Hi Everyone

[nicolahuds]

Hi there, i am new to fish keeping and was bought my tank as a suprise by my hubby for our anniversary as i had mentioned i was interested in keeping fish

I have a second hand tank so am not sure of make but here is a break down of what i know:
Tank measures 80x35x45cm, it has a twin light hood with (FX18 - 24 600mm classica ocean moonlight & FX18-24 600mm natural daylight lamp)
i have a Fluval 205 external canister (in the basket i have a biofoam in the bottom, amonia / carbon remover in the middle & tetratec ceramic filter rings in the top)
My heater is a visitherm 200w.
Inside the tank i have 7kg flourite black sand, pebbles and 2 pieces of driftwood.
My tank has been running for 3 days, i have ordered an api test kit so will post readings when i have them.

My questions are:

1)Advice on cycling my tank

2) i am looking at having a planted tank (low tech) to start with id like easier plants so that i can build as i get more experience, any tips and suggestions on which type would be much appreciated.

3) Do i need an air stone?

4)should i add anymore substrate or could i add some fine gravel to add some more contrast.

5)Advice on a test kit and what i should be testing/looking for

and lastly any suggestions on fish

Sorry for all the questions but i would rather ask lots and get it right then struggle and get it wrong.

 

[WILDER]

I have moved your thread to - Your New Freshwater Tank Forum.
You will get more replys over there.

Welcome to the forum.

 

[nicolahuds]

I have moved your thread to - Your New Freshwater Tank Forum.
You will get more replys over there.

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks Wilder, i wasnt sure were to post this, i look forward to help with progressing my tank

 

[Axyadbad]

Rather than me answer..just look at the beginner resource centre for cycling..click on the link in my signature. Answered most if not all my questions..other than stocking

As for testing..get the API Freshwater Master Test Kit..it is liquid based and far more accurate than any dip kits.
You'll want to test for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. The ammonia and nitrite want to be kept at zero once the cycling process has finished, with nitrate ideally being kept below 40 ppm through weekly or biweekly water changes.

As for plants..I can't advise..I got a random selection from my LFS and i'm hoping they'll be ok

The airstone is advised during cycling but is not necessary

Hope this helps!

 

[nicolahuds]

Thanks Axyadbad, i will have a read

 

[Axyadbad]

No worries!

 

[ShinySideUp]

i have a Fluval 205 external canister (in the basket i have a biofoam in the bottom, amonia / carbon remover in the middle & tetratec ceramic filter rings in the top)

You may have your filter stuff in the wrong way round. Water from the tank runs into the filter straight to the bottom whereupon it moves up through the filter material before being pumped back in to the tank from the top. Unless I'm very much mistaken the ceramic filter rings are there to trap larger particles of detritus so they don't block finer filters further up the canister. Move your ceramic rings to the bottom of the canister.

The point of a fully-functioning filter is the removal of ammonia by bacterial/biological means so a filter pad designed to specifically remove ammonia is unnecessary in a well-maintained tank.

Carbon filters are unnecessary for almost anything except bolstering the profits of aquarium supply companies. The one exception is when you want to remove medications from the water after treatment. Carbon filters lose their efficacy quite quickly (apparently after only one week they are not doing much good, but don't quote me). They also filter out any plant food you've put in.

I have two tanks, a 240 litre and a 120 litre, and the filter make-up consists of ceramic rings in the bottom tray and coarse foam in all the others. In my 120 litre there is a fine filter pad laid on top of the last foam pad to get rid of any micro-particles.

 

[Essjay]

According to the manual, the ceramic rings are biomax and are supposed to be in the top basket.
The manual says the bottom basket is for mechanical filtration and suggests prefilter, carbon and zeolite.
For the middle basket it suggests biomax, more carbon and ammonia remover
For the top basket, it says just biomax.

If you have an ammonia remover in there, I would remove it, you don't need that at all. You also don't need carbon on a routine basis. I would suggest the biofoam in the bottom and biomax in the top are fine, but i'd replace the carbon and ammonia remover in the middle basket with more biomax.

Edited for spelling mistakes

 

[ShinySideUp]

According to the manual, the ceramic rings are biomax and are supposed to be in the top basket.

My apologies, I stand corrected. I thought the ceramic rings would be like the inert ceramic pieces that they install in Fluval filters which are prefilter materials mostly for mechanical removal.

 

[nicolahuds]

According to the manual, the ceramic rings are biomax and are supposed to be in the top basket.
The manual says the bottom basket is for mechanical filtration and suggests prefilter, carbon and zeolite.
For the middle basket it suggests biomax, more carbon and ammonia remover
For the top basket, it says just biomax.

If you have an ammonia remover in there, I would remove it, you don't need that at all. You also don't need carbon on a routine basis. I would suggest the biofoam in the bottom and biomax in the top are fine, but i'd replace the carbon and ammonia remover in the middle basket with more biomax.

Edited for spelling mistakes

Thanks essjay, i didnt have a manual and was following the advice of the fish shop i will get some more biomax and replace the middle basket. i thought it was odd as i had told the fish shop i wanted a planted tank then read on the box that it removes what i need but being new thought it was just me

 

[Essjay]

Fluval filters are made by Hagen and the website has their manuals on-line. I found the 205 manual here http/uk.hagen.com/usefultools/instructionmanuals . Under 'aquatic' obviously

 

[nicolahuds]

According to the manual, the ceramic rings are biomax and are supposed to be in the top basket.

My apologies, I stand corrected. I thought the ceramic rings would be like the inert ceramic pieces that they install in Fluval filters which are prefilter materials mostly for mechanical removal.

Hi shinysideup thanks for your reply, i was looking into your advice as i was a little confused, there is so many ways of placing different media that i wasnt sure on what was best to use and were to put it

 

[nicolahuds]

Fluval filters are made by Hagen and the website has their manuals on-line. I found the 205 manual here http/uk.hagen.com/...tructionmanuals . Under 'aquatic' obviously

Thanks essjay ive downloaded the manual a big help when you have a point of reference

 

[nicolahuds]

Just a quick update, i have removed the carbon/ammonia remover from the filter and halved the ceramic rings so some are in the middle basket and the rest are in the top till i can get some more. i tried rearranging and tidying my tank because when i filled it the flourite kicked up over everything and my pebbles and wood was completely covered, i then decided to drain and wash the sand (my lfs told me not to wash it) and after putting it back in the tank i decided i wanted to add some small smooth gravel which i will be trying to incorporate into an aqua scape. i have put my driftwood back in and in the next few days am hoping to get some plants to put in (although not to sure what yet) am thinking about some ferns to put on the wood but apart from that any suggestion would be great. id like something low level for the front and something with some height for the back/sides and some contrasting colors, any advice would be greatly appreciated