Hello From Newbie...

[fulltilt]

I'm a clueless newbie, so I'll be here a lot and asking a lot of crazy questions to begin with. It's great that you have a newbie area so people know how to approach the clueless questions

I live in Sydney, Australia and was just given a 6' tank (17" deep and would fill to about 20") so that works out around the 100G or 400litres (roughly).

I visited my local shop today and got this advice. The guy was really friendly and the fish in the shop looked awesome :

- 2x700lph canister filters, one each end
- 2x300W heaters
- 50-60 kg's of gravel
- water conditioner
- throw in a bio-starter

Then wait a week and add the fish, a few cheap ones first to see that I can manage everything.

I log on to here and start reading about "cycling the tank" before adding fish. That seems to be a good recommendation.

Also, this tank looks like it hasn't been used for a while. Should I clean it first ? I know not to use cleaners, but what is the strongest stuff I can use to clean the glass ?

Any/ALL help greatly appreciated

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Congratulations on your tank. Thanks a great size tank so you have a lot of options on fish to keep. As to the recommendations of the fish store, I would agree with the thoughts of 2 heaters and 2 filters. You get much better circulation that way. The general rule of thumb on filters is that they need to process the water a minimum of 5 times per hour so based on 100 gallons, you need at least 500 gph (abput 2000 lph). The ones they suggested probably wouldn;t be sufficent since they would only give you 1400 lph. It is also a good idea to overfilter if possible. that allows you to possibly overstock some (or stock heavy waste producing fish like plecos and oscars) without fear of having ammonia and nitrite problems.

For heaters, the general rule is 5 watts per gallon so you would need about 500 watts. The ones they suggested would be fine. I would suggest that if you go with canister filters, you check into the Hydor Inline heaters. They don't hang in the tank but heat the water on the output from the filter before it goes back into the tank. I am using them on my 75 gallon and they work great.

For your substrate (gravel or sand), consider the fish you will want to stock. Fish like corys and loaches prefer sand since they are bottom feeders and the sand is much easier on their bodies than sharp gravel. You will need about 1/2" (no live plants) to about 1.5" (if you plan to have live plants) of substrate.

For a water conditioner, all you really need is a dechlorinator. Stay away from any other chemicals (even the bacteria starters they suggested). It is always best to go natural and solve problems rather than trying to cover them. As for the biostarters, most are pretty useles. Bio Spira is one that appears to work well if it has been refrigerated but I personally haven't used it and don't know if it is available in Australia or not.

Last but not least, I would strongly suggest the fishless cycling. There is a link in my signature that I think will answer most of your questions.

Once again, welcome to the forum. Feel fre to ask all the questions you want.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Hi and welcome to the forums!

I doubt i have anything else to offer as Rdd has answered your questions so well

Cya around

 

[fulltilt]

Thanks for the confirmation rdd. Yeah, the guy did say to cycle the tank capacity 3-4 times/hr but if you can go to 6-7 times/hr for even better results.

I will try your cycling technique as well, but how do I clean the glass ?

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

I think you can use a low concentrated bleach and then scrub it down with water over and over. When i got my 22g it was filthy but i just used some warm water and gave it some elbow grease!

 

[rdd1952]

As Sf05 mentioned, a weak bleach mixture will work. I think the general mix is about 19 to 1 water to bleach. You could also clean it with the same ammonia you will use to cycle. If you use the bleach mixture, make sure you get it rinsed good.

 

[fulltilt]

Ah great I was thinking of just using some ammonia anyway seeing that will be in the water to begin with when I do the fishless cycle.

I rang the LFS (assuming this means Local Fish Shop) and asked about better filters - one with more throughput. For an extra $30 I can get 2x1000lph so I'll go for that.

It took me 30-40 mins of heaving and pushing to get the tank into the room I want it in. Will be buying all the parts on Sunday and go from there.

On another point (I haven't searched for this yet) I bought some "cloudy ammonia" today for the cycling - is this the same as normal ammonia, or not the same but just more concentrated ?

 

[fulltilt]

On another point (I haven't searched for this yet) I bought some "cloudy ammonia" today for the cycling - is this the same as normal ammonia, or not the same but just more concentrated ?

It seems that cloudy ammonia is normal ammonia with soap added (to keep it cloudy) so IMHO unsuitable for cycling.

Can someone confirm this possibly ?

 

[rdd1952]

If it has soap, you are right that it won't work for cycling. There is a link in the TFF FAQ section about where to get ammonia but I don't think there are any references to Australia. You may be able to find something by searching or maybe post in the Chit Chat section.