Getting The Tank Today...

[WayneVT08]

Here's a list of fish that I like because of appearance. Don't really know much about them, but if you would give me compatibility with the other fish I have listed... I plan on having the tank at a temperature of about 76-77 degrees farenheit... so keep that in mind also...

Neon Tetras
Cardinal Tetras
Harlequin Rasbora
Black Phantom Tetra
Zebra Danios
Any kind of small Corys that you could suggest.

Any of these snails...

Trapdoor Snail
Columbian Ram's Horn Snail
Those Malaysian Livebearer snails? People call pests? I dunno they seem pretty helpful from I've heard...

I want colorful fish in my tank.... And do snails "outgrow" their shells like hermit crabs and have to change shells every once in a while?

My substrate will be sand.... Could you even give me a name of a good filter? The tank I'm getting isn't going to come with one as my friend is it on her new tank. so I will go get that tonight. If you could list what kind of test kits I need, and stuff like that. It would be awesome. Thanks guys. Once I get up and running I'll help you guys answer questions. =] Thanks again!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

For a new tank i would rule out neon and cardinal tetras as they are veyr fragile fish that tend to die off at the slightest sign of nitrites or ammonia, which can be and issue with new tanks; do you know anything about cycling tanks yet?
Harlequin rasboras and zebra danios are fine for new tanks, do you know how many gallons/litres the tank is? I can't say how suitable the Black Phantom Tetras will be though.

 

[WayneVT08]

It's a 30 gallon. I'm not sure if I want to do a fishless cycle, or a cycle with fish... I've been hearing that the cycle with fish can be cheaper? And you only have to do partial water changes everyday... What's advantages of the fishless cycling?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It's a 30 gallon. I'm not sure if I want to do a fishless cycle, or a cycle with fish... I've been hearing that the cycle with fish can be cheaper? And you only have to do partial water changes everyday... What's advantages of the fishless cycling?

The general advantages of fishless cycling is that is often much quicker to do, you can fully stock your tank when its done, and no fish are stressed out by the cycling process.
The general advantages of cycling with fish is that although you can only have a few fish, you can can put fish in right at the start- it is also generally cheaper and simpler to do, but you do need to do regular water changes and the cycle can take quite a while and you have to stock your tank very gradually- cycling tanks can also be stressful for fish.
When you cycle a tank with fish you must also try to go for a fish type thats very hardy so it can cope well with the cycling process as some fish are more fragile than others .

But thats the general jist of the two methods
If you know anyone with a stable and mature fish tank set up, you can ask them if you can stick your filter in their tank for a week or so and then stick it in your tank and instantly cycle it, which is the essence of cloning tanks- or you can borrow a bit of their mature filter sponge and stick it in your filter etc- but you need to stock some of the tank with fish on the same day you clone the filter as so to not let the beneficial filter bacteria die off .
Somone did an article somwhere on all the different methods of cycling but i cannot remember what it was called, but thats the jist of 3 of the most common methods of cycling tanks, theres a pinned article on this section of the forum on how to do a fishless cycle if you are interested plus info on how does cycling work etc .

 

[WayneVT08]

I'm leaning towards the fishless cycling now. I'm pretty sure she has a mature tank... I'll ask her next time she messages me on myspace if i could do that. So all I would have to do is give her my filter and have her put it into her tank and then when she gives me it back she just puts it in a bag filled with some of her aquarium water and I immediately slip the filter back into my tank... Say I give her my filter, Monday. I get it back from her, Saturday or Sunday later that week, and I just slip it back in? Or can I leave it with her for longer and get a good amount of the benificial bacteria or what? When I do get it back can I take the filter out and have it exposed to the air or would that kill the bacteria that is on it? sorry for all the questions. I just don't want to mess this up and have to do it all over again.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I'm leaning towards the fishless cycling now. I'm pretty sure she has a mature tank... I'll ask her next time she messages me on myspace if i could do that. So all I would have to do is give her my filter and have her put it into her tank and then when she gives me it back she just puts it in a bag filled with some of her aquarium water and I immediately slip the filter back into my tank... Say I give her my filter, Monday. I get it back from her, Saturday or Sunday later that week, and I just slip it back in? Or can I leave it with her for longer and get a good amount of the benificial bacteria or what? When I do get it back can I take the filter out and have it exposed to the air or would that kill the bacteria that is on it? sorry for all the questions. I just don't want to mess this up and have to do it all over again.

