# Newbie trying to set up a new tank!



## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Hey guys! Not really sure which section to put this under, but hey.
I got myself my first Betta, Alpha, last week as I had a Marimo Moss ball given to me & I wanted to do something interesting with it! I loved having fish as a teen & kept goldfish for several years & wild minnows sporadically, so was keen to get back into it! I was under the impression he’d be happy in a small, unheated tank, so set up a cute little 6L (1.5 Gal) tank with the Marimo Moss & another plant (not sure it’s name!)
Alpha didn’t seem too happy, though, but thanks to some advice from here, I figured out that he was just cold!
Because his bowl/tank seemed too small & hard to fit a heater/thermometer as it’s round, I decided to just upgrade the tank & everything. Found this 42L (11Gal) tank, heater, light & filter second hand, but all quite clean & heater & light are less than 1yr old. I reckon he’ll like this much better 😉
Thing is, I’m inexperienced & am not sure how to set it all up!! The only fish I’ve ever had were goldfish & wild minnows, neither of which ever had any of this gear! The heater came with the box, so I just followed the instructions for that, but this filter I have no clue how to set it up, or which way up it’s even meant to go!! 😂🤦‍♂️ Can anyone explain how to install, which way is up & which way to turn the little arm thing? (No idea what it’s called?!) I tried googling the name in the hope I might find installation instructions or something, but this was the only reference to the name I could find:
https://www.theonlinepetshop.com.au...care-prof-ac900f-900l-h-for-fish-tanks/016004

Also, I washed the substrate thoroughly until the water I washed it with looked nice & clear, but now that I’ve filled the tank, it looks cloudy... will this settle? Only filled it half an hour ago...
Any other tips on how to set up the aquarium please do let me know!! There are more plants coming & probably some driftwood or a cave, once I can find something without sharp edges... Once I’ve got the tank & Alpha established & settled I’ll probably also add in some bristlenose or something, too....
I know you’re meant to cycle the tank before adding your fish in, but does it make a difference when the tank your fish is in is also only a few days old & wasn’t ‘cycled’ at all? Or once the water clears up & reaches the right temperature would it be ok to add Alpha in? Surely being in an uncycled, planted, heated 42L tank is better than him being in a cold, 4-day old 6L bowl with only his Marimo Moss ball?


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Sorry forgot to attach the images


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## bearfeather (Sep 5, 2018)

Hi there! I’ve personally not used that particular brand of filter, but that is a submersible internal tank filter. The bar is called a spray bar. What’s great about a spray bar is you can point it in whatever direction you wish giving you a lot of control over the flow of water in your tank. Going off the product photo from the link you also appear to be holding the filter upside down, so you would install it with the spray bar and what appears to be the filter’s motor housing at the top inside the tank. 

Also, regarding your cloudiness, it should settle in a few days. I like to put filter floss in my filters. It’s super cheap and helps to clear and keep water really clear.


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Awesome, thank you so much, bearfeather! I was so stumped as to how to install it & what any of its features were!
Had a quick google of filter floss - sounds great! Thanks for the tip! I might take my filter into the pet shop & see if they can show me how to put the filter floss in! Haha I assume they’ll have it there? Or at i better off just looking for quilt batting in the hardware store..?

Also any thoughts regarding introducing him to the new tank? His new tank has reached the right temperature over night & it has settled a bit... I feel like he’d be better off in his new (uncycled) tank than his small, cold, unplanted current one?


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Ok I’m a little confused right now... I can’t feel any water coming out of the filter? How do I know if it’s working? It’s making a noise - kind of quiet-ish gravelly noise, but I can’t see or feel any movement in the water.... should I? I plugged it in about 20mins ago...
Also tank is still a bit murky... reckon it’s safe to add my Betta? Or should I wait til it’s all clear?


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Here’s the pic, forgot to attach it again...


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Ok, got the filter working!! Spent ages trying to figure out why it was making a noise but no water coming out, turned out it wasn’t properly suction-capped to the tank wall! Haha!
Now my question is: which way do I angle it & is there any way to get it to settle down a bit?! It seems to be stirring up the tank more than cleaning it at this stage! Haha
Reckon it’s safe to add my Betta? Or should I wait til it’s all clear?


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Just noticed these tiny translucent grey lumps on some of the plants, then noticed one on the glass too... got out the macro lens & it looks like some kind of snail? Is it a friend or foe?


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

those little critters are normal. I get them all the time. =) 

cannot remember what they are called though.


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Thanks, Tree - showed a pic to the guy at my LPS & they said it’s normal, but they are a pest... he also suggested a clown loach to get rid of them if I want down the track...
I’ve just picked up the rest of my plants & 10 neon Tetras to help cycle the tank a bit more. Plants came with a litre or 2 of water from the (private) seller’s super healthy & established tank, so have added that into my tank in the hopes it’ll help with the ammonia cycle. 
I really wanna add in Alpha now, but I guess I should give it a week or two to allow the tank to cycle with the Tetras? Even with the water from the established tank...? I just feel so sorry for him in his cold little tank! The only plant left in there now is his Moss ball, which he spends most of his time wrapped around! He looks so sad...
At least I’ve gotten him to eat now! Took 5 days, but I got some blood worms & he ate those... I had to literally drop them right in front of him, though 😣😣
Anyway, this is the tank with the Tetras now, they seem to be loving this back corner here for some reason!! Half of them wandered around the other side of the tank, but they all came back to this corner & haven’t left it! 😂


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## Imp (Jun 9, 2018)

I'd definitely stay away from clown loaches in that tank: they can grow up to 25cm (12inches) and, on top of that, are a schooling fish,meaning that you'd want at least 5 of them. They require, at least, a 100g (400liters?) tank!

