Hi all,
I'm giving myself a second chance at fishkeeping. I kept a 10 gal. tank for over 4 years but in the last months of my tank's active life a lot of my fish had trouble er... surviving. I made weekly water changes and kept ammonia and nitrites levels at zero but had a real struggle trying to keep the fish alive. Anyway when my las fish died, I left my tank running without doing much to it for a long time. The silicone from the corners was ripped and torn and the glass got a lot of mucky stuff on it. The lady at LFS suggested I bought a new one since cleaning it up and repairing the silicone would cost me almost as much. Sooooo here I am ready to take the plunge in my brand new 10 gal tank (again!).
In my old tank I had a undergravel filter with an Aquaclear powerhead. Of course, when I dismounted the whole thing there was a lot of "stuff" under the gravel, and it made me wonder if all that made my fish sick or something. I've been reading some other forums and many people advice against these filters. Now I bought an Aquaclear 50 cascade filter. The LFS lady insist that it's better if I keep booth filters, undergravel + cascade. However, I've read so many negative comments on the undergravel that I'm reluctant to set it up again. Do you guys think the cascade will be enough for my tank? I plan on having some livebearers, guppys, plattys and maybe a catfish, (after cycling it, of course!)
Thank you in advance for any advice you may give me
I'm giving myself a second chance at fishkeeping. I kept a 10 gal. tank for over 4 years but in the last months of my tank's active life a lot of my fish had trouble er... surviving. I made weekly water changes and kept ammonia and nitrites levels at zero but had a real struggle trying to keep the fish alive. Anyway when my las fish died, I left my tank running without doing much to it for a long time. The silicone from the corners was ripped and torn and the glass got a lot of mucky stuff on it. The lady at LFS suggested I bought a new one since cleaning it up and repairing the silicone would cost me almost as much. Sooooo here I am ready to take the plunge in my brand new 10 gal tank (again!).
In my old tank I had a undergravel filter with an Aquaclear powerhead. Of course, when I dismounted the whole thing there was a lot of "stuff" under the gravel, and it made me wonder if all that made my fish sick or something. I've been reading some other forums and many people advice against these filters. Now I bought an Aquaclear 50 cascade filter. The LFS lady insist that it's better if I keep booth filters, undergravel + cascade. However, I've read so many negative comments on the undergravel that I'm reluctant to set it up again. Do you guys think the cascade will be enough for my tank? I plan on having some livebearers, guppys, plattys and maybe a catfish, (after cycling it, of course!)
Thank you in advance for any advice you may give me
