A Ten Gallon Tank. Diary of a New Fish Keeper!

[EnderRen]

So, I am becoming a new fish keeper, and man has it been a ride. I have got my tank set up (still needs plants but I digress), and today I got home from work, went up stairs to check on my aquarium, and... my aqua clear filter stopped working. No rhyme or reason, but now it will not turn on. Nevertheless I would not let a setback like this stop me because I have a backup filter (however cheap it may be it is better than nothing) My fish come in tomorrow, and I am kind of stressing out because I am not sure if the knock-off $10 HOB filter is going to cut it for a day or two as my replacement aqua clear comes in. All of this while I am trying to do an in fish cycle. Waiting isn't really an option, so my best bet now is to add my seachem prime and fritz zyme 7 to try to cycle my tank. I have kept all the filter media in the tank, to keep the bacterial that (I hope) has been growing, and it is just sitting on the bottom of my tank until the filter arrives. It supposedly will be here in a day or two but, it being a holiday weekend, I am not very optimistic. Tomorrow I will provide another update once the fish arrive! ANY ADVISE WELCOME!

The picture of my hardscape with my filter media in it, and my crappy filter buzzing along. (at least my heater is doing its job propperly)

Edited December 20, 2022 by EnderRen

[Fish Folk]

Can you describe what's going on with the AquaClear? Have you filled it back up with water? Is the impeller rotating at all when you plug it in? I find that if you can take it apart, typically the impeller just gets jammed a bit and needs to be adjusted. If water drains out, sometimes they won't work until you pour water in the top to make it artificially cascade over the spillway back into the tank.

I do think that plants will raise your success overall. Even a bunch of floating anacharis or hornwort will bring in bio, absorb initial ammonia spikes, calm fish, etc. Do you have a light for the aquarium?

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I have a couple pieces of advice and my only intent is to be helpful. 1) Pick a filter and stick with it. It will be the main source of your biological filtration. I agree with @Fish Folk that you may just need to pour water in the back or get the impeller going again to get that HOB functioning. I unplug my HOB’s when doing water changes and always have to prime them when the water fills back up. If the Aquaclear is going to be your long term filter, you may want to run that in conjunction with the one you have going already. If any bacteria is in your current filter it will only help seed your Aquaclear. 2) I personally wouldn’t continuously dose Prime just because. I totally understand using it to help with your fish in cycle, but right now you don’t have fish so dosing Prime isn’t really doing anything to help you. 3) Beneficial Bacteria lives on every surface in your tank. The glass, the substrate, the wood, etc. If it’s underwater it will grow and hold beneficial bacteria. 4) Do you plan on running an air stone? Air stones are extremely beneficial with basically no drawbacks. Especially when your filter stops working that air stone will keep oxygen in the water high (good for your inhabitants including your beneficial bacteria!) and continue to circulate your water around your aquarium. 
 

Best of luck with your fish in cycle! That’s exactly how I started in this hobby. You have lots of people around you here to help you through what can be a stressful process. Give us a shout if we can help and keep us updated!

[PineSong]

Welcome, @EnderRen! That is a nice piece of driftwood you have for your tank. Anyone who has ever owned an AquaClear has probably been in your shoes--I know I have! I use a chopstick to poke the impeller back into moving, and sometimes I've had to twist the motor back and forth to get it to start. I've used AquaClears off and on for 18 or so years and they remain my favorite HOB, but they do have the down side that sometimes you have to fiddle with them.

Plants will save you so many problems if you can get them in your tanks--even if you don't want something easy like guppy grass or pothos in your tanks for the long haul, you'll make your life and the lives of your new fish much easier if you can put them in there now when ammonia is likely to spike from the newly added fish. 

What kind of fish are you adding? Pretty exciting stage to be in 🙂

[EnderRen]

EARLY MORNING UPDATE!

Thanks to all the useful comments about my aqua clear and the impeller (which I had no idea that I could adjust), I was able to find a video and get it working again, so I don't have to rely on my crappy $10 filter!!

On 12/19/2022 at 10:44 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I have a couple pieces of advice and my only intent is to be helpful. 1) Pick a filter and stick with it. It will be the main source of your biological filtration. I agree with @Fish Folk that you may just need to pour water in the back or get the impeller going again to get that HOB functioning. I unplug my HOB’s when doing water changes and always have to prime them when the water fills back up. If the Aquaclear is going to be your long term filter, you may want to run that in conjunction with the one you have going already. If any bacteria is in your current filter it will only help seed your Aquaclear. 2) I personally wouldn’t continuously dose Prime just because. I totally understand using it to help with your fish in cycle, but right now you don’t have fish so dosing Prime isn’t really doing anything to help you. 3) Beneficial Bacteria lives on every surface in your tank. The glass, the substrate, the wood, etc. If it’s underwater it will grow and hold beneficial bacteria. 4) Do you plan on running an air stone? Air stones are extremely beneficial with basically no drawbacks. Especially when your filter stops working that air stone will keep oxygen in the water high (good for your inhabitants including your beneficial bacteria!) and continue to circulate your water around your aquarium. 
 

