some STUPID noob questions

[Gelo_USA]

hi My name is Angelo
I got a freshwater 10 gallon tank (I think) because the owner wasnt taking care of it right nd he was gonna flush the fishes away so I got it I wanst gonna let him do tht.... anyways its a TETRA and an ANGEL
I dnt knw much about aquariuns I had a ammonia and ph problem with my tank when I put new fish in they died like in 2 hours but my 2 tht were already there are still alive....
if I treat the water for the ammonia problem and ph would it do any bad to my fish? because they are used to the (bad water) already....... and how do I treat the water for those two problems... sorry for my lack of knowledge..
and how often should I change the water on the tank and how do I do it??
I m really interested in keeping the fish now and getting a bigger aquarium but I wanna learn how to do it before I start spending money....
thnks

[Glasstapper]

well, you're already doing one thing right....and that's caring about their lives. I'm so happy you rescued them!

[Glasstapper]

whoa, weird. The site ok'd my post without me even hitting submit.


anyway, first off you're going to need to read up on cycling. Your ammonia will eventually go down, but once you read about cycling, you'll know how it happens and why. (look in the forum section for something called "e-book". it's very useful)

In the meantime, you'll need to do some water changes. I'd suggest 20% water changes per week for now. To find out our percentage, take a measuring tape and tell us how long, how wide, and how tall the tank is. We have a calculator on the site that will tell how many gallons the tank holds. If it's 10 gallons, 20% of the water will be 2 gallons.

The way to do water changes is you will need some sort of siphon (very cheap at pet stores). it's a long plastic hose with a larger plastic piece on the end. you put the bigger piece in the water and move it rapidly up and down to start it sucking out the water. Use a bucket that has never ever seen any chemical or anything. A brand new one would be ideal.

[Abbeys_Mom]

Welcome to the forum :)

[Gelo_USA]

so u dont recommend using anything to reduce the amonnia on the water? cause in the pet shop they gave me to different things one for amonia one for the PH and I think I knw about the cycling the guy at the pet shop told me about tht too he said once a month to change 25% of the water I did it today as recommended before using the ammonia treatment and I was gonna use it now but decided to ask someone elses's opnion before.... the ammonia medicine is AMMONIA CLEAR TANK BUDDIES
and the ph medicine is WARDLEY BULLSEYE
and another thing when I remove the 20% of the water I refill it with water from the sink or bottled water?
should I use those medicines to treat the water?
thnks

EDIT**
its a 10 gallon I did the math
some more info tht might help who tries to help me....
I have an undergravel filter on it and external filter is an AQUA CLEAR 20

[Drumachine09]

Welcome to the A.C.!

[Chrona]

so u dont recommend using anything to reduce the amonnia on the water? cause in the pet shop they gave me to different things one for amonia one for the PH and I think I knw about the cycling the guy at the pet shop told me about tht too he said once a month to change 25% of the water I did it today as recommended before using the ammonia treatment and I was gonna use it now but decided to ask someone elses's opnion before.... the ammonia medicine is AMMONIA CLEAR TANK BUDDIES
and the ph medicine is WARDLEY BULLSEYE
and another thing when I remove the 20% of the water I refill it with water from the sink or bottled water?
should I use those medicines to treat the water?
thnks


Welcome to AC. The only stupid questions are the ones left unasked, and we were all noobs at some point. The key is to be motivated to learn.

So did you take the whole tank? Water and all? Or did you bag the fish, drain the water, and refill it at your house? I would get a test kit regardless that can test for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/pH.

[Gelo_USA]

when I got the aquarium I replaced ALL the water on the tank it was 5 months ago the fish survived but I bought 4 more last week they all died so I brought some water to the pet shop they tested the ph and ammonia and they said the ph was low and there was too much amonia the guy there gave me the PH thing to set the ph to 7 and the AMMONIA CLEAR TANK BUDDIES for the amonnia he told me to remove 25% of the water add new water and then use the amonia thing and tomorrow put the ph thing
do I use sink water or botled water when I cycle the water on the tank?
and shoould I do as he directed? I decided to check other peoples opnions cause some pet shop people dont knw what theyr talking about

[Glasstapper]

oh, well if your tank is 5 months old, then your tank is already cycled. The ammonia could be from too many new fish (sudden load on the cycle throws off the ammonia eating bacteria) and maybe from some leftover food. I think you're just experiencing a little mini cycle where the bacterias are adjusting to the heavier amount of ammonia caused by adding too many fish at once.

