Hi

[stevej696]

Hi My names Steve,
 
I am currently new to the tropical setup but have had cold water for a few years now. Love the planted tank setups and looking to do something similar (hopefully without any major problems!) I have currently aquired a jewel rio 125litre tank for free, (yes free!) with the condition that i cleaned it it was mine. Plan is to have my first planted low maintenance tank in a few weeks. Pictures will be uploaded when i can.
 
Im open to questions and any advice i can pick up on the way will be much appreciated.
 
Well thats me.
 
Hidee ho

 

[TallTree01]

Hi Steve!
Have you thought about what fish you want yet?
Are you gonna cycle the tank?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

to the forum Steve.
What are you planning to stock?
Do you know about cycling?

 

[stevej696]

Hi guys,
 
Its a new tank so when ive got the external filter i will be fishless cycling the tank. Mainly going to stock Tetra Neons enough for a schoal few salt and pepper cory's and shrimp.
 
Focusing on easy keeping fish for now but hopefully will be able to move up to more advanced fish as i go along

 

[TallTree01]

Most find that neon tetras are quite fragile these day ( me included ) . Could I advise you choose a different tetra? Maybe cardinal?

 

[Mamashack]

 to TFF, Steve - lucky you getting a tank for free!!! Good luck with setting it up. Have you checked it is water-tight yet or did you seen it in action before you acquired it?
Shrimp are brilliant for mopping up leftover food! What sort are you fancying?

 

[stevej696]

Tank is watertight as it was previously a family members so its seen a few locations! Quite fancy any tetra's to be honest so will look into the different types, thanks for the suggestion.
 
The shrimp are the armano shrimp that are in my LFS 3 for £4 so looks like they will do just fine. So far going to give it a good scrub out with water and elbow grease, then the plan is to black out the rear glass panel and black sand with some sort of ada aqua soil for the substrate.
 
So many choices

 

[Shadders]

Welcome Steve, We like FREE its always good, I look forward to following your progress, so glad your going with the fishless cycle. any questions just ask, this place is full of really helpfull people who will point you in the right direction

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Sounds good. 
If you like the Neons then you should get Cardinals because Cardinals are generally hardier (Due to Neon's being inbred badly) and they look similar and are a bit bigger than Neons.
Lot's of elbow grease is always the way to go when cleaning a tank. 

Looking forward to updates.

 

[stevej696]

Ok so spend an hour last night scrubbing the tank and im glad to say its made a big difference! Only downside is there appeared to be some sort of white paint that had run down the glass at the back. After scrubbing it appeared to go but after it has dried has reappeared
 
This now means that unfortunatly you can see a white mark from the front of the tank which is very unsightly to say the least! As a solution i have covered the back panel of glass in Matt Black Vinyl wrap from the outside and am now looking at the possibility of either acquiring a juwel stone effect background or possibly finding a way to matt black the inside too. Problem being the vinyl wont stick under water.
I Considered painting/ Glossing it but thought that this will seep toxins into the tank over a long period of time.
 
Any other ways i could do this without upsetting the tank and its residents??

 

[Mamashack]

It may be calcification and if so can be removed with vinegar - make sure you rinse thoroughly tho especially if it's on the inside.
If you do find a decent black background, will you post the details as I'm looking for one too.

 

[stevej696]

Link to the new Project http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/419214-steveos-aquatic-paradise/

 

[Blondielovesfish]

As long as you paint it on the outside of the tank the toxin's shouldn't leech.