Im Confused

[petalpoppy]

hi
i am very new to this only ever had goldfish, my dad has recently emergrated and has left me a tank which is 36inchx 19inch x 18 inch (not sure on litres or gallons).

my dad used it as a marine tank but i think that would be too complicated so i am doing tropical. it has a very good filter which dad spent loads on which i think influences the amount of fish im aloud?

so my questions are....

how many fish can i have ?
i know i want rummy nose tetras and cardinal tetras what other fish will suit living with them ?

and lastly

what plants are best to put in my tank im only going to put real ones in?
and sand or gravel?

thanks for any help you can give me !!!!!

tanks arriving this week im excited

xx

 

[smithrc]

Its about 35 gallons (UK) or about 160L.

Do you know what make and model the filter is?
If its been used for marine, all the equipment will need a good was with clean water to remove the salt - one that's done your ready to go

Fish and plants etc is entirely down to personal preference...

Real plants are tough to keep alive when your first starting out so make sure you get easy to care for plants that need low light etc (unless the tank has a lot of light over it)...

 

[petalpoppy]

Do you know what make and model the filter is?


not sure but my grandad explained it to me he said its an outside filter with a light bulb in that kills bacteria dont know if that explains anything

thanks for advice by the way

x

 

[raptorrex]

Do you know what make and model the filter is?


not sure but my grandad explained it to me he said its an outside filter with a light bulb in that kills bacteria dont know if that explains anything

thanks for advice by the way

x

sounds like an cannister with a uv steriliser unit in. or perhaps a pond "outside" filter. for the true aquarium filter Aquael is the one i have heard of, though i feel sure there should be more. any which way, it should, providing it has been well maintained, be a very nice filter.

 

[Colin_T]

The outside filter with a lightbulb that kills bacteria sounds like a UV steriliser. They are used to kill bacteria and other pathogens floating around the water. They aren't really necessary but some people like to use them. There should be another filter as well. Normally the water gets filtered before being passed through the UV steriliser.

To work out the volume of water in the tank
multiply the length x width x height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

when measuring the height measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level. Not the top of the tank to the bottom of the tank.

Being an ex marine tank there should be lights on it. If so you can grow most aquatic plants including sword plants, vallis, ambulia and any of the hygrophillas. These are all pretty tough plants that should be readily available. If there are no lights then live plants probably won't do well.

Most tetras will get along well with each other, and most smaller barbs will be fine with tetras. Corydoras catfish will be fine and dwarf, silver & pearl gouramis should be fine. Small species of rainbowfish should be fine too.
Your best bet is to look through some fish books or go to a petshop and write down the names of the fishes you like. Then read up on them ad see if they are compatible. Alternatively tell us what fishes you like and we can advise further.

As for how many fish can you have in a tank that size, if they are all the size of a cardinal tetra and you monitor the water closely you can keep several hundred fish in a well established tank. However that is not recommended for a beginner. I would say 20-30 fish after the filters have been established.

The more fish you have in the tank the more water changes you will have to do to keep the water clean.

When you first get the tank rinse it out with fresh water. Set it up and let it run for a few days. Then you can do a fishless cycle or a fish cycle. A fishless cycle is where you add ammonia to the tank water when there are no fish in it. After 3-4 weeks the filters will have developed and you can add fish.
A fish cycle is where you put fish in the tank and the ammonia they produce causes the filters to develop. It is stressful to the fish if they are in the tank while the filters are developing so some people prefer fishless cycling.

Fine gravel is better than sand as it doesn't compact around the roots of the plants. Course gravel allows food to get caught in it and can contribute to water quality problems.

 

[raptorrex]

The outside filter with a lightbulb that kills bacteria sounds like a UV steriliser. They are used to kill bacteria and other pathogens floating around the water. They aren't really necessary but some people like to use them. There should be another filter as well. Normally the water gets filtered before being passed through the UV steriliser.

there are more than one cannister that have a UV unit built in, indeed many pond filters do. so there is no reason to think there should be another filter too, especially if you take Grandads discription. it may also be worth checking how long the UV bulb has been in, sadly the do not last that long. a damd good clean is in order too, they dont work well if dirty. but as stated in other posts, its not really needed for the normal running of the tank.