It is best to use water from the sink, but remember to dechlorinate (I'm sure you already are, but just covering bases here) to get rid of the chlorine. What was your pH before? If it's way out of the fish's preferred range, then adjusting it very slowly (no more than .2 points a day) will help, but if it's just barely on the low side of neutral, then a steady pH will be better than one that is adjusted.

As for using chemicals to rid your tank of ammonia, some use it, others don't. I'm one that doesn't like to put chemicals in my tank, so I take care of ammonia with water changes, but if you use it, then there's no way of testing how much ammonia you have because the chemical will throw off the readings on your test.

We'll help you figure this out, I promise.

[cocoa_pleco]

pet shops are often useless. Use tap water, but buy a dechlorinator that gets rid of chlorine and chloramines and put 1 capful to 10g of water, you need to do this. Ammonia products arent always usefull, but water changes are CRUCIAL.
Water changes make the ammonia dilute into less PPM, but you need to cycle your tank so good bacteria eat the ammonia and waste that builds up and eats ammonia, but you also need to buy a siphon to catch and other waste in the gravel.
The rule for stocking fish is 1" of fish per gallon of water, but you cant but a 10" fish, thats just implied with the rule.

[cocoa_pleco]

When I started fishkeeping I felt helpless too. I didnt have a idea WTF a HOB
did and I was stickin it under the water, and I had a SEVERLY overstocked tank, but that was 10 years ago, and ive learnt ALOT of lessons

[Glasstapper]

bottom line, I guess you're just wondering if doing what the pet store guy told you to do will kill your fish. Answer: probably not. He didn't give you bad advice, but there's just better ways to do it.

If you do it his way, just monitor your fish closely for signs of stress and be prepared to do water changes to help them feel better.

[cocoa_pleco]

yes, stores give you advice, but not the best like people with patience and time on this forum

[Severus]

Welcome to AC.

[Gelo_USA]

okkk thanks everyone
I think I m getting it straight now
if I use the amonia thing it will work but its not the best way
the best would be to cycle the water once a week for now so I can get the amonia right and the ph level the guy tht tested he said it was a little low and he did tell me tht it didnt make much of a difference cause it wasnt THTTT LOW
I will cycle the water everyweek for a while now and keep testing until the amonia is good then I will see if the ph needs adjusting
cycling the water like tht how long u think it would take for the amonia will be ok? how long will it take so I can add more fishes? I want 2 or 3 small fishes nd thts it if everything starts working well I will get a bigger tank so I can get more fish
ok thnks all of u for the compreehension and correct me if I said anything wrong on how I will proceed

thnks

[cocoa_pleco]

cycling is a huge variable. One of my tanks took less that a week to cycle, but another took a month. Its really random

[Glasstapper]

ok, so basically this is what happened (correct me if I'm wrong):

you had an angel and a tetra, last week you added more fish (I take it was more than one-what were they?), then they died, but you still have the angel and tetra (what kind of tetra?).

Time and water changes will get your ammonia down to 0 again. Give it a couple of weeks for all of your parameters to straighten out. After a couple of weeks, take a sample of your water back to the store and see where you are. Your ammonia and nitrites should read 0 and nitrates at about 20 ppm or less. As long as your pH is the same as it was last time, then that will be fine.

If your water is where it needs to be, then add one fish at a time at intervals of 2 weeks. I'll tell you, though, that angel needs at least 5 gallons of your water all to himself, so that leaves you with very limited space in your tank leftover. I would only increase the number of tetras to make a small school of 5 or 6. (If it's neon tetras, your angel may end up eating them one day)

If your water is NOT where it needs to be, then something is going wacky in your tank and causing higher levels of ammonia than it's supposed to.

Good luck, and let us know your progress.

