Buying a cycled tank?

[Quinn]

I've been hunting around CL for some deals for Frankie (my 8 yr old half sisters Betta). To make a long story short he's been living in a TINY crappy plastic tank thingy with no heat, and I just found out about it. So I'm trying to get the right thing done for him.

I found a tank, an 8 gallon BiOrb, that apparently is already cycled (I have no fish knowledge so I don't know if its ok to buy an established tank). It is "with or without 2 goldfish". I'm pretty sure Betta's can't live with goldfish, and aren't they supposed to get large? So I would be asking for it without the fish. I'd need to buy a heater, and maybe a few things to put in it. It also comes with some Java Fern. Now I've also never done plant care, but my understanding is they are easy to deal with and don't require much specialized care/ good for beginners. This will be an 8 year olds set up, but obviously I will try to help as much as I can, but that means it can't be anything TOO complicated.

Basically I want to know
a) is it ok to buy a cycled tank / what are the risks vs benefits
b) is a BiOrb an OK tank to use both in its quality and its suitability for a betta (if anyone has one I'd love to see your set up)
c) Am I correct in thinking having a Java Fern in Frankies set up wouldn't make it a billion times harder or more expensive.

THANKS!

[2brown347]

1) Buying a cycled tank is fine, it just means that there is established bacteria in the subtrate already. Try to keep it wet when you move the tank. The only real problem would be if the tank has some bacteria or parasite that could be in the gravel but if he has healthy fish in it it should be fine.

2) I don't have a BiOrb but they're fine for betta. If it's the bowl it's harder to make look nice IMO, but still a good tank.

3) Java ferns are about as simple as it gets when it comes to plants. Low light needs, won't take over the tank, and don't even need to be planted into the subtrate.

[Quinn]

Thanks. It would be great to be able to have an already cycled tank because I was worrying about doing fish in cycling and all. So basically if I just dumped some of the water out and left the rest when I transport thats fine. And fill it back up with fresh water at home?

[dramaqueen]

You need to keep the substrate and the filter wet with old tank water then fill it up with fresh water at home.

[Quinn]

ok thanks. And the BiOrb should be ok than?

[herbwin]

With such a small tank I would strip it down and clean if first, if all you a have is a betta and plants, cycling it yourself would be no problem. Save the plants in a gallon or so of tank water with a handfull of dirty gravel thrown in. I would clean the tank and gravel and set it up, let it run for a day to make sure filters/heaters are working, then remove a gallon of water and put the saved water, plants and gravel in. You could add the betta after that, or let it run another day. I would wait 4-6 weeks to add any other fish or animals.

If you do move it dirty, remove as much water as possible. Moving aquariums with water, gravel or rocks in them can be hard on the seams. Don't carry it by the "lip", hold it at the bottoms.
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[xxabc]

Wait, is this a bowl, or is it rectangular? (and the rectangular ones are taller, rather than longer, right ?)

[Quinn]

Its the round/globe/bowl whatever you want to call it. Thats why I was asking more if its appropriate or not, as in is their anything wrong with having that shape or that particular make.

[1fish2fish]

The only thing that I've heard wrong with the biOrbs (except the price) is that spherical bowls can cause eye problems in fish... but I cannot 100% guarantee that that is truth... I read it a couple different places on forums but not what I would call a reliable source.

As long as the price is right and you have a heater I think it sounds fine.

[Hankbetta]

I had a 4gallon biorb. The only thing that sucks about them is that under the filter cartridge holder, debris gets stuck, that you can't get to when cleaning it normally. You have to dump out everything, then it comes out.