Starting a 10 gallon tank

[ivnabru]

Hi, I haven't ever owned fish so I'm completely new to this hobby.

This morning I bought a tank (10g), heater, gravel, filter, and hood with light. I added some water, and have the filter/heater running. I also have put in some chemical that is supposed to get rid of the chlorine and chloramine.

I read the fishless cycle post, and that seems like the easiest way so that's how I'm going to cycle the tank.

I guess I have some questions.

1) What materials does it sound like I need? I am planning on getting a test kit for the cycle, ammonia, and a thermometer tomorrow. Is there anything else I need for the cycle stage? Oh and is 24 hours enough time to run the filter/heater before starting the ammonia drops?

2) Is there any other chemical I should be adding at this stage other than the ammonia?

3) How do you replace water? It says in step 4 you need to replace 1/2 the water or so before adding fish, do I just put in regular tap water, or do I need to treat it with something?

I guess that's all I can think of to ask for now, I'm really new to this so I'm probably forgetting something important. But, hopefully I'll get it right. Oh, what kind of fish work well for a 10 gallon tank? I like the bottom feeding catfish, so I'd like some of them. Is there a guide somewhere that tells what kind of fish they're compatible with? Oh and I bought some live plant bulbs and put them under the gravel, are they all going to die in the cycle?

[Minderella83]

The other test you will need for the aquarium is pH test, nitrite test, nitrate test kit. The way I change my water is I have a bucket and a siphon hose and remove the water that way. If you have city tap water you will have to use the stuff to get rid of the chlorine. Also it will be nice to have a notebook to record you results of the test so you can keep track of them. I hope this helps.

[skinni]

once you have gotten the tank set up and let it run and get to temp(78 - 80)you will need to add a few drops of ammonia and test after each time, once you are up to 3-4ppm on your ammonia level you will want to stop adding ammonia and began to test for ammonia and nitrite every day or every other day, once you notice that the nitrite has started to build and the ammonia is going down you will want to start adding ammonia again, the goal is to try and keep the ammonia at the same level as when you started, for example if your ammonia drops from 4ppm to 3ppm you will want to add a drop at a time untill you are back to 4ppm. once your nitrite spikes and then starts to drop you will began to see nitrate, once the nitrite begins to go back down you will almost be done with the cycle, also once you see the nitrite start to fall back down you will wont to stop trying to keep the ammonia level up so high and just continue to add the same amount that you added on the 1st day everyday untill the ammonia and nitrite levels are at 0 and you see an increase in nitrate. once ammonia and nitrite are at 0 you have a fully cycled tank, just remember to keep adding ammonia untill you add the fish.

continue to read threads and look at other peoples cycle logs and it will help you understand this even better.

please if im incorrect on any of this or if i left anything out correct me on it.

[MandyL]

Welcome to AC and to the hobby! Sounds like you are doing well on your research. You will need a test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. What kind of filter do you have?

You can raise the temp to 85-87 for a fishless cycle and it will speed up the process.

When you do your water changes, all you need to add is the dechlorinator.

Do you know the names of the plants you bought? The cycle won't harm them, but it's good to know what they are so you can check their requirements. What kind of light do you have, and how many watts?

[FordForever]

I commend you on doing your research and properly cycling your first tank you are doing great! You have also come to the right place, everyone here is extremely friendly and they know what they are talking about. Good luck with the 10G!

[Drip Loop]

Always mix your water and dechlorinate it in a bucket before EVER adding it to your aquarium. I recommend either using Prime made by seachem or Amquel made by kordon though there are others.

Make sure whenever you do a water change that the water being added is in the same ballpark temperature-wise before adding it to the tank as to not shock the fish or the cycle your working on.

Dont cheat yourself on your test kit. You will ultimately end up buying a nicer one eventually anyways. API makes a good starter master kit.

Test your water often and have fun.

[ladyoutlaw50]

Good Luck with your new venture and have lots of fun!!!

[angelcakes]

hello and welcome.........i think all you questions have been answered???

[ivnabru]

Thanks for the help everyone, these guides are great but some of them I'm just so inexperienced with the stuff that it's nice to get a bit more explanation and this community seems like a great aid.

As to the stuff I have in here.

Live Plant Bulbs: 1 Waterlily Bulb, 1 Onion Bulb, 2 Aponogeton Bulbs. Although there were more like 10 separate things, so maybe there were more bulbs than listed on the package.

Filter: Top fin power filter with cartridge.

