Beginner In Need Of Advice

[dancartwright]

Hello everyone,

My name is Daniel and I am very new to the world of tropical fish. Ive always been interested in them and have finally decided to give it a go. I got my tank today which is a 4ft one and have been doing a lot of reading up on cycling the tank etc. When I bought the tank I didnt get anything else with it as it was off somebody I know who needed to keep their things. I was just wondering what things should I be lookong to get and what things will I need to get me started. Ideally I would like to go and get the started things and essentials tomorrow (15/09/13) so any help would be much appreciated and also any advice or tips etc would be very much welcomed.

I have a feeling I may be posting a few times on here over the coming weeks.....

 

[BerryAttack]

well you'll need a filter, heater, lights, then your decor you can add.
 i would advise doing a fish-less cycling... and you'll need ammonia to start the cycling process. the site has tons of info on fish-less cycling.

 

[DerpPH]

Get a filter. You cant cycle without one. I suggest you do a fishless cycle. It can do wonders for ya

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Welcome to the forum
 
A heater and filter are the first things you should be buying, along with some ammonia and a liquid test kit.
 
Lights and then substrate and decor come next, but they can wait until your cycle is finished.
 
Have you read the cycling article linked in my signature?
 
What are you thinking you will stock the tank with?
 
There is lots of other useful information HERE.

 

[ky*weremiej]

Well you have found the right place for advice, welcome to tff !!

 

[daizeUK]

Welcome to TFF! 
 
My biggest piece of advice right now would be to not rush out and buy stuff tomorrow/today.  Take your time to research what sort of equipment you want.  For a 4ft tank you'll be looking for an external filter which can be an expensive piece of kit and there are lots of options to consider.  You might even think about getting an in-line heater to go with it depending on how much money you want to spend.
 
Think about how you want your tank to look and what sort of substrate you'll need.  Do you want brightly coloured gravel, natural looking sand or a plain black substrate?  Will you be planting the aquarium?
 
Consider shopping around online or on the second-hand market.  For example if you rush out and buy an API testing kit from a pet/fish store it'll cost about £35 but if you're prepared to order online and wait a few days for delivery it's closer to £20.
 
What sort of lighting came with the tank?  Sometimes it's a good idea to replace old tubes, especially if you are planning to grow plants.
 
My starting shopping list would look like this:

• External filter
• External in-line heater
• thermometer
• dechlorinator
• gravel or sand substrate to a depth of about 2 inches
• gravel cleaner/siphon
• ammonia e.g. Kleenoff for cycling
• API testing kit

Other less urgent stuff to consider:

• decoration / bogwood / rocks
• background poster or paint
• fish nets

That's all I can think of right now   there might be other stuff such as powerheads you need for a 4ft tank - not sure as I haven't got a tank that big!