# Can you help with my New marineland tank?



## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

I got a new Marineland Pillar Tank _(6 Gallons)_ for Christmas from my boyfriend. I told him I wanted a small tank so I could have a fighting fish (beta) and maybe a couple small bottom feeders. _ (no fish in there yet)_

I want to do things right, so I am going to wait about a week or two after filling it to add the fish. Do you think this is the right thing to do? My fish store _people tell me that I can just throw a beta right in as soon as I fill it_, but I want to play it safe! I have seen _"new tank syndrome" _too many times when my boyfriend added new fish into his tank ...

So, I have gotten some stuff called_ "Stability"_, however I do not know how much I should add into the 6 gallons of water, as it says to add 5 ml for each 20 gallons of water. How much Stability should I add to the water in my 6 gallon tank?

Also, it says to turn off UV/Ozone when I use Stability. Does that mean just turn the lights off in the tank when I do it?

Hope everyone had a nice holiday.


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## inuudo (Sep 23, 2012)

I cycled my 5.5 gallon betta tank in 12 days using frozen bloodworms and Stability. I added Stability according to package directions for the first week. I put in a small amount of bloodworms on days 3 and 7 (I think) to get the ammonia up. I did no water changes during that time and used the API liquid test kit to check water parameters daily. This let me know when the beneficial bacteria colony was established and it was safe to add fish. 

During the cycle: 
- you'll see a spike in the ammonia to about 2ppm -- higher isn't necessary and will delay the cycling process; 
- the ammonia will start to drop and the nitrites (no2) will start to rise -- it will probably register off the chart i.e. over 5 ppm
- once both the ammonia and nitrites drop down to zero, your tank is cycled; you'll see nitrates rise towards the end of this process -- they should be around 5-10 when you put the fish in and you'll need to do water changes to get them to drop to that amount at the end of the cycle.

There are better guides online than what I've written here, but it should give you a starting point. I kept my betta in an uncycled 4 gallon tank for about a month before I decided to get a bigger one and cycle it. It's really nice not having to do big water changes every day or two. It's worth it to wait the short time it takes to cycle the tank before putting the fish in, too.


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## sunshine_1965 (Aug 16, 2011)

What part of Canada are you in? If you are close to Maple Ridge you can come by my place and grab a bucket full of already cycled water to start with. This will allow you to add fish right away. If all you are going to have in it is a Betta then you can add 1 in when you get the temp set for the tank. What type of filter will you be using if any? You can also cycle your tank with a couple feeder goldfish then find them a new home when done. Good luck.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

I would just add prime and add the betta in since day 1. Just dont over stock with many fish.
In my opinion with a 6 gallon you do need to do frequent water change regardless. If you do frequent water change (as in once every day or 2) you should be fine with the betta in there now. Just make sure you dechlorinate the water and the temp is right.
Cycling is more for a 10 gallon or up in my opinion. 
Just my 2 cents.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

when you say pillar do you mean round or square? have any pictures? And does this have the bio wheel filter that hangs on the back? If so...chances are a Betta isn't going to be happy in it as I believe there may be a bit too much surface movement with that filter on it. Bettas need calm areas to rest at the surface. I could be wrong , but if it is a round one like this one: Marineland Pillar Aquarium Kit Aquarium Kits there will definitely be too much movement for a Betta IMO. Cool tank though


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

google cycling a fish tank and aquarium nitrogen cycle

Google Image Result for http://www.peteducation.com/images/articles/ill_nitrogen_cycle.gif

How to Cycle a Fish Tank - Oscarfishlover.com

Here are 2 sites that explain cycling a fish tank. The better you understand it the longer your fish will live. Beta's are different than most fish. They dont like lots of water movement and prefer to live in a small bowl. There are exceptions to this rule as some bettas do just fine in a tank with others. Bettas can breath air fom the atmosphere so that makes them different than most fish. If you want your betta to live longer preform frequent 50% water changes. Once every couple weeks will do. You will notice the betta acts happier after water changes. Dont over feed.

Good luck with the fish!!!


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

I am just wondering if she can really cycle a 5 gallon tank and count on the colony of bacteria?
I am just afraid a bit of excess feeding or overstocking will give her a big spike and kill her fish...


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

If you already purchased the Stability, you might as well use it. I was always skeptical with bacteria in a bottle formulas, I tried Cycle about 10 years ago and it still took me 6 weeks to cycle a tank. Over the past year, I've cycled several tanks from 20 gallons to 125 gallons using Stability from day 1 and I had no issues during the cycling process. I don't think there's any harm in slightly overdosing Stability - the excess bacteria would just die off. I would dose a capful the first day, then 1/2 capful or 2.5ml for the following 6 days:

Seachem. Stability

This should be done with the fish in the tank - the Stability product needs an ammonia/nitrite source in order to colonize bacteria.

