Setting Up A 10gallon

[humdiginy]

Hey, I'm kind of new to keeping fish and decided to start up a 10gallon freshwater aquarium.

Most of the equipment im using was given to me by a friend of mine, he hasn't used it in a while so i'm not sure if everything is ok to use. The filter I have is an aquaclear 20, and the heater is 50watts/120volts/60hz (not sure what kind of heater it is). I have a hood light too, that's all the equipment I need right (besides test kits)?

I know my choices are pretty limited considering the size of the aquarium, but a few fish I were looking into include: Cherry Barb (really want some of these, I heard 3 1m/2f is good), a small school of cory catfish, a school of Pristella/Neon Tetra (I like the pristella more), and marbled hatchet fish.

I understand I cannot have all of these in my small aquarium, two of them I really want are the barb and cory's. Not sure if they are compatable though. My third favorite is the pristella. So I guess what i'm asking is if anyone has an idea of how I should stock my 10gallon.

Would sand be a good substrate to use? I know the cory's like it but i'm not sure if the others would, and if plants could grow in the sand.

So far I just have water in the tank, and I'm planning on starting to cycle it sometime this week.

One concern I have is the stand the 10gallon is on has nothing to cover the bottom of the tank, it only has material along the bottom edge of the tank. I was wondering if this was sufficient to hold up the tank with the substrate and decor (plants, and some rocks), I don't want the bottom to burst open or anything like that.



There isn't glass on top of the stand, thats the aquarium.

Thanks in advance for the help

 

[Mr. Convict]

Check the filter to ensure it isn't leaking (believe me, you don't want it to be leaking and you don't know), and also be sure to clean it well (not with soap though).

As for stocking, the profile of cherry barb on many sites say that a group of six are good, but because they don't shoal as tightly, a ratio of 1 male:2 females would also work,the tetras (both types) would require 4+ with 6 being best, as it helps them feel more secure. In terms of Corydoras, you should look at pygmy corries, as they stay small and as far i know have absolutely no problems with tetras, I've never kept cherry barbs though, but i highly highly doubt there will be any problems with them. However, corries like to be in groups of 6 or more. so this might mean you have to get a little extra filtration (dunno if that's really needed, but i always overfilter my tanks)

Sand would be a suitable substrate, just double check with someone who has kept cherry barbs, but as far i know tetras don't really have a problem with it, i doubt the barbs would either too.

So maybe you could have:
3/6+ x Cherry barbs
6+ Pristella/Neon Tetras
6 pygmy corries

What are the dimensions of your tank?

As for the issue with the bottom, I don't know, I honestly avoid those type of stand for just that fear, maybe someone else knows?

Is it possible for you to place maybe a sheet of wood or Styrofoam under the tank? I know this would mean emptying and moving the tank, but you said you didn't start to cycle yet, so its just 10g of stagnant water atm

You should start your cycle soon though, as it takes different times with different tanks. So its better to get it over with earlier. Unless you can get a sponge from someone else's to seed your tank?

Remember, do a fishless cycle

Whatever you do or get, Goodluck

PS. Whenever you do get what you get, I WANT PICS

 

[LauraFrog]

Sounds pretty good to me, but one note: if you're a beginner with fish and plants, it is harder to keep sand clean than to keep gravel clean, especially if you have bottom feeders like cory cats stirring it up. If the tank isn't over filtered this could cause problems. Pea gravel is also fine with all of those fish, but rough gravel will hurt the corys' barbels. Definitely go for pygmy cories because most common cory species grow to three inches or so and would feel cramped in a ten gallon tank.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

have a read of the link in my sig 'step by step guide to setting up an aquarium' this will answer a lot of your questions or provide additional links to where information can be found.


stand should be fine, i've had those before. they're stronger than you think!!

 

[humdiginy]

Thanks for the help everyone

The dimensions of the tank are:

• Width: 20" (50.8cm)
• Height: 10" (25.4cm)
• Depth: 12" (30.48cm)

I didn't think all of those would fit in the 10gallon, or did you mean one of those schools?

Whats the best way to clean the filter? It's a 3in1 filtration system with ammonia remover, activated carbon, and a foam sponge. It was used in my friends previous aquarium so i'm not sure if I should replace any of it. It hasn't been running in a few months either, he had it sitting in his garage so i'm guessing most of the bacteria is dead.

I guess I'll go with pea gravel. Is it hard to find?

I was reading the guide and noticed im not supposed to turn on the filter/heater until I have the substrate in. I've had it on, so do I need to turn them off until I can get the substrate (probably later this week)?

 

[RedeyesUK]

If the filter hasn't been used for that long, everything will be dead. Best to just treat it as a brand new filter.
Personally I would throw the ammonia remover (zeolite?) and the activated carbon away - the carbon will be used up by now and isn't really necessary anyway, and the ammonia remover will hold up your cycle - if it doesn't stop it happening in the first place.

I'm not sure with your type of filter if you can put loose media in there, or if you need particular cartridges?

If you can put loose media in there, I'd suggest: Sponge (which you already have), filter wool, and maybe some type of ceramic rings - or maybe another sponge.

And don't worry about the substrate - keep the filter going anyway. The only thing I'd advise is to turn the filter off for an hour or two while you add the substrate - all the gunk that will inevitably kick up when you put it in (however well you clean it!) could clog or even damage the filter.


HTH

Garry

 

[humdiginy]

That's what I thought.

