000000003260550&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=12177653. Is this filter reliable enough? Should I buy a sponge filter? If so, could you recommend some good reliable ones?My second issue is that my tetra 5-15 submersible heater just isn't cutting it. It is supposed to keep the water at 78 degrees and when I do the daily water changes I try, TRY to match the temp. of water coming in to the one in his tank but I always go over a few degrees. So most of the time right after a water change it is at 80 degrees but it always drops to 72-74. I have been having to keep the water at those temperatures because I don't want them to fluctuate so much but I would like it to be at the 78-80 degrees. Can you guys reccomend a good reliable 5gal heater? Do I buy one that is for a 10-20 gal just so I can have the option to bump the temperature up to 80? I've heard the Marineland Stealth is good, but I've also read it fries fish...yikes. What is your experience?
