question about aquarium kit from walmart

1. is the pump/filter be too strong for the betta? (its name is Aqua Tech power filter model 5 -15)

I think I have the same, or very similar pump. It was much too strong for my Betta. I had to "baffle" it. For me, I had to use both a sponge and the plastic bottle method. The sponge helped, but the current was still too strong and pushed the poor guy across the tank!

2. after putting aqua safe how long should i wait for the stuff to work?

You mean the dechlorinator? I use my water right away, it says it works immediately. Though, I think some people here let their water sit overnight.


3.and should i wait exactly 24hours before putting inthe plants and betta? i kinda feel sorry for the lil guy stuck in a small container ><(my self is claustrophobic)

At least 24 hours. And if you want to do a "fishless cycle" it will be weeks. Just make sure you do the proper water changes and he should be fine. Are the plants live? If so they will be a good help for water quality.


4. i got 5 mollies from a friend and according the store its ok for betta to include them?

No. Not only would your Betta be stressed by the Mollies, I think your tank would be overstocked with that many fish. - Other people here can help you more though, but from what I have read this would be a bad idea.

5. I bought stuff so hastily can i still in corporate cycling( i basically know its important for amonia/nitrate balancing. but not too indepth in knowledge)

If your willing to let your tank sit for several weeks without the fish and plants then yes. Otherwise you will have to do regular water changes. You should read the stickied thread on cycling.

6. "tetra safe start" is it good for my situation??

I was thinking about using it, though I don't know anything much about it other than the reviews I have seen online.

7.and lastly i found a big bottle of seems like a pre cycled water is that good??

Um, maybe.. I've read though that the water actually doesn't have much of the bacteria in it. The filter and surfaces in the tank (like the tank walls, the gravel, the decorations, etc.) are where the bacteria really collects.

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I hope I am a small help. Other people here will be able to help you much more though!

thank you so much everyone for the warm welcome and this site is a really great help for me who is just starting out!!.

i manage to find some one who can adopt the five bright orange mollies (too bad i find it a good contrast against the dark blue red betta)

as for the tank its sitting for almost 24hours like the instruction said.

though i returned the tetra thermometer to walmart ( the temp was just sitting on 74F and thinking an adjustable 1 is much better in the long run so i bought a new 1 that you could adjust the temperature your self from petsmart its a (marineland 50watt stealth shatter proof heater and fully submersible) it says in the box" up to 15 gallon" will it be alright to put it in a 5 gallon tank? i can 't seem to find something smaller for this except for smallest which is just up to 3 gallon.

oh and i bought api 5 in 1 test strips and the tetra safe start.
so i'm prepared to change the water everyday if theres an imbalance on the aquarium water.

1. for the new question i was reading on the back of the safe start it saids whole bottle for up to 30gallons. do i pour everything even its just five gallon or the i just our 1/6th of the bottle. just wanna make sure because they did not put any other instruction if you have a smaller tank.

2. i'm mostlikely gonna use the tetra safestart . do i put in the betta with it? i'm prepared for the daily monitoring of the chemical balance of the water and changing it as needed.

thank you again guys and ladies for the BIG BIG Help!

hmm i might as well use it i guesse (safe start) already bought it.. i'll probably just gonna make a daily note on the ammonium/ nitrates/nitrites lvl and post it here so you guys/ladies could see and raise a flag if something really odd is happening.

my sis gave me a fish bowl aleast bigger than the original container he have.

after reading some other articles on betta a read about fin rot...
and looking at my betta I nitial thought the black on the edges of its fin is part of its color pattern. though seems like i;m wrong posting a picture of him

sorry for the picture its really hard to manual focus on fishball too much distortion

first 1 is a body shot (i really like how he looks but after reading more about betta i realize those black on the edges of his fins might be Fin rot. and petsmart where i bought it seems like all the betta are in a bluish water



a close up on his fins



top shot




others




before adding the safe start do I add in the plants too(live plants)??

omg phew thats a big relief i thought he is sick or something, his very lively at the moment at the fish bowl.

any suggestion whats a inexpensive way to test for ammonia daily??? the api 5 in 1 test strips does not include it so i delayed the transfer of Tetra safe start/Betta/Plants in to the 5g tank.

though the tank is pretty much ready temp is at 80 F - 81 F
& Filter can be adjusted to lowest flow

though the water i tested last night
General Hardness 180
Carbonate Hardness 240
pH 6.5 -7 (i might retest this 1)
NO2 0
NO3 0


I'm abit worried about the GH&KH of the water its on the higher end of the spectrum. will it be good for Betta ? :-?