[Gelo_USA]

ok I still have the tetra and angel
its a black jacket tetra? I think its one with black stripes and fins
My angel is black and white too I added 4 fish at once tht might be my problem and the four died in like one hour or 2 and the bigger one died the next day
I am gonna cylcle the water once a week and test it the second week see if everything is straighten
nd I dnt knw what kind of fish they were there was one FULL WHITE one FULL BLACK one GOLDEN nad the other I dnt remember LOL but they were all the SAME just the colors were different
I will let u guys knw if anything different happens
i was thinking and I also think I big problem is tht there is not enough gravel to cover all the under gravel filter so too much waste is falling under it and decomposing creating releasing more amonia so I got more gravel today to see if it helps and the guy at the pet shop told me again tht I should use the PH thing to adjust my ph the name is BULLSEYE by wardley does anyone know tht product if it works or not?

EDIT**
and also another thing I was doing wrong I was washing my filters everyweek with REALLY HOT WATER I had no idea how bad it was so now I knw not to do it tht might be another thing tht was messing up with my aquarium
I think I am just lucky to still have my angel and my tetra but now I hope I m going the right way

[Chrona]

ok I still have the tetra and angel
its a black jacket tetra? I think its one with black stripes and fins
My angel is black and white too I added 4 fish at once tht might be my problem and the four died in like one hour or 2 and the bigger one died the next day
I am gonna cylcle the water once a week and test it the second week see if everything is straighten
nd I dnt knw what kind of fish they were there was one FULL WHITE one FULL BLACK one GOLDEN nad the other I dnt remember LOL but they were all the SAME just the colors were different
I will let u guys knw if anything different happens
i was thinking and I also think I big problem is tht there is not enough gravel to cover all the under gravel filter so too much waste is falling under it and decomposing creating releasing more amonia so I got more gravel today to see if it helps and the guy at the pet shop told me again tht I should use the PH thing to adjust my ph the name is BULLSEYE by wardley does anyone know tht product if it works or not?

EDIT**
and also another thing I was doing wrong I was washing my filters everyweek with REALLY HOT WATER I had no idea how bad it was so now I knw not to do it tht might be another thing tht was messing up with my aquarium
I think I am just lucky to still have my angel and my tetra but now I hope I m going the right way

Don't cycle your tank again, especially since you already have fish in there. Just test the water, it should already be cycled (ammonia/nitrite = 0)

How many inches of gravel do you have?

Don't wash your filters for now unless it gets really clogged up. And try to wash them in warm dechlorinated water so that the bacteria on them won't die off. Also, did you acclimate the 4 fish you got slowly? Dying within one hour seems awfully quick for ammonia poisoning, especially since your ammonia can't be THAT high since you do have the tetra and angel in there with no problems. Usually the ammonia spike caused with new fish occurs over the period of at least 12+ hours, since it takes a while for their waste to start breaking down. My guess is that they were either not very healthy to start with, or the acclimation process was too quick and stressed them out. In the future, try floating the bag in the water for longer, like 30 minutes, then adding in half a cup of aquarium water every 10 minutes for another 30 minutes. And try for some really hardy fish like zebra danios.

[Gelo_USA]

I put the bag in the tank for about 30 minutes before releasing the fish in
and the gravel I have doesnt even cover the under gravel filter so I got more to put I m cleaning it now to put it

[Severus]

Are you going to be running that UGF? you might want to reconsider it because they tend to just end up trapping a ton of waste and throwing off your water chemistry. Just a suggestion.

[Gelo_USA]

thnks I m here for the suggestions LOL I m a complete noob at this
if I remove de under gravel filter how do I set up the otherfilter I have tht has pipes going to the undergravel
ok lets do it like this I will get my cam and take a pic of the whole aquarium so u guys can see EXACTLY what I have it will be easyer

[cocoa_pleco]

UGF's suck really bad. Get a filter that hangs on the back, like a aquaclear. These suck water in from a hose and shoot it out like a water fall

[jeffs99dime]

There Is No Such Thing As A Stupid Question.

