First of all I apologize if this has been discussed a million times before. I've previously owned a 55gallon tank but because of lack of space I no longer have it. I recently purchased a 12gallon eclipse tank for my girlfriend and am in the process of starting it up. I know that a smaller tank requires more upkeep. I just added water/gravel/plants etc and also put in some tap water detoxifier suitable for 10gallons (with plants gravel etc I assume the displacement is more close to 10gal so this should be ok). I added a 100watt submersable heater and have it set at 77f and all is cycling right now. I plan on getting a test kit to test ph and nitrate levels. How long should I let it cycle before I test? Any ideas on good home testing kits? Should I get an air pump and hook up a bubble rock? Or will just the filter be sufficient? Again sorry if this has been discussed before I dont mean to beat a dead horse.
A few questions...
- Thread starter dave04
- Start date
AP Master Freshwater Test Kit is a good one and relatively inexpensive... check out Big Al's website. I might suggest that you keep a log of your readings. IMO you can't begin testing too soon. Initially daily testing is a good idea for awhile. You might consider getting a baseline test ... that is testing water right out of the tap.
If you have live plants, I would skip the airstone. The bio-filter on the Eclipse will give you adequate filtration. Nice choice on the Eclipse 12 for your gf, BTW. Great set-up. I'm sure she will be pleased. Welcome to the "Tank".
If you are interested in cycling "fast" ... you might want to consider Seachem's Stability.
If you have live plants, I would skip the airstone. The bio-filter on the Eclipse will give you adequate filtration. Nice choice on the Eclipse 12 for your gf, BTW. Great set-up. I'm sure she will be pleased. Welcome to the "Tank".
If you are interested in cycling "fast" ... you might want to consider Seachem's Stability.
there ya go dave....two responses, two conflicting answers 
Honestly I agree with revfred. No need to add an airpump...the eclipse filter is a good one.
You'll need to get the ammonia/nitrite and nitrate test kits...pH would be handy, but if you took some samples to your local store and had them test it thats probably the only time you'll need to...unless you start really getting into plants or your pH is extremly low. As for cycling...do you mean you're doing a fishless cycle and manually adding ammonia or just letting the tank sit with nothing in it? You might want to check out the cycling threads that are stickied at the top of the FW Beginners forum. I know you're not a total newbie...but just the way you said that made me wonder if you are familiar with the initial cycling period of a tank. As revfred mentioned if you want to do a fish in cycle and add a couple of fish and some Stability...that might be a good way to go instead of a fishless cycle, if your already planning on live plants.
Oh and I also like the aquarium pharmaceuticals test kits. At the very least I would caution someone against getting test strips instead of the kind that come with a test tube and reagents to mix with water from your tank. The drop test kits seem to be more accurate and easier to interpret the results...whereas the dip strips tend to be really hard to read and only tell you "safe" or "not safe" when you would rather see a number (not to mention per test they're usually more expensive).
Honestly I agree with revfred. No need to add an airpump...the eclipse filter is a good one.
You'll need to get the ammonia/nitrite and nitrate test kits...pH would be handy, but if you took some samples to your local store and had them test it thats probably the only time you'll need to...unless you start really getting into plants or your pH is extremly low. As for cycling...do you mean you're doing a fishless cycle and manually adding ammonia or just letting the tank sit with nothing in it? You might want to check out the cycling threads that are stickied at the top of the FW Beginners forum. I know you're not a total newbie...but just the way you said that made me wonder if you are familiar with the initial cycling period of a tank. As revfred mentioned if you want to do a fish in cycle and add a couple of fish and some Stability...that might be a good way to go instead of a fishless cycle, if your already planning on live plants.
Oh and I also like the aquarium pharmaceuticals test kits. At the very least I would caution someone against getting test strips instead of the kind that come with a test tube and reagents to mix with water from your tank. The drop test kits seem to be more accurate and easier to interpret the results...whereas the dip strips tend to be really hard to read and only tell you "safe" or "not safe" when you would rather see a number (not to mention per test they're usually more expensive).
One of my friends called me in a panic today -- one of her new Ryunkin died.
She used a dip test and according to it she had everything pretty much ok. Her pH read 5.5, so I had her test another tank - 5.5, I had her test a tank she hadn't done a water change on within the week - 5.5, I had her test her tap water - 5.5, I had her rummage through her refrigerator to find something obviously acidic or, better yet, alkaline, she found lemon juice..... any guess what the pH of that was?
Soooo.... I sent her down to PetSmart with a baggie of water and instructions on which test kits to buy. They tested with their test strips and said the tank in question was perfect, another tank had a wee bit of nitrites. pH of 7.2. She tested her tanks with the new reagent kits -- the 'perfect' tank in question had 1 - 2 ammonia!!! 0 nitrites, low nitrates (going through a mini-cycle after the addition of a couple of good sized ryunkins and moving the filter etc over to a larger tank)
She also got a Python at the same time and performed another water change. She'll test in a few hours and will act accordingly depending on the results.
She used a dip test and according to it she had everything pretty much ok. Her pH read 5.5, so I had her test another tank - 5.5, I had her test a tank she hadn't done a water change on within the week - 5.5, I had her test her tap water - 5.5, I had her rummage through her refrigerator to find something obviously acidic or, better yet, alkaline, she found lemon juice..... any guess what the pH of that was?
Soooo.... I sent her down to PetSmart with a baggie of water and instructions on which test kits to buy. They tested with their test strips and said the tank in question was perfect, another tank had a wee bit of nitrites. pH of 7.2. She tested her tanks with the new reagent kits -- the 'perfect' tank in question had 1 - 2 ammonia!!! 0 nitrites, low nitrates (going through a mini-cycle after the addition of a couple of good sized ryunkins and moving the filter etc over to a larger tank)
She also got a Python at the same time and performed another water change. She'll test in a few hours and will act accordingly depending on the results.