Are These Plants Real Or Fake

[steve26-2008]

I have just bought this starter tank, it came with no plants but are these ones real or fake and where could I buy them. Is it possible to use sand with all tropical fish.

http/www.petsathome.com/shop/fish-box-40cm-tank-by-interpet-(available-in-store-only)-36859

 

[kporteo]

They are fake, the tank has no water in it, and in general, aquatic plants need water to hold them up. The grass looking plants are Vallis, not sure what the little plants are, but any half decent LFS will probably have them in stock.
As for sand, yeah thats absolutely fine, loads of posts on here have info on sand as a substrate.

You will need to cycle the tank before you add any fish, have a look at the beginners resource centre for fishless cycling.

K

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

They are fake, the tank has no water in it, and in general, aquatic plants need water to hold them up. The grass looking plants are Vallis, not sure what the little plants are, but any half decent LFS will probably have them in stock.
As for sand, yeah thats absolutely fine, loads of posts on here have info on sand as a substrate.

You will need to cycle the tank before you add any fish, have a look at the beginners resource centre for fishless cycling.

K

just to point out there are fish swimming in the air then Kporteo if theres no water haha.. im sure its a photo to resemble a real setup

if u went to pets at home with that pic they wud pick them out for you im sure

 

[KittyKat]

+1 fake
+1 please fishless cycle

Those plants are twisted vallis and some sort of sword.

Sand is great, many of us use play sand (nb: all sand and gravel needs to be washed until water runs clear).

Live plants can be very easy and look very nice.. please consider over fake. Good live plants to start with are Anubias species, Java moss, Java fern and Vallis.

 

[steve26-2008]

I'm going shopping for ammonia and I have been reading up on fishless cycling all weekend I want to do this properly.

 

[waterdrop]

I'm going shopping for ammonia and I have been reading up on fishless cycling all weekend I want to do this properly.

Your profile doesn't indicate your location but the link you posted uses pounds rather than dollars, so Boots may be the best place to look for ammonia. Homebase also has a brand I believe and there's Jeyes Kleenoff in one of it's varieties. The ammonia needs to be simple, clear, household cleaning ammonia usually at 9.5% concentration. Make sure it doesn't have dyes, fragrances, surfactants or soaps in it.

The other necessary bit of equipment is a good water chemistry testing kit. It needs to be liquid-reagent based and not paper strips. Most of us like and use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[steve26-2008]

yes I am in the uk I tried boots but they said it's only on sale in the larger stores. I have a water testing kit and i'm going to try a larger boots or homebase so fingers crossed.

 

[waterdrop]

If you already have the filter up and running you can also put a tiny pinch of fishfood in there right now while you look for ammonia. I always think a tiny bit of that adds a little complication to what's going on in the tank, which can be a good thing. Household ammonia is much better for controlling and interpreting the overall fishless cycle though, so this comment is not to be confused with using fishfood as the only source at all.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[steve26-2008]

I Have managde to get the boots ammonia. How many drops would I have to add to the tank, the tank size and volume are on the website in the first post. Thank you for all of the help.

 

[KittyKat]

Add until it is just under 5 ppm (if your tests read 4 ppm, then 8 ppm, add only up to 4 ppm).

 

[steve26-2008]

Add until it is just under 5 ppm (if your tests read 4 ppm, then 8 ppm, add only up to 4 ppm).

I dosed the tank up to 5ppm, what heat should the heater be on to speed up the cycle.

 

[KittyKat]

Aim for 27-29C.