# What do you guys think of my tank?



## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

This is all new to me. I was wondering what you guys think. I plan on adding a live plant or two in the future. I am currently cycling and took this picture before it got cloudy.


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

It's a 47 gallon with emperor 280 biowheel filter.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Looks good. How many fish?


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

cute


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## Rob72 (Apr 2, 2011)

looks nice


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## Rohkey (Apr 25, 2011)

Very vibrant, not sure how the fish feel about that but I'm sure it's quite an aesthetic addition to your room


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## DeeVee (Nov 15, 2011)

Nice


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Looking good!


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## PapaM (Jul 10, 2011)

You might try adding some type of hiding place for the shy ones.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Looks nice!

I think once you add a plant or two your addiction will spread and soon it will be slap full of them!


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## joe2011 (Jul 6, 2011)

very nice


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## Mikolas (Jan 16, 2010)

I have to ask at what stage of the cycling process you are in to be using bloodfin tetras, as far as I know, they aren't the best to handle the process and may end up be susceptible to future diseases as they will be permanently damaged.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

majerah1 said:


> Looks nice!
> 
> I think once you add a plant or two your addiction will spread and soon it will be slap full of them!


lol you got it right! Ever since my very first plant, I refuse to go back to fakes!


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

Mikolas said:


> I have to ask at what stage of the cycling process you are in to be using bloodfin tetras, as far as I know, they aren't the best to handle the process and may end up be susceptible to future diseases as they will be permanently damaged.


This picture is from the ad on craigslist. I made it look the same except he kept those fish and I added two zebra mollies.

I think I am done with the cycle but I am not sure. I made a thread asking about it but it has no replies. It is above this one.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Brinksta said:


> This picture is from the ad on craigslist. I made it look the same except he kept those fish and I added two zebra mollies.
> 
> I think I am done with the cycle but I am not sure. I made a thread asking about it but it has no replies. It is above this one.


The only way to know if your cycle is done is to test the water. I recommend a liquid test kit, they're much more reliable than the strips. The readings you are most interested in are Ammonia, NitrAte, and NitrIte


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

Kehy said:


> The only way to know if your cycle is done is to test the water. I recommend a liquid test kit, they're much more reliable than the strips. The readings you are most interested in are Ammonia, NitrAte, and NitrIte


They are all reading good except Ammonia color is between 0 and 0.5

Been going for 1 week with used biowheel filter, gravel, and decorations.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Brinksta said:


> They are all reading good except Ammonia color is between 0 and 0.5
> 
> Been going for 1 week with used biowheel filter, gravel, and decorations.


Then you're just beginning your cycle. lol hold on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride! 
You will be wanting to test your water at least once a day, preferably twice a day. When the Ammonia hits 1, do a partial water change. I'm not quite sure how much of a change, but someone on here does, I'm sure. 
These frequent water changes will probably drag out your cycling for weeks, but it will keep your fish safe and healthy, and that's always a good thing. That's another good thing about liquid test kits- they last a loooong time, even with frequent testing.


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

I was thinking it was already done because of all the good bacteria still on everything. My ammonia already spiked and then gone down to 0 and hasn't gone up since.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Brinksta said:


> I was thinking it was already done because of all the good bacteria still on everything. My ammonia already spiked and then gone down to 0 and hasn't gone up since.


if you did a fishless cycle first, you may just be dealing with a mini cycle. In which case, treat it like a regular cycle, but it will be much shorter.


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

Kehy said:


> if you did a fishless cycle first, you may just be dealing with a mini cycle. In which case, treat it like a regular cycle, but it will be much shorter.


No, I didn't do I fishless cycle. The reason I think it's done is because of the used media and ammonia and all that spiked then went down and hasn't come back up.


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## harveya (Aug 12, 2011)

When you got the tank and accessories, did the bacteria stay wet? Or did it dry out.... If everything was drained and dried the bacteria would have died. If it remained wet you maybe good to go. Is the water still cloudy? Do you understand why it goes cloudy?


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

harveya said:


> When you got the tank and accessories, did the bacteria stay wet? Or did it dry out.... If everything was drained and dried the bacteria would have died. If it remained wet you maybe good to go. Is the water still cloudy? Do you understand why it goes cloudy?


Everything was still wet when I got it to my house. Water was still above gravel to while the filter was soaking wet.

Water got cloudy on about the 3rd day and then went away on the 5th day. The 5th day is when everything read 0


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## harveya (Aug 12, 2011)

Then id say you are done  Just keep an eye on it and keep testing. Give it another week and if you have had no ammonia present then i would say add more fish. Just go slow in adding. You dont want to overload the bacteria thats inplace.


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

That is what I am thinking. Will wait a bit and then see if it goes up. Anxious to add a female betta.


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Brinksta said:


> That is what I am thinking. Will wait a bit and then see if it goes up. Anxious to add a female betta.


I don't see anything wrong with that, just remember that female bettas can be as mean, if not worse than males!  usually they aren't though. It's just a domesticated betta thing.


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## harveya (Aug 12, 2011)

1 betta......wouldnt be a problem. 10... then you would have problems. From a water paramiter perpective, well every perpective really


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

lol there's been some reports on here of female bettas that weren't in sororities killing off fish...but nothing to worry about! Probably hysteria or something. Yep, gotta be that. 
That being said, as long as you weren't planning on other bettas or long-finned, colorful, or nippy fish, you could probably have a male instead of a female. Could go either way.


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## Brinksta (Nov 16, 2011)

Kehy said:


> lol there's been some reports on here of female bettas that weren't in sororities killing off fish...but nothing to worry about! Probably hysteria or something. Yep, gotta be that.
> That being said, as long as you weren't planning on other bettas or long-finned, colorful, or nippy fish, you could probably have a male instead of a female. Could go either way.


Here is my fish plan.

3 zebra mollies
1 female betta
5 black tetras

How many more can I add? Do you recommend any that go with these?


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## Kehy (Apr 19, 2011)

Which kind of black tetras? There's black skirt tetras, which have nice flowing fins and are quite hardy, and then there's black neons, which are, well, black neons. XD Either would work though

Stocking seems good though, just watch out with the livebearers, though overpopulation doesn't seem like it'll happen too much. Other than that, looks goo.


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