If you can put your new tank filter in your friends tank for around a week, that'll be good- when its been in there for around a week, just take it back home in a bucket with some water in it to keep it damp (making sure the plug is kept well away from any water) and get it going in your tank; try take no more than 30mins in getting it to your tank, and put some fish in there as soon as its set up as the bacteria inside the filter that keeps it cycled needs an ammonia source to keep it alive (i.e. from fish poop and tank waste), if you can't get any fish in there the same day it gets set up in the tank, i guess you could just put a bit of pure ammonia in the tank to keep the filter bacteria going .

The process of putting the filter in a cycled tank for a while lets the beneficial bacteria thats in the cycled tank grow on the new filter's sponge very quickly, the bacteria will begin to die off once the filter is turned off (as it needs oxygen supplied by flowing water over it for it to survive) but there should be plenty left alive on it by the time it gets in your tank as long as you don't take too long in transporting it .
If you can get fish in there the same day the newly cycled filter is put in, i would get 6-10or so danios or rasboras in there.
Keeping rasboras;

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile25.html

http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/harlquin.htm

I would test the tank water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates the next day once the fish and filter are in to make sure the tank isn't going through a mini cycle, if all is fine if would leave it for a couple of days to settle and then stock it as normally (i.e. gradually, a couple of fish a week sort of thing until its fully stocked) .

 

[wendywc]

Snails grow their shells and grow with them. So don't worry about getting bigger shells; that's for hermit crabs that just use shells and can't grow their own.

All the fish you name: the tetras, rasboras, and cories should get along fine together. Good luck in getting your tank going.

 

[WayneVT08]

Alright thanks guys. I'll MapQuest directions to see the estimated time in between the two houses.

But you guys won't guess what happened today as I was walking home with a friend from lunch. I saw sitting by a garbage can, clearly the people were throwing it away. It was a tank. So me and my friend carry it home, put it on the porch. I then take some measurements and find out it to be about 48" long x 12" wide x 20" high. So that would be what? 50 gallon? 55 gallon?

 

[Tolak]

55 gallon, nice find. Fill it outside or in a place where you wouldn't mind some leakage in case they are getting rid of it because of leaks. Some people have more money than brains, & toss out some useful stuff.

 

[WayneVT08]

I already cleaned it out with a 50/50 solution of bleach and water, I set it on my back porch to let it dry overnight. It's pretty much just so that the wood of the porch can dry, then i will fill it up to the top to make sure there are no leaks. But as of now it's a good find. I'm not getting that tank till atleast monday. but yeah. I did get one tank today. so its all good. I sent my friend a message about me giving her my filter. she hasnt sent one back yet, but ill update as more information comes in.

 

[jayjay]

wish i could find taks in the street. stupid people by me! lol don't throw anything like that out for me. good luck with your tanks. are you planning on setting up the one your buying then putting a filter that you'll use for the 55g in the other tank and running both tanks? oh and what size tank are you getting?

 

[WayneVT08]

I'm going to be setting up the 55 gallon later this year. When I figure out where I'm going to put it, but the 30 I should have got yesterday, I'll be getting soon, my frien who I'm buying it from just moved her fish yesterday. So maybe today.

 

[jayjay]

hope it all goes well

 

[WayneVT08]

Just filled up the 55 gallon on the back porch, and there aren't any leaks.

 

[jayjay]

lucky, you found a tank for free thats quite large and there nothing wrong with it.