22L tank

[vellais]

hi,

Im from australia and I live in melbourne. I'v had tropical fish in the past but am wanting to get into the hobby again. I dont have alot of room to have a tank so im just wanting a 22l Aqua one tank,
heres the link [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] its the Aqua style 126 glass aquarium.
It comes with a wet/dry filter which are apparently good. What size heater would I need?
Also how many fish could I keep in the tank? what sort do you recomend for the tank?
iv read up on how to cycle tanks and im gonna go with the fish method as I cant find pure ammonia anywhere.
I want to put a nice peice of drift wood in and some live plants that are hardy and wont grow to big for the tank, any suggestions?
Also I really want those fake rock backgrounds tht stick on the inside of the tank their really buitiful. how much are they and how to I attch them onto the tank?

I think their the main questions I was wanting to ask if I can think of anymore il let you know.

thanks,

[crackatinny]

Gday, I am also from Australia, a 22L tank will not give you a lot of options as far as stocking, I have a 20L I use for sick fish and I have a 50W heater in it, it does the job without a problem, if anything keeping the temp down in a hot Aussie summer is the hard part.
I have seen the backgrounds your talking about in fish stores, they are nice looking, but expensive, I have seen 60cmx45cm ones ranging from AU$30-$40, I thought that was a bit steep seeing as they are only styrofoam.

Anyways, Welcome to AC, I hope you enjoy the forum:thumb:

[vellais]

thanks for your quick response,
The price for the background dosent really bother me, I jsut want the tank to look stunning, You use a 50w heater in your 20l tank I think I might go for a 50 or 25w then.

stokcing ideas

either 3,4 guppys OR 4 neons (would neons do good in a group of 4 in a 5g tank?)

and maybe a dwarf gormie and fighting fish.

do you recon too much fish for a 5g tank?

thanks

[mines bigger]

the neons should do fine in a small tank, it would look better with the neons in my opinion you dont really need a background just plenty of plants

[vellais]

hi again, well after doing some more reaserch havedecided to spend alittle extra and get a 10g tank I am going to need to get a 50w heater now right?

My stocking list has changed abit,

6 neons
dwarf gormie
simese fighting fish
and another fish of some sort

do these fish require similar water chemistry, temp water hardness ext
these fish will do well with driftwood right, as iv read drift wood can chnage water chemistry and is only suited for some fish.

also whats an ideal ph,temp and hardness to keep these fish in?

also what is water hardness exacly, iv read its the amound off disolved minerals ext in the water? How do these minerals get into the water in the 1st place? do they come from the blue crystal water conditioner stuff?

[jeffs99dime]

welcome to a.c.
i would get a solid black background and use lots of plants and bogwood. the neons' colors will really "pop" in that setting.

[Drumachine09]

I wouldnt try to do a betta in a community, exspecially with a gourami. Assuming you will get both males, they will both be agressive, which could lead to dead fish.

In ten gallon tank, you could do a male and female pair of dwarf gouramis, a few tetras, and 3 or so corys (i recommend albino corys)

[Chrona]

hi again, well after doing some more reaserch havedecided to spend alittle extra and get a 10g tank I am going to need to get a 50w heater now right?

Good choice ;)


do these fish require similar water chemistry, temp water hardness ext
these fish will do well with driftwood right, as iv read drift wood can chnage water chemistry and is only suited for some fish.

Yes, these fish all prefer slightly acidic, soft water. Driftwood lowers pH and softens the water, so it would be suitable.

also whats an ideal ph,temp and hardness to keep these fish in?

6.5-7.0 pH, 78 degrees, and 3-5 degrees gH. However, this is the ideal. If you have hard, slightly high pH well water or something, just leave it alone. Fish would much rather have stable water conditions than "ideal" ones because unless they were wild-caught, they will be accustomed to local water parameters anyways.

also what is water hardness exacly, iv read its the amound off disolved minerals ext in the water? How do these minerals get into the water in the 1st place? do they come from the blue crystal water conditioner stuff?

General hardness is the measure of calcium and magnesium content of water. They have a slight effect on buffering ability.

