I'm somewhat new to Betta keeping, but I've read alot here and have asked some ??'s in the past. I bought 2 bettas last weekend which are in glass 1 gallon bowls right now, unfiltered.
I also have a Tetra 1.5g tank and a Aqeon 2.5g Minibow that I set up a week ago and have been running. I was planning on moving the bettas into these tanks.
By reading posts and info on this site, I understand that I'll probably never grow an adequate bacteria colony as most people say its very difficult in a tank under 5 gals. So then....why are these tanks offered? Other than keeping the water clean of deposits what benefit does a filter on a smal tank serve?
Given these tanks, I was planning on doing 30% water changes on a weekly basis as well as a gravel vaccum. Is there anything additional I need to do to maintain these small filtered tanks or am I just wasting my time as the maintenance will be the same as if it wasnt filtered?
TIA, I'm really confused as I was hoping by using a filtered tank I can cut down on my maintenance.
You CAN cycle a smaller tank. The thing is, with a small amount of water, the tank will be unstable and the chemistry can crash at a moment's notice.
That said, I have a cycled 3.5 gallon that IS stable. This is, I believe, primarily due to it being stuffed with plants, including a lot of floating and planted wisteria, which is an ammonia sink.
I test my water a few times a week, keep careful eye on my betta girl, who is sensitive to chemistry changes and clamps at unmeasureable amounts of ammonia, and change my water more than I HAVE to. However, I have not had a problem with the cycle in several months.
Don't get into the thinking of "how little work can I get away with" - because you can't, really, get away from tank maintenance. Especially in a small tank!
But you can make things a little easier by choosing a bit of hard work early on - perhaps a small NPT. OldFishLady has some small ones, including a 2.5 gallon, and after the initial set up period where ammonia needs careful monitoring, the water changes are much less.
I'd still keep a filter on it, and change the water before it NEEDS changing..
30% pw in those small tanks is a recipe for fish disease and poisoning. Think about 1 x 50%, 1 x 100%, and that's more like it.
I have a Tetra 1.5 and it's cycled. Readings are a constant Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 5. It has stem plants and I have the filter running and water heated. I had to reduce the airflow and baffle the outflow, but other than that, maintenance for me is 50% WC every 3 days (just to be on the safe side). I ran it for one week without a WC and still had those readings but OFL pointed out, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates are not the only thing we should watch out for, as the test kits will not catch the other bad stuff... anyways, I thought when I first started this that smaller tanks = easier maintenance myself, but have learned fast that it's the opposite.
Thanks for the replies. My goal here was to easy maintenance not eliminate it. Im second guessing these small tanks if i need to do water changes more frequently that once a week. What do you do when you go on vacation and nobody is home for more than 3 days????
The primary reason for cycling any tank is to keep the ammonia closer to 0.0ppm. This is lower than two weekly water change can achieve.
Several members here have cycled 2.5g tanks, but they still require at least a 50% pwc every week with vacuum. This removes DOCs (dissolved organic compounds) and replaces minerals. Another 30% doesn't hurt.
As Aus said, live plants enhance the stability of the cycle by attenuating the ammonia and oxygenating the bacteria..
My 2.5 isn't cycled... but it is stable :) I think the plants are taking the nutrients faster than it can be made available to the bacteria. Readings will always be zero in a well established planted tank.
My 2.5 isn't cycled... but it is stable :) I think the plants are taking the nutrients faster than it can be made available to the bacteria. Readings will always be zero in a well established planted tank.
May I ask what your set up is in this tank?
Equipment type of plants, strata, etc?
I have a 2.5, two 5s and a 10 which I'm planning now.
Have been cycling the fluval 5 for 2 weeks, but dividing it doesn't seem wise due to its flow pattern.
I have an unplanted, filtered, 2.5gal that isn't cycled.
Weekly 100% changes have worked perfectly for me.
What are your readings just before you change water? Usually smaller more frequent changes are preferred.
@ BettaQi
Double dividers with the filter and heater between the dividers is one good way to even out the flow. Other advantages include:
---a measure of jump-proofness
---less chance of them seeing each other, which mitigates stress
---less chance of a divider failing, which prevents unwanted "visiting."
---a place to siphon and to pour refill water without disrupting the aquascaping or stressing the fish
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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