~ Hey ~ I have good news! I am moving you know and i got 2 of those 14 gallon rubbermaid things and so know i have a 10 gallon tank and 2 14 gallon tanks! one is cycling right know so if you have any tips on how to cycle that would be great and then i am going to have to get a couple of things for them. i have to get a filter- any suggestions on what kind? i am also going to have to gravel so if you know of any color that puts more light into a clear thing please let me know and i am also going to have to get some type of lid besides the one it came with becuase there is no way for light to come in and i need light. thanks again!

, not right now but soon!

hey dean, that's wonderful!!!

so, how are you enjoying the new master testkit you bought so that you could tell when the cycle is complete before adding fish to your new tanks?

also, if you have the tubs, but no filter, what exactly are you cycling? i'm pretty sure stagnant water doesn't cycle, it just gets kinda cloudy and starts to smell a little.

for the filter, whisper i20s would be the most affordable, and easiest to hang inside a rubbermaid tub. somewhere there's a post floating around where some very knowledgeable people gave some great advice on cycling the filters of a tank; such as "feeding" them, etc.

ur probably gonna have to get a little creative with the light. i don't think rubbermaid makes hoods or lamps yet. a custom-cut piece of glass would work, but that's probably a little out of your price range. maybe if you plan on fish that aren't too keen on jumping, and you don't fill the rubbermaid completely, you could forgo the lid and just use sunlight or a bedroom lamp for daytime light.

if you're gonna keep it on the floor, make sure you don't have any other pets that might find a bowl of water intriguing, like dogs.

if you're doing tropical, which i pray you are, you'll need a heater. be careful where and how you put that heater in the water, as heat melts plastic. which is why you don't often hear of people doing tropical tanks in rubbermaid tubs. you see it more as winter homes for koi (and by that i mean 30 gallon homes for koi that will soon be going back into their 1000 gallon ponds, which i don't think applies here).

yellow or light pastel colored stones (blue, orange, pink) would open up the space and make it appear brighter. going barebottom or riverstone would remind you to do gravel vacs. using the tubs to move your stuff out of your bedroom instead of house fish in could potentially save some fishie-lives.

hope that answers your questions.

To cycle a tank, you need a source of ammonia to start and feed the tanks, a filter so the benaficial bacteria have a place to live as well as deliver O2 to it, and a test kit to see if you are cycling, how far along your cycling, and when you are done. You can not really start cycling without those things, especially the first two, so once you have a filter and lots of tests for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, we'll tell you how to do it. If you can find it you'll need clear ammonia (no additives, soaps or surfactants etc) but a lot of people have trouble finding it, so a cheap fish food will work too.

The tubs might not be ideal...it depends on the type of fish. If you go with one (1!) fancy goldfish, you need to be ready for 25% water changes every week, NO EXCEPTIONS. Goldfish, in general, are a lot more work than tropicals and require an air pump for 02 and a very strong filter etc. They need to have their water tested for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and if possible kH every single week, so do not get any goldfish until you have that masterkit. Any kind of dipping tests you will run out very quickly. Tropicals generally produce less waste so they don't need as much maintenance as goldfish, but the heater could pose an issue. I've heard of suctioning the heater to a small strip of glass at the bottom of a tub but I don't have any feedback from those who have tried it, and no one has done it long term. Tropical fish aren't much to look at from the top, but hun, I honestly feel you are not ready for goldfish, as they are much more complicated than tropical.

Dean don't get any new fish til you get the masterkit. Does your mom know what these tubs are for? She has a problem with you changing 2.5 gallons of your original tank once a week, so what do you think she'll do when you are changing 10 gallons a week? Also remember that 3 tanks are a ton hardy to take care of than one, and you even seem to have trouble with that.

Hey Dean... glad to see that you are headed towards a good start.

If you would like some more reading material about cycling, there is a big section on the website you can read. Click on this link to take you there. But if you still have questions about stuff.. do not hesitat to ask.

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html

i have a 2-10 gallon whisper that is in the rubbermaid now and i am goign to get 1 fantail goldfish becuase me and Laurie P talked about it and i am not going to get a heater and i have one of those lamps that mount to the wall and that is what is being lit and that is right above the rubbermaid! i am ony lsetting up 1 right now and i just starting to cycle!

thanks! any help would work!

congrats Dean, i think the others have successfully answered your question though!

yeah and i want to thank those people:)

thanks again:)

Hey Dean didn't we discuss that the light situation was a bad idea?? I think we just need to clarify that, so the others know you are not going to do that.

Just a thought, if you are moving soon, then why not wait till you move to set up the tub/tank? It is a huge hassle moving fish, believe me.

alright i have to clear some things up so i am not confusing people:

i am not going to get a light becuase it is not good for the fish
i am going to wait to add the fish but i am going to cycle the tank because i have a rolling cart that i can move the fish with

anymore ideas would be great. thanks again for helping.

Dean that sounds like a plan, it is very hard to move fish and not have any die.

what i meant to say was i have a microwave cart that is on wheels and i am just going to put the tub on there and roll it into the new room becuase that is what it is going on anyways!

Huh? Do you mean that you are going to buy your fish before you move them and then transport them with the microwave cart into the new house and your new room?

no i meant if i am done cycling before i switch rooms becuase we have the house but i am switching rooms then i will buy the fish and use the microwave cart to trasnport becuase i only have one tub set up right now.

thanks for allowing me to clear that up.

It would be alot easier to just wait a bit till the tank is set up in the new room, it would save the risk of damaging the tub while moving it and getting water everywhere! would also save your fish the stress off being moved, how long till you move?

I am switching rooms this Saturday!

Thats great Dean!