[Spit1A]

Hi everyone,

I've been itching to get into a new hobby and I settled on getting an aquarium. I would have liked to get a 10 - 15 gallon tank, but I live in a little studio apartment so space is limited. It sounds like the little nano aquariums can be pretty finicky to maintain so I figured the Fluval Flora kit would be a good compromise between space and ease of maintenance.

All of this is new to me so part of the reason I'm starting this thread is so people can point all the things I do wrong, haha. I'd appreciate any comments or suggestions you all have!

Anyway, here's the gear I'm using

Tank: 11.8"x11.8"x13.7" 7.8 USgal
Substrate: Fluval Stratum for plants
Light: Fluval Mini Power Compact Lamp (13W)
Filter: Aquaclear 20
Heater: Aqueon Pro Heater 50W

Flora: - Java moss, Java fern, Anubias Nana
Fauna: Still undecided, I'm looking for opinions on the options I'm considering.

Option A - 1 Betta, 2 Amano Shrimp, 4-5 Cherry Shrimp
Option B - 1 Betta, 2 Amano Shrimp, 5-6 Dwarf Corydoras

I'd really like to do option B but Aqua Advisor says I'd be over stocked and I'm wondering if my tank has enough ground area for the cory's to forage anyway. I know they prefer a sand substrate so they can sift around and not damage their barbells, but the Fluval Stratum is pretty rounded and is pretty light.

Any opinions on the stocking options I'm considering? I just started the fishless cycle so it will probably be a few weeks till I can start to add fish/shrimp.







Thanks for looking!

 

[Spit1A]

Also, is this the dreaded black beard/brush algae on my Anubias?

 

[nigerian prince]

i think it is, remove it from the tank immediately haha

 

[opt-e]

Looking good so far!

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

 

[Spit1A]

Thanks for the replies!

So do I have to remove the whole leaf or do I try to rub the algae off? I tried pulling at it with some tongs, but it seemed to be on the leaf pretty good.

 

[Momobobo]

You can try either. A dip in something that kills BBA should be fine. Remove the Anubias and trying rubbing it off. Otherwise you can detach the whole leaf.

Looks good! I think Option B would be fine and is not overstocking at all.

 

[charles]

Option B better. Betta will take out cherry.

 

[April]

You can add
All the mini cories. I have about 20 hadrosus in my spec 5 with endlers, at
Least 10 and tons of Amani and cherry shrimp some Gertrude rainbows and 3 baby bushy nose pleccos. Te spec had an amazing filter though. Water stays great. Also I had a big half moon betta and a frog in there with lots of hiding spots and my shrimp never disappeared. But.. New tank and filter so add slowly to build your filter up.
Do wcs . Add moss
Balls they are like mini natural filters.
My spec 1 has about 24 galaxy and Amano and cherry shrimp in it.


Sent by tapatalk in north Burnaby

 

[Spit1A]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

I'm glad option B seems to be a reasonable option.

 

[Spit1A]

Just a quick update.

I added a Windelov fern and some frogbit to the tank. I figure the betta would appreciate some cover the frogbit provides.




At this point, with no fish in the tank, should I be adding fertilizer? The kit came with some Nutrafin Plant Gro. Anyone had experience with it?

Also, I've got some sort of white slime/fungus on my driftwood. Should I be concerned about this? From what I've read it may just go away after awhile. I did boil the wood for about an hour and a half before putting it in the tank.



Thanks!

 

[UnderseaGal]

Hi! Your tank is looking great!
I had that slimy stuff on my piece of wood and on my rocks at the beginning too - it went away after a little while, and I even caught some fish eating it.
That said, I'm new at this too, so hopefully more experienced people chime in.

Can't wait to see the betta you choose! I'm so itching to get one...

 

[Spit1A]

Thanks for the info! I've noticed the slime/fuzzy stuff has started to go away too.

I can't wait to get fish in this thing as well, haha

 

[Spit1A]

Tiny update.

The tank is still cycling...I tested the water today and I think the nitrites are starting to rise.

Looks like I have a snail! Is this a Malaysian trumpet snail? I know these guys can take over a tank if I'm not careful. Is population control simply a matter of not over feeding my (future) fish?

There's a surprising amount of life in the tank that I'm starting to notice. I think I've seen planaria and possibly a few copepods too.

Anyway, that's all...wishing the tank would cycle faster.
Would it be worth switching out the carbon bag with another biomax bag in the filter?

 

[Reckon]

Oh yah you'd be surprised how easy to get snails, planarian, and copepods. This is showing that your tank is indeed finishing it's cycling. Once you put fish into the tank some of these pests will disappear.

 

[UnderseaGal]

I feel you pain re: wishing the tank would cycle faster.

Story of my fish-keeping life!

 

[Spit1A]

So I think my tank might finally be cycled!?

About 24 hrs ago I added ammonia so that the tank was at about 3-4ppm. I'm a little bit colour blind so I've attached a photo of the tests. If someone could verify that Ammonia and Nitrites are 0-0.25ppm and Nitrates are around 20ppm? I'm a little concerned about the pH being a bit low...

So if the water parameters are looking good I plan to pick up a few amano shrimp and a betta on Monday. I will do a big water change tomorrow to get rid of Nitrates.

Also, it looks like my Java ferns are starting to reproduce.

I've noticed the tips of the new ferns are a darker green than the rest of the plant. Should I be concerned about this discolouration? Some sites seem to say this is normal for java ferns and some sites say this is due to nutrient deficiency.

 

[Spit1A]

So I did a big water change this morning (~75%).

I won't be back home for about 24-36 hrs and I realized now that I forgot to add a little ammonia to feed the bacteria . Anyone know how quickly the beneficial bacteria dies off when they don't have food? The filter seems to be able to get rid of 4ppm of ammonia in 24hrs so I figure I have a decent bacteria colony at this point.

Do you guys think it will be safe to add a few amano shrimp and a betta tomorrow...
For the first week or so I plan to check the water parameters pretty often

 

[Spit1A]

Finally got some fish!

A Betta

Three Amano shrimp, who immediately found a rock to hide behind and haven't come out since....

One of the reasons I got this Betta was because it was really active in it's bowl. So far it seems super curious, exploring every nook and cranny of the tank. Now I'm sort of regretting having kind of sharp rocks in my tank. I'm worried about the little guy tearing his fins. I think I'll pick up some little pebbles to fill in gaps so he doesn't get stuck under any of the rocks.

I also just noticed he has a little pin hole in his ventral fin. I didn't see it at the shop =(.

Should I be adding aquarium salt? Or do these sort of things heal on their own?

I'm still thinking of adding some dwarf corys, but I wonder if my Betta will harass them. He's already taken a few exploratory nips at the shrimp.

 

[nigerian prince]

do not worry about the slime, its a harmless fungus that are in some types of wood, i had it in my tank too, you can rinse it off in the water you take out during the water change

 

[onefishtwofish]

I had a betta wipeout all the fish in a 10g.they can be mean. He will build a bubble nest and protect it in anticipation of meeting a gal. thats why now I keep a few females instead of a male,,,,, they can be very colorful too.


tank is very artistic by the way..very pleasing to the eye and the fish should love it. if u r worried about losing ben. bacteria get a few squeezings or a piece of used media from a member and seed the filter.
the ph could be lower because of the tannins in your driftwood leaching into the water.