# New Aquarium at home any advice would be helpfull



## Zeneen (Dec 27, 2010)

Hi my 5 year old son got a 10 gallon aquarium for Christmas, so as you can imagine I will be doing all the work =) and im totaly new to this. I set the aquarium up accourding the instructions, it came with a filter and he was giving a heater for tropical fish. I have the heater in a running but I cant tell how I tell what the waters temp actually is?? Do I need to buy a seperate thermostate for this?? There was little packet of drop included and the instructions told me to put the whole packet in for the 10 galons, so I did. But what do I need to buy for future water treatment? How often do I change the water? Does it need to sit out for a day after treatment before I can add it to the tank? DO I change all the water at once or just a small amount? How often does the filter cartridge need to be replaced? DO I need to test the water before adding fish to see how the ph balance is? If so how do I do that?

Also what are some good starter fish to buy and how many? I have a female beta in a bowl will it be ok to add her as well? If so should I just dump her in or does she need to adjust in a baggie first. 

Im so lost here  Any and all help will be appriciated. Im a huge animal lover so if Im going to to do this I want to do it right. I would hate to lose any babies because I missed a step. Thanks in advance!!!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Well....welcome to the world of aquariums and to the forum.

For temp, I use the thermometers that have the suction cup attached and easy to find in your local fish store. Nothing higher than that needed for a smaller tank. Cost about $2.50.

For water treatment it is mostly up to you. Prime or Aquasafe work. Prime can also be used to help with ammonia if you have a spike or are dealing with it being in your tap. Speaking of, get a liquid test kit and stay away from test strips. Most on here will recommend the API master kit. Gives you the ability to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph. These are the main things you'll want to track as your tank is cycling. And along that subject...read up on the nitrogen cycle to see what your tank will be experiencing and see where your testing comes in to play.

The water changes you will need to do during cycling (with fish or without) will vary, but after that is complete I would suggest 35-50% per week depending on what you have in the tank.

I would suggest leaving your beta where its at. They don't always get along with everything alse. Danios are good starter fish and are hardy. This will help while the tank is cycling.

If you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I can understand being confused.

Heaters generally have a thermostat built in. Plus in rooms comfortable to humans they are not necessary. So I would not use.

I don't use any chemicals of any kind to treat the water.

I would recommend you review the "beaslbob builds" threads here. {blush} LOL.

And recommend you add live plants (anacharis/vals) to help maintain the tank.

I also use layers in this order from bottom (first put in tank) to top for substrate. .5"-1" peat moss (no added fertilizers) wet, level, then clean tank, .5"-1" peat moss again wet, level, clean, then finally .5"-1" pc select (or aquarium gravel) and wet, level, clean.

the (before filling tank) plant the plants and finally fill the tank with water poured over a dish.

Then let set a week.

then add a single male platty

Wait 1 week with no food being added.

add 2 female platties and start feeding 1 flake per day.

I know that seems confusing but the idea is to add live plants and let them get established and maintaining the tank before adding the fish. Then to add the fish slowly.

By doing that you dont need the chemicals or even to do water changes.


my .02


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## Zeneen (Dec 27, 2010)

Thanks for the advice and tips =) I hope to be an old pro at this soon!!!


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Zeneen said:


> Thanks for the advice and tips =) I hope to be an old pro at this soon!!!


I predict that is no time at all you will be advising newbies on the Zeneen method. *old dude


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## PolymerTim (Sep 22, 2009)

Zeneen said:


