Hi - I hope I'm going to enjoy this forum. Sounds like there are very helpful people here. I'm overwhelmed. All the tanks available, all the filters, all the heaters, decorations, etc. Where does one start??

I've had a betta twice in the past, and I realize now how I did things wrong. Not cycling the tank, having a really bad heater, and never testing the water. No wonder I lost my betta and other fish I put in there.

But I'm back now and ready to try again. I'm doing all the research I can, which is made so much easier with Google! I have so many questions. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm getting a 10 gallon. I also have decided on glass, not acrylic. A Hydor Theo heater too, but pretty much everything else is in the air. I've looked at so many tanks that my head is swimming. Not to mention what color gravel to get, and what plants. I have a fish log hide-out from the old days, and a reptile hide too that I was wondering if I could use in a fish tank.

Can anyone give me advice on an easy upkeep tank? I'm on a budget, so really can't afford to spend much over $150 for the whole set up. I suppose plastic plants would be easiest. Maybe I'll just ask my questions one at a time. I found a tank that is very affordable. I think it was Aquador? Something like that. I'm sure you guys know what I'm talking about. But I read somewhere that the filter on it is terrible. So do I need to get another filter, and is a sponge one the best for a 10 gallon? I'm picking up bits of info here and there but really need you guys' help, as I don't want make a mistake that will be fatal for my betta and (probably) ghost shrimp. Thanks!

Randi

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10 gal., Male Turquoise Combtail Betta, 2 albino Corys, 1 Julii Cory, red cherry shrimp, 1 ghost shrimp.
20 galH, 4 female bettas, 1 Dalmation Molly, 1Calico Balloon Molly, 2 platies, 2 Otos, 3 Kuhli loaches, Mystery snail, 2 ghost shrimp.

Welcome! One option is the Aqueon 10 Gallon Deluxe kit that comes with everything you need except gravel and plants/decorations. It is well within your budget. Before you start, please read up on aquarium cycling. It'll save you from some grief and give your fish the best chance of surviving and staying healthy long term.

Welcome. Go with live plants, thye arent too expensive and not only make the tank look better, but make for healthier fish and better water conditions. NOthing extreme needed, do some low light plants and you'll be good to go! Good luck on your adventure and we're here to help along the way!

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Aqueon! That's it! Thanks, you guys, for the nice welcome. I'll be back soon, I'm sure, with questions about plants and substrates. Meanwhile, I'm having fun reading this forum and using the search feature. There seems to be lots more information here than some other forums who don't seem to be too eager to answer a beginner's questions!

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10 gal., Male Turquoise Combtail Betta, 2 albino Corys, 1 Julii Cory, red cherry shrimp, 1 ghost shrimp.
20 galH, 4 female bettas, 1 Dalmation Molly, 1Calico Balloon Molly, 2 platies, 2 Otos, 3 Kuhli loaches, Mystery snail, 2 ghost shrimp.

Most people here are more than willing to teach so long as you are willing to learn Looking forward to seeing you around!

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"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

A very easy substrate for that size tank is a single bag of eco-complete. One and done, no mess, no rinsing. Pretty sure it can be done with one bag. It is the easiest to use.

^ and eco-complete is great for live plants too!

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20g Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981
36g Bow Front Heavily Planted http://www.aquariumforum.com/gallery...00&ppuser=8981

lol, that is why I recommended it.

welcome, we look forward to helping ya out. with your budget you can end up with a very nice setup.

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90 gallon, 1 Iridescent shark, 2 Pleco, 3 Goldfish, 5 Cory cats, 2 Nerite snails
5 gallon hex, Blue Crowntail Betta, 1 nerite snail,

hi welcome to the site, cycle the water for a week, the day before you get the new starter fish do a 25% water change an use water conditioner, this will stop the first few fish from gettin stressed and dying on you, it is also best to only feed them once a day for the first 2 weeks and only the amount of food they can eat in 3 minutes, over feeding at the start of the new tank can increase ph, an nitrite. which you don't want as it will kill the fish by stressing them out, also you want a filter that can deal with 3 or more times the water volume of your tank, also buying live bacteira for the filter is a good way to kick start the tank, also you put a frozon prawn of something in at the start of the cycling process, take it out before you start to put fish in, and check you ph, NO2, NO3, KH, GH before adding fish, hope that been some help, also don't add any old aquarium items into the new tank as it might have harmfull bacteria on that you don't want, try on buy new items.

i have a uk 320 litre tank, around 70 gallons, u.s. 75 gallon, an if you follow my start up steps you should nt have any problems, i am on my six tank an i have never had a problem with the start up with the above steps, each tank has thrived, good luck. but the bigger the tank, the easier it is to take care of.

I actually bought an aqueon set up for $20 it wa aused one from CL... cleaned (with a razor and some vinegar water) tossed the substrate that came with it. (goofy gravel) added some playsand and root tablets then let the filter with a new media insert (seeded from my other 20 gal) filled about 30% with vacuum suck off from my 20 gal (it was time for a water change anyway) planted and filled the rest with RO.

The aqueon 10(i think is what the filter is) isnt great but its not worthless. it moves the water and cycles something like 100GPH so it moves the water enough... but a better filter would be good. I upgraded my 20 gal to an aquaclear 30 (with the help of some of the folk here on the forums) and i am in love with it. the media room is fantastic. I also suggest using the little bio O's (thats what i call them... sorry i dont have the name of the stuff right in front of me) in the aqueon filter. i have a handful in front of the filter media to promote a little more room for biological filtering. Works well!

