Brand new tank owner...questions

[Symphony7]

Hi there, I'm brand new to owning fish except once in middle school but that didn't go well because I had no clue what to do. Trying to do this right but am getting some conflicting information, or maybe I'm just getting confused by the amount of info.

So to sum up my setup, I have a 38 gallon bow front aquarium. Currently it is on day 4 of fish less cycling. I rinsed everything, filled it, and added API Quick Start and Stress Zyme.

My goal is eventually (probably not for a few months until I for sure know what I'm doing) to keep an angel fish, so I want to get my tank parameters and community to work for that.

Here are my questions:

1.) So I tested my water and it is extremely soft, almost zero GH and KH, and 6.5 pH. According to what I read, the angelfish needs closer to 60 GH and 80 KH and 7 pH. So I went by the recommendation of one site to add 1 tsp of baking soda, one tsp of Epsom salt per 29 gallons. I did that and it raised the GH to 60, the KH to 80 and the pH to 7. Did I do the right thing? Also when I do water changes, will I need to add the salt and baking soda to the water I add to the tank? I'm assuming yes, but all of a sudden I'm nervous that I'm messing with stuff I shouldn't be.

2.) The tank came with a glass cover but, because I have a 1 year old baby, I absolutely have to have the tank flush against the wall so she can't get behind to play with the cords, also it and the stand are mounted to the studs in the wall. So the filter had to hang on the side. Now obviously the cover doesn't fit. I'm thinking we probably need one even though there seems to be some division in what I'm reading on keeping a lidless tank vs. a lidded tank. I'm thinking we could make one, but I'd rather make it from some sort of plastic rather than glad just for safety reasons with the baby. Can anyone recommend how to do this or materials that might work?

3.) The tank all of a sudden got cloudy on day 3,I read this is a bacterial bloom and is normal. Is this correct? Will it fix itself, do I need to do anything?

4.) Okay, as far as stocking. My original plan was to get guppies to start with because I understand they're hardy and easy for a beginner. But because I want to keep the angelfish later, I guess that means guppies are out? I want a variety of fish but I also want some schooling fish. Can someone make a recommendation of a grouping of fish that would work in my tank with an emphasis is species to start with?

5.) What should I be doping during this cycling time? One site said add two small fish and do frequent water changes, one said just add fish food, one said add ammonia. I'm confused on what to do after the initial day of set up and currently I'm not doing anything except turning the light on during the morning.

I think that's it for the moment. Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Hey welcome!

It's faster and more humane to cycle a tank with out fish in it. I know it's boring to look at a fish tank with no fish in it for 4 or 5 weeks, but when you have fish in the tank, you have to change the water more often to keep them from getting sick, and that can stall the cycle and make it take even longer.

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF. To your questions.

So I tested my water and it is extremely soft, almost zero GH and KH, and 6.5 pH. According to what I read, the angelfish needs closer to 60 GH and 80 KH and 7 pH. So I went by the recommendation of one site to add 1 tsp of baking soda, one tsp of Epsom salt per 29 gallons. I did that and it raised the GH to 60, the KH to 80 and the pH to 7. Did I do the right thing? Also when I do water changes, will I need to add the salt and baking soda to the water I add to the tank? I'm assuming yes, but all of a sudden I'm nervous that I'm messing with stuff I shouldn't be.

This takes some explaining, but I will try to summarize; ask if anything is unclear. First, trying to adjust water parameters is not easy, and it can be dangerous even deadly to fish. Water hardness (GH and KH) and pH are due to where the water comes from, and in most cases you are best knowing these values and selecting fish that are suitable. It makes life much easier; water changes (and there will usually be not only regular weekly changes but the odd emergency) are simple and straight-forward when you can use what comes out of the tap (with a good conditioner of course to deal with chlorine/chloramine).

Is your tap water naturally soft, or is there perhaps a water softener in the house? I won't get into the latter, but if the former (naturally soft water) there are many species of fish that will be fine. My water is near-zero GH/KH and the pH thus lowers into the acidic range. I've had tanks of soft-water fish for decades. I would do a total water change to get rid of all the stuff added. Then after 24 hours check the parameters and see where you are. Post the numbers here and we can go from there. Test the tap water on its own for these same values, as a comparison. One thing" when testing tap water for pH, you need to out-gas any CO2 which can affect the test; let a glass of tap water sit 24 hours to achieve this. Not needed for tank water, nor for other tests.

Fish have a very unique relationship with their aquatic environment; the water properties affect fish physiology and metabolism very much more than air affects any terrestrial animal. Everything you add to the water gets inside the fish by osmosis through every cell and via the gills, entering the bloodstream and internal organs. As a general principle, always add no more than the required amount of any additive (like water conditioner, plant fertilizer, medications) and do not use any that is not absolutely necessary.

The tank came with a glass cover but, because I have a 1 year old baby, I absolutely have to have the tank flush against the wall so she can't get behind to play with the cords, also it and the stand are mounted to the studs in the wall. So the filter had to hang on the side. Now obviously the cover doesn't fit. I'm thinking we probably need one even though there seems to be some division in what I'm reading on keeping a lidless tank vs. a lidded tank. I'm thinking we could make one, but I'd rather make it from some sort of plastic rather than glad just for safety reasons with the baby. Can anyone recommend how to do this or materials that might work?

