Tank upgrade?!

[heavenlolwut]

This weekend I'm going to be moving into a house from my dorm and my Fiance and I have agreed to not only upgrade my fish's tank but also to get him a "Buddy" (Not really we're going to get a divider and split the tank).

I do have a few questions though about stuff for the tank;

Can anyone suggest a heater? (Wattage wise? Maybe one that is in a pet store?)
Also I'm thinking about getting a kit tank, the Aquaeon one. (Mostly because it's going to be cost efficient unless anyone has any suggestions) And slightly connected for that, how do you know if your tank is cycled? (I'm super nervous about setting it up only because I've heard like ammonia spike stories that scare me)
Is there anything else I should have for the tank? (Other then the obvious decorations, hiding places and stuff :])

And in an unrelated note, if some one has fish they're rehoming/selling feel free to message me! I'm not sure if I can afford one off of aquabid :c

[shellieca]

Originally Posted by heavenlolwut

This weekend I'm going to be moving into a house from my dorm and my Fiance and I have agreed to not only upgrade my fish's tank but also to get him a "Buddy" (Not really we're going to get a divider and split the tank).

I do have a few questions though about stuff for the tank;

Can anyone suggest a heater? (Wattage wise? Maybe one that is in a pet store?)
Depends on tank size, I have Top Fin, Aqueon, Petco, & 2 Fluvals. I've had no problems with any of them so far.
Also I'm thinking about getting a kit tank, the Aquaeon one. (Mostly because it's going to be cost efficient unless anyone has any suggestions)
All of my kits have been the Top Fin kits & I've had no problems with them. Petsmart had the 10g kit (includes filter & heater) for $48 I believe it was when I was there today. The 5.5g (no heater) was $38.
And slightly connected for that, how do you know if your tank is cycled? (I'm super nervous about setting it up only because I've heard like ammonia spike stories that scare me)
Get a liquid test kit, test daily, do a 50% water change if ammonia or nitrites are >.25. You & your fish will be good.
Is there anything else I should have for the tank? (Other then the obvious decorations, hiding places and stuff :])
Do you have all the water change stuff? I have 2 buckets; one for fresh clean conditioned water & the other for the water siphoned out of the tank. You'll need a syphon gravel vac & of course Prime or another quality water conditioner.
And in an unrelated note, if some one has fish they're rehoming/selling feel free to message me! I'm not sure if I can afford one off of aquabid :c

....

[sarahspins]

The API freshwater test kit is cheapest on Amazon at about $20.. expect to pay nearly twice as much (I've seen them as high as $36) if you pick one up in a store. You really DO need to get one, before investing in anything else. Without one or even using "strip" tests you are only guessing at your water chemistry.

For the heater, depending on what size of a tank you have you want to either get a 25w (for 5.5g and under, might work up to 10g in more tropical climates) or 50w (for up to 20g) and it needs to be adjustable - most of the preset ones are set to 76-78 which is on the low side for bettas.

[heavenlolwut]

I'm going to be getting a 10 gallon so one that would work best for that would be great. :]

And I'll look into the liquid tests.

[Perseusmom]

You will need a 50 watt for a 10 gallon. I have and really like the 50 watt Elite submersible adjustable heater its done a great job keeping the temp where I set it and is very stable always the same no matter the room temp. I got mine on Amazon, I shopped around and they had the best prices on heaters at that time which was many months ago.