Well, this is slightly amuzing.....

[AngelLeah1981]

The tank in these two photos is going to be my sump and is now being temporarily used as a freshwater fish tank. I'm moving in 6-9 months....thought I'd put that in there since this seems so weird. lol. ha ha. My husband just deployed and since I can't use my fantastic 120 gallon yet I thought I would put this 40 gallon to good use. I figured the fish could keep me company and give me something to do. Anyways, it's very bare and I'd like to keep it that way because the more I buy the more $ I'm out when I give my fish to the lfs and move about 1,000 miles away and set up my saltwater tank. I have some questions because I've never done freshwater fish before. I told the lfs I would rather not have any gravel or sand and they told me to let the tank sit for 2 days and bring a sample of my water in and they will test it and tell me if I have to get sand or gravel....that it all depends on my water quality. Is this true? I'm hoping to get away with no sand and gravel.....b/c of money and hassle. I want this to be as simple as possible but I also don't want my fish to die. I put 2 handfuls of marble rocks and a teeny tiny plant in there just because I had it from years ago from a very small tank. Also, as you can see in that first pic after I put my water conditioner and PH balancer in the water some of it settled on the bottom and is just sitting there like sugar or sand. Will this go away? Is this bad? These are the chemicals I put in and the equipment I have:
Tetra Aqua - Aqua Safe water conditioner - new with BioExtract and Tetra Easy Balance water treatment with Nitraban. 40 gallon tank, 20-40 Aqua Tech water filtration, heater rated for 30-60 gallon, large air stone with old very small pump, a glass cover and basic lighting, and a thermometer. Any advice would so be appreciated.

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Thanks.
Leah

 

[iapetus]

Well, someone is going to tell you to look at the sticky at the top of this FreshWater Beginner Information/Questions forum and make sure that you're familiar with cycling your tank. So, it may as well be me.

My main concern with not having any substrate in your tank is that that's where a large fraction of your nitrifying bacteria would reside. If you don't have that, I wonder if you'll be able to support enough bacteria to handle the waste from the number of fish you might want in your tank. Substrate really doesn't have to be expensive. I'm sure someone will give you a good suggestion as to how to do it on the cheap.

I'm guessing that what's on the bottom of the tank are gas bubbles? Does that seem right? If so, give it time; I bet it goes away on its own.

And, if you're really set on giving the fish back, I'd suggest that you not get livebearing fish. You're likely to end up with more than you want and you won't be able to get rid of them all. Then again, without any plants or decor, the fry won't have a place to hide and probably wouldn't survive!

 

[AngelLeah1981]

gas bubbles? I don't think so..... It looks like sugar or sand... shrugs shoulders. You think this will go away? What are the livebearer fish? I would have thought this would include all fishes. Thanks.
Leah

 

[TabMorte]

I think they're gass bubbles too, when you set up a new aquarium, or add anything new to the aquarium it's always covered in tiny little bubbles for a couple days. You can get gravel cheap (I started with about 3Lbs and then just added some every time I had a bit of extra money in my 10G until I got up to the recommended amount), enough to cover the bottom of the tank, or pick up pool filter sand and use that (I'm not sure WHY that sand but apparently everyone likes it and it's afforable). It is where most of your bactera will reside and so it is very important other wise it could take a very very long time to cycle the tank. Usually the only ones that don'e have sand are QT or fry tanks and only because for them we use filters and ornaments from already established tanks to keep the fry tank/QT cycled.

Oh and you need to check out the links on cycling your tank in the beginner section because you can't just put water in a tank and drop fish in it, regardless of what the pet store tells you.

Hope that helps!

 

[iapetus]

gas bubbles? I don't think so..... It looks like sugar or sand... shrugs shoulders. You think this will go away?

Well, I can't really be sure what they are. Gas bubbles is just my first guess. If they don't go away, I guess they're not. But, I'm hard-pressed to imagine what else it could be! Do you really mean to imply that this stuff is in your tap water? Do you mean to say that something crystallized out of the water conditioner and pH balancer? Did you not rinse the tank out beforehand? The only way I can imagine that being particulate matter is if the answer to any of the above questions is 'yes'.

