Hello guys and gals. Ive lurked over gere for the past week and decided to join. Looks like a wonderful community! Anyways, about 4 weeks ago, We were at Petsmart getting some food for my wifes betta when i saw a 36bf on sale for 125 tank and stand. I decided to but it since it is a goid fit for the small apartment we currently reside. Did a bit of research online on how to set up a new tank. For substrate, we used 45 lbs of black sand. Ordered some driftwod online. Couple of rocks from a local fish store. For lighting, i decided on a Nicrew led light. I had to modify the hoid since it was one solid piece with a small door for feeding. Whooped out the jigsaw and cut a hole for the light. I got a Tidal 55 for filtration. Watch a couple of youtube videos on this hob and replaced the foam filter with better ones. A 100W heater and a hygger double sponge filter powered by a Tetra 40 for just some additional filtration. Learned a bit on bio, chem and mech filtration here and other sources online. Well three weeks ago, i got everything up and running and got 6 neon tetras the day the tank went up. First big mistake! Never trust a chemical that claim that i can instantly add fish! API quick start. Yup. Dead all the next day. I felt sooooo bad. Neons are not the best first fish for sure. Anyways i left 2 of the 6 neons in the tank since i couldnt find them. Figured i can use them to start the nitrogen cycle. So past 3 weeks ive been placing live plants. Went a little overboard i think. Tank still has a trace of ammonia and nitrite. Yesterday i finally git some nitrates present so i think im close. Still a bit of a bloom but not as bad as 2 weeks ago. Im a little gun shy about getting new fish right now since the neon fiasco and i have no idea what fishes i want. Anyways, thank you for accepting me here!
Attachments
Last edited:
Nice looking tank, sorry about your neon tetras. We all have made our share of mistakes. Before you buy anymore fish can you tell us what your water hardness is and the PH. That will help us to advise you on the best type of fish to buy . Neon tetras are soft water fish and as you found out not the best fish to start out with. I have made that mistake myself, I have a soft water tank with a shoal of 27 neon tetras. It is best to add neons to your tank when it is well established which can take several months. Tetra Safe Start Plus has the good bacteria and will help jump start you cycle. Do you have a test kit to test for ammonia and nitrites?
