Some V Boring Questions

[lizjamie]

After the sad death of my goldfish I am going to begin again, but try a tropical tank this time (I have a heater). I have a 58litre (10ish gallon tank) I have some v boring qs to ask while I cycle, I can't find the answers

1. Fishless cycling - do I add plants before or after?

2. Filter maintance, I have had a fluval 2 and a rena filter I got with the tank going for about a year now, All I have ever done is squeeze out the sponges in the dirty tank water,(which ruined my cycle) should I do anything else?

3. I have been thinking about what tropicals to get, I have looked at the beginner section but I have a couple of worries:
i - I can't have anyone who will breed as I have no space to put them.
ii - I need fish who are not too fussy, that I could leave for a week to 10 days occassionally if I went on holiday that could survive with 1 feed in the middle?
iii - I do not have any facilities for quarantining, does this mean I should stick to my single fancy goldfish?

Any advice is v appreciated!

 

[rabbut]

OK, some answers;

1) add either before, during or after, it won't make any noticable difference

2)clean only a max of 1/4 of all you biological filter media in one go, using the methord you described, once a week usualy

3) i + ii, you would be looking at most tropicals, excluding livebarers (mollys, guppies platys) that stay under 2 inches. Also avoid danios, as they need more space than a 10g can offer. Try posting some stocking ideas, once you have thought about what you like, and someone will tell you if the stocking is suitable

iii so long as you have a reliable supplier of fish you should get along without a qt tank, it just means you have to be even more vidulant after adding new fish.

HTH
Rabbut

 

[Chrispixx]

After the sad death of my goldfish I am going to begin again, but try a tropical tank this time (I have a heater). I have a 58litre (10ish gallon tank) I have some v boring Q's to ask while I cycle, I can't find the answers

1. Fishless cycling - do I add plants before or after?

2. Filter maintenance, I have had a fluval 2 and a rena filter I got with the tank going for about a year now, All I have ever done is squeeze out the sponges in the dirty tank water,(which ruined my cycle) should I do anything else?

3. I have been thinking about what tropicals to get, I have looked at the beginner section but I have a couple of worries:
i - I can't have anyone who will breed as I have no space to put them.

#1. Add them whenever it does not matter.

#2. This should have never happened. you must have cleaned to much at once.

#3. i wouldn't worry about this.. your chances of getting fish to breed are slim to none. It can happen, but i wouldn't let that stop you from getting fish that you will like just because they may breed when they probably wont.


Read this topic is you haven't already its a good place to start for a small tank.Reccomendations-For-A-10-Gallon

 

[lizjamie]

Wow, thanks for the fast and helpful replies - I'll be back to check that the fish will work once I've made a plan.