Hi New To The Forum And New To Trpoical

[serensdad]

hi just joined today, i am looking for a bit of advice.

i recently had a disatorous effort in keeping coldwater . so i am looking to go tropical. i've bought a heater so im ready really

a friend said that sand is better than gravel, and i should get a couple of real plants.
tank is just sitting empty at the moment and has been for a couple of weeks because i lost heart after the last effort with the coldwater.
what fish would members reccomend and how many to start out with? the tank is approx 30 x 15 x 12 inch.

 

[doresy]

hi and welcome. Try going to "Beginners Questions" and look up Pinned: Beginner Resouce Center - Please Read Here!
Links to many helpful topics!

 

[newtotropical]

hi and welcome. Try going to "Beginners Questions" and look up Pinned: Beginner Resouce Center - Please Read Here!
Links to many helpful topics!

Ditto!!! Dont rush things, it worth the wait!!!

 

[serensdad]

thanks guys

i think i will do more homework this time rather than rushing into it headfirst

 

[lilfishie]

thanks guys

i think i will do more homework this time rather than rushing into it headfirst

Glad to here it there are plenty of people here willing to help where they can.

 

[stang1]

 

[serensdad]

got a bag of sand and put the water in too, will get some fresh start tomorrow to put in, and get a couple of fish at the end of the week

 

[Snake42490]

serensdad! make sure you cycle your tank before you put any fish in !especially since its new. read around and you will see what you need to do before your ready to add fish

 

[serensdad]

serensdad! make sure you cycle your tank before you put any fish in !especially since its new. read around and you will see what you need to do before your ready to add fish

yep will do i have my pump on now just going to leave it on now, when should i switch the heater on , is it too early now , ? since i'm not puttin anything in til the weekend?

 

[*Fishkies*]

hello and !!!

You could start the heater now, to make sure it works and there are no problems. Also then by the time you put fish in the temperature will be pre-adjusted and you won't have to worry about anything. By having the heater up and running for a bit this will also allow you to know how far to adjust it.

Best of Luck

 

[serensdad]

thanks fishkies yes i did that this afternoon and it seems to work fine set it at 24 degrees at the moment and my thermometer says that too also added the correct amount of fresh start

a friend said to me that i should get a water tester.. dont want to spend too much at the start now , but i gather you can buy just one off testers that are reasonably priced. i should really test it because i dont want to have to go on a fools errand to the fish shop with a water sample and them turning around and saying the water is unsafe

also is it a good thing just to add one or 2 flakes of food when the tank is running empty this week?

sorry for my ignorance bear with me lol.

thankyou all 4 your help

 

[Jaded12]

 

[serensdad]

went out today and bought some water testers £9.99 for 25 strips so not bad

 

[stang1]

I really don't want to burst your bubble but test strips aren't very accurate at all...
You are better off buying a liquid test kit as they are more reliable and a lot more accurate.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hello and welcome, can i recommend you go look up fishless cycling, there's pinned topics in the beginners section about it. it should tell you the principal and reasons behind adding fish slakes to the tank before you add fish. there's no good us just telling you to do it, you should find out for yourself why, then hopefully you can do better with trops than you did coldwater