What filter are you using on your Marineland tank? Ozone/UV filters are specialized filters designed to kill algae/free floating bacteria etc., so unless you bought these filters in addition to your Marineland setup, it doesn't apply to you.


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## April (Apr 21, 2010)

There's a gravel by CaribSea called instant aquaria and it does work. I've tried it.
But if you can get some sponge that's cycled from someone's filter you would be set. 
Most bettas don't have cycled water. Just prime and water. I'd say he would be fine. You could add a few other fish slowly . 
When people come in and buy a new kit I give them some cycled sponge from my filter and they have great success. A sponge and extra tank water. The key is to feed very Lightly. Bettas can be fed just a tiny bit every couple of days.


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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

Im my opinion the easiest way is bring your sponge to a friends house a seed it in there tank or just squeeze his/her sponge and seed yours


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

What do you mean by seed it in their tank? Does that mean dip the sponge in and then squeeze the water into my tank? 

Also, I got this tank specifically so I can have a betta and two small bottom feeders, so if the betta doesn't like the filter then I may as well return it. Which I'm not going to do ... so ... LoL


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

Sunshine, I am in Surrey, but I also have a friend with lots of tanks, so could I use his water in my tank to help cycle it as well??


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Fish rookie said:


> I am just wondering if she can really cycle a 5 gallon tank and count on the colony of bacteria?
> I am just afraid a bit of excess feeding or overstocking will give her a big spike and kill her fish...


Are you saying a 5g tank cant be cycled or have a good colony of bacteria to support the fish waste? IMO its not the tank size that matters. More the type of filtration and its biomedia so the colony has somewhere to grow. I have a 5.5g that has no problem maintaining its self. I run an aquaclear with lots of biomedia though.



hp10BII said:


> If you already purchased the Stability, you might as well use it. I was always skeptical with bacteria in a bottle formulas, I tried Cycle about 10 years ago and it still took me 6 weeks to cycle a tank. Over the past year, I've cycled several tanks from 20 gallons to 125 gallons using Stability from day 1 and I had no issues during the cycling process. I don't think there's any harm in slightly overdosing Stability - the excess bacteria would just die off. I would dose a capful the first day, then 1/2 capful or 2.5ml for the following 6 days:
> 
> Seachem. Stability
> 
> ...


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

missnikki said:


> Sunshine, I am in Surrey, but I also have a friend with lots of tanks, so could I use his water in my tank to help cycle it as well??


Not the water. You want some of his biomedia or foam blocks from inside the filter. Thats where all the bacteria is. If you add the block or bio media from his tank into your filter or as Dino said squeeze out the foam pad into your tank. Dont clean it. Once he takes it out. Bring it straight over to your house in a bucket of his tank water and add it to your tank. That will transfer his bacteria to your tank and will help jump start the cycling period.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

If you are transferring biomedia from another tank make sure the tank is currently healthy. While you can never be absolutely sure you aren't bringing over any potential pathogens, its better to be cautious.


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Given the fish you plan on using in there I personally believe you would be fine just filling the tank & treating with conditioner. Thats all I usually do with my new Bettas and they do just fine. Perhaps add the Bette first, then in a couple weeks add the others. 
You do not need a cycled tank for a single Betta ime. Most Bettas are sold or rehomed to non filtered tanks and bowls on a regular basis.
Do a 50-75% w/c once a week and you should be fine. All my Betta's are in non filtered 3-5 gal tanks and have no problems.
As for the filter, Im not sure how much that one moves the water, but if it is a round tank , im quite sure the whole surface will stay active and the Betta will not appreciate that. Maybe you could drop a small sponge filter and it would be ok, But it is essential to have floating plants or a plant that will grow to the surface (even if it's a fake one) so he can chill in them. They like to be able to relax alot and they usually prefer to do it close to the surface ime.


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

It is a round tank, and I do have settings on the filter so I can turn it down if it moves the surface too much. Will the plants on top help the water not move around so much?


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

Also, the moving water won't kill my future Betta or anything, right?


