[Cowgirlthing]

Hey all! I was on the hunt searching for a tank to put my very first Betta in, everywhere is so expensive! So I started searching through my classifieds in my newspaper and I came across a used 10 gallon tank, plus rocks, filter, and heater and hood with an LED light! For only 20$, I'm very excited and snagged it up today! But, I have some questions!

-What can I use to clean it out? Anything special or just a scrubber and water?
-Is anyone familiar with a Elite Stingray Filter? If so, is it any good? And how -often should I change the cartridges (foam)?
-It also comes with an LED light, that seems extremely bright (nearly blinded me looking into it), how many watts should a light be for them?
- When should I put the water in with the conditioner before I get the fish?

Also! Any idea on what else to get for it? I need a shopping list for Friday!​

 

[Saber]

Craigslist has awesome deals! Congrats.

1.) I would fill the tank with water and let it sit outside for a few hours just so you know if there are any leaks. As for cleaning, you can wash the tank itself with a mild soap and warm water. Just make sure to rinse it thoroughly to remove any soap residue. I definitely wouldn't wash the filter with soap though - just some water and a scrub brush should do the trick to remove any dust/leftover ickies.

2.) LED lights should be fine for your betta. Two of my tanks have LED lighting and they look stunning in the dark. Don't leave them on all the time, of course.

3.) Always use a water conditioner like Prime or API when you add new water and before you add your fish.

4.) You can get some gravel and silk plants to help make your tank into a home for your betta. Plastic plants can damage a betta's long fins so its best to stick with the silk kind. You can also get real plants, but they require a bit more upkeep. Also pick up a quality food for your betta such as New Life Spectrum pellets, and extra water conditioner. Aquarium salt is good to have on hand if your betta shows signs of disease but you shouldn't add it to his tank all the time.

 

[Blue Fish]

Saber's pretty well got it covered.

If you decide to cycle the tank, you'll need to get an Master Liquid Test kit and some Prime if you do a fish-in cycle. No fish you won't need Prime unless you're using it as your main water conditioner.

As for your filter foam, I would totally throw out the carbon cartridge and keep the foam that's already in there, and add in some more sponge. You can get sheets of aquarium sponges and just cut to size, or you can get car wash sponge and use that. (Just make sure it's plain sponge, you don't want anything for kitchens because they're almost always treated with a bacteriacidal agent...which will not be good for your fish and will make it impossible to cycle your tank.)
You'll never replace *all* the sponge/foam at the same time if you cycle, but eventually you might have to replace it one at a time if it starts to break down. It usually takes a really long time for the aquarium sponges and foam to break down though, so I definitely wouldn't worry about it right now.

 

[Hallyx]

Good advice above. You'll need a 50Watt adjustable heater and a cheap floating thermometer to ensure the temperature is 78*-82*. Read the beginner stickies at the top of the Betta fish care section.

The Stingray is a fine (internal) filter. You can get replacement foam cartridges/pads on Amazon. Get a new cartridge now and never replace it.

I second the recommendation of Seachem Prime water conditioner. It treats both chlorine and ammonia.

Betta don't care about lights, in fact they like it darkish. The lighting you have will be adequate for low-light plants. Live plants are recommended for water quality and a fishly environment.