[Gelo_USA]

UGF's suck really bad. Get a filter that hangs on the back, like a aquaclear. These suck water in from a hose and shoot it out like a water fall

I have both... I have the AQUACLEAR too

[Chrona]

I put the bag in the tank for about 30 minutes before releasing the fish in
and the gravel I have doesnt even cover the under gravel filter so I got more to put I m cleaning it now to put it

lol, yeah you need more gravel. Try for like an inch and a half

[Gelo_USA]

yea I have about an inch now
everything seems to still be working fine by the end of the second week I will test the water again and let u guys knw how everything works
My water is like foggy like WHITE now dnt knw why its been more than 3 hours tht I put the gravel in and I rinsed it before

[jeffs99dime]

yea I have about an inch now
everything seems to still be working fine by the end of the second week I will test the water again and let u guys knw how everything works
My water is like foggy like WHITE now dnt knw why its been more than 3 hours tht I put the gravel in and I rinsed it before

it may be a bacteria bloom. very common when first setting up an aquarium. does it look like "fog" in the water

[Gelo_USA]

yeaa the water is like CLEAN but when U see from farther it looks like FOG
so thts actually good right it means tht the CYCLE is starting to work?

[cocoa_pleco]

kinda. Theres so much weird things goin on in the tank that all the bacteria clouds the tank. The bacteria splice themselves in half to reproduce enough to handle your bio-load, and thats what cycling really is, getting that bacteria. If you can, go to a LFS and ask for about 1-2 good handfuls of gravel for one of their tanks, the loss wont hurt their tank, but you will get lots of bacteria to help your tank speed up

[jeffs99dime]

kinda. Theres so much weird things goin on in the tank that all the bacteria clouds the tank. The bacteria splice themselves in half to reproduce enough to handle your bio-load, and thats what cycling really is, getting that bacteria. If you can, go to a LFS and ask for about 1-2 good handfuls of gravel for one of their tanks, the loss wont hurt their tank, but you will get lots of bacteria to help your tank speed up


actally, the reason why the tank appears to be hazy is because there is so many bacteria reproducing at such a fast rate that they can be viewed with the human eye in the water column. this is a good thing though and it's very common when starting an aquarium.--jeff

[cocoa_pleco]

actally, the reason why the tank appears to be hazy is because there is so many bacteria reproducing at such a fast rate that they can be viewed with the human eye in the water column. this is a good thing though and it's very common when starting an aquarium.--jeff


Thats what I kinda was tryin to get at. lol

[Gelo_USA]

ok so i guess tht means I m going the right way.....
here I got some pics
][Only Registered Users Can See Links.] ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.)

][Only Registered Users Can See Links.] ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.)

nd one other question about light I have an incadescent light on my aquarium I like living it on overnight and off during day time cause the aquarium is in my bedroom and I like to watch my fish at night
is there any problem on having the light on overnight? do the fishes need a time on the dark?

[Chrona]

Yes, fish get stressed if there is a light source on at all times. They need to rest too, and a good day/night cycle promotes good health. I usually turn my light on at 8am (when I wake up) and turn it off at about 8-9 PM. My cardinals usually start to lose some of their color at that point, so I figure it's the max amount of light I can give my plants without stressing the fish.

If you really want to keep the lights on at night, then get a box to cover the aquarium (with slits for air) during the day, so they'll have an opposite cycle.

Btw, the fish look fine to me. The angel is a little harder to tell, but the black skirt Tetra is fine. And that amount of cloudiness is fine.

Good job, keep it up!thumbs2:

[Gelo_USA]

yea the angel was like SIDE WAYS haha
nd my tetra would loose color over night I tought it was temperature drops cause I still diddnt get a heater my water is around 76f 78f so its the light tht was making tht to the fish not the temperature
I will bring a sample of the water to the pet shop again next week to test my nitrate nitrite and ammonia levels I hope i get everything straight by the end of next week so I can get some new fish

[Chrona]

It may also be due to temperature drops at night, but more likely, it's the light (especially since you don't have that many hiding spots in your tank) I would wait a few days and see if the cloudiness dies down, then test the water. Continue to do 20% water changes every other day (make sure not to touch the gravel or filter) until then. At that point, I'd say just get one fish at a time. You can get some more black skirt Tetras or maybe some zebra danios if you want some zest in your tank.

