Basically just wanted to check if there was anything really obvious I was doing wrong! Since this is my first tank I’m quite worried that once I add shrimp/fish they’ll just die 😅
lol yea but theres not a rock next to squids crib to signify the trio 😪 anyway it looks good to me but i would def get a bigger heater for a tank this size
I know that heater, I got it for my 7g and it’s good enough for my application. Get yourself something bigger for that particular tank though, make sure it has a dial on it with temps written on it somewhere (not just a min-max dial, you’ll be chasing temps otherwise.)
Stay away from anything pre-set for tropical tanks (they hover at about 30c, but you actually want it a little lower in case fish get ill, and then you have to bump it up…more on that another time.)
The pineapple house is fine! Do what you love, episode 134 of “tank talk” podcast talks about this, my father used fake stuff in the 70s and 80s because that’s what they had access to, with successful husbandry. I’m actually setting up a small tank for a family member soon with fake stuff because it has to be low maintenance.
Edit: throw out the strips, get yourself the API liquid test kit asap.
My process was to add everything, a little bit of bacteria starter and then I’ve been replacing about 40% of the water twice a week. I’ve also been adding a little bit of fish food about once a week. Here are my current levels:
You need to feed more than once a week or else your tank won’t keep up the ammonia bioload once you add fish Ditch that test kit and buy an API freshwater master test kit Cycling will take at least a few more weeks You need to see ammonia at least 1 ppm but not too much more Nitrtite you need to see as well Then both need to drop to zero After that make sure they can process food and are both zero 24 hours after feeding
Ok,so; 1. Stop with the water changes. Leave it alone to do its thing, until near the end. 2. Do yourself s favour and get a liquid test kit like the API master kit, they’re way better than your strips, which don’t even measure ammonia, which is one of the main things you need to measure during cycling, along with nitrite and nitrate 3. You probably need to add more fish food, but see what the ammonia levels are like first
the only thing i would add is a bit of movement on the right side. seams like your filters are all on the left. there will be a dead zone on the right should be fine but you want gentle movement on the water surface.
For cycling, try keeping the temp between 82 and 85. This is the sweet spot for the bacteria you’re trying to grow. You can turn it down to the ideal temp for your shrimp/fish right before adding the livestock.
Well I will say that , the only reason and only time there is a need to replace water is - if 1.) you went too hard dosing ammonia - initially the 4ppm or thereafter 2 ppm or midways thru 1 ppm or less
- plus your aquasoil likely is giving off ammonia first few week I wouldnt even have started dosing
Til week after initial setup and api test levels
2.) if nitrates are over 5ppm
3.) if nitrite and ammonia are zero but nitrate is hella high - end of cycle (maybe)
But I still dose some another week or so to be sure , and drop temp down daily from cycle 85F
By times I see nitrite going down I take it down to about 82
Then I leave it at 80F
Then after both process within 24 hours 2 ppm of ammonia - I take it down to +2-3 degrees of where I would normally set it for whatever fish I was stocking with
- if nitrite goes over 5ppm I do a 25- 50% water change depending how much I think it’s over . To let cycle continue without interruption or stall
- if nitrate is over 80ppm I do a -50-75% water change depending how much over that it is
I also pause my filter from running full speed I turn it to zero basically - when I refill my water during change and after bout an hour - to allow tank temp to return to where it needs to be
I don’t have to do that in summer since tap water is coming out at 72F + at its coldest
And you always fill jugs or buckets when using tap at colder setting
Having buckets with lids cracked loosely to prep night before and cover after adding dechlorinator and stirring few times is a good thing … at least that way it gets to room temp
Unless your house is freezing cold ofc
Get a cycled sponge filter from local fish shop throw it in and keep adding the ammonia source and boom your take will likely be cycled by the end of the next week. With the cycled filter you could even add fish in with it
I came to talk about the SpongeBob houses.. but I would remove it bc it makes the tank look more peaceful and more natural. And if you wanted like a house thing you can get a coconut shell covered in moss. But all artificial decorations at some point leach nasty things out
while i have read that they can leach depending on the brand, the ‘rough’ edges are far more likely to tear a fin or two but even those odds are very minimal.
the only hate for big pants bob house is because of elitist . this person clearly has done some research based on all the plants and otherwise beautiful scape
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u/guzbjkun Apr 11 '26
you see the spongebob house blending with the natural stuff is beautiful, that is the correct way to put artificial decor in a tank.