I got myself a new Tropical Tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
meaning shelter? artificial plants, castles, rocks, driftwood will be fine. But anything you plan to put in your tank, blast it with the hottest tap water you can get for 60 serc. And buy driftwood, don't place twigs in ur tank:ROFL:
 
birdie;2405372; said:
So probably:
1x small pleco
5-6x Cory's (any suggestions as to which ones?)
?x Rummy Nose Tetra's (How many?)

As far as cycling goes... i'll need fish to do that right? Currently i've got the plants and yeah i've already got 2 small snails that must have come with the plants or gravel...

For the test kit, what do i need to get... i need to be monitoring PH, Nitrate, Ammonia, what else?
Click to expand...

What about these questions?

Which Cory's? do they need to be all the same variety?
How man Tetras?

Can i do a cycle of the tank without fish so its ready to go? or do i need to add fish to start the cycle?

And what about the tests?
 
I saw a mention of cherry barbs... so I'm going to recommend this fish for cycling. Get a few of these to put the show in motion. Cherry barbs are pretty hardy and should be able to handle the ammonia spikes that your tank will go through in the beginning. They also stay pretty small so they won't take up too much room. Then slowly add more fish until you think it is fully stocked. The rough guide is 1" per gallon, but you will find plenty of people on here who will argue with that rule. If you plan on keeping tetras, you should be able to keep more than 1" per gallon since they don't create much bioload.

You can buy chemicals from your lfs to do a "fishless" cycle, but I've heard they don't work as well. As for test kits... I would start out with the basics... Ammonia, PH, Nitrite and Nitrates. Keep an eye on the Nitrite and Ammonia levels since they are the most likely to give you trouble.

For the most part I think you can mix cory's. I've never kept them but I've never heard of anyone having any issues. I think they all stay reasonably small.

Hope this helps...
 
awault;2409418; said:
I saw a mention of cherry barbs... so I'm going to recommend this fish for cycling. Get a few of these to put the show in motion. Cherry barbs are pretty hardy and should be able to handle the ammonia spikes that your tank will go through in the beginning. They also stay pretty small so they won't take up too much room. Then slowly add more fish until you think it is fully stocked. The rough guide is 1" per gallon, but you will find plenty of people on here who will argue with that rule. If you plan on keeping tetras, you should be able to keep more than 1" per gallon since they don't create much bioload.

You can buy chemicals from your lfs to do a "fishless" cycle, but I've heard they don't work as well. As for test kits... I would start out with the basics... Ammonia, PH, Nitrite and Nitrates. Keep an eye on the Nitrite and Ammonia levels since they are the most likely to give you trouble.

For the most part I think you can mix cory's. I've never kept them but I've never heard of anyone having any issues. I think they all stay reasonably small.

Hope this helps...
Click to expand...

So about 4-5 Cherry Barbs? How long should it take to cycle? I guess i just have to monitor the levels to see?

About mixing Cory's i was meaning the 6 i'll get... do they need to be the same variety for them to stick togeather or do they the stick with any cory's (as chesterthehero said they need to be in groups to be happy)

I just cleaned my tank again tonight... I looked at the lights... they are both T5 lights, one is a blue light, the other is a 6500K white... sound alright?

Also is there anything wrong with collecting some rocks and driftwood from our local river? could they leach anything into the water or would they be fine coming from a river?

Is there any reason to get the Rummy Nose Tetra's? and not get cardinals or neons?

As far as cory's goes i'm thinking:
Leopard Cory


Will a pleco not be too big for my tank??? I was thinking maybe a bristle nose...?
 
dude go to the LFS with $5 and ask for a few scoops of gravel from a tank. Put it in a ziplock bag with water from ur tank and just drop it in ur tank and you can completly stock the next day (Instant Cycle!:thumbsup:)
 
Id rather ask for something out of there filters, if you do choose to go with neons and rummys make sure to cycle the tank first as they can be quite sensitive to bad water params. The nitrogen cycle can take from 5 to 14 weeks or even more. you might want to try black neons for cycling the tank as they stay quite small and i have heard they are quite hardy. I wouldnt really imagine keeping cherry barbs in there after cycling the tank. 18 gallons just doesnt really provide much swimming room.
 
Per the cycling method, I do not agree using fish to cycle your tank. They are being subjected to the toxicity of ammonia and nitrites with ammonia more toxic at high pH. Why not just try fishless cycle or ask your friend/LFS for established filter media which you can put in your own filter afterwards? Feel free to read this.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598
 
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