General Newbie Questions !

[MadMan-JaMeS]

okay so i am geeting a tank and everything tomorrow and need some questions answering !

1. I Am having sand at the bottom of my tank and wondered what type of sand is suitable ? is any sand okay or does it have to be specific ?

2. How long should i let my tank cycle for and what chemicals do i need to put in to help it ?

3. Does putting the tank near sunlight increase anything like temp and algae ?

4. Where can i get some nice looking rocks from like volcanic ones ?

5. What are those fish that clean the tank called the black ones with big lips who stick on the side ?

Thanks

 

[idlefingers]

1. A lot of people on here recommend children's play sand, but I got sand from my lfs because it was pretty much as cheap and was right there in front of me! (I know - lazy).

2. You need to add ammonia to your tank to make it cycle. This will get turned into nitrite and then nitrate by the filter. Use water tests to watch the ammonia and nitrite levels. When they reach and stay at 0.. you're cycled! Have a look through the stickys at the top of the beginners forum for a much more detailed guide!

3. Depending on how big the tank is and how hot your sunlight is will it may or may not make it hotter. And yes, it does increase alge (but I don't know to what extent)

4. I like to buy thinks like that from my lfs because I know they'll be safe for the fishies!

5. That could be one of so many things! Ottos are one of the most popular alge eaters, I think. but I've read they can be difficult when acclimatising them to a new tank, so it's not the kind of fish you'd want to add first.

Hope this helps! Sorry if I got anything wrong.. I'm pretty new to this myself.

 

[n3ont3tra]

I bought play sand from home depot, it works great!

The cycle time is up to your tank. There's nothing you can do to make it faster. It will slow or stop if your PH is below 5, I think, but most people don't need to worry about that.

Depends on how much sunlight hits it. My 10g gets sunlight for about 1/2 an hour and I see a little bit of spot algae there, but nothing major. No temp increase at all.

Your local garden center will probably have a good variety.

The fish you're talking about is probably a common pleco, they get over 2 feet in length and are very messy fish. You shouldn't get one. Otos, in this case, are better.

 

[fishkers]

1. As the previous ones already stated, play sand should work fine. My girlfriend is currently looking into using sand in her tank and found out that sand can be little bit of a hassle some times so my only suggestion would just be to make sure you've looked into it. I'm sure you have.

2. Letting your tank cycle is a great thing because it saves fish! Personally I like a fish cycle so which means you add fish right aways which can cause in the lose of fish unless you do it right. For me I had to start with Zebra Danios until my tank cycled. Just a hint- be careful of your water quality before it ever even goes in the tank. I learned the hard way because I was using my house well water and it had a bit too high of nitrates and hard water and about a month later i lost fish to nitrate poisening.So just be a little cautious.

3. Putting a tank in sunlight can increase your chance of algae growth but usually not too drastically. Temperature shouldn't really be affected unless it is taking direct sunlight.

4. For the rocks I would definatly check the lfs.

5. The fish you are referring too is a Plecostomus commonly referred to as a Pleco. They have all different varieties of them and they will stick to the side of your tank. WARNING! They get big! usually up to about 8 inches but can get up to 2 feet! *BIG FISH!* Most people don't know that and they buy them because they are neat. Just a word of warning. I decided to go with an Algea Eater he is brownish usually only gets about 3 to 4 inches long and will do as good of a job or better job then a pleco.


I hope this all helped. I didn't mean to scare you with any of these things. I have made mistakes before with some of these things and most people don't know about them especially the pleco. My girlfriends which she got when she was like 8 now 11 years later is about 10 inches long. Goodluck and most importantly have fun!

 

[*Fishkies*]

5. What are those fish that clean the tank called the black ones with big lips who stick on the side ?

Most likely you might be referring to a Pleco. They are usually about 3inches long in the pet store tanks. But can end up growing anywhere from 12'' to 24''. I have a common Pleco now, and have found myself updating tanks three times, due to not knowing or thinking he would get that big. Click on the "Information about Pleco" link for some info if your curious about them.

Information about Pleco

 

[dwarfgourami]

I think the black algae-cleaning fish is just as likely to be a bristlenose (ancistrus). These stay fairly small (5-6 inches) and will go in a 3 ft tank, even at a pinch in a 2-footer. But make sure you know what you are getting, you don't want to be stuck with a common instead.