Best of luck with your fish in cycle! That’s exactly how I started in this hobby. You have lots of people around you here to help you through what can be a stressful process. Give us a shout if we can help and keep us updated!

So, for number 1, I have chosen, and am sticking with aqua clear all the way! (the problem was is the impeller stopped working and I had a heart attack). 2 I have only dosed prime once when I originally put the water in the tank. 4. yes I want to run an air stone, It is not in this weeks budget which I have already spent (there is so much to buy lol).

I will make sure to give you a holler if something goes wrong!

On 12/19/2022 at 11:04 PM, PineSong said:

Welcome, @EnderRen! That is a nice piece of driftwood you have for your tank. Anyone who has ever owned an AquaClear has probably been in your shoes--I know I have! I use a chopstick to poke the impeller back into moving, and sometimes I've had to twist the motor back and forth to get it to start. I've used AquaClears off and on for 18 or so years and they remain my favorite HOB, but they do have the down side that sometimes you have to fiddle with them.

Plants will save you so many problems if you can get them in your tanks--even if you don't want something easy like guppy grass or pothos in your tanks for the long haul, you'll make your life and the lives of your new fish much easier if you can put them in there now when ammonia is likely to spike from the newly added fish. 

What kind of fish are you adding? Pretty exciting stage to be in 🙂

Thanks, I really do like the drift wood piece I got. (I think I did a pretty good job with my hardscape...) I am planning on some java fern / moss anubius / amazon sword / a lily plant I saw in the store / and a carpeting plant of some sort. Since I am doing an in fish cycle I picked the hardiest of all the fish that I was planning on stocking.... corys. I know they are not (that) hardy, but they are hardier than tetras so oh well. I get my first two today. (Corydoras Habrosus) I plan on having 6-8 of them in the long run, just not for the cycle.

[EnderRen]

UPDATE TIME! My first few fish have arrived! So, thanks to some comments from you guys, and some tips from my local fish store employees, I have gotten three platties for the tank! (1 male 2 female) These fish were not the ones I intended to get first, but you know what I am still happy with them. I was planning on getting 2 of my salt and pepper corys, but they did not come it yet. (next week they will be here), so I have gotten 3 platties instead! What should their names be? I doesed some seachem prime and some fritz zyme 7 today, before I release them into the water. (They are still floating in their back to get used to the temp), ammonia is currently at 0 (just tested). I also got a carpeting plant, and have planted that in my aquarium (will show later) For now I need names for my new fish!

[mynameisnobody]

If you’re going to start naming platies, I’d start at A and make my way to Z, then start again. You’re going to have more fry than you know what to do with in about 45-60 days. Good luck. 

[EnderRen]

On 12/20/2022 at 5:59 PM, Mynameisnobody said:

If you’re going to start naming platies, I’d start at A and make my way to Z, then start again. You’re going to have more fry than you know what to do with in about 45-60 days. Good luck. 

I do not intend to breed them, so if they happen to eat their fry then...

Edited December 20, 2022 by EnderRen

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Livebearers will breed even if you do not intend to breed them. I had 8 adults in a 10 gallon quarantine tank (I was moving fish around and wanted to keep my QT tank cycled) and even had a few fry in there with bare bottom and no plants/hides/cover. 

[PineSong]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:06 PM, EnderRen said:

I do not intend to breed them, so if they happen to eat their fry then...

Alas, platies do not know or care whether you intend to breed them!

If one or more of your platies are female, you may be knee deep in platies soon.

In my experience, the first batches of fry are either small in number or the parents eat a lot, so you get lulled into a false sense of safety "Oh, this isn't so bad, there are only three little babies, no problem" and you go about business as usual. But batch number two arrives, and that batch is 12 babies.

And then you say "Oh, gee. Hmm. Gotta figure out what to do" and while you are figuring, batch number three which is 50 babies are born.... and you are off to the races! 

 

[EnderRen]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:43 PM, PineSong said:

Alas, platies do not know or care whether you intend to breed them!

If one or more of your platies are female, you may be knee deep in platies soon.

In my experience, the first batches of fry are either small in number or the parents eat a lot, so you get lulled into a false sense of safety "Oh, this isn't so bad, there are only three little babies, no problem" and you go about business as usual. But batch number two arrives, and that batch is 12 babies.

And then you say "Oh, gee. Hmm. Gotta figure out what to do" and while you are figuring, batch number three which is 50 babies are born.... and you are off to the races! 

 

when that happens I will probably take them to the fish store and sell 'em (idc for how much lol)

[PineSong]

On 12/20/2022 at 6:53 PM, EnderRen said:

when that happens I will probably take them to the fish store and sell 'em (idc for how much lol)

Good plan!