Alright. I'm pretty sure loose media would be ok in the filter. Where would you get the filter wool and rings?

Thanks for the help

 

[waterdrop]

Seems like I've read in some threads that one really cheap way to get both polyfloss and also small-pore sponge is to visit the sewing/bedding areas of Walmart or other discount stores. These things are often used to make pillows and such and you can get a huge bag of either of these for a low price. Be sure they are man-made, white, as plain as possible of course. You can cut sponge with scissors to make it fit the AquaClear.

The ceramic rings or pebbles are a different story. Those will probably only be found at your LFS or online. Most of the major filter manufacturers sell boxes or bags of loose ceramics like these and any of them should do. The idea of any of the ceramics is that they have a rough porous surface that is great as an initial anchor surface for the autotrophic bacteria you want. It will grab hold and not let go. Then it will begin to build a biofilm as more and more bacteria build up above the ceramic surface. The rings also serve a mechanical purpose of "randomizing" the water flow though their stage of the filter to guard against "tunneling," which is where water finds an easy path and is not filtered as well.

Be aware that polyfloss will have to be changed frequently (put it on top!) but will be good at getting all the small particles out of the water. The ceramics will only need to be lightly dunked out in tank water (to clean them without losing too much bacteria) and the sponges only dunked or very lightly squeezed (can be more firmly squeezed after 6 months, 1 year etc. when the bacteria are even more firmly attached.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[humdiginy]

I'll have to go to Walmart and check that out.

I've seen the rings online, and next time I go to the lfs i'll see if they have any.

So I would put the floss on top, the rings in the middle, and the sponge on the bottom?

Thanks for the help

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I would think that would be the best order for those three. Can't really remember AquaClear water movement direction but I somehow think it gets pulled in to a side box and then sent *up* through the media bottom to top and then spills over into the aquarium, right?

So the sponge at the bottom would be your main first mechanical catcher of larger (& smaller too) particles (larger pore sponge could be tried here if you need to increase flow rate.) That first sponge would also be a pretty good biomedia, harboring a lot of bacteria.

Next, the ceramic rings (hopefully not to large -- I tend to worry about very large rings in a smaller filter made for a smaller tank, not sure why I worry about, just seems like the in-between-ring spaces might be too big.) Anyway, they will help redirect the small streams of water in different directions (you want them to fall in there and lie in random directions by the way) so that overall water progress will be evened out with no tunneling. These will be probably the best biomedia and will harbor bacteria that should be anchored on in a strong way.

Finally, the water will go last through the polyfloss and any remaining tiny particles should become trapped in it - so much so that you will have to replace it fairly frequently, but that's obviously a pretty easy procedure during a standard weekend water change.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[humdiginy]

Yup, that's how the filter works

Sounds good, thanks again for the help

 

[LauraFrog]

Activated carbon is only really any use if something is in the tank (like a pollutant) that has to be taken out. I use it sometimes because it makes water clear when it's cloudy.

Zeolite will stop your tank from cycling (that's the ammonia remover.) I only use that when I have to use a tank that isn't cycled, like for a hospital tank or breeding tank, and for when I'm treating with antibiotics that would kill the cycle bacteria.

 

[humdiginy]

Hehe, guess I should remove the ammonia remover. Thanks for the help

Oh, and a quick question about stocking.

Would 3 cherry barbs (1m/2f), and 3-5 pygmy corries be overstocking?

 

[OldMan47]

As far as the ceramic rings are concerned, they are not needed. Now let me contradict myself, something with a large ratio of surface to volume that allows easy water flow is needed. It should be inert so it doesn't affect your water quality. Something that has these qualities, if it will fit in your filter, is a plastic pot scrubber.
There are certainly any number of other things that will fill the bill including something you already have. That is filter carbon. It has a good large surface volume, is easy for water to flow through and will hold lots of bacteria. We usually think of carbon as a chemical filter but once it's worn out it makes a fairly good biological medium.
Have a look around at the local fish store and ignore the hype on the packaging. What you want is a large surface to volume ratio in something that can fit in your filter. The microscopic pores that some products advertise are almost useless because once you get a layer of bacteria on the surface the microscopic pores are no longer being exposed to the water flow. That's where ignoring the hype comes in. Take a hard look at whatever product they have from a very practical point of view. Some very open pored sponges are among the best commercial materials available but they wear out where the ceramics are longer lasting.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, good point. If price is an issue then ceramic may be adding too much cost just to get those last features of long-lasting and anti-tunneling done in the best way possible. I also worry that a layer of ceramic rings is only at its best in a larger cannister filter where there is enough room for a deep enough layer for them to actually perform the extra mechanical funtion they are supposed to be good at. What do you think oldman47?

I do agree that large pore rough sponge, or plastic pot-scrubber type material may indeed be the ultimate bacteria holder and large particle catcher, hard to tell. I wonder if there's ever been a thread in the hardware section or somewhere where they had a "shoot-out" between course sponge vs. ceramic ring material. Presumably the sponge material needs to be replaced sooner, but that's not difficult and its cheap.

I don't really agree about carbon as a good biomedia. It may be perfectly fine in terms of harboring a similar amount of biofilm surface area for a time, but the problem I see is that carbon just crumbles and breaks up physically a little too soon compared to sponge or ceramic. I believe carbon is made in different ways in different manufacturing plants, so that may complicate our observations of it, but am I wrong in thinking it a bit crumbly and messy in the long run as a biomedia?

~~waterdrop~~