[cocoa_pleco]

nice lookin tank... add some fake plants

[Chrona]

Well, first the heater!

Then some basic gear like a ph/ammonia/nitrite/nitrate test kits (the gas to go to your LFS will eventually cost more than this lol) Maybe uh, a siphon and some extra filter cartridges

[Gelo_USA]

yea I do need the extra filter inserts the siphon I have already and the tests I will get later I dnt spend any gas to go to the store its like 5 blocks aways I always walk there LOL
and the heater I will get as soon as possible
and as for new fish I was thinking like 3 more fishes no more than tht due to the small space but I wanted something colorful.... what do u guys think would be good ?

[Gelo_USA]

It may also be due to temperature drops at night, but more likely, it's the light (especially since you don't have that many hiding spots in your tank) I would wait a few days and see if the cloudiness dies down, then test the water. Continue to do 20% water changes every other day (make sure not to touch the gravel or filter) until then. At that point, I'd say just get one fish at a time. You can get some more black skirt Tetras or maybe some zebra danios if you want some zest in your tank.

the cloudness is starting to go away already

[Chrona]

3 guppies. Easy to take care of and they have some really colorful varieties. Try to get 3 of the same sex though. They tend to multiply like bunnies >.>

I would add only 1 or 2 though for now, since you don't want a big spike in ammonia and it looks like your bacteria colonies are still developing. Up to you. The guppies and the tetra can take it, but the angelfish isn't as hardy.

[Chrona]

the cloudness is starting to go away already

Then I would guess your nitrites are way up right now, since the ammonia eating bacteria reproduce the fastest and tend to cause that haze. Nitrite is more or less just as bad as ammonia, so you really want to wait a little bit.

[Gelo_USA]

I m worried about the fish I got there already but they seem to be FINE
I think they got used to being ABUSED when I got this thing from my friend the water was like MUD it was like BROWN and the fish were alive but they wouldnt even swin
now they are way better even with my noobs mistakes wich I think are still better than how my friend had the aquarium

EDIT***

I was looking at guppies pics I like them I will get 3 or 4 one at a time as soon as the readings of the nitrate nitrite and amonia and ph are ok on my tank.......

[Gelo_USA]

I want to remove my UGF today but then I have to remove the aeration filter thingy thts connect straigh to the ugf
can I use this instead to aerate the tank ][Only Registered Users Can See Links.] ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.) cause I have one of those already

[cocoa_pleco]

it is a airpump, but I think that the ones bundled with other stuff are noisy, best to buy an expensive one by itself

[Gelo_USA]

yea i knw but I have my own airpump I m not using tht one
I m just using the filter
cause I removed the one on the UGF and I need to aerate the water
now I only have the external filter aqua clear 20 and my airpump running with tht filter and then next step is buying a heater
EDIT**
i m just gonna stick with a smaller pump tht I have and use only one "STICK" thing to aerate the aquarium it should be enough right? those tht run on the whole lenght of the aquarium on the back

[cocoa_pleco]

those are good

[Gelo_USA]

problem!!!
I didnt add anything else to my aquarium nothing new and no chemicals either and my water started to foam like the bubbles comming out of the air thing they dnt break and they are bulding up on the water surface
is tht normal or should I do something

[cocoa_pleco]

its often not that bad, but can be. I have that prob in my 10 high, but it hasnt affected anything

[Gelo_USA]

as soon as I turn my airpump off they all go away but when the pump is on it covers the WHOLE water surface making it hard to feed the fish I think I need a pump with less power this one is like DUAL and I had one pumping on the thing for the undergravel the other one is on the stick thing I was talking about and now both are on the same stick thing wich is creating WAYYYYYY TOOOO MANY BUBBLES and I cant reduce the ammount of air tht comes out

[cocoa_pleco]

oh, that way is fine. Its just trapped oxygen. no prob

[Gelo_USA]

another problem
I was just doing a 25% water change and I realized tht there is some strings in the water like algae I think but I dnt knw they are i grabbed some on my hands and they are slimy they are not parasites they dont swin they are just loose on the water and the filter is pulling most of them in but I would like to knw what they are if anyone knws
My mom has my camera I am waiting for her to come back I will see if I can get it on a pic and post it so u guys can see

