Seeking Professional Help to starting a Tank from scratch

[NerithyisaNxkki]

Recently i posted a thread regarding my uncycled tank with fishes inside. Regarding that thread, unfortunately due to very high levels of ammonia, they have all passed away. RIP fishes. Moving on, i hope i can seek professional help to correctly start up my tank and stock it adequately so as to prevent this accident from happening again.
As of right now, i have limited resources which are stated below:
One 15 inches by 15 inches by 13 inches Aqua-Terrarium tank
(It is roughly about this size)
Link : https://www.schoolspecialty.com/penn-plax-small-aquaterrarium-kit--2012188
1kg of black stones for base (each stone is roughly the size of one quarter an inch or less each)
One simple, compact pump
API stress coat
I plan to purchase an ammonia test kit and API quick start later today.
I live in a region where 27-32 degrees celcius is the normal temperature.
Should i purchase more gravel? What kind of fishes are suitable for an aqua terrarium of this size? What type of water plants should i plant in the tank and do i need anything else?
Thanks!

 

[Sgooosh]

sorry, i am not professional, just a random monkey . imporatnt factors:
need to know ph
need to know hardness(gh)
Quick start is very good i like it. api tap water conditioner is very good for me too.
for your tank size, here are some reccomendations

HARD WATER PH 7+
planted with live plants and sand. (smooth stone is fine actually)
some anubias nana and 3 small moss balls(3 small is better than 1 large if you are buying at petsmart or somewhere. perhaps stem plants, need to know the light
6 cory catfish as that is the bare minimum. (you should start with a simple one species and add and upgrade if you are beginner)

total extra price(plant inclusive get the small anubias in tube)
USD
$10 moss ball(s)
$5 anubias (something)
*optional $10 stem plants (do NOT get the tube one i think ones at a small fish store already in water are better)
$4 for a cory cat x6
$24 for fish

$43 total

HARD WATER PH 7.5+
planted with live plants, does not matter the substrate
some anubias or floaters( water lettuce is cool)
3 guppies, 1 male 2 female ( i know this is under but that was my first 15gallon tank)

total price
$10 floaters
$5 anubias
$3 for guppy at petsmart
$9 for guppies

$27 total

SOFT WATER PH 7-
planted with some plants decorations matter
some anubias, floaters maybe
betta fishx1 tetrasx3(neon or cardinal)

total price
$5 anubias
$10 floaters
$3-24 betta
$3 tetra
$12-33 for fish

total
$27- 38

NOTE: all of this is my opinion, other people probably have much more to say.
leave cycling for 1-2 weeks then get fishies.
all of these combinations should work correct me if im wrong
prices are from america and all petsmart prices, if you find an expensive male guppy that you like, go for it
bettas have huge price range because some are comon some are not
my math sometimes is wrong i kinda rushed that
thanks and good luck

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Do you know your tap water pH and GH?
This will determine your type of water (soft or hard water) and help to choose the fish species.

Your tank is more suitable for semi-aquatic animals such as crab, mud skipper, reptiles, etc.
Your tank size is small at 8.5gallons and it can be hard to keep the Ammonia level to zero if you keep big fish.

You can calculate your water volume = [ ( length x width x height ) in cm / 1000 ] liter

Keep low bio-load fish or invertebrates such as shrimps, small crayfish(eg. Mexican crayfish) or small crabs.
For fish, probably small fish like Chili Rasboras. (if you have soft water).

If you really want to keep fish, it's better to get bigger tank with at least 15 gallons.(about 57 liter)
For a 15-17 gallons tank, the dimensions are 60(L) X 30(W) X 36(H) cm.

If you have any fish in mind, do let us know and we can suggest the tank size.

As for gravel, it's better not to have too much gravel as it will reduce your water volume.
Anyway, you need to decide what fish or invertebrates first before choosing the gravel.

 

[FFGuest6357]

Also, not a professional.

Once you’ve established all you water parameters as mentioned above, you can ‘feed’ your tank for a few weeks, to provide an ammonia source to start building you bacteria cultures to cycle your tank.

In the meantime, do every bit of research you can on the nitrogen cycle, how it works, why it’s important, the handful of way to get it going etc.

then do all the research you can to find fish you like based on the water parameters you have.

there are tons of terrific threads and articles on this forum about all of these topics.

while it is super convenient to have the ability to tap into many of our member’s extensive knowledge, of you’re serious about fish keeping, you also need to do your own homework.

That homework will give you an idea of what information you need to provide while asking our members for suggestions. Because, we’ll, fish and aquatic plant keeping just isn’t that black and white....

good luck with your tank, and GET TO WORK! lol

 

[NerithyisaNxkki]

Regarding the type of tap water, mine is moderately soft water. pH ranges from 7 to 9
I plan to follow Sgooosh’s suggestion for soft water which is one betta, 3 neon tetras or possibly replaced by chili rasboras if i can find them. (i worry that they wont survive in the alkalic pH)
Amano shrimp, cory catfish or ghost shrimp perhaps? (they can help me clean the tank a lil bit)

 

[ClownLurch]

Find out your water hardness on your water providers website. PH is not the water hardness it’s the alkalinity. For instance my ph is 8 and my water hardness is 340ppm which is considered very hard.

If you’re comfortable telling us the city you live in someone may be able to help you find your water hardness as water company websites are pretty difficult to figure out even for experienced aquarists.

 

[Colin_T]

Your GH, KH and pH can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Not a professional here either...

As everyone above has mentioned, we need to know the hardness of your water.

1kg of black stones for base (each stone is roughly the size of one quarter an inch or less each)

$4 for a cory cat x6

You have cheap Corydoras there! Mine are $7 a piece. ?

Also, corys need to have sand as a substrate, not stones or gravel.

 

[Sgooosh]

Not a professional here either...

As everyone above has mentioned, we need to know the hardness of your water.




You have cheap Corydoras there! Mine are $7 a piece. ?

Also, corys need to have sand as a substrate, not stones or gravel.

ive seen them work with smooth stones but i have sand over here so i dont know i have lava rock underneath sand, its cheap and umm cool B )

 

[Essjay]

PH is not the water hardness it’s the alkalinity.

The word alkalinity is used in different ways

Water companies use it when they mean KH, for example. (That's because of the method they use to measure it)
If we use the word basic for pH over 7, it avoids confusion

 

[PheonixKingZ]

ive seen them work with smooth stones but i have sand over here so i dont know i have lava rock underneath sand, its cheap and umm cool B )

Corydoras are filter feeders, which means they take in a mouthful of sand and then sort out the food. Then they keep the food and spit all of the “bad stuff”. (Feces, sand, plant matter, etc.)

With stones/gravel, they can’t do this.

 

[Sgooosh]

The word alkalinity is used in different ways

Water companies use it when they mean KH, for example. (That's because of the method they use to measure it)
If we use the word basic for pH over 7, it avoids confusion

ahh yes i will change that. i guess i was not clear since my soft water that ran through the softener is also softer and acidic than the outside water