5g tips and hints?

D

Delia97

Small Fish
#1
Aug 14, 2003
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#1
Well I went ahead and bought that 5 gallon. I almost got the hex with the biowheel but I found out that 10 people who had boughten them had a problem with broken parts in the filter and couldnt easily replace them. Also the price was too high.

I got a 5 gallon 'aquatic gardens' tank with UGF and I plan on getting a powerfilter sometime ahead (theres a slot for it in the back and everything!)

I was wondering if I need to babysit any levels in the water. I never did before with the 2 gallon and the goldfish but now with 5 gallons Im not sure. Hes a pretty rugged fish and Im not sure if it's something I have to do.

hehe the little dude went nuts when I put him in. It's like giving a kid a car and going "drive fast!"

the decor is lame... lol but I will photograph it soon.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#2
May 16, 2003
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#2
Did you move the gravel from his 2 gallon into the 5 gallon...and did the 2 gallon also have a UGF? If so then I would think that the 5 gallon should cycle pretty quickly. If not then you'll probably want to NOT vacuum the gravel for about 6 weeks...but do regular water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels down as much as possible

Changing out a UGF is a pain...I ended up just keeping both the UGF and getting a power filter for my 10G...seems to be doing well, and I think with a fish that produces as much waste as a goldie the double duty filtration would be great.
 

D

Delia97

Small Fish
#3
Aug 14, 2003
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#3
yeah the 2 gallon had ugf and I moved all that gravel plus the rest of the 5 lb bag abd about 1/5 of a second bag. I added his plant and the statue of liberty I had and then the 2 plants that came with the kit.

Hes doing pretty good and I added some of his old tank water just to get him jumpstarted with the bacteria.

how do I monitor nitratrates?
 

Davy

Davy

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#4
Jul 23, 2003
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#4
nitratrates? I think you mean nitrates. Test kits. Most test kits come with ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, Ph, and hardness. Mine didn't come with nitrate though, it's not as important. The whole thing should run about $15-$20.
 

D

Delia97

Small Fish
#5
Aug 14, 2003
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#5
yeah I mean nitrates. I started typing when the keyboard slipped and I neglected to go back and check it. lol

...im really not as stupid as I look...



*goes to fetch cat swimming in fish tank*
 

Davy

Davy

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#6
Jul 23, 2003
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#6
Pets and typing about fish doesn't really work. My dad was sending an e-mail to my uncle when my parakeet jumped on the keyboard and sent it! He wrote another to explain the half written (sp?) e-mail.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#8
May 16, 2003
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#8
Nitrates are important indicators of when you need to do a water change. Since the ammonia gets converted to nitrites...then nitrites get converted to nitrates, the nitrates aren't as harmful to the fish, but when they get over about 10ppm its time to do a water change.

Ammonia and nitrites are really only important to monitor while you're cycling...(and if you run into a problem later because you have sickness or too many fish in a tank etc.) because after your tank is cycled you should have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites. In an established tank the only levels you should have to worry about is nitrate. (and I'm totally leaving out hardness and ph...assuming that if you dont have any problems those go hand in hand with having an "established" tank)
 

D

Delia97

Small Fish
#9
Aug 14, 2003
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#9
When I had the smaller tanks, I just kept and eye on the quality of the water and changed some, or all of it (and cleaned the tank) as needed. I noticed since summer started and the temp has been a little warmer, it gets nastier, faster....

I might pick up a kit soon.
 

werebot

werebot

Medium Fish
#10
May 20, 2003
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#10
The only test kits I use are Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia. Sometimes I will test the PH.
My lfs dude suggested I not worry to much about PH or hardness because he tries to adjust the fish to the local water conditions.
I'm not sure aboot that, but my Rasies are doing the courtship dance all the time.
 

D

Delia97

Small Fish
#11
Aug 14, 2003
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#11
yeah... my fish is really hardy and I usually use the dorm tap water and dechlorinate that and then add some of the water from the previous tank.

he's pretty active and the only downfall of cleaning the tank is the lack of stuff to pick off the rocks for a little bit. He then stares at me until I feed him, lol.
 

D

Delia97

Small Fish
#13
Aug 14, 2003
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#13
I will need to see how long this 5 gallon goes before getting kinda funky.

The 2 gallon went about 2 weeks with me only adding water for the disgusting amount of evaporation in that dorm (it was so bad, you would have nosebleeds every night!)

I will be living in a dorm with AC so things wont be as warm as they have been currently either. The water gets so gross so fast when it's warm out.
 

FroggyFox

FroggyFox

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#15
May 16, 2003
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#15
"New Tank Syndrome" It should go away in a few days. Sometimes when the ammonia starts building up it can cause a bacterial bloom...or if you didn't rinse the gravel well enough...or just for spite :)

If you had test kits I would say to test the levels and see how they are because if one of them are high it could be because of that...
 

T

thoughtprocess

Small Fish
#17
Aug 18, 2003
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#17
I had the same problem with my 30 gal. It stayed cloudy for almost four days. I did a 50% water change then added a tap water conditioner and it cleared right up.
Also, the ph levels are important, but as long as you do regular water changes and gravel vacs, and maintain a constant, healthy temp., you should be fine. Luckly I have so far, but I'm still new.
Good luck
 

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