[cocoa_pleco]

if its brown or green its algae. Algae forms from high nitrates and too much light and sunlight. otto catfish and plecos eat algae, and there are a variety of products on the market to kill algae. Only leave the aquarium lights on for 8 hours a day max, and if you can get a otto cat to eat the algae.

and, algae is 110% harmless. all it may do is tint the water green

[Gelo_USA]

then its not algae because its transparent a little white
today if I can I will go to petsmart to get the heater and the tests for nitrate/nitrite amonnia and ph to see how I m doing
everything seems fine I will get pics tonight and upload so u guys can see and i will try to get tht white thing tht I am talking about too so u can see it

[Chrona]

then its not algae because its transparent a little white
today if I can I will go to petsmart to get the heater and the tests for nitrate/nitrite amonnia and ph to see how I m doing
everything seems fine I will get pics tonight and upload so u guys can see and i will try to get tht white thing tht I am talking about too so u can see it

It could be planarians (white or tan worms). While they generally are harmless, they are an indication of poor water quality and will die off by themselves when the water gets better and there is less dissolved organics.

[cocoa_pleco]

well said chrona

[Gelo_USA]

they are not worms they dont move most of them are stuck to the fake plants and when they get loose they just float around until the filter sucks them
but they dnt swin or anything

[Chrona]

Then my guess is that it's solid waste from the fish. My angelfish poops out these long strings (I guess they have some kind of casing on the outside) that is transparent in some areas (wheres theres no solid waste) and a solid color in another (where there is solid waste). They break off and settle on the bottom.

[Gelo_USA]

I hope LOL cause they are strange I will take pics later see if I can get it on pic
I m leaving now to petsmart to get tests and a heater so I will be posting the results of the tests tonight too

[Gelo_USA]

ok I got the tests but not amonnia I will do tomorrow
the NITRATE around 80
NITRITE is 0.5
PH 6
KH carbonate hardness around 60
GH general hardness around 60

[Chrona]

If you ammonia is low or 0, then do a 50% water change. Make sure not to touch the gravel, as it looks like your tank is still going through a mini cycle. 0-20 is what you want to aim for for nitrates.

I think for pH and hardness tests are a little off. I think the acid would have been all buffered out if the water was that hard, so I would try a retest. Dunno, my 2 cents.

[Gelo_USA]

I dnt knw my ammonia cause the test I tought it had for amonia and it deosnt so I will only knw tomorrow
and let u guys knw

[Severus]

keep us posted

[Chrona]

Long thread eh? The story of his aquarium could be made into a book ;)

[Gelo_USA]

new test results after 50% change on water
I m using API 5in1 test strips
the Nitrate is right in between 20 and 40
nitrite is is between .5 and 1
ph still 6
KH 40
GH between 30 and 60 I would say around 45
amonia I went to get the test and they didnt have it they will have it by wednesday but I tested there and the guy said tht its wayyyy better than it was before but I still have some amonnia I will get the test to get accurate readings to u guys but it seems like everything is fine now.. right? but the ph
do u guys recommend using the PH adjusting and buffer thing tht I have here?
wardley bullseye 7.0 is the name of the product

[Chrona]

new test results after 50% change on water
I m using API 5in1 test strips
the Nitrate is right in between 20 and 40
nitrite is is between .5 and 1
ph still 6
KH 40
GH between 30 and 60 I would say around 45
amonia I went to get the test and they didnt have it they will have it by wednesday but I tested there and the guy said tht its wayyyy better than it was before but I still have some amonnia I will get the test to get accurate readings to u guys but it seems like everything is fine now.. right? but the ph
do u guys recommend using the PH adjusting and buffer thing tht I have here?
wardley bullseye 7.0 is the name of the product

pH of 6 is fine for the fish you have right now. I wouldn't bother messing with it until the ammonia/nitrite/nitrates are sorted out. But you are definetely going in the right direction!

