How To Clean My Old 10g Tank For Use? Proper Set Up?

[LittleTank]

Hello all, I'm not only a newbie, but a novice as well. I have an old 10G tank that I hope to set up in my baby's nursery (I'm due June '07), as it will be an under-the-sea themed room.

I've read up on fishless cycling, and agree that is the way to go, and I think I can get some gravel or filter material from the aquariums at my workplace to help the process. I want a low-maintenance, hardy, simply yet colourful tank... Probably not much more than a school (6?) of male fantailed guppies and maybe 2-3 small cories for the bottom. Does this sound reasonable?

So my original question is, how do I clean the tank and equipment/accessories properly?

In addition to the tank and cover I have fake plants, a fake log, gravel, HOTB filter & heater, and a thermometer. Is there anything else I should have?

 

[nukeonekitty]

You sound set as far as equipment goes. You may want to invest in a hood and light? Cardinal tetras would be another hard, colorful fish. With a tank that small you might want to go by this rule, one inch of fish per one gallon. As far as cleaning everything, try to just use hot water. DO NOT USE SOAP OR WINDEX!

 

[richchappy]

sounds good maby you will find its a new learning thing and he is amazing ly smart and all because of fish lol,
erm you could also try a betta and a couple of corys

 

[sic0198]

Congrats

 

[stang1]

Little tank and congratulations!
Guppies are a really beautiful fish and enjoyable to watch. There are quite a few fish out there depending on what colour, size etc. you're after.
As nukeone kitty suggested cardinal or neon tetras are nice and colourful.
Keep us posted on what you decide.

 

[richchappy]

Just make sure it is really out the reach of the kid as my mum was saying as i got able to walk a bit i was climbing up loads of stuff and knocking stuff over, also if you were to put it out the way on a shelf make sure its strong enough, sorry if you have already thought about this im not trying to offend you just makeing sure you had though about it

 

[LittleTank]

Thanks everyone!

I welcome the advice richchappy! We haven't bought ANY furniture yet, so I'm not sure where it will be placed. Definitely out of reach though, and somewhere visible from the crib.

I love bettas, that's actually what I kept in the tank long ago... But I was thinking that a greater number of smaller fish might be more visually interesting.

Will guppies school together? I really like the colourful tails. I agree that neon tetras would be great too, but I thought tetras weren't as hardy?

I may do live plants instead of the fake ones... that should help keep things stable and the cories better fed, do you think?

 

[Barbie Bubbles]

Just a little advice...fill the tank up in the sink/bathtub first and ck for any leaks. When a tank has been sitting empty for a long time the silocone can shrink and it could leak. Probably unlikely, but it did happen to me, so I always ck first before setting up the tank. Have fun!