Idea and questions about new tank

[Hikari]

For those who don't already know, I bought a new 5 gallon tank recently which my fish had a bad reaction to, so I had to move him back to his 2.5 gallon bowl. But I honestly think it had more to do with the environment than the tank itself. I didn't have room where his bowl is right now, or anywhere upstairs for the 5 gallon, so I had to take it downstairs. The light is a lot dimmer down here, and it was just a very unfamiliar environment, and I think that was the main problem. So today I decided to see if the 5 gallon could actually fit in the place where his bowl is. He's on a China cabinet, so there are shelves above him. The base of the tank was fine, it actually doesn't take up anymore room than the base of his bowl. Unfortunately the hood doesn't fit under it. I can put it on top of the tank, but there would not be enough room to open it when I needed to feed my betta. I could keep taking it off and putting it back on, but I think it would be too disturbing to the fish. I wouldn't want to leave it open like that either, so I don't know what to do. :(

If I do use this tank, I was thinking about getting a filter, but I have some questions. Do I have to cycle the tank? Is it possible to just put the filter in and continue to do 100% weekly water changes, or would just sticking a filter in without cycling be harmful to the fish?

[Smokey65662]

First, what plans/decorations are in the tank? Also what was the reaction exactly? Was he just lethargic, and sulking? If so being down there would make it dark...bettas need light as well. In nature during the day they get light, so im sure your little buddy probably appreciates it just as much as any other fish. The biggest thing though is a heater...if its dark, the water temp can get low, which would make your fish pretty lethargic. As for the filtering you can get a filter OR do 100% water changes once a week. It all depends on what you prefer I suppose. If I said/asked anything dumb I appologise.

[HatsuneMiku]

my first worrie would be the china cabinet .. as most of those shelves aren't made to hold a lot of weight .. a 5g tank can easily weigh of 50-60 lbs ..

taking off the hood and putting it back on won't disturb or stress him out .. he will just be conditioned to the movement and sounds .. exactly like pavlovs bell and dog experiments .. he will just learn that whenever you move the hood .. he will get food .. =) as long as you don't make sudden movement with the hood or loud noises with the hood or accidentally drop the hood back onto the tank when your moving it .. it'll be ok =D

you don't have to cycle your tank when u get a filter .. you could if you wanted to .. for the most part 5g cycle is unstable but do-able if monitored constantly .. if your doing weekly 100% changes .. you don't really need to get a filter

putting a filter in won't be harmful unless it starts cycling on it's own .. (which it probably will start cycling after prolong use as good bacteria keeps forming on the filter media even with the frequent water changes this good bacteria will still colonize over time) .. when it does .. then you will have to test the waters and monitor it so that ammonia and nitrite and nitrate levels do not get too high and do extra water changes if that happens ..

[Hikari]

Originally Posted by Smokey65662

First, what plans/decorations are in the tank? Also what was the reaction exactly? Was he just lethargic, and sulking? If so being down there would make it dark...bettas need light as well. In nature during the day they get light, so im sure your little buddy probably appreciates it just as much as any other fish. The biggest thing though is a heater...if its dark, the water temp can get low, which would make your fish pretty lethargic. As for the filtering you can get a filter OR do 100% water changes once a week. It all depends on what you prefer I suppose. If I said/asked anything dumb I appologise.

I have some fabric plants, a little house he can go in, a few figurines, that's about it. They covered the entire tank bottom, but he didn't go near them. He stayed at the top hovering behind the heater. He was breathing very heavy and fast, and he looked quite a bit paler.

I could have actually provided him with more light, but I kept it dark to try and reduce his stress. I turned on the light in the tank for just a second, and he totally freaked out! He does not do well with aquarium lights. He has a 25W heater that was keeping the water close to 80.