Also, since it seems your tank (based on the latest results) is like halfway through a cycle, I would not recommend vacuuming the gravel or messing with the filter until both ammonia and nitrite drop to zero, because it will take longer to cycle.

[Gelo_USA]

ok thanks for the help again
I will buy the amonia test this wednesday its when the store gets it cause they ran out
then i will have accurate readings of everything I hope tht by then everything is good so I can add more fish
I was thinking about 2 catfish I dnt knw exactly what kind I saw them today they are really small and dnt grow much
another tetra black skirt
and 2 tiger
and tht it
when they grow too big I will return them or get a 20 gallon wich I am already I got addicted to this hobby already......

[Chrona]

ok thanks for the help again
I will buy the amonia test this wednesday its when the store gets it cause they ran out
then i will have accurate readings of everything I hope tht by then everything is good so I can add more fish
I was thinking about 2 catfish I dnt knw exactly what kind I saw them today they are really small and dnt grow much
another tetra black skirt
and 2 tiger
and tht it
when they grow too big I will return them or get a 20 gallon wich I am already I got addicted to this hobby already......

Well, tiger barbs like larger groups. Also, they tend to be a bit nippy, which may be a problem for your angelfish. And make sure you check what kind of catfish you saw. Some grow REALLY big lol.

My advice? Just go buy the 20 gallon now lol....

[Gelo_USA]

then I will get only 2 more black skirts and the cat fish for now
cause I wont be able to get a bigger aquarium now

[Gelo_USA]

I went to wallmart today to see what they had and actually theyr aquarium section is pretty good and the aquariums are all clean and not tht overcrowded and they are very cheap the black skirt tetra at my local petshop is 6bucks in there I paid 1.98 my waters amonia is fine now everything seems to be good now
so I got two buddies for my older tetra it was like INCREDIBLE the other new tetras went STRAIGHT to mine to swim together right after I realeased them in the tank
the tetra I had before I think hes not used to having "friends" so is like RUNNING AWAY from the other two tht I got today but I think he will get used
thnks alot guyss for all the help

[Glasstapper]

you bought fish from wal mart and didn't quarantine them? Be careful they don't spread any disease to your other fish. If in a couple of weeks and they are all still healthy, then consider yourself very lucky. Wal Mart has a bad rep about live fish. Just because they "looked" ok doesn't necessarily mean they don't have something that just hasn't showed up yet.

Well, it sounds like you are already hooked on this wonderful hobby! You will learn more information about fish than you even thought was possible. I wish you the best of luck and don't get discouraged if something goes wrong. We're here to help and mistakes are sometimes the best way to learn.

:)

[cocoa_pleco]

WOW, theres over 70 posts here!

Glad your fish are happy n healthy!

[Gelo_USA]

"Well, it sounds like you are already hooked on this wonderful hobby!"

well lets say it like tht I got more "hooked" than I expected I would ever get
I didnt think I was gonna be this exited LOL

and I didnt knw about quarantine before I hope they are ok
I looked all the fishes in the tank and everything in the tank
everything was reeallllyyyyyyy clean and they seemed all healthy so I hope nothin shows up

thanks for the tip

[Gelo_USA]

Long thread eh? The story of his aquarium could be made into a book ;)


yea I knw Cocoa_pleco

I will write a book as Chrona suggested LOL
would any of u buy it hahahaha JK

EDIT**

ohhhhh I forgot to sayyy....
i might be getting a 30 gallon this weekend
a guy I met in the petshop bought a 55 gallon and wants to sell his 30 gal

[cocoa_pleco]

usually a 10g is good for quarantine. Just keep em there for a few days, and if theres no disease, they can go into a main tank

[Gelo_USA]

yea thts what I think I will be doing when I get the 30g if I get it I will make my 10g into a quarantine tank

[cocoa_pleco]

see its happening- youll want more and more tanks!!!

I think everyone on the forum experiences that:1:

[Gelo_USA]

yeaa I knw I want more already I saw the 30 gallon tht I think I will get this weekend and I was already making plans on what to add to it its like U HAVE NO CONTROL lol :goldfish::fish::8::2:

[cocoa_pleco]

i like 20's and 30's because they give you more availability for fish variety and more styles of decor

[Severus]

My next tank is going to be 100+ gallons. I cant wait! So many choices!

