Thanks for your input, Gill-

I'm waiting to introduce any fish, keeping an eye on the heater-plugged
in and unplugged, how it relates to our fluctuating temperatures day &
night. So far, inside today, no house heaters-it's moderate at 74
degrees, the tank heater's not plugged in and hood light off the water
was 74 also. About half an hour ago I plugged it in, barely nudging
the lever, it hadn't come on and if so not right away, so at least it
does have an off or close to that setting. About 74.5 degrees now,
nudged the lever a bit more. If I put it to the arrow that it suggests
my tank the first night got up to 84d, so I unplugged it.

I realize the water especially in the smaller tanks might need more
careful maintenance. Gill, can you give me an idea of how much and how
frequent your water changes are? I'm wondering if you do something
like 20% once a week for say 3 weeks then at the fourth week maybe a
larger percentage? Any tips on this would be appreciated also. I got
my equipment at WalMart; I've seen testing strips that include the
ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, ph and perhaps a couple of other things on
one strip that I can order off the web if Wal doesn't have that. I
wanted to get those little strip thermometers that go on the outside
glass-about $1.49-for a quick look, and noticed they have the gravel
vacs, so will probably stop in this evening.

I notice that gravel dust looks like it's on the surface of the water
like a "pool", maybe slime?? Doesn't cover the top totally but it's
floating-I'd definitely say from the gravel. I'll check the filter
inlet tube, I don't think it would be clogged but... Do you think the
vacuum would clear that and the dust that settled on the rocks? If not
I guess I'll take everything out & do a final rinse with anti-chlor
added to my rinse water. When I got the kit, I noticed the blue filter
packs were out of stock. I'll probably order a supply of those to hold
me over.

I read where tetras might want cooler water-74-76 or so, where as I
believe the bettas can have a little warmer water, perhaps not so much
an issue in the summer. I think the tank will be fine in the summer,
the ac is opposite the wall of the tank, I can turn vents toward or
away as needed. I am leaning toward a betta, just need to get the tank
water right and take the plunge.

Thanks Gill, your comments opened my eyes a bit more, the bettas are
cute, they are playful, I just would want to keep it healthy. If you
have any more advice, especially about your water changing routine I'd
love to hear about it, I'm sure that would be helpful to a few of us
newbe's out here.

Best regards,

ko57
in s.e. Louisiana, where the weather seems to change every 5 minutes