# I got a New tank! Thoughts and opinions wanted!



## Morg (May 18, 2010)

I bought a new 10 gallon tank tonight. I am very excited! It is currently sitting in the bathtub full of water to check for leaks. I don't exactly trust Walmart's glue job so I thought I would give it overnight in the tub just in case. I'm going to be using the old filter and heater that came with my old 5 gallon kit (it can fit up to a 15 gallon tank). The old 5 gallon, may it rest in pieces, was unfortunately kicked to bits when I moved by my clumsy dad. Luckily it was empty. Neither fish nor dad were harmed in any way. I've already rinsed my gravel and it's ready to go in tomorrow. I purchased the Jungle brand Safe start tank cycling stuff and will put it in when I put the new tank on the stand tomorrow. Very exciting isn't it?

Okay story time is over, time for questions:
Do you think I should clean out the biofilter media from the old filter? I know you aren't supposed to replace it, but it looks bad. I was thinking about maybe just running it through water not scrubbing or anything. What should I use to clean it? 

Now the fun questions:
What should I put in there? Remember I have 10 gallons to play with. I was thinking guppies or neon tetras or both. What other colorful fishies should I consider? What about for algae clean up? 

As you can see, I am very excited about having fish again. I can't wait for the cycling to begin so it can be over and I can get my fish! :mrgreen:


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## Elliott225 (Jan 9, 2014)

I'll answer some questions. How long has the filter from the old tank been not used?? If it is dry then the good bacteria is probably dead. I personally would just start over completely.


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## Morg (May 18, 2010)

It's been years since I last used the filter. Thanks for answering some of my questions


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

It would be better if you put it on the stand in your garage to test for leaks because bath tubs usually have a slight tilt. I should say no more because I tested my 55 gal after re-sealing it in the garage to discover either the tank or the stand is tilted, its been over 2 years and no problems, its still tilting leak free.

Back to your question, I would just throw out the filter, but you can try cleaning it with hot water (make sure you cycle either way) because all the good bacteria are long dead. 

For 10 gallons, I would go guppies, not neons, because neons need more room (although they can survive in a 10) and neons are sensitive and like dying a lot. Get a single nerite snail to take care of the algae, they do great at cleaning freshwater algae and can only have babies in saltwater, (they can still lay eggs in freshwater that wont hatch, you wont get many with only 1 snail). You can put in some rasboras in with a few guppies. There are some really small ones that will do great in your tank.

So in my opinion, best fish for you: guppies, rasboras, and a nerite snail. Don't forget to cycle first!


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

Toss the filter start fresh if it's dried out and gunky. As for fish... figure out what kind of water (hard/soft, ph etc) you have at your new place, and populate the tank from that stand point.

Always easier to keep fish alive when they are used to/like the water you already have. Than trying to jigger the water to fit the fish.


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Like everyone said, the filter material is probably useless right now, if you can save the filter and clean it out real good, if you can't buy a new one. I would also buy one rated for a 20g aquarium, the more filtration the better. That way you can also put a couple more fish in there. As for colourfull fish you can also try ember tetras and mosquito rasboras. These guys stay tiny and you would be able to put a really big school in there (10 or so). As for algae you would be able to put a bristlenose pleco in there, but they are really messy so I think you would end up cleaning more that way. There shouldn't be too much algae in a well balanced aquarium anyways. Another option would be otocinclus affinis, but they need LOTS of algae to graze which you probably won't have.


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

Bettaguy is right. If you can, get an aquaclear 20, aquaclear are my favorite HOB filters by far, decent price, last forever, you can customize your filter media, they work really well.


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## Morg (May 18, 2010)

I feel like I should give you guys an update. After reading your advice I was going to order a replacement biomedia filter online only to find out they don't sell them. It's probably why they tell you not to throw it away (aside from the good bacteria). So I decided I would try to clean it and see what happens. I rinsed out the inside of the filter, the intake tubes, and the biomedia really well with hot water and replaced the charcoal filter. It's not like I can hurt anything right now anyway since the tank is empty. It has been 3 days since then and the water is still crystal clear. Thank you again for all of your suggestions. I really liked the ember tetras. How should I add the fish to the tank when it's ready. Three or four at a time?


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## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

You can add all at once. Normally you don't do this, but since they are all one school I would do that. You just have to realy do a lot of water changes then. You could also do 5 at once and put them in a month appart but really I wouldn't have the patients.


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## OhYesItsMe (Oct 1, 2011)

Cycle the tank before you add the tetras, then you could add them all at once. Put some snails and/or amano shrimp in the tank once you set it up. Feed them a little bit of food daily. Check the ammonia and nitrites after a few weeks, they should be at zero, DO NOT add fish if they are not, if they are at zero, you could probably add 6-8 or you could start with 4 and go up from there, just remember the more tetra you have, the more secure they feel and the more better off they are likely to be.


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