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

the moving water won't kill them unless it's too strong then it could cause some issues. But the fact most males have longer fins, it's harder for the to swim in a stronger flow.
If your Bio wheel indeed had an adjustable flow control then that would be ok most likely. Those filters didn't use to have the flow control on them in the past, to my knowledge. SO you could probably get it down to a low flow. Also will help if you keep the water a little lower than where the filter returns the water. This will make the filter drop the water in like a waterfall, as opposed to pushing the surface around as it would with the water being above it. The whole point of surface agitation is to add oxygen to the water, but the biowheel passes the water thru air on it's way through the filter so that should help in theory. The Betta gets most of their oxygen from the surface as opposed to the water like other fish. So it's not that big of a deal to aerate the water so much. If you add live plants, they will help reduce nitrates, nitrites and ammonia while adding oxygen... so thats a bonus.
Floating plants will move around in too much current but could possibly be anchored someway. And plants on the surface will divert/break up the flow. Probably best to get a taller fake plant or piece of driftwood that will give him a resting spot close to the surface. If you could replicate the advertised pic:Amazon.com: Marineland Pillar Aquarium Kit, 6-Gallon: Pet Supplies that would be awesome lol and perfect for a Betta. Always good to have a small cave as well. They are curious fish and love to explore ime. For the record..... I am no expert and might be wrong about some things lol, but this is just what I do with mine and what I would do with this setup if I were to use it for a Betta..


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

I should also add you will need a small heater capable of maintaining a 77-78F temp. It doesn't appear that kit came with one and I didn't see you mention one. A 75 watt heater would probably be best for that but a 50 would probably work too. Walmart carries the Tetra ones that are set to maintain that temp. J&L & King Eds .have some low prices on heaters right now as well


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

Diztrbd, yes I do have a heater so it's all good  Thanks so much for all your advice! (Oh, and the heater is a 50 watt, good for heating up to 12 gallons it said. Right now temp is sitting at 79. I just turned it down to 77.)


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

If you want some floating plants, let me know. I am in Cloverdale.


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

TomC, are they live plants or fake ones? Do you think real or fake plants are better for Bettas?

Edit: So, the tank has been set up about 3 days now with Stability in it and the heater regulated to 78. Trying to get it down to 77 because I hear that's ideal temp for Betta. Waiting to either get biomedia from a friend's filter to transfer into mine for fishless cycle, or I will go get my Betta and put him in my tank to get the cycle really going. Does this sound like a good idea? LoL ...


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Most likely they are live plants knowing Tom. IMO live is better for the benefits I listed earlier. But fake or live, Bettas don't seem to mind either IME. 
If it were me I'd already have a Betta in it lol but that just me. As for the temp.... anywhere between 75-81 is actually good. I wouldn't stress too much about getting it to exactly 77. Make sure you post some pix of it sometime....we all love pix lol

Here is a thread I started a couple years ago you might be interested in checking out, if you haven't seen it yet:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/member-photo-video-gallery-17/bca-members-bettas-past-present-823/


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

Thank you Diz (or John, dont know what you prefer to be called, LoL) ... *should I do a water change before getting my betta in there or you think I can just go on ahead?*

Here are the first pics: Black gravel in the bottom - not sure what this rock is (wish I had written it down) but it was purchased at local fish store - fake plant there, and a plastic leaf suctioned to the side of the tank (apparently future betta will like to sit there). Now I want some floating plants to add as well. Soon.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

That is a cute tank. 
I think you can just add your fish, add some stability and prime, turn on your filter, and you should be fine.
Enjoy.


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

Okay, I am going to get my Betta today I think. Should I keep adding Stability for the full 7 days after I add him in? I have been adding it for 4 days now.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

missnikki said:


> TomC, are they live plants or fake ones? Do you think real or fake plants are better for Bettas?


 They are live. You can either flloat them, or plant them in the gravel. As long as they are healthy, plants are better for the fish. They eat up the waste.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

missnikki said:


> Okay, I am going to get my Betta today I think. Should I keep adding Stability for the full 7 days after I add him in? I have been adding it for 4 days now.


Stability is a very good product for seeding your biological filter in my opinion. It contains 3 types of bacterias--aerobic (including encapsulated oxygen Autotrophs), anaerobic, and facultative bacteria.
Usually the facultative bacteria will act first, while the other 2 bacterias slowly being revived. Facultative is not the main nitrfying bacteria so do not count on them to give you an instant biological filter. Since you have added stability for 4 days (with the filter turned on I assume) I believe you must have a certain amount of nitrifying bacteria present in your tank and you should be good to start adding your betta.
The nitrifying bactria do need ammonia/ammoninum to feed and grow. By introducing one betta into the tank you will be helping the nitrifying bacteria to revive and grow by introducing them with more ammonia/ammoninum. High oxygen content also helps because aerobic bacteria needs oxygen. Your filter can provide oxygen through surface aeration so you are good there. 
In my opinion you can start adding your fish now, but please do not add too many at one time. You can continue to add stability to increase the amount of nitrifying bacteria. You can also test your water to look for zero ammonia and nitrite. If you have zero readings on these two you can stop adding stability while continue to monitor the parameters. You can put your stability in the fridge and add more when you have an ammonia reading again.
Because your tank is not very big, waste will become more concentrated in smaller amount of water. You should try to watch out for overfeeding, which could result in an ammonia spike (a sudden increase of ammonia that your biological filter fails to take care of quickly). This excess ammonia can seriously hurt your fish or even kill him. 
You can scope out the excess food after 10-15 minutes. Your fish's stomach is only about the size of his eye so although he may look like he is very hungry he is probably not.
Good luck.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

