# New to aquariums in general-- plants and tank cycling..



## backslash14 (Oct 17, 2011)

I kinda went in with what my pet store expert told me, to do a fish cycle. I have 5 fish, 3 Zebra Danios, and 2 Minnows in my 5g hexagonal tank with a filter that's been used before. Today is my third day with it, and I did about a 40% water change because of the red gills, and moderate smell. It has a bio-wheel filter (has been used before, so might have old bacteria kick back to life in it.. I hope), along with a filter cartridge that has carbon.

My Zebra Danios' gills turned reddish color so I googled what it was, and found out about high ammonium levels, the nitrogen cycle, and the new tank syndrome.

I got this plant because I read somewhere (I do my reading for info all over the web, and have to pick out information), that an aquatic plant will help stabilize the balance by consuming some of the ammonium, and for my hopes make the fish a little bit more comfortable after I found out I over fed them. Was this the wrong thing to do? Will my plant die as well?

Can anyone tell me what it is, and give me a link to any information about it? I might have to start my cycle over again in a 10g aquarium, because it wouldn't be much more to do, and the tank itself has kinda got quite a few cosmetic issues (marked on with dry erase marker/acetone, left a frosted look to the areas that were marked..)

If I restart my cycle I'll probably run the bio-wheel from this tank in conjunction with a new one that will stay on there permanently until the cycle is balanced.

So what is this? I also found this stem in the bag as well.. two plants for the price of one? Will it grow?


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

And now you know not to listen to anything those folks tell you ever again, yes?  A tank that small should have been cycled with only ONE fish.

Some kind of ammo lock probably would be best for the fish - I doubt a new plant will be uptaking enough ammonia. Definitely stop feeding the fish entirely if you haven't already. What water conditioner are you using? Do you have test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate yet?

Do some research on the forum stickies for plant info - for now, you should focus on getting the tank cycled for the fish. Keep doing partial water changes often (every day if you can). If you decide to upgrade to the 10 gallon, use the same filter and transfer all the tank decorations so that you won't lose the bacteria that's started to grow there. Keep doing water changes frequently until you stop getting positive test results for ammonia and nitrite in the water. I would wait a week before feeding the fish and then only feed them a tiny tiny amount of food after that.


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## backslash14 (Oct 17, 2011)

Yeah I realize that now. I have stopped feeding them entirely, as of last night was the last time I fed them.

I am using Tetrafauna aquasafe. It says it removes chlorines, chloramines, and harsh metals.I dechlor every galon I put in there, and usually change about a gallon and a half per change each day now. I let it sit with a few drops of that stuff in there for a few minutes before slowly mixing it in to not disturb the substrate.

Since I put the plants in there, the cloudiness has gone down A LOT, and the redness in the gills has gone away almost completely, all that remains is a slight odor. I don't have any sort of testing, but I will be taking samples of the water in to the pet store to test it every day or two, because they'll do it for cheap, or free.

If I upgrade to a 10g I don't know if I can use the same filter. This one has been designed/custom fit to go onto an eclipse Hex5 aquarium, and is only meant for 5 gallons. Would it still efficiently clean 10 gallons?


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## Silvering (Jun 10, 2011)

I'm glad things are clearing up! It sounds like the Tetra water conditioner doesn't neutralize ammonia, so if it spikes again you may want to get something specifically for that. Hopefully it won't, though. 

Not knowing what that filter looks like, I would say that even if you don't want to use it permanently on a 10g, if it will fit, it would be a good idea to run it for a few weeks just to help out. That way if you go with a larger filter for the 10g the old filter will help carry the bioload while the new filter is colonized.


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## aquaman555 (Mar 22, 2011)

backslash14 said:


> If I upgrade to a 10g I don't know if I can use the same filter. This one has been designed/custom fit to go onto an eclipse Hex5 aquarium, and is only meant for 5 gallons. Would it still efficiently clean 10 gallons?


If your talking about where the filter is built into the hood, then no I don't think you would be able to put it on a different tank of course. However you could take the filter pad out and stuff it in the new filter if possible and/or float the bio-wheel in the new tank. If the filter is not built in the hood you can do as silvering said and run it along with a new filter big enough for a 10 gallon. Though I doubt in 5 days too much bacteria has built up. Remember a cycle can take 4+ weeks to fully get through the cycling period.

The plants look like either hornwort or cabomba and the stem looks like a ripped up piece of anacharis


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## backslash14 (Oct 17, 2011)

Yeah, moving the almost entire hood with some makeshift plexiglass worked. I could not use the frame that came with the original tank, but I still managed. It's resting on a beam of plexiglass, and the rest is covered with other pieces of it, and the rest of the hood. I was going to use a lamp but it would not light the fluorescent bulb that came with the aquarium.

I'd say the tank ranges from 2.5+wpg down to 1wpg on the left side, it's a 15w bulb. Not sure of the Kelvin rating.

I know 5 days won't have a tone of bacteria build-up-- but there are 5 fish in the tank, and the filter media has been used in established tank before. The blue gravel I added throughout the sand (was about an inch thick in a 5g), and aquarium toy on the left also came from an established tank as well.

I'd like to add some sort of grassy grond cover on the right side as well. Does anyone have any specific plants I can find at my lfs that would look good in my tank, given the lighting scenario, and lack of CO2, or supplements?

Here's the new set up and the filter that's running--


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## Tikulila (Feb 18, 2011)

not bad, but what is your WPG? i suggest add some more plants.


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## jschall (Apr 13, 2009)

I would recommend a background. Usually black is the go-to, but you can do some pretty unique things with reflective backgrounds and 3d backgrounds...


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## ProjectCode858 (Nov 29, 2011)

Looks good so far. Use either blue or black background. I'd vote for those.


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