Carbonate hardness is the measure of carbonate in the water (aka alkalinity or kH). This raises pH and buffers it from going acidic.

When the word "soft" is mentioned, it means low TDS (total dissolved solids), which includes EVERYTHING, gH, kH, nitrates, various trace elements, metals, etc.

Water naturally contains all kinds of minerals in most areas because it leechs out of rocks/etc.

[Rue]

I'm about to blow $80 on a 25l tank for my plakat (betta)...he'll look stunning in there with a plant or two...

...maybe even 3 cory cats for the bottom? I'll have to see about that though....

My bettas are doing fine in the community tank...but I think they need enough room and lots of plants...a 25l won't be big enough...

[Rue]

I was looking at your tank page...

...although the corner aquariums aren't as popular...smaller footprint and harder to clean...in your case it might be a good way to go...it's still bigger and you'll have a few more options...

[wijnands]

Looking at [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] got me wondering. Personally I dislike silver trimmings on a tank already but hot pink? Who the **** would by a pink tank???

[Chrona]

Looking at [Only Registered Users Can See Links.] got me wondering. Personally I dislike silver trimmings on a tank already but hot pink? Who the **** would by a pink tank???

Probably a young girl?

[vellais]

I wouldnt try to do a betta in a community, exspecially with a gourami. Assuming you will get both males, they will both be agressive, which could lead to dead fish.

In ten gallon tank, you could do a male and female pair of dwarf gouramis, a few tetras, and 3 or so corys (i recommend albino corys)

so you dont recommend keeping a dwarf gormie with a fighting fish hmmmmm
I would really like a dwarf male gormie in the tank, I would rather only I gormies and other smaller fish.
what are some other fish suited to neons and gormies?
more to the point though what would you stock in a 35l tropical tank?

[vellais]

????????????????

[crackatinny]

so you dont recommend keeping a dwarf gormie with a fighting fish hmmmmm
I would really like a dwarf male gormie in the tank, I would rather only I gormies and other smaller fish.
what are some other fish suited to neons and gormies?
more to the point though what would you stock in a 35l tropical tank?

I have kept platties and mollies with them with no problems.

[kimmers318]

I also wouldn't recommend a betta with a gourami in a small tank such as a 10 gal. I had 1 of each in an understocked 65 gal and the betta chased the gourami constantly. There was never any damage done, but the betta stayed busy flaring and exercising those fins!

[vellais]

hi everybody again,
well after going to another forum they had a section that had fish reccomendations for 10g aquariums,
heres the link [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

anyone ever had Spotted rasboras? they look like a good looking fish.
also Sparkling gouramies anyone ever kept any of these.

my thoughts one what to keep have sort of changed
maybe about 4 Spotted rasboras, a Sparkling gouramies and maybe 6 neon tetras, and also maybe a alge eater of somesort,
I know its abit of an overloaded tank but the tank im getting had a wet/dry filter like the ones used in marine setups so I think it should handle the exra bioload.

[Chrona]

hi everybody again,
well after going to another forum they had a section that had fish reccomendations for 10g aquariums,
heres the link [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

anyone ever had Spotted rasboras? they look like a good looking fish.
also Sparkling gouramies anyone ever kept any of these.

my thoughts one what to keep have sort of changed
maybe about 4 Spotted rasboras, a Sparkling gouramies and maybe 6 neon tetras, and also maybe a alge eater of somesort,
I know its abit of an overloaded tank but the tank im getting had a wet/dry filter like the ones used in marine setups so I think it should handle the exra bioload.

The end product of all that filtration: nitrates, will build up very quickly in an overstocked tank. Furthermore, usually peaceful species often become very aggressive when kept in cramped quarters. Just go with a sparkling gourami and a school of either neons or rasboras., not both.

[vellais]

thanks for the help,
what do you think would be more suited to the gormie the neons or rasboras. Like water chemistry wise ext

[Chrona]

thanks for the help,
what do you think would be more suited to the gormie the neons or rasboras. Like water chemistry wise ext

They all prefer soft/acidic water technically, but it really makes no difference either way as long as you acclimate them properly to your house water.