> Hi my 5 year old son got a 10 gallon aquarium for Christmas, so as you can imagine I will be doing all the work =) and im totaly new to this. I set the aquarium up accourding the instructions, it came with a filter and he was giving a heater for tropical fish. I have the heater in a running but I cant tell how I tell what the waters temp actually is?? Do I need to buy a seperate thermostate for this?? There was little packet of drop included and the instructions told me to put the whole packet in for the 10 galons, so I did. But what do I need to buy for future water treatment? How often do I change the water? Does it need to sit out for a day after treatment before I can add it to the tank? DO I change all the water at once or just a small amount? How often does the filter cartridge need to be replaced? DO I need to test the water before adding fish to see how the ph balance is? If so how do I do that?
> 
> Also what are some good starter fish to buy and how many? I have a female beta in a bowl will it be ok to add her as well? If so should I just dump her in or does she need to adjust in a baggie first.
> 
> Im so lost here  Any and all help will be appriciated. Im a huge animal lover so if Im going to to do this I want to do it right. I would hate to lose any babies because I missed a step. Thanks in advance!!!



Hi and welcome to fish keeping and the forum. You ask some great questions so I'm sure you'll do well with your new aquarium. There's plenty to learn as you go, but here are some basics I would start with (many overlapping what has already been said).

I think the single most important thing to understand is the nitrogen cycle:
The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle
I would highly recommend reading up on it and planning how you will cycle your tank. The tank will cycle one way or another, so proper planning can reduce the impact on your fish. I recommend a fishless cycle as this avoids unnecessary stress on fish. The link above mentions various methods and there are at least a couple threads on this forum already dedicated to fishless cycling if you would like to read on it in more detail.

Of course to know how your cycle is going, you will need to get a liquid test kit (as jrman suggests).

As for water treatment, the most common method is to use a treatment like Prime or AquaSafe. The first time you fill the tank, it is OK to add the water and then treat the whole tank if you prefer. After that, it is generally best to get a bucket (dedicated 5 gallon like you can buy at a home supply store) and add the water conditioner to the bucket before you pour in the water. Once you've filled the bucket, you can add it to the aquarium right away.
There are some that do not use a water conditioner (such as beaslbob), but (in my opinion) there are a few conditions to this approach. First, if you use city water, you will need to know if your water treatment facility uses chlorine or chloramine since chlorine will evaporate over the course of the day if left to open air while chloramine will not evaporate. Both of these chemicals are harmful to your fish. Also, if you plan a tank following what we have come to refer to as the "beaslbob" approach (as outlined above), then water changes are not necessary and you are only adding enough water to replace evaporation, so not much chlorine would be going in anyway after you've added the fish.
...Or you could just add water conditioner and not worry about it 

Most heaters have an internal thermostat, but won't tell you the temperature. You will need a separate thermometer for that. You also might either want to get one that is easily detachable or buy a second cheap one for water changes so you can get your tap water the same temperature as your tank water.

The next thing I would recommend is that you plan out the fish you want in the tank. If you come back with thoughts on what you want in it, we can give you advice on that as well. Also, keep in mind that generally the more fish you add, the more frequently you will need to perform maintenance (like cleanings and partial water changes). A general rule of thumb for smaller-bodied fish is one fish per 1-2 gallons of water. That is based on the full adult size of the fish. I recommend reading up on the fish you are interested in and try to find some that may go well together (docile/community fish, similar water conditions, different preferred tank regions, etc).
Here's a good site to start with some of the more common fish:
Freshwater Fish, Aquarium Fish, Freshwater Tropical Profiles

Best of luck to you!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

beaslbob said:


> Plus in rooms comfortable to humans they are not necessary. So I would not use.


Was thinking about this a little...not so sure I agree 100%. In the Summer time maybe. In the Winter I keep my house temp at 63 and that is pretty comfortable to me and I may kick to 65 at times, but never higher. Not so sure I want my tanks hovering around that temp or not, although I am sure it would be a tad higher than my room temp.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Was thinking about this a little...not so sure I agree 100%. In the Summer time maybe. In the Winter I keep my house temp at 63 and that is pretty comfortable to me and I may kick to 65 at times, but never higher. Not so sure I want my tanks hovering around that temp or not, although I am sure it would be a tad higher than my room temp.


I don't dont consider that comfortable to humans. *old dude

You have a point.

One consideration is that heater can and do fail sticking on crashing the tank.

my .02


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