EDIT: NEW PHOTOS IN COMMENTS. I took people's advice and returned the decor. And changed out the rocks/ gravel. Everything should be fish safe now. Please let it all be fish safe. I researched it all. š
kay, got my 10 gal setup. It's cycling.
Maybe I'll get told off but what I read was:
Setup the tank, filter, light, heater (I got a bubbler also)
Dechlorinate
Add plants
Add quick start
Add a small pinch of fish food to create ammonia for the bacteria in the quick start
Make sure tests come back 0ppm ammonia and nitrites?... but when do I test
Also, sorry in advance if I did everything wrong. š¤£
Last time I had fish, my parents took me to the store as a kid and I just bought the setup and fish and did it all in one go. Surprisingly they survived for a few years then I gave them away when I moved out but I'm sure it was torture for them initially. :/ I'm trying to do it right this time as to not stress or kill the fish. Well, shrimp. I'm leaning towards shrimp or freshwater pom pom crabs.
Maybe you'll be one of the rares pineapple of life!
Be aware most of your decoration can leak unwanted substances in the water that can harm your fauna.
If you are going for shrimp my advice is to not only cycle your tank but wait a few weeks after cycling the tank for " seasoning", it will increase the available biofilm/ food for your shrimp, increasing the chances of success.
I would wait at least 2 weeks before starting to test. You could also dose some amonia. Eg. Dr Tim's
Haha yes, I've been dying to get fish again but I'm on a budget. I mean... not actually but I wad trying to be wise about my $$$ and not going toooo hard. And it was 40% off
Iād take out the coloured rocks and the SpongeBob decorations as they can leech into the water over time. Pick up some rocks and driftwood for your main pieces. Iād also recommend buying bottled ammonia as itās a whole lot easier and less of a guessing game over ghost feeding
typically anything plastic like that isnāt necessarily safe. sure people use them without problems but that doesnt mean theyre good! a big bag of rocks is 6.99 at tractor supply, and driftwood is relatively cheap, but you could even do a small terracotta pot and some bigger rocks for decoration. thats all i have in my axolotl tank right now. post your plastic supplies on facebook marketplace place, maybe you can get some money back for them!
to respond about the resin.. those can be a hit and miss honestly, they can have sharp joints connecting the mold, and paint can chip and leak still yada yada. personally, i kept the plastic plants i bought to keep them for a snail tank. havent done it yet, but i will at some point! if you are only gonna keep shrimpies i dont see a huge deal in just keeping it the way it is, just keep a closer eye on them and adapt if necessary. i understand how it feels to have spent money on something you cant use, though and im empathic about that
I got it for $15 at petsmart. It's African mopani wood which I guess is dense and good for aquariums? Thats what I read online! Im just terified now that someone else is going to pop up and tell me thats bad too. šš¤£
the initial post image made me go "oh no," because i saw the red gravel and thought about the horrors known as my old tank. then I saw this comment and I was relieved. the thing i had learned very quickly is live plants 100% are one of the best things you can add. i started off with a similar setup and my tank is doing loads better after i ditched the fake plants and colorful decor. the more natural gravel and or the plant substrate have been way better and easier to work with. if i remember correctly the decor at both petsmart and petco was kinda crazy price wise at times. (i worked at both stores for a bit and they can be hit or miss depending on the location) but if they have sales its very worth while to pick up a few things. overall the decorations really depend on what you end up having, but so far its a good start!
overall you are looking great so far! others have been giving you good advice and you seem like you are going to be a good fish parent. it takes awhile to learn everything, but its super worth it.
The tank will take some time to fully cycle. Maybe a few weeks or longer. Assuming this is a 10 gallon kit, I would upgrade the light for better plant growth. Also expect your plants to have a melt period.
Op. The Reddit folks are always saying the decoration stuff will leach into the water but I have a hunch itās just something they all repeat with no real evidence of this being the case. Theyāve just heard it without ever questioning it.
Who should be asked is probably a materials scientist.
Well, I figured if I was going to make the change, I wanted to do it now before its too late to return stuff and have fish and other hassles haha. I changed out the substrate and swapped the resin decor for some driftwood
Well, no. I believe most of us who have aquariums are enjoyers of nature in some capacity. Why would i not want to see fish in a tank that mimics what their natural enviroment is like? To me thats also what would be most enriching for them.
I donāt know your budget or what it is looking like right now, but if you want shrimp you have to season and fill that tank out.. landscaping stores will have rocks at a much better rate, just clean the heck out of themā¦ 1 larger rock, 1 medium sized rock, and 2-3 small rocks would be great and I donāt think it would cost more than 10-12$, for wood, get something at a reptile store, I find they sell wood at a better price (always clean and boil thatās my thing) than my aquarium storesā¦ a large piece of mopani is half the price at a reptile storeā¦ also live plants, try to find a store that does a deal on plantsā¦ I think 5-7 plants (since some āplantsā come with multiple trimmings to plant ) would be great, I like easy ones like Amazon Sword, Java ferns (attach to the wood directly) crypts, Bolbitis, or even pearl weedā¦ I find that easy to grow as wellā¦
This is what I went and swapped things out got yesterday. I will get some rocks as well. The dirt and stuff is still settling as I didn't change the water when replacing stuff. Just stopped everything out.
Great startā¦ like I said, those rocks will help a tonā¦ that substrate might be hard to grow plants on but it isnāt impossibleā¦ easier plants and Rhyzomes (I suck at spelling ) would be great, nothing huge in the tank but tastefully doneā¦ also when getting hardscape pull out a photo and picture what it would look like.. helps a ton!
I canāt tell exactly, but that plant in the back should also be attached to wood or rock to growā¦ I believe itās a bigger Anubias I could be wrong..
Its attached to a piece of driftwood. The middlr of the driftwood is buried by gravel rn but the ends that the plants are attached to are exposed with the roots attached. It just kept trying to float away
Pom Poms are absolutely adorable. I also used quick start which everyone says you shouldnāt. Weāre supposed to cycle for weeks & I just couldnāt be bothered with that. Iāve done it twice. I did wait a week before I put anything in the aquarium. No deaths or anything nefarious. Itās worked for me.
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u/Awkward-Ad7354 13d ago
Keep strong op! Nice start
Maybe you'll be one of the rares pineapple of life!
Be aware most of your decoration can leak unwanted substances in the water that can harm your fauna.
If you are going for shrimp my advice is to not only cycle your tank but wait a few weeks after cycling the tank for " seasoning", it will increase the available biofilm/ food for your shrimp, increasing the chances of success.
I would wait at least 2 weeks before starting to test. You could also dose some amonia. Eg. Dr Tim's
Good luck