quick question on fresh

[crazy4reefs]

i just acquired a mini bow 5 gallon that i want to make into a fresh tank. should i use my well watrer that is a little high with nitrate or use the ro water. i dont have anything to dose it with. thanks for any help

 

[bigarn]

Do you mean freshwater tank?:thinking:

 

[jacknjill]

i think that would be fine. i just use tap water on mine and use a product called Stress Zyme and Stress Coat and everything is great. freshwater fish arent as sensitive as sw fish. my fresh tank has been set up for about a year and a half now

 

[crazy4reefs]

thanks, yeah i meant fresh water tank. i tried to do fresh water before i went into saltwater. but i couldnt get the knack of it so i went tried salt.
if anyone has any pointers i would appreciate it..

 

[jacknjill]

theres not really anyything to point out since its real easy. what i did was buy the tank, gravel and decorations. and rinse everything off. you may need a smal filter ( i dont know though since mine is 10 gallons) and maybe a tiny heater. again im not sure since it is only 5 gallons. i just let mine run with the chemicals for a day then got some fish and they were fine.

 

[jacknjill]

also with fresh you can do about 1 inch per gallon. in my 10, i have two neon tetras, two glow tetras, an algae eater, i yellow guppie, 1 black skirted tetra, a long skirted something ( forgot name) and two snails.

 

[crazy4reefs]

sounds good ! i got it from a friend and it needed a major cleaning. i am throwing out the heater and filter it had in it and using one i had when i had a 10 gallon salt tank. do you ever have to do water changes ? thanks for the help

 

[jacknjill]

well, you could do water changes. what i do, is every few months (probably about 3-4) i take out a little less than half of the water and replace it with new water. plus, i have to add aa little bit more water about every week because my cats drink the water(icant close all holes on top and its on my dresser) and some evaporates. so i guess that is kinda like a mini water change.

 

[crazy4reefs]

thanks, i quess if i have any more questions i know who to go to

 

[tiggerguy]

reply to fresh water miny bow. in reply to what you need to do.. first the heater may not be needed just pick up a thermometer and check the tempature.. i run all my freshwater tanks without heaters cept for my 55 which has my angels. a filter is definatly suggested. as for he water and water change you said you had well water right.. well water is alot better then city.. i would just suggest getting the aguasafe or stress coat... to start the tank with... fill you aquarium. with water add i think it is half teaspoon for the five gallon and let cycle for 24-48 hours before you get any fish.. do not buy a plecostamus right away unless you plan to buy algea waffers for them.. as a new tank will not support one.. but you will deffanatly want to get one down the road.. It will make cleaning the tank alot easier. other than that nothing special.. i would just suggest partial water changes about everyother month..depending on how dirty the tank gets.. might need to be done more often.. might need to be done less often.. each tank is different..

 

[crazy4reefs]

thanks for the help. what should the temp be kept at, i figured about 70 is that right. i want to put a new bulb in do you think i will get more algae ? one more question, do you have any favorite backings for a fresh water tank ?

 

[tiggerguy]

my tanks usualy run around 70-75 but 70 is a god number to keep at.. if you have a small tank the light alone should keep it around there.. as for borders i dont use anything my tanks sit between my kitchen and living room.. all i suggest if you want to cover the back is get some plants.. they are cheap and should grow welll.. plus it will give smaller fish a place to hide.. and as for the new bulb will you get more algeo not shure on that one.. dont think so.. but when you do start to get algea buy a pleco.. they can keep up..

 

[crazy4reefs]

my fresh mini bow 5 tank has been going for a little over a week. i did add stress coat. can you tell me how soon and how many fish i could add at once. also when i do a waterchange do i still add stress coat or stress zyme ? so far i am loving this tank. i have it right next to my computer so i can watch it. its cool i never got into fresh water tanks before..thanks for any help :joy:

 

[jacknjill]

yeah id still ad the stress coat and zyme. you could add a fish or 2 at a time. congrats

 

[crazy4reefs]

thanks for the help. if i add a couple of fish how long should i wait to add more ?

 

[bigsteve]

I'd wait a couple weeks before adding additional fish.
I've got a 29g w/ 2 fantail goldfish, a pleco, siamese algae eater (mean... don't get one), a guppy (who found his way into one of the goldfish bags at the lfs), and a dwarf frog.
I painted the back of my tank black, also have a couple medium sized driftwood peices and a few fake plants covering some airstones. I vaccum my gravel (as goldfish and plecos are very dirty fish) every 2 weeks and refill w/ new aged & areated (sp?) water. I have no thermometer and my water stays at a pretty constant 72 degrees. Lights stay on for only about 8 hours a day.
HTH

 

[jacknjill]

i keep my light on all day (around 7 to 10/11)

 

[tiggerguy]

my light runs 10 am to 10 pm 4 days a week and 24 hours for 3 days a week.. my plants love it..

 

[fishy411]

Originally posted by JacknJill
well, you could do water changes. what i do, is every few months (probably about 3-4) i take out a little less than half of the water and replace it with new water. plus, i have to add aa little bit more water about every week because my cats drink the water(icant close all holes on top and its on my dresser) and some evaporates. so i guess that is kinda like a mini water change.
whoah! i dont think they are that much less sensitive. try a water change once a month. Maybe like 1 gallon. I usually vacuum about half of the gravel and that is pretty much the water i need. frshies ar enot invincible but merely hardy although neon tetras are apain especially in a new tank. If u need any help email me at dsacks@strategic-data.com right now i have 2 tanks. a 10 and a 55. The 10 is actually doing pretty good. My biggest piece of advice is dont place any fake plants or ornaments in low flow areas. They get covered with crap. U should add fish every 2-3 weeks. U dont have to wait very long between fish if u only get 1 or 2 each time.
BigSteve- i think u have a chinese algae eater. Im pretty sure the siamese are the peaceful ones. Jacknjill fix me if im wrong
also Dont buy a Pleco. There are no small ones that should be in a 5 or even a10. U can get otos which clean just as good and are not poop machines.

 

[bigsteve]

Originally posted by fishy411
whoah! i dont think they are that much less sensitive. try a water change once a month. Maybe like 1 gallon. I usually vacuum about half of the gravel and that is pretty much the water i need. frshies ar enot invincible but merely hardy although neon tetras are apain especially in a new tank. If u need any help email me at dsacks@strategic-data.com right now i have 2 tanks. a 10 and a 55. The 10 is actually doing pretty good. My biggest piece of advice is dont place any fake plants or ornaments in low flow areas. They get covered with crap. U should add fish every 2-3 weeks. U dont have to wait very long between fish if u only get 1 or 2 each time.
BigSteve- i think u have a chinese algae eater. Im pretty sure the siamese are the peaceful ones. Jacknjill fix me if im wrong
also Dont buy a Pleco. There are no small ones that should be in a 5 or even a10. U can get otos which clean just as good and are not poop machines.
Good job on the ID... I just did a little more research and you're right. The siamese algae eater has longer fins and a broader black horizontal stripes, w/ no vertical stripes. Mine's definetly Chinese... whatever it is, he's soon to find his own home in a nice 10g w/ some faster fish that he won't pick on. And yes, his name is "Lil' Meanie"...
And a thumbs up on the other advice... I've been into freshwater aquariums for years and years (still can't believe I didn't know what kind of algae eater I had), and while they are less maintence than saltwater, they can't be ignored alltogether. I'm not saying I'm an expert, but I don't like to see "hardy" animals ignored.