Noob Fishless Cycling Question

[Basics]

Hi I just got a new to me aquarium. It came with an in tank filter, gravel, rocks, plastic plants, magnet cleaner, and a lid with 18 watt light. They supposedly have a test kit, a heater and maybe an airpump, not sure though. They say its in there loft/attic, but I haven't got the heater and air pump/stones yet.

Its an 80 liter tank approx. 30"x11"x15".

Can I add ammonia to it and start a fishless cycle with out them?
I'm going to go to Boots tomorrow to get it.

I've filled it 25% each day to test for leaks and all seems fine. I plan on draining it tonight and rinsing the gravel out, is it a good idea to either pour kettle water over the gravel, rocks and plants to sterilize them?

I also dont know anything about the filter, it doesn't have any markings on it or anything that i could find that says anything on it it goes into a bracket with suction cups that fits in the corner, has a sponge type thing in it that looks green with algae, and a compartment for carbon in it.

My plans for this tank are to have some plants and an assortment of easy to keep colorful fish. My idea so far is something along this lines:

6-8 neon or cardinal tetras
4-5 fanch Guppys
1 male betta
possibly one or two female bettas
either some snails of maybe a bristle nose catfish to help clean up a bit maybe.

any critisism or suggestions are welcome

Thanksin advance for your time.

 

[Twinklecaz]

I think you only need the filter to be there to start your cycle seeing as it's really the filter that you cycle anyway and not the tank as such so yeah I would imagine it's fine to start.

I don't think you can keep male Betta's with Guppies. I think the Betta's sometimes mistake the Guppies for one of them and attack them. Also I'm sure I read someone on here say that even keeping male Betta's with female ones can be iffy. Not 100% on that though.

You can definitely have a nice lot of fish in that tank though. I'm sure someone else will answer your questions better than me but I thought I'd just try and help for now lol.

 

[Basics]

I think you only need the filter to be there to start your cycle seeing as it's really the filter that you cycle anyway and not the tank as such so yeah I would imagine it's fine to start.

I don't think you can keep male Betta's with Guppies. I think the Betta's sometimes mistake the Guppies for one of them and attack them. Also I'm sure I read someone on here say that even keeping male Betta's with female ones can be iffy. Not 100% on that though.

You can definitely have a nice lot of fish in that tank though. I'm sure someone else will answer your questions better than me but I thought I'd just try and help for now lol.

Hey thanks for the input, its much appreciated. I'd love to here more opinions on betta's.

Maybe some info on how to find out what kind of filter I have? I can post photos if that will help.

Also wondering if I need an air pump or will the filter pointing upwards meet the oxygen requirement.

 

[Twinklecaz]

Ah lol I know that one coz I was the same. Apparently air pumps/stones don't add much oxygen to the water atall (it's a myth) so really it's just down to it you'd like one for decoration. If you have your filter near the top so it agitates the surface of the water then that should be enough oxygen.

Yeah, you could try posting a pic. I prob won't know but I'm sure someone will

 

[Basics]

Cheers again. yeah I read a bit in another thread about the air stone o2 myth. So I guess i wont be spending on one anytime soon. I'm hoping that the people I got my set up from have one though(I like bubbles).

I guess I'll get my filter as close to the top as possible.

I'll get some pics up later and hopefully a filter expert can give me a hint I dont know if I should get a new sponge in it or not. The one thats in it is kinda green. What are the commonly used medias for a sponge filter? Is there a cheap alternative? Should I just take the carbon out?? Replace it? leave it in? I red some where that it only last 3 days? Is this true?

Wish I could change the thread name. I have more questions in here that than when I started in.

Also curious about a test kit. I think I'm getting one from the people I got it from. Ive heard that some are very inaccurate. I've also heard that the standard is the API master test kit? How much are these usually? I checked ebay for a minute and didint see and under 22ish quid. I'm trying to save as much money as possible so any help on that is also welcome.

 

[Twinklecaz]

It's the one I've got, I paid £31 for it in Pets at Home but yeah you can get it much cheaper online. I'm sure someone said they saw it for aout £18.

That's as much as I know in those questions though lol. I find all the different filter medias a bit confusing too. One of the experienced people will help you though I'm sure

 

[Channti]

You cannot keep male and female bettas together in the same tank. They will kill each other.
Male bettas are a community fish, but are tempermental and will attack any other brightly-coloured fish (I.e. Guppies) as they mistake them for other Bettas. I'd drop the betta from that list entirely and go with:

8 Cardinal Tetras
5 MALE Fancy Guppies (avoid Females unless you want a TON of babies)
1 Dwarf Gourami *instead of the Betta, another very colourful centerpiece fish
5 Panda/Albino/Peppered/Bronze Corydora catfish (for cleanup)

With a magnet cleaner, a BN Pleco is almost completely unnecessary as there wouldn't really be enough algae in the tank to feed it.

 

[Truck]

You cannot keep male and female bettas together in the same tank. They will kill each other.
Male bettas are a community fish, but are tempermental and will attack any other brightly-coloured fish (I.e. Guppies) as they mistake them for other Bettas.

That is false.

 

[Channti]

You cannot keep male and female bettas together in the same tank. They will kill each other.
Male bettas are a community fish, but are tempermental and will attack any other brightly-coloured fish (I.e. Guppies) as they mistake them for other Bettas.

That is false.

What exactly about it is false?.

 

[Truck]

It depends on the species of Betta, splendens, no you shouldn't keep males together, but there are loads of species of Betta where you can keep them together.

 

[Channti]

yes, I know that. I was actually editing my post to expand a little more on that.

It is not impossible to house a male and female betta together in the same tank, but not exactly something that should be recommended to someone who is new to fishkeeping.

Males can be kept in community tanks, but it depends on the temperament of the betta. Some will be highly aggressive, and will not be able to be kept with any other fish, while others will be fine in a community tank. It depends on the individual fish.

I'm discouraging against bettas, because when a new fishkeeper refers to bettas, they're almost always referring to the betta splendens.

 

[Basics]

How do they breed bettas if some cant be kept together?

What other types of bettas are there? can someone fgive me a link? I havent figured out how to fully explore this forum yet.

tips on test kits or declorinator?

and thanks for the tip on the cory's going to look them up a bit more

 

[Channti]

Betta Splendens are only kept together for a limited time and have to be conditioned before being able to be in the same tank when breeding. That information can be found in the bettas section of the forums.

As for other species of Bettas, I'm not entirely sure on the names and requirements of them, as I have only kept Betta Splendens. About the best I can do is provide you with a wikipedia link to start off your research. http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betta

I use Nutrafin AquaPlus to dechlorinate my tanks, and the API Liquid Freshwater Master Test Kit. Avoid the test strips as they can be highly unreliable. The liquid test kit will cost you a little bit more, but in my opinion, its worth it.

 

[Basics]

Also, should I clean this gravel and plants some how? I'm going to clean the tank tomorrow. but I know not to use anything but warm water and maybe some vinegar or ammonia to clean the glass. The gravels seems pretty dirty. Loads of stuff came out of it when i emptied the tank tonight.

 

[Channti]

When I clean my tanks I don't touch the inside of the glass.
I use a siphon to clean the waste out of the gravel, changing about 15-20% of the water. When I refill the tank, I use water that is about the same temperature as the tank water, sometimes a couple degrees cooler (depending on what tank I'm refilling). I add the dechlorinator, and I'm done.

Why would you clean the plants?
I only clean my plastic plants and silk plants about once every six months.