When you move the betta, get him to acclimate to the new water by slowly (over period of about 30mins) replacing some of his water with water from the new tank. That way, he'll not get shocked by the new water temperature and parameters.

Speaking of water parameters, I'd suggest a water test kit to keep an eye on them. Especially when the tank is not yet fully cycled. For now, I'd recommend a 20-40% water change twice per week at least until the tank is cycled. Make sure to use a water conditioner (unless you are dead certain that the water you use is not chlorinated). If you get a test kit, you can allow the water test to determine when and how much to do the partial water changes.


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Ok thanks for the tip - strange that the guy in the shop seemed to think they’d do well in a tank the size of mine, with only one of them then... weird! Haha
Yeah, going to mix in some aquarium water, then probably still float him. I’ve also adjusted the heater down to 24C & tomorrow will drop it to 22 or 23C so that when he goes from his bowl at about 19C it’s not so huge of a shock. Then I’ll bring the aquarium temp back up to 26C over a few days...


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## Imp (Jun 9, 2018)

Clown loaches:






^_^

To be fair, it would take quite a while for them to reach that size, more than enough time to obtain a bigger tank. Still, you'd think a teensy little warning might have been appropriate.


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

That’s nuts!! Haha!!
Yeah maybe he figured they’ll never reach that sort of size in a tank like mine, but yeah... I’d feel bad for not letting them reach their full potential!!
Thanks for the heads up!!


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

So I’ve just introduced Alpha to his new tank & so far so good - he spent about 30sec checking out the Tetras (they were minding their own business) & then went about exploring the tank. He’s spent most of his time in this lower right corner or in one of the ‘caves’ in the driftwood... the Tetras have come into ‘his zones’ a few times & he hasn’t flared at all! Fewf!! 
He seems to be seeing more of his own reflection, so has also spent a lot of time just swimming at the glass along that right hand side. He’s also spent a lot of time by the heater or under the filter (same side). This bad for him??

I think the filter is way too strong though - any clue if there’s a way to turn it down? It doesn’t seem to bother the Tetras, who have been zipping around normally for the last few days in this tank, but Alphas big fins & less powerful swim mean he gets blown about a bit & there aren’t many places he can come to the surface without getting thrown about a bit... any tips on how to turn this thing down/angle the spray bar better or something would be greatly appreciated!! 
I’ve also been surprised at how much the Tetras don’t school? I mean they often will be in groups of 4-5, but they’ll also go off & do their own thing, too - there’s nearly always at least 1 or 2 or them chilling by themselves...


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## Phil Fish (Oct 3, 2018)

I am a new Betta fish owner too! My Royal Blue Veiltail "Phil" is in a 5.5 gallon heated and filtered tank and doing well by himself. I personally wouldn't put any more fish in my tank due to Phil's agressive personality and adding more to the bio-load. Bettas are perfectly happy alone in a 5 gallon tank. They usually don't play well with others.


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Yeah smart thinking, especially in that size of tank...
Alpha’s done great with his tetra friends - about 6 weeks & never showed any interest in them... but then last week I came home & a Neon was missing fins & looking pretty terrible... I took him out & tried to save him, but he was too far gone... 
Alpha is now in a separate 10gal tank from the Neons, just with a Pleco. I’m not sure if he’s the one that attacked the Neon, but just in case, he’s in a different tank now. I suspect it was because I had been over feeding him & just cut back on his food when it happened, but just in case, they’re separate now....


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## Phil Fish (Oct 3, 2018)

Yeah whatever you do don't overfeed him. Since I am almost two weeks into the nitrogen cycle I am feeding my Betta once every two days at the most. I have also been doing 20% water changes every two days as well. I have his filter modified to a very low flow. So far he's healthy and happy eating and swimming around. He also goes to sleep at night. I guess if your Betta isn't bothered by the Pleco it's ok. Just keep an eye them. I think my guy would be mad even if I added a snail...lol He gets mad at his moss ball!


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Haha yeah I literally just watched my Betta flare at a plant with some pinkish tinges on a few leaves 😂😂🤦‍♂️ Never seen him flare at a plant before! Never even saw him pay any attention to other fish except when that tetra was dying... but the other Tetras were also attacking that poor guy...
But yes, being very careful with food now & also keeping a close eye on the Pleco & him. So far so good, though. Here’s hoping!
Good luck with your new Betta! Sounds like you know what you’re doing 😊


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## Phil Fish (Oct 3, 2018)

I did a lot of research after getting my fish... lol. I first had him in a 1 gallon bowl but after a week I got him a bigger tank which was a good starter kit. They truly are awesome pets and since I am semi-retired and can't have any other pets where I live I am glad I got him. He's great company and has so much personality! Good luck with yours and keep posting on your progress!


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## Ethand (Sep 1, 2018)

Haha yeah, likewise - it was after getting my fish in a ~2gal unheated bowl that I started researching them! 😂🤦‍♂️
Yeah I do love how much personality they have!! Likewise I can’t have other pets where I live, so I’m glad I’ve got these little guys now! 😊😊😊


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