[Rue]

...I looked at some dwarf platies the other day...they're actually very cute...

I don't mind the balloon mollies eithers...

...so those are two dwarfed versions of livebearers you might find appealing...

[vellais]

sorry guys 1 more question,
what size heater would I need in a 10g aquarium?

[Chrona]

sorry guys 1 more question,
what size heater would I need in a 10g aquarium?

50 watt is ideal.

[vellais]

ok so a 50w heater it is.
also should I get one of those heater cover things that stop fish getting burnt? are they needed? do any of you guys use them

becuase im keeping neons and gourmies they need pretty soft water. Would the water that comes out of the tap soft enough or would I have to make it even more soft if so how?

I no you need to add water conditioner or anti colorine which removes the clorine and heavy metals.
but from fish keeping a few years ago there was another water conditior you added it was like blue crystals, anyone else use it ? should I use it again?

im going do cycle the tank with fish becuase I cant find ammonia, what fish out of rasboras, dwarf gormies and neons should I use to cycle the tank? should I set up the tank wait a week then add some fish to start cycling? im wanting to add live plants when should these be added?

thanks alot I just dont want my hard $$ to go down the drain by impropper fish keeping.

[vellais]

????????????????

[Chrona]

ok so a 50w heater it is.
also should I get one of those heater cover things that stop fish getting burnt? are they needed? do any of you guys use them

becuase im keeping neons and gourmies they need pretty soft water. Would the water that comes out of the tap soft enough or would I have to make it even more soft if so how?

I no you need to add water conditioner or anti colorine which removes the clorine and heavy metals.
but from fish keeping a few years ago there was another water conditior you added it was like blue crystals, anyone else use it ? should I use it again?

im going do cycle the tank with fish becuase I cant find ammonia, what fish out of rasboras, dwarf gormies and neons should I use to cycle the tank? should I set up the tank wait a week then add some fish to start cycling? im wanting to add live plants when should these be added?

thanks alot I just dont want my hard $$ to go down the drain by impropper fish keeping.

Don't need heater covers imo. Never had a problem

Unless your water is like liquid rock in terms of hardness, don't worry about it. Fish would rather have stable parameters.

Good water conditioners - I recommend Seachem Prime. Best value for the money since it's concentrated and it does everything you need it to do.

Ammonia is easy to find in any hardware store, etc. It's a commonly used cleaning agent, like bleach. If you are going to do fish cycling (which takes longer) you will need hardy fish like zebra danios or livebearers. Neons, gouramis will all die. You can add live plants.

[vellais]

thanks for the help,
ill keep looking for ammonia as I only looked in a small local supermaket.
im only a 16 year old so im not that rich, well after this weeks pay I was bloody $4 short in my account to buy the tank heater ad master test kit online. damit have to wait another week now,,

[Chrona]

thanks for the help,
ill keep looking for ammonia as I only looked in a small local supermaket.
im only a 16 year old so im not that rich, well after this weeks pay I was bloody $4 short in my account to buy the tank heater ad master test kit online. damit have to wait another week now,,

You'll find patience saves you a lot of hassles down the road :)

Surprisingly, the cheapest ammonia you can find will be the best bet. Supermarket ammonia usually contains surfacants, which is a nono. Just shake the bottle (and ignore the people staring at you). If lots of suds are produced that don't pop right away, then it's for surfacants. You need pure ammonia, which is usually found at the cheaper stores, hehe.

[vellais]

Thanks for all the help guys,
ill look for pure ammonia soon, fingers crossed I can find some.
gonna order the tank this wednesday :19:

[vellais]

ok well for most of the fish I want to keep(neons,gormies) people recommend peat filtration what is it?

also iv got one of those 2 stage under cupboard tap filter at my house to remove clorine and sediment ext. Should I use filtered water to fill the tank or should I use just noraml tapwater becuase it might contain more nutrients ext?

[cocoa_pleco]

peat is most often used to give the water a more acidic PH like for neons liking

[vellais]

ok well iv ordered the tank heater and master test kit, from an online retailer saved about $50.
should be coming monday.