Too much for a 35 or 37G?

[AquariumNoob]

So, i got tired of my old setup in my 35 (or 37- i forgot) gallon tank, and decided to go new. Im going to be throwing out my old substrate and putting all of my old decorations etc in storage.. bought natural river gravel and am planning on setting up a moss backdrop as well as a moss floor with some java ferns etc.. Most likely some sort of Co2 kit (got another post- what should i do for the co2 thing?) and was wondering if my tank can handle 12 Neon tetras, 12 Black neon tetras, and maybe 5 or 6 other community fish, as well as 30 or 40 low-grade (im cheap ) Red cherry shrimp (you can get em for like 1$ each shipped on ebay).. Can my tank handle all of that? or is that too much? Any advise? And does anyone know a good place in NJ to buy fish (other than petco and petsmart- i dont trust chain stores they treat their pets like crap there. I always end up with diseased crap from there)? I live in East Brunswick, NJ, 08816. Let me know if you know a great place with good service etc..
All input is greatly appreciated!

[xtremefun00]

You didn't mention how often you planned to do a WC. If you are performing 40-50% weekly like most people I wouldn't expect a problem, cycle the tank and add slowly.

I have 12 cardinal tetras I purchased in groups of 6 at different times from two different petsmarts, all 12 are alive, healthy and have great color. I also have 3 peppered Corys, and 5 otos I purchased during their dollar sale, haven't lost an oto and the Corys won't stop breeding.

[AquariumNoob]

50%?? wow.. I do 20% changes.. Isn't more than that dangerous?? Huge change in water perameters..

[jwalls1082]

Originally Posted by AquariumNoob

50%?? wow.. I do 20% changes.. Isn't more than that dangerous?? Huge change in water perameters..

I used to think that as well, but after lurking around here and at ultimatebettas forums for a while I learned that as long as you're consistent 40-50% is fine. Smaller betta tanks are sometimes 100% WC a couple times a week.

[AquariumNoob]

Originally Posted by jwalls1082

I used to think that as well, but after lurking around here and at ultimatebettas forums for a while I learned that as long as you're consistent 40-50% is fine. Smaller betta tanks are sometimes 100% WC a couple times a week.

Yea but dont forget Bettas are A LOT hardier than Neon tetras.. Neons are quite sensitive.. most places say they are "easy" to take care of and hardy, but out of personal experience they arent exactly too hardy.. i had a few and they died pretty quick.. dont even know from what, but all of my other tetras and guppies are freakin horses.. they refuse to die.. I personally dont like fancier fish.. i had a few bala sharks that i tried keepin and they died in a month =(.. guess i wasnt taking good enough care of em.. Anyhow, good ol' 2$ tetras have lasted me a lot longer than all of the more expensive fish..
Anyhow, water changing in a betta tank isnt the same as in a planted tank with a few dozen fish o_0.

[F22]

i would say do 50% every 3 weeks. make sure the water you are adding back is stable and the same temp and ph of that which you are taking out and your neons will be fine.

[jwalls1082]

I've kept neons for about a year now doing weekly 40% changes with no problems Not a large number of them, only 6 in a 10 gallon tank. I match the temperature as close as I can when adding new water. I'm still new at all of it, so I could be missing something, which is fine. Always open to learning.

[lauraleellbp]

The only time big water changes are dangerous to fish is if the tank water has been allowed to shift too far from the source water parameters.

Only doing small water changes and tank topoffs causes a tank to increase in hardness over time, unless you use RO water for topoffs instead of tap water.

The best way to keep your tank and tap water parameters in line with each other and maintain as clean water as possible for the fish is by doing large, regular water changes.

Nitrate levels can be a good indication of how often water changes are needed (if you're not dosing nitrates, that is...)

Your planned bioload sounds fine to me, especially if the tank is heavily planted.

[AquariumNoob]

alright, so now that we've established the fact that the tank, with proper upkeep, can handle that many fish, How much water would you say i should change weekly? or every other week preferably as im still in school and changing the water weekly is a pain..

[AquariumNoob]

Do you think i should hold up on the plants and wait until the water is stable and everything and make sure the fish are all good? Im changing the gravel and everything but im going to keep 50% of the water in some sort of container (probably a cleaned out cooler haha) to speed up the cycle process.. gona keep the filter media for a bit too before changing it.. Anyhow, as for the fish i want to put, i just got a 5 gallon tank from my dad who sells all kinds of stuff online as his business, so i took it to use it to quarantine any fish that i buy before putting em in the tank.. im gona put 6 tetras at a time (or can the tank handle 12 at a time? 4 trips for 24 fish sounds like a lot).. Anyhow, should i get the fish in there n make sure its all ok before putting the plants or should the plants be in first along with the change of gravel and decorations etc??

[mordalphus]

Depending on what kind of filtration you're running, I'd say between 20% and 40% weekly is fine.

[AquariumNoob]

The filter i got is a stock aqueon one that i got with the tank.. I just bought the kit for like 300$ or whatever that came with the filter and everything, so its a plain stock cheap filter.. no fancy bio-wheels or anything.. Should i upgrade the filter? if im investing in the tank, i might as well buy a decent filter.. and that way when i upgrade my tank itself i can always use the same filter.. any suggestions? nothing expensive.. something reliable and good?or is the stock aqueon one fine?

[mordalphus]

Well hold on for a minute here, the aqueon may not tbe the best filter on the market. But if it's maintained properly, it should do its job.

Don't rush out and buy the biggest and best of everything just yet, after all, in 2 weeks you're going to go out and buy a 55 gallon tank, and you'll need the extra money to outfit that one with a canister filter.

But with the aqueon, I'd say you'd need to change 40% every 2 weeks, or 20% a week. Don't forget to maintain the filter during water changes!

[AquariumNoob]

K thanks!! Probably won't be getting a bigger tank for a while.. Probably not till I move out in a few years. Took me a year to convince my dad to get me a bigger tank than my previous 10g.. If I get a filter it's gonna be oversized so I can use it if I get a bigger tank..

[AquariumNoob]

Wow I asked my mom if I can get a bigger tank and she said sure it's ur problem....??? Haha sooo.. Yea I'm gona get a new tank.. Lol..