Heater Adjustable 50-Watt UL Heater

I'm not sure of the exact info on them as I bought an aquarium starter kit, but the brand of the whole thing is Top Fin.

Bulbs there are 2 of them, but I can't find the wattage listed anywhere.

I also put one little hiding place in there, I didn't want to overcrowd and leave no swimming space. Is 1 hiding place and 4 or so live plants enough to keep the fish happy?

[Drip Loop]

Stock lightly, do you have a specific fish in mind?

[Drip Loop]

One other thing to add. Plants love ammonia, however I am unsure if 3-4ppm is "too much" ammonia. Im sure there is someone that will pass along who knows the answer to your question regarding the plants.

How many watts is your bulb on the light? Your going to want roughly 2 watts per gallon to grow the plants well. You could get away with 1.5 id imagine.

[ivnabru]

Stock lightly, do you have a specific fish in mind?

I'd like some kind of catfish. But I don't have any particular kind of catfish in mind.

Eventually I'd like to get 5 or 6 fish total (2 or 3 catfish, and 2 or 3 of something else). According to the guy at Petsmart that 10 gallon tank is probably good for 5 or 6 of the small (tropical community) fish.

[FordForever]

My cory catfish are extremely energetic and I love them you should look them up.

[ivnabru]

I'll definitely check the Cory Catfish out then. Are they ones that are fine in a smaller tank like I have?

I can't find the wattage, but I called the product hotline and while they couldn't find it the girl said she's almost certain it includes 2 10-Watt bulbs. So I think I have 20 watts total.

[MandyL]

Yep, the only cats that will work in a 10-gal are Corys (bottom feeders), or Otos (algae eaters). Both need a school of at least 4, 6 is better. There are larger and smaller species of Corys so make sure what you are buying is the smaller kind. If you are buying small Corys and small Tetras or something similar, I don't see why you couldn't do 10 fish or so.

[Tigerbarb]

Cories are excellent fish for a 10g. Like what Mandyl said, if cories are in a school of less than 4 they will just sit around and not do much.

Do you have a ph test kit yet? You will need it to test how much alkaline/acid is in the water.
Try not to make the mistake I did with my first 10g, and research the fish you buy/follow the 1 inch of fish per gallon rule to avoid overstocking.

Live plants seem to extend the lives of fish, supply fish with natrual hiding places/aquascapes, and they keep the ph stable. 20 watts of light is perfect for a nice assortment of plants.

[ivnabru]

I don't have any of my testing stuff yet, I'm planning on getting a master kit if they have something of that sort that has all the testers I'll need. Otherwise, I guess I have a lot of different ones to get.

So I was looking at the Cory Cats and the common opinion seems to be you need at least 6. Now if I were to get them, I have a question.

They spend their time at the bottom of the tank and the other fish tend to be medium water at least in my research so far. So, is this 1 inch per gallon a space thing (and if so does that open it up a bit if they're in different levels of the tank) or is it a waste thing?

I guess, does a combo of 6 small Corys and 4 small Tetras as my eventual finished goal sound like too much for a 10 gallon tank to handle? If I want Corys should I limit the tank to just them since they need a school to be happy?

[MandyL]

IMO, you could do 6 of the smaller Cories and 6 of the small Tetras (neon tetras or similar size/body thickness). The inch per gallon is both territory space and bio-load (waste). But it's just a guide and has to be tailor fit to whatever fish you are looking at.

[sandy_n]

I just want to jump in and say hello and welcome to AC.

[skinni]

I don't have any of my testing stuff yet, I'm planning on getting a master kit if they have something of that sort that has all the testers I'll need. Otherwise, I guess I have a lot of different ones to get.


you should be able to pick up a master kit at your lfs.

[Tigerbarb]

6 cardinal tetras or danios will do perfect with the cories, but if you are aiming for something bigger I'd suggest 4 tetras.
A suggestion would be for you to get 6 cories, and two bigger fish like gouramis unless you have your heart set on smaller fish.

[LosC]

I have trouble getting my Tetras to eat enough because of the Danios Ihave with them. The Danios are very fast swimmers and will stuff there face to the max. Rasboras and Tetras go nice together but one school of one kind would look better IMO.

[ivnabru]

6 cardinal tetras or danios will do perfect with the cories, but if you are aiming for something bigger I'd suggest 4 tetras.
A suggestion would be for you to get 6 cories, and two bigger fish like gouramis unless you have your heart set on smaller fish.