This is a situation where a simple dual sponge filter is all you need. The dual sponge unit sits inside the tank, in a rear corner usually, and connects with a length of air line tubing to a small air pump. We can go into details, but this is an ideal filter, I use this on all my tanks except for the largest (70+ gallons). The glass cover probably has a strip of plastic along the back length, and you cut out small openings for the heater cord and air line tubing.

The tank all of a sudden got cloudy on day 3,I read this is a bacterial bloom and is normal. Is this correct? Will it fix itself, do I need to do anything?

Yes. Leave it...though as I said above, you want to do a full water change to get rid of all the additives. But tap water can be very high in dissolved organics, and when added to an aquarium, the various bacteria that feed on organics can multiply very rapidly, causing a bacterial bloom. Not a problem, it will clear, sometimes in hours, sometimes days, sometimes weeks.

Okay, as far as stocking. My original plan was to get guppies to start with because I understand they're hardy and easy for a beginner. But because I want to keep the angelfish later, I guess that means guppies are out? I want a variety of fish but I also want some schooling fish. Can someone make a recommendation of a grouping of fish that would work in my tank with an emphasis is species to start with?

Guppies are livebearers, and all livebearers require moderately hard water, so these are not a good choice with soft water. Livebearers include guppies, Endlers, platies, mollies, swordtails. There are others we needn't get into now. Soft water species include most all South American fish (tetras, hatchetfish, pencilfish, angelfish, most catfish like cories, and SE Asian fish like rasboras, gourami, loaches.

As you mention angelfish...this is a shoaling species that lives in smallish groups (a couple dozen) and as we should aim to keep fish as naturally as we can, for their benefit, you need a much larger tank for a group; five or six would be minimum. However, a single angelfish might work, but they do get large...six inches body length with an 8-inch vertical fin span. And tankmates have to be carefully selected, so they don't nip sedate angelfish fins, or the angelfish does not try to eat them.

What should I be doping during this cycling time? One site said add two small fish and do frequent water changes, one said just add fish food, one said add ammonia. I'm confused on what to do after the initial day of set up and currently I'm not doing anything except turning the light on during the morning.

Do you intend live plants? Even some nice floating plants which are easiest to care for would be a good idea. Fish feel less stressed with a "roof" and plants improve water quality quite a lot. If you do have floating plants, you can forget "cycling" as such. Plants take up ammonia as their preferred source of nitrogen. I can explain this more if asked, but the point is, don't jump into "cycling" until you have thought through the whole picture.

 

[Colin_T]

1)... Freshwater Angelfish naturally occur in soft acid water, pH below 7.0 and general hardness (GH) below 100ppm. However for a mixed community tank you want the pH around 7.0 and the GH around 150ppm. If you only wanted angelfish then your water is fine but if you want guppies and angelfish then you need the harder more neutral to slightly alkaline water.

If you want to increase your GH and pH a bit then get a container of Rift Lake conditioner and use it at about 1/4 to 1/5 strength. It will raise the pH and hardness of the water. If you start buffing the pH and GH you will need to do it each time you do a water change.


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2)... Buy a Perspex/ Plastic hood and use a jigsaw to cut out a section for the filter. Or if you are handy with a hammer and nail you can easily make one out of wood. Hoods are purely for decoration and have no real practical use unless you bolt lights to the inside.

Basic wooden hood is a rectangle made of 4inch x 1/2inch pine. Front back and sides are screwed together and triangular shaped bits of wood are glued and screwed into the corners to make the rectangle square. These also support the hood on the corners of the tank. (You will have to soak a bit of wood and bend it for the curved front). Use a sheet of 3 ply for the top and cut it in half lengthwise and stick a couple of hinges on it so the lid can be lifted open to feed the fish.

The lid can be screwed down on the back half or cut small enough to fit inside the frame. Normally the back half is screwed on top of the frame and the front half is not fixed to the frame and is just a lid you lift to get into the tank.

Obviously this is just a basic design and you can make the hood higher than 4 inches. A friend who had a 10ft marine tank made the basic rectangle frame to go around the top and he made it 10inches high. He did not put a top on the hood and left it open so heat didn't build up but because it was 10inches high it covered lights and cords, etc.

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3)... The tank should not go cloudy. If it is green cloudy then it is algae and reducing the light and adding live plants will fix it.
If the water goes milky cloudy then it is bacteria feeding off fish food or something rotting in the water. A partial water change and gravel clean should fix that.

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4)... Your tank is ok for a group of young angelfish but when they mature it is only going to be big enough for 1 pr. However, if you buy a group of juvenile angelfish and grow them up, you can keep a pr and move the others out.

Guppies are weak and so are most livebearers, this is due to inbreeding.
You best bet is to go to a petshop and write down a list of fish you like. then post the list on here and we can go through it.

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5)... You can do a fish in or a fishless cycle. Fish in means you have a few fish in the tank, keep feeding down to a small amount once every couple of days, and do big water changes to dilute nutrients that build up. After a month or so the filters have established and you can add some more fish.

Fishless cycle is where you add liquid ammonia or some fish food and leave it in the tank. During the next month beneficial bacteria develop in the filter and convert the ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate. Once that has happened you add fish. Fishless cycle takes about 4-5 weeks and you have no fish in the tank during that time.

There are bacterial additives that help speed the cycle up and these are added during the cycling phase. You stop adding them once the filters have established. You can buy them from any petshop.