Just Set Up My 5 Gallon Tank, What Next?

[NightPhoenix]

Hi everyone! Okay, I've just set up my new 5 gallon betta tank, without the betta! I've got gravel, some fake silk plants, a hiding cave, heater, filter light etc. So it's been many years since I've been in the aquarium hobby; back then it was fish cycle, now everyone says to not cycle with a fish. So what's next for me? I WILL go about reading the older threads on the topic etc, but I'm just curious what others suggest. I plan on only keeping a betta in this tank, (maybe one other fish). It also has a HOB filter with bio media (not a sponge though, I may get a small sponge as there is plenty of extra space in the filter and it wouldn't hurt to slow down the water flow a bit). Is the fish food method of feeding the tank the best way to go? Or since I plan on just keeping a betta, how long should I wait to get him etc? I know this are basic questions but I'm kind of excited to have my tank set up. Even without a fish it's fun to look at at.

 

[karawr]

Hehe I totally know where you're coming from. I just set up a 20G 2 days ago and I keep looking at the empty thing but feeling so excited!!

I've been following this for my fishless cycle: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/352862-your-fishless-cycle-the-do-and-do-not-list/

Mind you, because I have a 20G tank, I keep my ammonia at 2~3ppm. I'm not at all an expert (this is all very new to me) but my fish friend said to keep it lower as I have a smaller tank. But maybe others on this forum will disagree!

I think the adding ammonia method would be the best way to go.. just because it can be a little faster. But make sure you find pure ammonia (no other ingredients). I bought mine from the grocery store (Safeways, if you have one) and its ingredients are: water and ammonium hydroxide. Which is, I think, just diluted ammonia so it should be good.

And how long you should wait depends on how long it takes to cycle your tank.

I guess where you go now is
1. start running the tank (with dechlorinated water and a higher water temp like 80)
2. buy yourself a water-testing kit
3. buy a bottle of pure ammonia (or go with the fish flake method)
4. monitor your ammonia

and then of course you'll have to monitor the other chemicals, but for all that you can read through on the link there.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Cool - I'm glad you posted that link, Kara. I was going to do the same thing! ACE hardware in the US also has the good kind of ammonia.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Hi

Agree with Kara, fishless cycle is best. And a word of warning, DO NOT use flakes. I tried this two years ago when setting up my tank and it was messy and difficult...


Firstly the flake takes ages to rot and turn into ammonia, also it makes your tank so dirty because of the amount of flake you may need to use. Use ammonia, you may also get it at DIY type stores like Homebase in the UK or Home Depot etc in the US?

Make sure you have a little read on what to look for when your testing, jsut remeber that you are looking for your ammonia to drop to 0 within 24hrs, then test for NitrIte/NitrAte.

Hope you enjoy your betta tank, I have just given in my betta at the LFS after a year of keeping him...

 

[waterdrop]

Welcome to the forum NP. Agree with all the advice above. The tank volume actually doesn't matter with respect to ammonia dose, but a 5G that's going to receive only a betta should do fine substituting 3ppm for the usual 5ppm. As said, a good liquid-reagent based test kit and the right ammonia are the first supplies. For a small tank it can also be good to have an eye out for a gravel-cleaning cylinder that is a narrower diameter and yet has a long hose to reach down to your catch-bucket for when you do gravel-clean-water-changes later - these can be hard to find sometimes.

The shortest effective fishless cycles are usually a month. Many longer ones take about 70 days, while a few that have been very stubborn have gone over 100 days. Cross your fingers that your tap water has more bacteria than average, lol.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[NightPhoenix]

Thanks everyone for all the valuable information. Actually I'm on well water and not tap water, I don't know if that will make any difference. I admit I'm little wary of using pure ammonia or even having it in the house (partly because I've just never used it I suppose). Anyways I'm having another problem, my aquarium heater that I bought brand new isn't working. It's the Tetra 2-15 gallon submersible heater which I now see gets horrible reviews...which surprised me because in the past I always found Tetra products to be very reliable, though that was way back in the 90's. So any suggestions for what heater to get to replace this one for a 5 gallon tank? We heat with wood (most of the winter) and sometimes it gets a little chilly towards morning (but never below 63 as that's where I set the gas heat). However the problem I'm having now has nothing to do with that; it was 72 degrees inside all day yesterday and the water never got above 72 degrees....(sometimes cooler) Any advice on which brand heater to get would be great.

 

[waterdrop]

I feel like heaters have become more reliable (90's seem recent to me since my first tank was in the late 50's ) and that it is not as much a danger as it used to be to go one size too large on a heater (eg. 50w instead of 25w.) Normally the old rule was not to go over because if the thermostat got stuck in the "on" position then the heater would cook the fish, but I feel it has just become so rare for them to get stuck in the "on" position that it is just less of a concern. And if you have a colder than average indoor situation for the tank then it's important to have enough power to heat the tank, especially since you will need 29C/84F for the first month or two while growing the bacteria, and that's pretty warm!

The bottles of cheap household ammonia are really no big deal. It's really a tiny amount of ammonia in lots and lots of distilled water. The typical stuff is 9.5% in the UK and often less in the USA. It of course smells very strong but just needs normal parental precautions if there are kids in the house, just as you would with other inappropriate chemicals around kids. In my opinion there is no comparison to using ammonia as opposed to fishfood-only as there is much, much more control with ammonia.

~~waterdrop~~