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Setting up an aquarium!

M

micrometers

Diamond Member
Need some advice!

it's small -- 10 gallons

What I'm most interested in is setting up some sort of mini-ecosystem of plants and fish so that I don't have to clean it so much.

I've ordered a java fern off of ebay, to see how that works out.

I'll probably populate it with mollies. The bala shark looks cool so I want one as well.

Any advice?

I'd try to grow coral, but it appears that it is pretty difficult.
 
you seem to have gotten fresh and salt water mixed up

edit: or not...i thought i read that you wanted to mix the mollies and sharks with corals
 
Be forewarned... Mollies are live-bearers. 🙂

My daughter wanted an aquarium for Christmas, so we got one. Went out and she bought a pair of dalmatian mollies with her own money, with the intent on adding more fish over time.

We now have a total of 6 mollies... with the original two being the only ones "purchased". (We had another, but he unfortunately didn't survive, along with the several that served as "snacks" for the other fish before we were able to corral them.)
 
karmypolitics said:
I'll probably populate it with mollies. The bala shark looks cool so I want one as well.

Any advice?

I'd try to grow coral, but it appears that it is pretty difficult.
Click to expand...
Your tank is way too small for a bala shark. Mollies will work I guess. Whatever you do, DON'T overstock your tank.
 
SunnyD said:
Be forewarned... Mollies are live-bearers. 🙂

My daughter wanted an aquarium for Christmas, so we got one. Went out and she bought a pair of dalmatian mollies with her own money, with the intent on adding more fish over time.

We now have a total of 6 mollies... with the original two being the only ones "purchased". (We had another, but he unfortunately didn't survive, along with the several that served as "snacks" for the other fish before we were able to corral them.)
Click to expand...

is incest a problem?
 
if you want to grow live plants my best advise is a substrate of all natural clay cat litter covered with well rinsed play sand. the biggest problem you will have is with algae which can be solved by providing a source of CO2, either from a tank or chemical reaction (yeast)
 
Jodell88 said:
Your tank is way too small for a bala shark. Mollies will work I guess. Whatever you do, DON'T overstock your tank.
Click to expand...
Ya, I had a 55gallon tank that had 2 bala sharks I had to rehome, they grow HUGE. Also a 10g tank isn't exactly something you set up to "not clean often". As a general rule, the newer you are to taking care of an aquariam, the larger one you want. With any fresh water tank you'll want to do ~10-20% water changes once maybe every other week. They can go longer but I usually do mine once a week.

Learn about the nitrogen cycle - http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
 
also need equipment advice. like i should get a ph kit and some fertilizer for the plant? Any everyday household items that could substitute in a pinch?
 
a testing kit is always required, fertilizer not necessarily. a great way to get live plants is on a couple of the aquariam hobbyist forums. you can often get large assortments and find out which plants work for you through trial.

i also agree with RPD about going with a 55 gallon over a 10 for a planted tank.
 
alien42 said:
if you want to grow live plants my best advise is a substrate of all natural clay cat litter covered with well rinsed play sand. the biggest problem you will have is with algae which can be solved by providing a source of CO2, either from a tank or chemical reaction (yeast)
Click to expand...

We solved our algae issues with one of these (golden). Fucker had the tank stripped clean within 24 hours.
 
RPD said:
Ya, I had a 55gallon tank that had 2 bala sharks I had to rehome, they grow HUGE. Also a 10g tank isn't exactly something you set up to "not clean often". As a general rule, the newer you are to taking care of an aquariam, the larger one you want. With any fresh water tank you'll want to do ~10-20% water changes once maybe every other week. They can go longer but I usually do mine once a week.

Learn about the nitrogen cycle - http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html
Click to expand...

after reading that, it appears that the smart thing to do would be to set up the tank, and introduce like 4 mollies?
 
interesting fact about clownfish: when they are young they are genderless.

Over time they fight. The weaker one becomes female, the stronger male.
 
karmypolitics said:
interesting fact about clownfish: when they are young they are genderless.

Over time they fight. The weaker one becomes female, the stronger male.
Click to expand...

I want to point out, through this whole thread you seem to be spouting off facets of both saltwater (coral, clownfish) and freshwater (mollies, java fern, etc) communities. THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.

Just wanted to bring that to your attention.
 
SunnyD said:
I want to point out, through this whole thread you seem to be spouting off facets of both saltwater (coral, clownfish) and freshwater (mollies, java fern, etc) communities. THEY ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE.

Just wanted to bring that to your attention.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm figuring that out slowly.

I'll probably do mollies and java fern. along with a chinese algae eater.
 
karmypolitics said:
after reading that, it appears that the smart thing to do would be to set up the tank, and introduce like 4 mollies?
Click to expand...
For a 10gallon tank, 4 will probably be a few too many. You usually have what are called "starter" fish. They are tough fish able to stand high nitrogen and whatever levels during the water cycle until it finishes. I'd start with just 2 fish.
 
RPD said:
For a 10gallon tank, 4 will probably be a few too many. You usually have what are called "starter" fish. They are tough fish able to stand high nitrogen and whatever levels during the water cycle until it finishes. I'd start with just 2 fish.
Click to expand...

A 10 gallon community should be able to handle ~8 average sized fish once stable. But yes, starting with just 2 is a good idea.
 
livebearers will breed and soon your tank will be overstocked. if you want a low maintenance tank then thats probably not the way to go. it would be possible if you only have males, or only females.
 
I really don't recommend starting with a 10 gallon, the reason is that the less water you have the more careful you have to be with the care. Get a 20 or 29 gallon if you are starting out. There is ample room to experiment and you will have more leeway in making mistakes. Starting out with plants is also something I don't recommend. Plants require extra lighting, fertilizer, different substrates and trying to manage that with starting fish isn't ideal . Get a tank, put some gravel in it and a few fish and let the tank cycle for a month at least before you start going with plants and more fish.
 
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