Aquarium Setup

[BIGT]

I have made a few threads about problems i been having with my fish tank so decided to make a new thread instead of cluttering up th eother one about how it should be setup. i been reading around that alot of live plants work great. i been wondering if my setup could be abad one or good.

my setup i have is the normal gravel stones a big cave skull and a small ship pirate kind of theme. also 5 small fern plants not sure of name its no java and 2 fake plants. i been tould a few times by peopel locally sometimes fish get along better with the all natural stuff like the plants and the coral. also was tould the decorations i have can contaminate the water. i did wash them all off befor i put them in i noticed alot f freshwater tanks i o see alre alot of live plants and coral no decorations and no fake plants. is it better to to have mainely live plants and some live coral? they said that fish survive better in the type of envirement like that.

what do u guys recommend so i get started out on the right track. also for the people that been helping me if you come here. the ph dropped way low i put ph rise in and it went up the othe rlevels are still kind of high. also i was read in the new tank forums that the test strips i have are also notorious for being in accurate. i went to the fish store, and the said maybe if i get water clear that clears up cloudy water may reduce cloudyness and withing 10 seconds of putting that in it was log a big cloud of fog could not see a thing in the tank this morning it started clearing up.

i would really appreciate some help with the best tank setup if what i have will do just fine or if i should change it or even just add a few more plants that are live. like i seen in one of the threads live plants help out with the fish-in cycling at the same time can control some of the bad chemicals in the tank. also if i didnt not the is no chlorine in the water so thats not a problem.

 

[meguro]

Don't add any coral to your tank. Coral is for marine/saltwater tanks, your tank is freshwater. Yes live plants are good. The 'natural' tank is also good to aim for but that doesn't necessarily mean themed tanks will be bad/subpar, just different.

The plant you most likely have is water wysteria (hygrophila difformis). It's generally a fast growing plant so it should help to alleviate your water quality.

As for your pH, if you have the tests please post the pH of both your tank water and your tap water. You should also describe any rocks, woods or other that you have in the tank as these could be affecting your water quailty ie. what is the skull and ship made of (I'm assuming plastic but would like confirmation)?

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, hi BigT and welcome to the beginner section,

Good comments there already as you don't want coral in there raising your pH without you knowing it!

It can take a while to absorb all the stuff that we members can throw at you. Don't worry, you'll gradually get it all worked out. The pH adjuster and the chemical to make the water clear are neither things that we generally recommend. Usually here in the beginner section you'll learn that a good tank can be maintained with almost no extra chemicals except perhaps conditioner (to remove the chlorine or chloramine.) As already mentioned, a good liquid-reagent based test kit is essential for a beginner (I feel) if for nothing else then to learn from. The paper strip tests are worse than useless, they are misleading. The various "cloudy" situations you can get in a new tank are mostly completely harmless and will go away without any intervention on your part.

~~waterdrop~~