http://forum.aqua-fish.net/ A forum devoted to aquarium fish, plants, techniques and fish keeping as a whole. en http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=i-don-t-want-to-mess-up-new-to-fish#1 Um, well my name is Evangeline and I need help. My Mom used to have many aquariums, her largest being 30 gallons. It's been a few years, and now that I'm in high school, she decided to let me start my own aquarium. Being limited on money, we bought a used aquarium with all of the essentials. It's a 10 gallon tank, including six artificial plants, a undergravel filter, green gravel, and two sunken figures. Some items were old, and had to be trashed (including the original 10 gallon tank that broke when it was moved). We replaced all of the old items(including a new 10 gallon aquarium), and the tank is now currently running. My first question is, what should be my next step? The tank is filled with tap water, and tomorrow we'll be adding the chlorine and chloramines removing solution (the lady at the pet store said that this was a must.) After this, I am unsure as to what I should do next. My second question is, is it normal for the tank to be slightly foggy? For now, I'm assuming that this is a result of the un-removed chlorine. Thirdly, any advice would be much appreciated. Like I said, I am a beginner, and it has been a while since my mom has taken care of an aquarium. I believe in providing all animals with the utmost care, and I want to be the best Aquarist(?) that I can be. Thank you! Evangeline 2009-05-12 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=i-don-t-want-to-mess-up-new-to-fish#2 Once you have added the conditioner you need to cycle the tank. I prefer to use the fishless method as it saves putting stress on any so-called hardy fish. Drop a frozen prawn into the tank and as it decays it will create the ammonia needed to set off the cycle. mickey 2009-05-13 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=i-don-t-want-to-mess-up-new-to-fish#3 i agree with mickey. you need to cycle your tank. there are two types of cycling and try researching which you prefer. also, do not forget to buy test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. ideally, the three should be zero before putting fish in although a controlled level of nitrate can be tolerated by some fish. janisE 2009-05-21 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=i-don-t-want-to-mess-up-new-to-fish#4 Oh Lord, I completely forgot to read your replies. I went with the fish-in-tank cycle method. I have three now (two red-eyed tetras and one albino catfish), and they are all happy and healthy. Thanks for the help, though. I'm getting another aquarium (29 gallons) in three months, and I'm going to use the fishless cycle method in that tank. I think it's rather funny how you say the fish-in-tank method could make the fish stressed. I'm the one who keeps freaking out. I check the tank usually more than twice a day with my testing kit. I check the temperature every hour. One question though: In my 29 gallon tank, I was hoping to try something different. Do you think having living plants is to risky for a beginner like me to do? I just want to keep the fish I have and the ones I plan to get in the future happy. Evangeline 2009-05-21 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=i-don-t-want-to-mess-up-new-to-fish#5 Keeping plants is not that difficult. If you have a look on the internet at the different species available it will tell you the water parameters they prefer, feed them with a liquid food every now and again and you should be o.k Don't buy the plants that need high lighting, they will be difficult to grow properly unless you have the correct equipment mickey 2009-05-21 http://forum.aqua-fish.net/?topic=i-don-t-want-to-mess-up-new-to-fish#6 When we started our tank, we added some fish-safe fertilizers, then gravel on it, tap water, waited for about a day, so all the chlorine has gone. Then we planted plants - it is the easiest thing to care about. It is almost the same like with normal plants. They need just light and food - witch can be fertilizers or fish poo. And of course air - it need fish too, so just an aerator is fine. Fertilizers should be fish friendly and you should take care when you are choosing one, because many of them can be toxic to fish. Fish poo´s are natural fertilizers, which we used in our old tanks. We just did not clean the gravel properly, just when no more poo were absorbed by the gravel. We added then some snails a filter with aerator (so the snails, plants and good bacteria can breath) and waited for a month or more so the water was prepared for fish. But you can speed up the proces with adding some nitrification bacteria. They decompose the poo of snails and fertilize plants and it closes the cycle. I would add, that when you choose plants, choose ones that reproduce by rhizomes. It is easier to care about them. Elektra 2009-06-01