I Need Ure Help !

[aman]

hi, title had to be dramatic to get ure attention ![I know this is a loong post but its worth reading and ive made it amusing so u wont get bored] any way i just got a 2nd hand aquarium with fish on ebay perfect condition heres the specs:

80/30/40cm (20 gallons/100liters), its an mp aquarium

ehiem 2010 filter

type TSRH 25-300 Aqaurium thermostat heater - 26degcent.

VARILUX-hood with PD60/6 lamp (i think!)
timed to come on at 5:00am till 17:00

substrate: it looks like pure sand !!!! like the shizzle u see at the beach !!

flora: 3 amazon swords

fauna: 2 black widows(1.5"), 2 bleeding hearts tet(2")., 1 red eye tet(1")., 1tiger barb(2.5"), 1 red rainbow(3"), and a loach(3") i havnt correctly ID eed yet !!!
can you believe i went to www.loaches.com looked at all the pics and still coudnt get an id !!!! anyway i think its still a juvenile hence no id patterns (when i can ill post a pic up of it hopefully you might know wat its is).

the whole setup is 18 months old (thats how loong they had it for) so its fair to assume the fish are over a year old right ?!!?!?!

ok know we can get to the interestin stuff !!!!
iam not a complete novice, i did this before(wen i was 8!! ha!) and now i hav the added adv of knowing detailed water chem and N and C cycles from A'levels
so heres ma questions

wat test kits do i get , theres so many wats the best ones with evry thing in.
can you get electronical test kits with probes ???(or hav i been watching too much star trek)

the tiger barb is acting kinda strange, it spends most of its time just under the filter and when it does come out it swims around vv. fast and then it stops and looks like hes goner take a shizzle!!!

should i be worried about the sand substrate, the plants have rooted well in it but iam not so sure about sand ! should i get fine gravel ?

i know the filter is biological, but i can see fish poo or shizzle gathering on the SAND !! and i think i need mechanical filteration , if so wat shud i get siphon??? new type of filter ??? and if i were to use mechanical filteration then wouldnt the SAND get sucked in too ???

anyone know about mp reflector plates and if they worth gettin???

thats it for now ppl, ill have more questions later so follow this post!
u dnt have to answer all ma questions but plzz try and give some input if u KNOW u can !

thanks aman

 

[itisme]

Well i have a tetratest 5 in 1 kit because it was cheeper then the master test kit it tests ph water hardness NO2 and NO3 but im just learning and i dont know much but i like this kit (its a strip so its safer to have around youger brothers)

 

[planter]

OK so you need some advice. Best thing you can do is find yourself a local fish shop with staff that are happy to help I shop at Maidenhead aquatics their advice has always been superb! In the mean time you ask about test kits - you will need Ammonia and Nitrite test kits at least. A Nitrate and ph test kit will also come in useful! You will find liquid test kits more acurate than tablet test (and better value for money) but a little more tricky to use than the colour coded foil wrapped tablet kits. Probobly save yourself a few pounds if you invest in a complete kit as apposed to individual tests! Electrical tests are available (ph, conductivity etc.) not sure that you can buy ammonia and nitrite electrical tests though (unless your loaded). The tiger barb sounds like hes in need of some company, this is a shoaling fish who may show strange behaviour if kept alone. Not sure you should be worried about your sand, your plants sound like their happy if their rooting although you may considering adding some plant fertilizer tablets as you havent added a laterite. The trouble with sand (although it looks good) is the C..p does tend to settle on the surface. Simple solution is to syphon off reguarly with a simple length of hose. Hagen have a Multi gravel washer that has a flow control on it meaning you are able to use with finer sbstrates like silver sand etc. MP REFLECTOR PLATES ? im guessing these are reflectors for you lights!? reflectors are a great way of invcreasing light levels especially if the aquarium hood can not accomodate any more tubes! go for it!

hope this helps