April said:


> There's a gravel by CaribSea called instant aquaria and it does work. I've tried it.
> But if you can get some sponge that's cycled from someone's filter you would be set.
> Most bettas don't have cycled water. Just prime and water. I'd say he would be fine. You could add a few other fish slowly .
> When people come in and buy a new kit I give them some cycled sponge from my filter and they have great success. A sponge and extra tank water. The key is to feed very Lightly. Bettas can be fed just a tiny bit every couple of days.


Wish more shops did this  would make a lot less dead fishies. Even if a shop offered cycled sponges at a cost, then it would be well recieved i think.


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

I agree Neven. Fish stores should also be telling new fish owners how to properly introduce and care for them but most don't do that either. No one at my fish store told me Bettas require a special food either ... had to figure that out on my own.

Anyway ... Thanks for all the info! I got my _male thai betta _the other day. I chose him because of all the bettas in the store, he was the only one blowing a bubble nest at the top of his bowl. He seems happy in his new digs, although I would like to find a way to cover the filter intake as I'm worried it might bug his fins when he swims by it ... he seems to love chilling by the heater especially! The floating log I added is also one of his fave spots.

Here's a couple pics:


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

I use these on my filter intakes: Fluval Edge Pre-Filter Sponge - Filter Media - Fish - PetSmart Petcetera carries them & I believe King Eds carries them also. Island Pets Unlimited carries a similar one for a few bucks as well. They simply slide over the intake strainer like a sock. Not only do they protect things from being sucked in they also make the filter cartridges last longer because they will catch a majority of the dirt before it gets to the filter. If you have the filter turned down to a lower setting I do not think you have to worry about the betta being sucked against it He wold just about have to wrap himself around the intake before it had enough suction to hold him or his fins. But better safe than sorry with using the pre-filter.
Looks good thus far! And John is fine lol
And good observation looking for a happy Betta making a bubble nest. Though usually even though they aren't doing it in a bowl at the LFS, by the time you get them in a new tank they usually start one within the first 24hours ime. Unless they are in poor health.to begin with.


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## JTang (Apr 21, 2010)

Great start! Thanks to all the good advices. What a nice looking betta! Now I want to get one for myself. I do have some floating plants as well. Let me know if u ever come to poco. And make sure u don't overdose Prime. Its extremely concentrated! For the small amount of water that you will be changing, I will just use a drop or 2. Have fun with your new Betta! Oh and do u have almond leaves? I can give you a couple. It will tint the water a bit tho if u don't mind...


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

missnikki said:


> I agree Neven. Fish stores should also be telling new fish owners how to properly introduce and care for them but most don't do that either. No one at my fish store told me Bettas require a special food either ... had to figure that out on my own.
> 
> Anyway ... Thanks for all the info! I got my _male thai betta _the other day. I chose him because of all the bettas in the store, he was the only one blowing a bubble nest at the top of his bowl. He seems happy in his new digs, although I would like to find a way to cover the filter intake as I'm worried it might bug his fins when he swims by it ... he seems to love chilling by the heater especially! The floating log I added is also one of his fave spots.
> 
> ...


That is very cute, congrats.


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

JTang, what would Almond Leaves be used for? I go to Island Pets (in coq) a lot so I am near Poco sometimes. Do you grow plants for sale or just have extras?

John, I like the idea of the filter covers. I have also heard that using plastic crafting mesh wrapped around the intake and the filter outflow could reduce "suckage" and current ... Do you agree? If so, how would I secure the mesh to the filter?


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## missnikki (Dec 28, 2012)

Can anyone tell me about almond leaves? Do bettas eat them or do they just float in the water? 

Also, how about the filter cover idea? What do you all think?


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

almond leaves float but will eventually sink and decay, but (to my knowledge) release healthy tannins, nutrients and such as they do. I replace them about once a month. And Bettas do not eat them, mine like to swim under them for some reason. .


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