Originally Posted by HatsuneMiku

my first worrie would be the china cabinet .. as most of those shelves aren't made to hold a lot of weight .. a 5g tank can easily weigh of 50-60 lbs ..

taking off the hood and putting it back on won't disturb or stress him out .. he will just be conditioned to the movement and sounds .. exactly like pavlovs bell and dog experiments .. he will just learn that whenever you move the hood .. he will get food .. =) as long as you don't make sudden movement with the hood or loud noises with the hood or accidentally drop the hood back onto the tank when your moving it .. it'll be ok =D

you don't have to cycle your tank when u get a filter .. you could if you wanted to .. for the most part 5g cycle is unstable but do-able if monitored constantly .. if your doing weekly 100% changes .. you don't really need to get a filter

putting a filter in won't be harmful unless it starts cycling on it's own .. (which it probably will start cycling after prolong use as good bacteria keeps forming on the filter media even with the frequent water changes this good bacteria will still colonize over time) .. when it does .. then you will have to test the waters and monitor it so that ammonia and nitrite and nitrate levels do not get too high and do extra water changes if that happens ..

He's actually not on the shelf of the cabinet, he's below the shelves on the desk part. The cabinet is made out of very sturdy wood, so I'm not worried about the shelves falling or anything.

It would be actually a little loud when I move the hood because it's a pretty tight fit under there. Plus he's really not used to anything being over his head. I was thinking maybe I would leave it open until he got used to the tank. I would just keep the water lower in case he jumps, although he has never attempted to but it's better to be safe than sorry. And because the shelves are above him, and everything is kind of closed around him since I'll push the tank to the back and against the side of the cabinet, I think it'll work out.

Thanks for the info about the filter. I don't think I'll get one, because I really don't know what I'd be doing. I don't know how to read those test things, and I think even a small current would upset my fish. He's extremely finicky. I guess I'll just have to do those 100% water changes, even though both he and I hate them. Right now I do one 100%, one 50%, and one 25% per week in a 2.5 gallon. Would I be able to cut out the partial changes and just do the 100% every week? Or maybe just one 25% in between?

[Smokey65662]

The 100% once a week should be plenty for one fish and five gallons.

[Hikari]

I was thinking that too. Maybe I'll do a 10-20% change in between just to freshen it up a little. :)

[Smokey65662]

Originally Posted by Hikari

I was thinking that too. Maybe I'll do a 10-20% change in between just to freshen it up a little. :)

I dont think that will be very effective. I find small water changes a pain since its increasingly difficult to measure the things you add to the water lol

[HatsuneMiku]

in my 5g's i do 100% changes once a month .. more like 85% - 90% .. i do leave a little water in there as there are good bacteria that does grow

every week i do a 50% gravel siphon w/c .. and when i see the protein film i do a little 25% change just to scoop out the film and add new water without a gravel siphon

@smokey
it's not hard to measure things to the water if you have a pre-treated gallon of water always sitting there at room temp ...what i did is i took one of those gallon of waters that u can get at the store for a dollar (i drank the mineral water that was in there at first then filled it with tap water ^_^ i didn't waste water or put the mineral water in the tank that would be bad).. and treat the whole container .. then i let it sit there .. it makes adding water due to evaporation or mini water changes a lot easier .. some people use juice or other containers .. but i find that's more of a pain to clean out after drinking whatever it was .. so i used the water gallons

[Smokey65662]

Originally Posted by HatsuneMiku

in my 5g's i do 100% changes once a month .. more like 85% - 90% .. i do leave a little water in there as there are good bacteria that does grow

every week i do a 50% gravel siphon w/c .. and when i see the protein film i do a little 25% change just to scoop out the film and add new water without a gravel siphon

@smokey
it's not hard to measure things to the water if you have a pre-treated gallon of water always sitting there at room temp ...what i did is i took one of those gallon of waters that u can get at the store for a dollar (i drank the mineral water that was in there at first then filled it with tap water ^_^ i didn't waste water or put the mineral water in the tank that would be bad).. and treat the whole container .. then i let it sit there .. it makes adding water due to evaporation or mini water changes a lot easier .. some people use juice or other containers .. but i find that's more of a pain to clean out after drinking whatever it was .. so i used the water gallons

Thats a really neat idea :D Im going to start doing that. Don't think I can do it for the 60 gallons of water in the other soon to be setup....I dont have the room lol

[Hikari]

I use the 1 gallon jugs that distilled water comes in for all my water changes. Of course I don't use the distilled water, my dad actually uses it for this machine he needs for his sleep apnea, and I just collect them from him when they're empty.