Hi From Sydney!

[webber555]

Hi all, stumbled upon your forums and need a little help.

Basically I've always been interested in keeping an aquarium but just didn't know how to go about it - I've recently acquired a stand and hood for free - it has a light but it doesn't seem to be working... Basically I need some idea on what I need to get started, if any1 can link me to a list/beginners section (I haven't had a good look around yet).

Am I right in thinking that I will need...

a tank (obviously) - I believe the stand is designed for a 2ft by 1ft tank (well the globe in the light fixture is 24") - how many gallons/litres is this roughly btw...?
a new light
heater
thermometre
test kit
filter/pump
gravel,decorations,plants

what else...? Reccomendations on sizes for heater/filter etc and types appreciated.

I understand I will have to cycle the tank without fish, a link to this process would be ace too.

Basically I'm looking to keep some tropicals - maybe some tetras, discus' ideas appreciated.

Looking forward to replies... also if any1 has any idea on what I should be spending... I can convert US to Aus dollars, they are fairly close anyway...

 

[Corleone]

Hi all, stumbled upon your forums and need a little help.

Basically I've always been interested in keeping an aquarium but just didn't know how to go about it - I've recently acquired a stand and hood for free - it has a light but it doesn't seem to be working... Basically I need some idea on what I need to get started, if any1 can link me to a list/beginners section (I haven't had a good look around yet).

Am I right in thinking that I will need...

a tank (obviously) - I believe the stand is designed for a 2ft by 1ft tank (well the globe in the light fixture is 24") - how many gallons/litres is this roughly btw...?
a new light
heater
thermometre
test kit
filter/pump
gravel,decorations,plants

what else...? Reccomendations on sizes for heater/filter etc and types appreciated.

I understand I will have to cycle the tank without fish, a link to this process would be ace too.

2ftx1ft is about the size of a 15 gallon tank, though there's 20 and 25 gallon tanks with the same footprint. You mention discus, however, you'd need a bigger tank for them, usually at least 55g is recommended. They're wonderful fish, but can be daunting in terms of water quality and tank needs for a beginner.

You've got a good shopping list started out. A good guideline for the filter is to look at the gallons per hour. You generally want at least 5 times your tank's volume - I prefer higher than that (my tanks are all in the 8-10x range), as it allows a bit more comfort zone in stocking. You can't have too much filtration, but it is possible to have too much flow from the filter when fish can't swim easily in it. There's ways to control excess current, though, depending on the type of filter you've got.

Anyway, two great resources here from Miss Wiggle (one of the best sources of help on the forum - I learned a good bit of what I know reading her posts):

Setup/shopping list:
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...Up-An-Aquarium/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...Up-An-Aquarium/[/URL]

And fishless cycling:
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/[/URL]

 

[tangokitty]

Welcome! Sounds like you'll have a good start with Corleone's Advice.

 

[webber555]

thankyou for the links and advice - after posting I actually had a read and researched what type of fish I could take care of - my better half loves neon tetras, so I guess I'm looking for a community suggestion that goes with them.

I hopped online and ordered a filter (600litres/hr) which should be heaps (roughly 60 l tank), a 100W (or 200 I can't remember) heater, new light with included 15W globe, but I have a 20W spare if that is more suited, thermometre, master test kit, water conditioner, all up less than $150 australian, grabbed a tank for $25 out of the classifieds, so I just need to grab some ammonia, some sand/rocks/plants and get cycling...

 

[missigfunk]

i dont really have an answer for you, but the other guys have given you some anyway

just wanted to say hey!


im in sydney too

 

[webber555]

i dont really have an answer for you, but the other guys have given you some anyway

just wanted to say hey!


im in sydney too

Seeing as you're in Sydney - any ideas on where to buy ammonia? Even Bunnings doesn't have any - or is it under a brand name I might have missed?

 

[missigfunk]

i tried to buy ammonia from a strictly aquariums and the guy basically laughed in my face!

he goes "ammonia?! nah nah you don't want that (laughing)"

he said to cycle a tank all you need to do is set it up as normal and leave it a few days and it will sort itself out

he made me feel like an idiot!


im not sure where you would get it from! that guy put a damper on my ammonia search lol

 

[Corleone]

No idea about Australia, but in my area in the US, hardware stores are the best place. Most of the supermarket brands have surfactants in them.

 

[Mr Bliss]

i tried to buy ammonia from a strictly aquariums and the guy basically laughed in my face!

he goes "ammonia?! nah nah you don't want that (laughing)"

he said to cycle a tank all you need to do is set it up as normal and leave it a few days and it will sort itself out

he made me feel like an idiot!


im not sure where you would get it from! that guy put a damper on my ammonia search lol

Unfortunately many LFSs are like this. One of the first lessons to learn is to be sceptical of whatever information, advice and opinions you receive at aquarium stores. Do your own research (this forum is great for that!) and pretty soon you'll be able to tell the good vendors from the bad ones, but even fairly reputable, high quality stores often give partly outdated advice. Fishless cycling in particular seems to be an alien concept to many of them even in this day and age.

If you can't find pure ammonia, which seems to be almost impossible where I live, you can use Ammonium Carbonate, aka baker's ammonia or hartshorn, which should be available in drug stores. Half a teaspoon should bring 10 gallons to ~5 ppm of ammonia.

edit: and by 1 gallon I meant 10 gallons

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome Webber. The place to look for ammonia is any place that carries cleaning supplies. I have never seen ammonia in a local fish store yet. It must have to do with all the things they can sell you when your fish start dying from the chemical stress. The most common use for ammonia is as a glass cleaner. Unfortunately, many bottles of the stuff have perfumes or surfactants (soap) added and can't be used to cycle a tank. Most of the people that I have seen from down under give up and let a prawn rot in their tank to give them ammonia or they do a fish-in cycle which is a bit hard on the fish.