[cocoa_pleco]

my lfs sells 125's with no filter or heater, just the actual tank for a 100$, or with a 200$ canister filter, 300w heater, and all that other crap and hood for 800$

[Gelo_USA]

the one I should be getting is a deal on my aqua clear 110 filter
I got it NEW IN BOX and this guy I met at the pet shop needs a better filter now
so hes selling his 30 gallon tall for 100$ with a good filter but its for a 20 gallon aquarium and the hood with the light strip
I offered the filter he wants 50 bucks and the filter LOL I will try to get it only for the filter and he might do it cause he wants to get rid of the aquarium since he got the bigger one
I hope he does it cause if not I will have to wait a little more for a bigger tank

[Severus]

my lfs sells 125's with no filter or heater, just the actual tank for a 100$

That is a pretty good deal. I hate spending an extra $250 on a stand

[cocoa_pleco]

i know. You know what else sucks?

I paid 150 for my complete 20g hagen set, and walmart had a 29 for 150 raegent brand, but i prefer hagen, and dont want walmart to sell anymore fish stuff then they have to.

One lfs i forgot about sells their own made sets and they have 20's on sale for 80$ and 33's for 130, but its also their own filter, which i dont trust.

[cocoa_pleco]

you know what else sucks? they call it a set, and you have to but gravel separate. another 20 smackers

[Gelo_USA]

I never have mine on the stand
I have the stand but I hate it so I have my aquarium on the dresser in my room
it looks safer than having it on the stand on a carpeted room the stand I have looks like its gonna fall

[cocoa_pleco]

i sold my stand with my old 30, and my hex stand wiht my hex 20.
I use coffee tables. I feel a bit safer with em.

I dont trust iron stands at all.

NO support in the middle? accident waitin to happen

[Chrona]

Glass tanks don't need central support though, only acrylic. I think it may actually be bad to have it, since the slightest uneven construction would place strain directly on the bottom glass, with the full weight of the tank on that strain point. Since it's glass, it won't flex slightly to accomodate for that like acrylic.

I dunno though, could be completely wrong, but it's my 2 cents as an engineering major ;)

[Severus]

i know. You know what else sucks?

I paid 150 for my complete 20g hagen set, and walmart had a 29 for 150 raegent brand, but i prefer hagen, and dont want walmart to sell anymore fish stuff then they have to.

One lfs i forgot about sells their own made sets and they have 20's on sale for 80$ and 33's for 130, but its also their own filter, which i dont trust.

I have seem some of those kits at WalMart and have contemplated buying them but was wondering about quality...

[cocoa_pleco]

same. I figured id get almost an extra 10g, and the wal-mart one had a hood and light too, but as ive learnt, you get what you pay for and i have lots of trust with hagen

[Chrona]

same. I figured id get almost an extra 10g, and the wal-mart one had a hood and light too, but as ive learnt, you get what you pay for and i have lots of trust with hagen

Thats very true. Most of the stuff Walmart has for fish here is so cheap that it's tempting, but its all no name stuff....

[cocoa_pleco]

im happier with a quality 20 than a crappy 30

[cocoa_pleco]

this thread has gotten more mileage that grandmas old cadillac. Time for a oilchange! lol

[Gelo_USA]

LOLL
yea another reason why i think we should have a chat here all this talking could have been done in a chat room.... all tht aquarium stuff and deals andddd.............................. LOL

[Severus]

Yea, everyone tends to get off topic after awhile and if we had a chat that problem would be solved

[Chrona]

Yea, everyone tends to get off topic after awhile and if we had a chat that problem would be solved

I vote 100gw as one of the mods for the chat then....lol

[*Sarah*]

I got my 10 g brand new set up from my LFS for $40. Included tank, hood, lights, hob filter, a bit of food and a bit of water conditioner. I had to buy a heater, gravel, thermometer, and my plants. I think it was a pretty good deal for $40 brand new, our local pawn shop sells 10g's used for $60.

[cocoa_pleco]

WHAT? All my lfs's sell hagen 10's for 100$ a set