5 Comments for A few questions about setting up a 2.5 gallon freshwater tank…?

• 1. new beardie owner  |  February 15th, 2011 at 9:51 am

  Ok, your going a little to far, all you really need is a
  heater
  filter
  gravel
  UN CLORINATED WATER (i reccomend getting this stuff that comes in a yellow container from walmart that you just add like a drop into the water and wait one hour, and it will de-clorify the regular tap water) which is what i beleve you have (water conditioner),
  you dont need a bacteria supplement, unless you have intense bacteria in your water, which you only use if you have a bad case of bacteria
  you dont need an air pump, because as the filter filters the water, you will see little bubbles as the clean water hits the regular water, which is the oxygen
  the ph test kit isn’t necessary, but you can use it if you want.
  the thermometer is right…
  The plants and orniments are all good, you can add them and take them away as you want, even with fish in.

  I suggest you just put the regular water, gravel in the tank first, then add filter, heater, and then the plants (once the tank is filled) Dont fill the water past the little “slide” that the water flows down to enter the aquarium, because thats how the oxygen can get applied…. After your stuff is in it, put the water conditioner in the tank for about an hour, then turn on your filter, and let it run over night. That will really purify the water…. Turn your heater on as soon as its in the water, and watch the temperature closely.

  When you get your fish, put the bag (if it comes with a bag) into the water, to get the water the fish is in to the temperature of the water of your tank, to get the fish used to it.

  Hopefully this helps!!

  Good luck!

• 2. Mokey41  |  February 15th, 2011 at 10:01 am

  It’s highly unlikely that you will be able to maintain a cycle with a 3 gallon tank. Those small filters really don’t do much and it’s much easier to just clean the whole tank.

  **

• 3. Heather  |  February 15th, 2011 at 10:56 am

  1. You can rinse it out with tap water, or do the more hardcore cleanup and use bleach. If you use bleach, you should rinse until you don’t smell it anymore; it can take awhile, and I usually only do that with used tanks.

  2. You can use a product called ‘Goo-B-Gon’ although dish soap and a good scrub brush can do the trick

  3. Yup. The more surface area you have, supposedly the more bacteria will colonize.

  4. Set the tank up as if you were putting the fish in right away and leave it running. Dose the tank as instructed on the box, and add a pinch of food. Test every other day until you read 0 ammonia, 0-2 nitrites and under 25 nitrates. You may have to change some water out to get the nitrates under control.

  5. pH is far less important when compared to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. You should have a liquid test kit for each of the three – liquid tends to be more reliable than strips.

  6. As long as you clean the ornament well, you can add it at any time. You can buy airline tubing for fairly cheap.

  7. It’s very hard to reliably heat a small aquarium, and a 2.5 gallon is tiny. If you can get away with it, since it’s summer, don’t use one at all. In the winter, if your area gets cold, you may have to risk using one, but it should be checked often, to make sure no overheating occurs.

  8. My frogs have the same reputation. I’ve found that taping some clear Saran Wrap over any gaps stops escape artists. You can also buy some floating plants – Water Sprite – that will discourage jumping, but you should leave at least 50% of the water surface open.

  9. Nope. Too expensive (:

• 4. rehric00  |  February 15th, 2011 at 11:27 am

  alright where do i start-

  the only things you NEED would be gravel heater filter plants and maybe the test kit.

  i would rinse out the tank
  add gravel and rinse the gravel
  fill the tank and add some conditioner
  add filter heater and plants
  let run a couple hours or overnight to get the tank all nice and ready
  when you get the fish put the whole UNOPENED bag in the water
  wait about 2 hours so the temp stabilizes
  when you are ready to add the fish, DO NOT dump the pet store water in your tank. scoop them out
  temp depends on the fish
  and the cycling process takes about 6 weeks
  i do not recommend gold fish in suck a small tank
  they are very dirty and produce alot of ammonia
  after you are all set up, do about a 25% water change every week or so
  the air, if you see bubbles from the filter, dont use the air pump. if no bubbles, use it.

  IMPORTANT:
  the tank does not begin the cycling process until the first fish is added. you can let a fish-less tank sit for a year, but it wont cycle until the first fish is added.

  i would not use any chemicals besides the conditioner. artificial chemicals are not good for fish. and obviously never use anything with and/or in your fish tank that had been washed with soap or detergent. makes the fishies sick

  do no use the bacteria supplement.. especially now. you NEED bacteria now to establish a legitimate tank

  i tend to but kit-kat. yumm – =]

  i hope i helped!
  good luck
  =]

• 5. werdna963  |  February 15th, 2011 at 12:03 pm

  Twix candy bars are my favorites. lol
  To wash, I would just scrub it down with one of those kitchen scrubbers in the sink with hot water.
  I scrape the sticky stuff off with a carpet cutter blade.
  Ph is good to have but Nitrate and Ammonia are essential, as well as nitrite. API is a good brand… The little boxes are better than the test strips IMO, but use what you want…
  Yeah you can add and take away decorations as you please.
  I like those thermometers, i always double check with 2 types though.
  Bettas arent really jumpers but i would just let the canopy sit on top of the wires.

  Hope i answered some of your questions!
  Oh and i bought Mike and Ikes at a pet store one time. XXD

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