What are the livebearer fish? I would have thought this would include all fishes.

Some livebearing fish that you'll typically find in an aquarium include, but are not restricted to:

• guppies
• mollies
• platies
• swordtails.

Those guys'll populate your aquarium real quick. Most other fish lay eggs (e.g. tetras, cichlids, catfish ...). And, egglayers do typically lay a lot of eggs, but many of those eggs are eaten. The fry to which livebearers give birth stand more of a chance, but often get eaten by other fish or starve if they can't find food. I just made this suggestion about livebearers because their having babies is an issue with which you will have to deal. And, given your situation, I imagine you probably wouldn't want to deal with baby fish.

 

[AngelLeah1981]

What is pool filter sand? Can I put this or gravel in AFTER I have fish in the tank or will it upset them? ..or put some in now and add a little later? or will it bother them?

I noticed the sand type stuff about an hour after I put the water conditioner and ph balancer stuff in the water. I think it's from the chemicals. I cleaned the tank ridiculously before I added the water. It was spotless.

In the filter I have it has a thing that traps bacteria and you're not supposed to replace it. Is this good enough for the bacteria for bare bottom?

I want some African Cichlids and I'm maybe thinking about getting 2 blood parrots but an hour ago I fell head over heals for a Red Devil. He was so cool. He wasn't the prettiest fish in the tank but he WAS SO COOL. He kept coming to the tank and looking at me when the other fish were ignoring me. I was there for 20 minutes and the whole time he was right there watching me. If another fish would come by he would chase them away.....not too aggressivly though. It was cute. I'd put my finger on the tank and move it and he would follow it and he kept opening his mouth and he seemed like the only one in the tank with a real personality. He was so cool. Can you mix these three types of fish together?

PetsMart tested my water tonight and said it was perfect but to try to clear up the sand looking stuff in the bottom of the tank so I came home and syphoned it all out into a trashcan and stirred and stirred and messed with it for a long time and poured it back in the tank and it just settled right back in the bottom like before. sigh. I was wondering if it was because my water temp is at 75 instead of 78 like I was previously told it should be but they said as long as it is between 74-78 it is fine. Is this true?
Thanks.

 

[pwrmacG4]

the water might be fine as of now.. but once you add fish, that is when the cycle begins.. i don't trust the big chain stores. imo they say whatever comes into their heads to get you to buy. i agree with the other members.. your tank will take a long time to cycle. if you are going to add fish.. start out with some inexpensive hardy fish.. only like 3 though. i don't think that you should try to add the gravel or sand after you have the fish in there. if you are going to do it.. do it right the first time. it will save you time, heartache, and money in the long run.

 

[AngelLeah1981]

so what is the reason why it will take so long to cycle? b/c there is no substrate? Will it make the load easier on the fish if I get 3 instead of 1 or 2? Will they act sick?
Thanks.

 

[TabMorte]

It takes 2 to 8 weeks to establish healthy bacteria in a tank regardless of what you have though I imagine you'll be taking longer with out the substrate to house them. There are rather extensive articals on cycling your tank in the newbie stickies.

 

[AngelLeah1981]

How do I know when the tank gets established and when do I do water changes after adding the fish? I think somebody said to wait a month and then do water changes once a week....a 1/4 of the water. Is this correct?

I'm SO MAD at my lfs. I bought that PH stabilizer when my PH is already PERFECT and it caused BIG problems. Sure wish I had consulted you guys before I ran out and bought that doomsday stuff. lol. It's slowed progress down considerably.

If my PH is PERFECT then can I just put some warm water in a bucket and let it sit until it gets to the temperature of the fish's needs (checking with thermometer) for a few minutes to an hour or so....and add water conditioner, stir it up, and then add the water to the tank? Will this be ok?
Thanks.
Leah

going to stickys right now. thanks.

 

[cchase85]

Water changes should really be done weekly, no waiting period at the beginning. In fact, in the beginning while a tank is cycling it's even more important that the water is being changed on a daily basis to remove the build-up of toxins in the water. Water changes can be as large as you want, but should be at least 15% weekly or more, depending on stocking levels.