[EnderRen]

MORNING UPDATE! So, last night I dosed some seachem prime and some fritz zyme 7, and tested my ammonia this morning, everything is looking good so far. On another note I am dying inside laughing, because you guys were right. I see a small little fish swimming right next to my heater😅. Idk which of the females had is, but the "Just add water" is so true lol

On 12/20/2022 at 6:38 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Livebearers will breed even if you do not intend to breed them. I had 8 adults in a 10 gallon quarantine tank (I was moving fish around and wanted to keep my QT tank cycled) and even had a few fry in there with bare bottom and no plants/hides/cover. 

 

On 12/20/2022 at 6:43 PM, PineSong said:

Alas, platies do not know or care whether you intend to breed them!

If one or more of your platies are female, you may be knee deep in platies soon.

In my experience, the first batches of fry are either small in number or the parents eat a lot, so you get lulled into a false sense of safety "Oh, this isn't so bad, there are only three little babies, no problem" and you go about business as usual. But batch number two arrives, and that batch is 12 babies.

And then you say "Oh, gee. Hmm. Gotta figure out what to do" and while you are figuring, batch number three which is 50 babies are born.... and you are off to the races! 

 

 

On 12/20/2022 at 5:59 PM, Mynameisnobody said:

If you’re going to start naming platies, I’d start at A and make my way to Z, then start again. You’re going to have more fry than you know what to do with in about 45-60 days. Good luck. 

I will admit, I did not expect it to happen this fast lol. I wonder if there are any more fry...

[Patrick_G]

Congrats on the free baby fish. That's one of the fun parts of keeping livebearers.
Keep up with the water changes, it'll take a while for ammonia to build up, but it'll happen and it's good to be out in front of the problem rather than trying to do damage control after the fact. I'd hold off on the Corydoras until the cycle is complete and remember that plants will help, especially floating ones and fast growers. 

[EnderRen]

On 12/21/2022 at 11:41 AM, Patrick_G said:

Congrats on the free baby fish. That's one of the fun parts of keeping livebearers.
Keep up with the water changes, it'll take a while for ammonia to build up, but it'll happen and it's good to be out in front of the problem rather than trying to do damage control after the fact. I'd hold off on the Corydoras until the cycle is complete and remember that plants will help, especially floating ones and fast growers. 

I got some carpeting plants yesterday that I have planted.

[lefty o]

On 12/21/2022 at 9:22 AM, EnderRen said:

MORNING UPDATE! So, last night I dosed some seachem prime and some fritz zyme 7, and tested my ammonia this morning, everything is looking good so far. On another note I am dying inside laughing, because you guys were right. I see a small little fish swimming right next to my heater😅. Idk which of the females had is, but the "Just add water" is so true lol

 

 

I will admit, I did not expect it to happen this fast lol. I wonder if there are any more fry...

you will find that livebearers can teach mice and rabbits a thing or two about breeding.

[EnderRen]

On 12/21/2022 at 12:23 PM, lefty o said:

you will find that livebearers can teach mice and rabbits a thing or two about breeding.

😆very true

[Winstons_estate]

On 12/21/2022 at 10:22 AM, EnderRen said:

MORNING UPDATE! So, last night I dosed some seachem prime and some fritz zyme 7, and tested my ammonia this morning, everything is looking good so far. On another note I am dying inside laughing, because you guys were right. I see a small little fish swimming right next to my heater😅. Idk which of the females had is, but the "Just add water" is so true lol

 

 

I will admit, I did not expect it to happen this fast lol. I wonder if there are any more fry...

I had this exact experience with Guppies. I bought 3 and i had 5 before they were out of the bag. 😛 

 

4 months has passed since then and ive lost count, I know its at least 75 guppies at this point, of various sizes and ages lol

[EnderRen]

UPDATE TIME! 

So, to start, last night I came home from work and my fish were gasping for air at the surface of the tank. So, being prepared for this I added my extra filter for the night to add extra surface agitation, and I did a water change. I made sure to leave the level a little bit lower so that it would splash a bit more since they are HOB filters. (I know I need an airstone just need money as well lol). That seemed to help, and by morning... they were doing fine. I cam home from work, and they are happily swimming. I test my water and I have 0.25 ppm ammonia. I dosed some fritz zyme 7 and a bit of seachem prime. My fish are happy as can be. On another note my male platty seems to be chasing only one particular female, is the a reason for this?

[Schuyler]

On 12/22/2022 at 7:50 PM, EnderRen said:

On another note my male platty seems to be chasing only one particular female, is the a reason for this?

Does she happen to look smaller than the others? Maybe she's the one that just gave birth 

With guppies the males will try breeding with a female basically immediately after she is done giving birth. I'm guessing it's the same with platies.

On 12/22/2022 at 7:50 PM, EnderRen said:

So, to start, last night I came home from work and my fish were gasping for air at the surface of the tank.

You probably know this already but just in case. Plants actually use up oxygen when there isn't light. Technically, they use up oxygen all the time but when the is light their photosynthesis creates more O2 than it uses.