New tank help

**Askew80** · 07-03-2012, 06:27 PM

Hi all, my first post as bought the children a small 17l tank to keep some small minows in. It a toy story themed tank which comes with pump etc.

I cleaned the tank with warm water and washed the gravel and ornament etc. the tank and filled with treated water (to remove clhorine) has got lots of condensation at the top and also gone cloudy and smells a bit. No I followed the instructions.

On the filter there is a ball like end on the end of a straw and it said to put this up and out into the air and then it puts air in the tank, and I'm not sure if this what's caused the prOblems as surely this needs to be in the water to filter the water? What are other peoples thoughts on this? I have switched this round and the condensation has all ready gone! Is this the right thing to do?

Thanks in advance (and any other advance ppl can give is greatly appropriated!!)

**MandyK** · 07-03-2012, 06:32 PM

Are you talking about an air pump? The little ball (airstone) goes into the water and makes bubbles which help to put oxygen in the water.

Are you doing a fishless cycle?

**imma24** · 07-03-2012, 06:32 PM

That tank is less than 5 gallons - please do not put any fish in it it is really too small even for minnows.

I apologize for not answering your questions, but if you are interested in getting fish, you might want to look into a minimum of 10 gallons (sorry I don't know how many liters that is).

If you want to put something in that tank, you could look into shrimp or snails once it goes through the cycling process (you might want to read about that).

**MandyK** · 07-03-2012, 06:34 PM

+1 to the above. Although a betta would probably be okay, but not really more than that.

**Azurescriber** · 07-03-2012, 06:51 PM

Frogs (1-2) would be a cute option for kids, or a betta. Shrimp would be very fun too! They might even breed!

The water probably stagnated if the airstone wasn't in the right way. You should have air being pushed out through the stone into the water, making bubbles.

Please read up on cycling before you put anything in the tank. If you don't, your fish will certainly die.

A larger tank will certainly be more fun for kids, and not much more difficult if you have the space. There are tons of threads on how to stock a small tank so that everyone is happy.

If you do the research and ask for advice, fishkeeping can be a rewarding experience!

**Askew80** · 07-03-2012, 07:15 PM

So it's the straw bit that not sure if should go in the water to recycle and filter the water or in the air so it puts air into the water?

Hi this is the same pump,

Thanks do far for the advice, room is a bit tight for a bigger tank, been having conversations with the wife re getting a bigger tank but wanted to c how got on with this tank first!!

**Azurescriber** · 07-03-2012, 07:29 PM

Yep, that goes in the water. It's your filter uptake.

Most tanks don't come with an airstone if it's a setup kit. Make sure you have enough open air between the top of the water and the lid, and you should be fine for now. The filter water will make an attractive splashing sound.

Small tanks are actually harder to maintain, btw.

Please please read up on cycling. Cycling creates good bacteria that eat fish waste and converts it to less toxic chemicals, so your fish aren't swimming in a sewer.

**Goes to 11!** · 07-03-2012, 06:44 PM

Originally Posted by Askew80

On the filter there is a ball like end on the end of a straw and it said to put this up and out into the air and then it puts air in the tank, I have switched this round and the condensation has all ready gone! Is this the right thing to do?

Thanks in advance (and any other advance ppl can give is greatly appropriated!!)

+ 1 to a larger tank and reading the cycling stickys. A picture is worth 1000 words, Here's how to post them.