I've made a start ...

[cheeky_chappie]

on Sunday filled my Rio 180 with gravel, water, a few small rocks and a couple of artifical plants (don't want to rush the 'creation' of the tank so I'm not filling it with tons of stuff straight away.)

some quick questions I'd appreciate answers to if possible:


1. I've used 'King British Professional Safe Guard' to treat the water, hopefully it's an okay product?
2. since setting up the tank I've had my hand/arm in to adjust rocks etc. am I doing either myself (my skin etc ... thinking of the chemicals I'll be putting in tank etc) or the water (because of my skin!) any damage by doing this? if it's advisable to wear an elbow high rubber glove when working in tank I'll do it ... don't laugh ) .
3. the Juwel instructions say you can add a few hardy fish after a few days (which I can't wait to do!) to help start the filter maturation process. can you give me a few suggestions of suitable hardy fish to introduce to my tank first? in general I don't want any fish in my tank that grow bigger than 8cm / 3".


the tank still looks pretty empty, but I don't think I'll ever jam pack it with plants, rocks etc, want to leave reasonable space so I can have more fish.

CC

 

[dwarfgourami]

Congratulations on tank set up!

I can't imagine you'll do yourself any harm by sticking hands in the water, it's what we all do ever so often. Just make sure there is no residue of soap or deodorant etc. on your arm as that could be harmful to the fish.

The next step is the cycle- the maturation process you mentioned, where ammonia (excreted by fish) in the water encourages friendly bacteria, which turn (toxic) ammonia into (also toxic) nitrites, then other bacteria grow which turn nitrites into (less harmful) nitrates. Cycling can be done in one of 2 ways.

Either you cycle by adding a few hardy fish as suggested by tank manufacturers. This is the oldfashioned method. Suitable fish would be platys (grow to about 2", come in great variation of colours and are very pleasant little fellows) or danios (small shoaling fish, also very attractive). The advantage of this method is you get to add fish straighaway. The disadvantage is that while your tank is cycling your fish will basically be swimming in toxins; both ammonia and nitrites can kill fish or leave them with permanent health problems. You need to keep an eye on the water with a test kit and be prepared to alleviate the situation by frequent water changes.

Or you can do the fishless cycle. See pinned topic. This would mean you have to be patient for a few weeks longer, but will then be in a position to offer better living conditions to your fish- also, you are not stuck with a few species just because they are hardy.

Fishless cycling involves encouraging friendly bacteria by adding pure household ammonia (from hardware store) to get a reading of c. 5 ppm on your test kit chart, then carrying on adding same amount every day until ammonia goes down and nitrite readings spike, then add half amount ammonia every day until nitrites go down and nitrates spike. At this point you do a big water change and bingo! you can add fish.

I have tried both methods and much prefer the fishless because it was less stressful to both the fish and me.

Whichever you choose, plants though not obligatory are not a bad idea since they increase the oxygen in the water, you should be able to keep more fish, not less, in a heavily planted tank. Some types of fish may require hideyholes- lots of catfish do, for instance. I know my corys love their bogwood cave. Bogwood can also be useful if you have high ph, as it helps to bring it down. On the other hand, some fish require more swimming space- so how you decorate the tank should depend at least in part on the type of fish.

Have fun!