Embarking On First Tank

[beanz8]

Hi

After posting in the introduction section i have decided to post my first questions.

Me and my fiance will be going to look at tanks on Saturday and hopefully we will find one we like - we have a fairly big space to fill and are looking to get a tank between 80-100cm wide.

My questions are:
1. are there any tank makes we should avoid or you recommend? (we will probably buy one which has all the filters etc instead of buying them all individually)
2. if we do find one we like what else will we need to buy along with it? water treatments, testing kits etc?

I have read your forum and we will be doing a fish-less cycle, we are prepared to wait as i dont want to kill any poor fish.

Thanks for reading
Beanz8 aka Pippa

 

[Tizer]

I can recommend the Fluval Roma series of tanks, many shops stock them and their value isnt too bad. You could look at the 125 litre version and it comes with nearly everything you would need, heater, filter etc.

Pick yourself a substrate thats good for all fish, i highly recommend sand over gravel as new fish owners often discover corydoras and fall in love with them as the cuteness factor is so high :> I have 24/25 of them :>

Lots of threads on here about how to clean the sand before it goes into the tank, stick it in the seach facility and have a read. in short, bucket and hose, its not rocket science.

Make sure you pickup a test kit, i would order the API freshwater master kit on ebay for about £18 delivered, it will be £25+ in shops.

Make sure you get a thermometer and set the tank to 27 degrees for your fishless cycle. have a good read on here, some might recommend it goes higher.

A notepad is often helpful to record all the readings and really just concentrate in ammonia and nitrite for the first few weeks and post back here for advice once you are into the cycle.

External filters are often recommended as they give you more space in the tank, but you wouldnt have to worry about that additional cost yet, you may never need to bother either. You might find fish keeping boring so the expense now might not be worth the risk.

Avoid anything with "biOrb" written on it.

umm...cant think of much else :>

oh, get some dechlorinator, chlorine in tap water is harmful to fish and to the bacteria in your filter. forget to use it and you could end up having to cycle your tank again.

Dont get talked into buying anything in a bottle until you ask on here, 99% of it is rubbish.

While you are cycling, you can find time for decorations and fish stock, no need to rush into those yet and it would be a whole new thread of information anyway.

welcome to the forum

 

[shelaghfishface]

juwel.. and youd be better off looking on ebay, lots of people spend hundreds of pounds on new tanks, then as they dont get good advice they kill the fish and give up the hobby...so youd get a huge bargain and prob lots of extra equipment too

 

[Tizer]

+1 for Juwel tanks also and eBay is an excellent place for a bargain, both my tanks are second hand, i wouldnt dream of buying brand new even if i did have the money to burn.

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd just recommend getting the largest tank you can; it's easier in the long run (there's nothing wrong with small tanks; I have a couple myself, but they limit your stocking and need quite careful looking after; bigger tanks are easier for beginners).

And +1 for the advice on getting the API master test kit (although other makes are fine too, as long as they're the reagent/test tube type; the paper dip strips are notoriously inaccurate and many don't test for ammonia, which is essential).

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That's a great list from Tizer, but I would add:

add sodium bicarbonate to the tank (in small batches, checking the pH each teaspoon or so), sufficient to raise the pH into the range of 8.2-8.4. The bacteria grow better at this pH as well as at higher temps. The bicarb won't really affect anything long term, as before you add fish, you need to do a massive water change anyway to remove nitrates. You can also do multiple water changes in an effort to get the pH all the way back to match your tap with a slight difference.


I might also mention that Dr. Tim (Havonec) has posted that nitrite levels should be kept as low as possible (~0.14ppm) to help the necessary bacteria outcompete others. So, I would recommend a large water change as soon as you see your first nitrite spike. I just did this with my fishless cycle, and the nitrites have dropped quickly since!


Just a quick overview of my cycle: I used SafeStart to find out if there was anything to the bacteria in a bottle. I am not suggesting that you do the same, but just mentioning it.

I dosed to 4ppm, and the ammonia dropped to zero in about 5 days. I redosed to 4ppm, and the ammonia dropped in 2 more days. I redosed and the ammonia dropped to zero in 1 day - this led to a nitrite spike. (And marked the end of phase 1) I did a huge water change, and my ammonia levels were 0.25ppm and the nitrite still held at 0.50ppm. 12 hours later both had zeroed. I redosed to 2ppm ammonia, and 24 hours later, both dropped to zero. (This is traditionally the end of the second phase.) I am still waiting to see if the levels drop back to zero again today (although I upped the dose to 3ppm).



I wish you luck with the whole cycling process. Feel free to post your log on this board, and folks will offer tips along the way.

 

[beanz8]

Wow thank you for all the information you have given me, i will be noting it all and showingf the fiance so he is up to speed as well.

Please feel free to add any more information, i am very willing to learn.

 

[Randi]

Hi Pippa, Tizer's list is pretty comprehensive but I would like to stress choosing sand as a substrate. Most bottom feeders prefer it and starting with sand is much easier than keeping your fish in a bucket all day when you decide, months in, that it's time to get rid of the gravel. (this is what I did last weekend) Many people recommend pool filter sand but I used play sand from the home improvement store.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Juwel, loveley tanks & you can get some great bargains

I
I
I
I
V

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum beanz8.
The tank you are looking for is probably any tank that is marked as being 3 feet long. I have a 45 US gallon tank that size that is very nice to look at and has enough capacity for many of the readily available fishes in my LFS. The specific tank that you buy should be one that you like to look at. Be aware that any typical kit of a tank with hood and filters, etc. has some limitations. It often has just enough for a beginner in terms of filtration so you will end up spending money in the future for a new filter. The packaged hoods have marginal lighting that is enough to see the fish but is not enough for growing most plants. It takes a whole new hood to change the lighting available. Changing light tubes does not work for that because the "ballast" is designed for a particular wattage tube.
Simple shapes usually end up better because they are flexible as far as things like lighting and even filtration and stands are concerned. If you buy a bow front or a corner tank you are buying a requirement to keep going back to the original manufacturer for anything that you want to upgrade. If you buy a conventional rectangular tank, all manner of people make things that will fit it and you get to choose what you want.
Stocking ultimately will depend on which tank you buy. Larger tanks can obviously hold larger fish but they can also hold fish that are good swimmers. It may be counter-intuitive but not all fish are good swimmers. Some swim around just fine at low speeds but really don't need much room. Others are really good sprinters and need room to exercise their swimming abilities. A commonly available zebra danio is quite a sprinter while a larger Betta splendens is not much of a swimmer at all. The Betta can be happy in a fairly small container but the zebra needs room to open up and move.

 

[beanz8]

Well we did it we bought a Jewel Vision 180 with stand and it looks really smart, i swear it didnt look as big before as it does now. We also got some play sand throughly rinsed out and looking good. Declorinator is added and now the pump is being switched on. Here goes (im nervous/excited)