# In need of help, wanting to start a freshwater tank



## undecided (Aug 4, 2011)

I have been doing some research and am looking to purchase some GloFish that I will be able to keep in my dorm room. I will be purchasing a 2.5 gallon tank with no filter or heater. I have been reading that Bio-Spira is a very good product to use when setting up your tank and preparing to add your fish, but on the products descriptions it says to add to saltwater tanks. This confuses me as many people recommend adding Bio-Spira to new freshwater tanks, which is what I will have. Is Bio-Spira safe and recommended for freshwater tanks? Are there other products out there that you would recommend for starting the nitrogen cycle in a new 2.5 gallon freshwater tank? Also, some products say to continue use on a regular basis, is this necessary? Because I would like a product that can just get me started and then stop using it and just do partial water changes every couple days. All information about my questions or just helpful tips for a beginner like me would be much appreciated  Thank you!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

A 'cycled' tank shouldn't need continual reseeding if all goes well. But a 2.5 gallon tank is so small, that losing its 'cycle' is not that uncommon. One single overfeeding can surge your ammonia levels high enough to kill all the filter bacteria and make you start over. I really urge you to go up to a 5 or 10 gallon tank for the sake of 'stability' and 'margin for error'.


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## undecided (Aug 4, 2011)

Okay thank you for the info! I would get a larger tank but since it will be in my dorm room unfortunately it can't be very big :/ but I've read that the fish I will get are very hardy and can usually survive through the ammonia levels of a brand new cycle. ?


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

For Glofish, which is a modifed Zebra Danio I would highly encourage a 20g tank. If thats too big this isn't the fish for you. A 2.5 gallon really doesn't do any fish good. It will be dull lethargic and boring. I would recommend getting at least a 5g tank and maybe put a betta in it. You could probably get away with a school of Neon fish instead of the betta but they are often very fragile fish and wouldn't survive a new tank.

Also if you can get some plants in there (make sure they are aquatic plants, many stores sell land plants and these will die and rot quickly spiking your ammonia) you can virtually eliminate the cycling process.


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## SGT Z (Jul 7, 2010)

10 gallon tanks will fit on top of any small dresser.

I believe it's Marineland that sells the saltwater Bio Spira. They sold their freshwater Bio Spira to Tetra who re-labeled it as Tetra Safe Start. I use it.


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