Do you have any ideas on what your going to keep in the tank...?

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When you pay that cash or swipe that card you are making a bond with that animal that you will treat it with love and respect, and its needs will be met, first and foremost (unless you have kids...) I don't care if you have to eat ramen noodles or nothing at all to feed your cat dog fish rat whatever. That's the bond you made! Life is precious!

DO NOT use the term cycle when referring to letting a tank run for a period of time. It gets confusing when talking about the nitrogen cycle which will not start until there is fish in the tank.

Aside from that, there is no need to run a tank beyond when the temperature settles out or it clears from it clouding up from adding water. There is no benefit. A week would be recommended however, if the tank is going to planted providing the plants were added on day one.

There is no need to do a water change just before adding fish either. This will not help with initial stress of fish, but a good drip acclimation will. There is a sticky in the General forum on how to conduct this.

I would agree with your feeding plan, but not with food having those affects on the tank. Food will not affect ph at any time, but it can cause ammonia if it rots - which can cause nitrite - but not without seeing ammonia first.

If by adding the frozen prawn you mean to conduct a fishless nitrogen cycle, then this must be done and the cycle completed before adding fish - usually around 3-5wks. You cannot have a dead prawn in your tank or the presence of ammonia or nitrite before adding fish. Not really sure what you were trying to describe or if you just mentioned it out of order?

Randi

you might want to take a look at this thread:


my (beaslbob build) methods

Just what works for me.

My .02

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fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

Hello Randi,welcome to the forums!

I second the eco complete(or third,whichever,lol).Its a very good substrate,atractive and natural.Plants love to sink their roots into the stuff.For plants I would go with easy ones,stems like wisteria and sunset hygro.Crypts would do well to with just the stock lighting found in kits.There are many people here who would help with any plant question you have as well as others!

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

The Eco-complete is just recommended for that size tank for its ease to get going. You literally will be ready to go with plants in less than 10 min. It will take 2-3 hours to clear up, although it causes very little cloudiness. The cloudiness would not be so much that you couldn't add fish nearly immediately though, if you wanted to.

Randi.. For your $150.00, I'll freaking deliver a 10G all planted and it'l be ready for fish in an hour!.. If you can't find a complete 10G setup on Craigs List for less than 30.00 you aren't trying. The key to your future is finding a good source for your livestock. Hopefully you have a LFS that is more interested in growing you into the hobby rather than passing off unwanted/incompatible stock. There has been some great debate on here about the cycling but I think we all acknowledge that if you are able to locate LOCALLY, some seeded substrate or filter media, you'll be way ahead of the game as far as getting the tank ready for your first fish. A good LFS will be more than happy to give or sell very cheaply either of those two.
I agree with the prior plants suggested and will add Vals and Sag's. Good luck going forward. Bill in Va.
p.s. It would be wise to search for local fish clubs too!.. They can give you advice on LFS's, prob get you some plants cheap and prob give you some of the fry from their breeding operations.

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12 Tanks, 900 gallons. Discus/Angels/Malawi/Lake Victorias. Just added a 135 & 2 - 29's..

Eco Complete substract it will be! In answer to your question, I am planning on having one male betta, possibly a couple of apple snails, a couple ghost shrimp, and a couple of cherry shrimp. Sound good? I'd like to get a dwarf corey too, if that wouldn't be too much for my tank.

I am looking seriously at the Marineland Bio Wheel LED tank. Its glass, which I prefer after reading the pros and cons on glass and acrylic. And it has the LED lights, which I also want. It comes with a Penquin 100 filtration. I really want a sponge filter, as its so easy to clean, and you don't have to do cartridges. The Marineland has a submersible heater, but doesn't say what kind it is. So I may have to change out both the filter and heater. Is this easy to do? Because I'm TERRIBLE at figuring out things like this. Oh, almost forgot. LED lighting sounds good to me, considering I'll have the betta. He can have a daytime and nighttime light (and I can watch him at night from my bed, which I know I'd find very restful). Is it true Bettas do well with LED?

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10 gal., Male Turquoise Combtail Betta, 2 albino Corys, 1 Julii Cory, red cherry shrimp, 1 ghost shrimp.
20 galH, 4 female bettas, 1 Dalmation Molly, 1Calico Balloon Molly, 2 platies, 2 Otos, 3 Kuhli loaches, Mystery snail, 2 ghost shrimp.

Yes bettas will do just fine in the LED lighting.

Cherry shrimp,though not a good match.The betta will hunt them down to extinction lol.

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http://bountifulbettas.blogspot.com/

"Come to the dark side....we have cookies...and filters/heaters/and water changes!"

OK, then I won't get cherry shrimp. Don't want any casualties! Any one fish I can get that will get along with the male betta? Something that won't tee him off, or attack him, or be attacked by him?

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10 gal., Male Turquoise Combtail Betta, 2 albino Corys, 1 Julii Cory, red cherry shrimp, 1 ghost shrimp.
20 galH, 4 female bettas, 1 Dalmation Molly, 1Calico Balloon Molly, 2 platies, 2 Otos, 3 Kuhli loaches, Mystery snail, 2 ghost shrimp.