Getting Started

[Sportball]

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening.

I am very new to tropical fish and have found the threads on this forum very helpful. Hopeful you people can help me with a few worries I have:

Today i picked up a second hand 30L fish tank with light and Elite Stingray 5 filter. I then went on to the LFS and purchased a brand new Elite 15W heater, gravel, ornaments, thermometer, net, live plants and water treatment.

I followed all the instructions and set the tank up without fish obviously.

My questions are:
1. With a second hand filter (previously used for goldfish) and some filter substrate from a used tank added. Do I need to go through all the hassle of water testing before adding fish?

2. I have added 2 live plants, should I have removed the weights from the base? Will these grown in gravel alone?

3. I have an Elite filter, do i need a water pump? The filter sits an inch below the surface and create a whirling but no air bubbles.

Many thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[dayzofspeed]

1. assuming that you will be cycling your tank water testing is really a must do. i'm assuming that the filter media has dried out so the bacteria will be dead

2. it really depends on which plants you have, for eample some plants shouldn't be planted at all and need attaching to something they will also need nutrients and light also.

3. the pump is for water circulation, if you want bubbles you will need an airpump attached to an airstone

 

[Sportball]

Thanks for the reply.

The filter media was taken straight out of a tank at the LFS and kept wet. It was quite dirty so full of bacteria.

Not sure the name of the plants but the LFS said they were ok with a standard lighting set-up

I am not fussed about seeing bubbles as long as the fish are OK. Do they need additional air?

SB

 

[Sharpy14]

Can you get some pics of the tank setup now?
Cheers

 

[Sportball]

Can you get some pics of the tank setup now?
Cheers

Hi Sharpy, I can but I am not sure how this will help with my questions.

How easy is it to add pictures? Do I need to download software?

 

[Skins]

If you can get the return flow of the filter to disturb the waters surface this will be ok for keeping your tank oxygenated. With the media you got from your lfs this should really help kick start things off but as one of the members mentioned you will need a liquid test kit.

Keith.

 

[Sportball]

Hi Keith,

I have moved the filter up slightly, it creates a movement of the surface but not much else. Will this be enough? Otherwise I need another pump and another plug socket to connect everything to.

Also how much are water test kits. The ones I have seen are like £10-20 each.

 

[Skins]

Hi Keith,

I have moved the filter up slightly, it creates a movement of the surface but not much else. Will this be enough? Otherwise I need another pump and another plug socket to connect everything to.

Also how much are water test kits. The ones I have seen are like £10-20 each.

As long as there is disturbance on the waters surface you will be fine. One thing to remember though when using meds this can depleat your oxygen supply, so at some point it may be worth investing in a small air pump. As for test kits the most used by members on the forum is a kit called "Api freshwater master kit" which you can get on Ebay for around £20.

Keith.

 

[Sportball]

One thing to remember though when using meds this can depleat your oxygen supply, so at some point it may be worth investing in a small air pump.

Hi Keith, sorry if this is a dumb question but what do you mean by meds?.

I will look out for a test kit at my local FSL tomorrow and post the results before purchasing any fish. Hopefully the filter substrate taken from my LFS will be enough to prevent me needing to by ammonia.

SB

 

[Skins]

One thing to remember though when using meds this can depleat your oxygen supply, so at some point it may be worth investing in a small air pump.

Hi Keith, sorry if this is a dumb question but what do you mean by meds?.

I will look out for a test kit at my local FSL tomorrow and post the results before purchasing any fish. Hopefully the filter substrate taken from my LFS will be enough to prevent me needing to by ammonia.

SB

Meds=Medications
Regarding your test kit may i strongly suggest a liquid based kit(Api freshwater master kit), the strip tests can be very unreliable.

Keep us all posted, Keith.

 

[twodoctors]

One thing to remember though when using meds this can depleat your oxygen supply, so at some point it may be worth investing in a small air pump.

Hi Keith, sorry if this is a dumb question but what do you mean by meds?.

I will look out for a test kit at my local FSL tomorrow and post the results before purchasing any fish. Hopefully the filter substrate taken from my LFS will be enough to prevent me needing to by ammonia.

SB

You've got the wrong end of the stick there. If you don't put ammonia in (manually or fish) then the ammonia level will always stays zero. If you leave it long enough the bacteria will die because there is no ammonia. So if you test it now, tomorrow etc when there is no fish, then ammonia and nitrite will be zero. There is usually a bit of nitrate tap water, so that may not be zero. This does not mean your tank is ready (bacteria alive and in adequate numbers). It just means there is no ammonia or nitrite, and if you add fish your filter/bacteria may not be able to cope. You also need to know your pH because some fishes just don't do well in certain pH.

Enjoy the hobby.

Adrian