That's the good thing about having so long before I can really get the fish I'm looking at. I'd really like to get some now, but I figure cyclying will take a couple weeks (not really sure how long) plus it'd be another month before I was ready to put my non-corys in the tank since it looks like you're supposed to max out at about 3 fish every other week.

So I have a lot of time to decide, but I'm not set on small fish, 2 large fish might be fun too. Gouramis are definitely cool looking.

Right now the only thing I'm set on are the corys.

[Wild Turkey]

Hey buddy! Welcome to the hobby!

Heres some quick info, i skimmed the other posts so sry for repeats.

Waterchanges - You dont need to add dechlor to the water before adding it, as long as you add the dechlor to the tank within 30 minutes or so it will be fine, i pre-treat, but im paranoid.

Ammonia - Make sure the ammonia you buy contains no surfactants (soap) before you add it, check the bottle carefully soemtimes the "contains surfactants" is in very small print.

Corys - I dont think anyone has mentioned this but for corys you are going to need smooth substrate, sand works, very smooth gravel, or no substrate at all. Rough substrate will damage their barbels. Pandas are the smallest variety and one of the more popular, for a 10g i would recommend these if you want to fit 5 in easily, they grow to about 1.5".

Gouramis - a little more difficult to care for than corys and tetras, but can be beautiful fish. Sometimes they will uproot plants though, and they need natural boundaries to establish territory

1" Per Gallon - Do your research on each fish you plan to add, then disregard this rule, it rarely ever applies, and is easily broken by a million variables. You would be fine to keep 6 small tetras with 5 or so corys, no problem at all.
Just make sure you add the fish slowly once you have done the cycle, i would add the tetras first, wait two weeks then add the corys or something similar. Make sure to drip-acclimate your fish in the transfer process.

Plants are fine in the cycle, but to tell you how many watts per gallon you need we need to know what kind of plants you have. As a rule 1.5wpg to start out and make sure you use a fluorescent light in your hood rather than incandescent.

Other than that, make sure you get ur test kits before you start, and good luck to you!:19:

[Drip Loop]

Waterchanges - You dont need to add dechlor to the water before adding it, as long as you add the dechlor to the tank within 30 minutes or so it will be fine, i pre-treat, but im paranoid.

Im sure there are others that will say this is fine. I wouldnt do it. You never know when your county will send a surge of chloramines sometimes in the 4-5ppm range through your lines and guess where that eventually ends up. Ya, in your tank. Its uncommon, but if you check your local water quality reports, there is typically a maximum amount detected per report. Check the chloramines, you will see they spike it every so often to keep your pipes bacteria free. Although uncommon, there is absolutely zero reason to add untreated water to your tank if you can just as safely add it to the water ahead of time.

[ivnabru]

More good info, thanks for all the help so far :)

So, I had put gravel in the tank it's very smooth, almost feels polished. I was feeling through and couldn't find any roughness, should that be fine for the Corys or would I be better to replace it with sand or something a bit finer before I start the cycle?

I'm going to go off and buy my ammonia/testing kit/thermometer now. I'm still deciding on what to go with the Corys, but I definitely would like to get 5 or 6 Corys for the tank.

[MandyL]

IMO your smooth gravel is fine for cories. I have kept them on gravel in the past with no problems.

[pinsonpa]

OK, I've read all the posts and here's what I would add to this pile of SOLID ADVICE.

1) Don't just buy an Ammonia test kit...buy the API Master test kit that includes an ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, and High Range pH tests. You will soon need all of these and to buy them separately will cost $40 total. If you buy them all at once in the master test kit you'll spend $29 at Petsmart. I've also been told that if you print out an online ad from Big Al's, or Drs Foster and Smith, etc. with a lower price on the API Master Test kit, Petsmart may honor the price.

2) The 1 to 1.5" of fish per gallon rule has already been mentioned. What didn't get mentioned is that this rule applies to the projected full grown size of your fish, not the size they are when you buy them. You might find a nice looking Oscar at the fish store that's only two inches long...what you need to know is that this little fella could get up to 14-16" long. So far all the fish mentioned in this thread would be great for your 10 gallon. I just didn't want you to go to the LFS and fall in love and purchase some other fish that would be miserable in a 10 gallon.

You are WAY ahead of most beginners by asking lots of good questions while doing a fishless cycle. As you mentioned...you have plenty of time to figure out how best to safely stock your tank with fish that you will enjoy and that will be happy in a 10 gallon tank.

We are all very excited for you!:19: