My Journal...

[ORidout]

Bought my Hagen Elite Style60 aquarium yesterday, but the wardrobe taking the space reserved for it in my bedroom hasn't been taken yet, so it's sitting in it's box under the piano in the dining room...

 

[Jamepsss]

Bought my Hagen Elite Style60 aquarium yesterday, but the wardrobe taking the space reserved for it in my bedroom hasn't been taken yet, so it's sitting in it's box under the piano in the dining room...

Nice one. Are you planting it? What fish are you thinking of for it?

 

[ORidout]

I'm thinking of 4 silver hatchetfish, 2 guppies and 8 neons.
I will plant it once it's set up, hopefully with some vallis and cabomba.
By the way, well done on the tank of the month!

 

[ORidout]

Yay, I think I can set it up tomorrow.
I will probably not get plants straight away, but I hope we can squeeze a visit to the pet shop in tomorrow!

 

[ORidout]

I'm thinking of 4 silver hatchetfish, 2 guppies and 8 neons.
I will plant it once it's set up, hopefully with some vallis and cabomba.
By the way, well done on the tank of the month!

I've decided to go for platies instead of hatchets. I think that they're slightly cheaper and easier to keep.

 

[Warehouse]

Are you going to be cycling the tank with or without fish?

 

[ORidout]

Without. Where can I purchase the ammonia?

 

[Warehouse]

Without. Where can I purchase the ammonia?

This thread is full of the best places to buy the stuff.

Ammonia Thread

 

[ORidout]

I think, and wonder if, it is OK to set up the tank bit by bit as I won't have a large chunk of time in which to do it until next weekend. Confusingly, the book I have on keeping tropical fish says nothing about cycling, but it seems I must. So that'll add another few daysweeks to the process...

 

[Warehouse]

Yes, I have to agree that it's pretty tough having a beautiful looking tank just sitting there looking like it's doing nothing whilst you patiently sit through the cycle. The benefits are that you can research all sorts of things regarding this hobby as there is so much to learn, including exactly what fish and plants you want and how you want to decorate the tank. One other positive is that all the water testing and discussion you'll have will give you a fantastic knowledge into water & filter importance & maintenance, and how to keep the fish in top health. I think the cycle process is a great way to get into the hobby properly.

 

[ORidout]

Will be beginning to set up tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Skins]

Will be beginning to set up tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep us all posted when you start your cycle

Keith.

 

[ORidout]

Tomorrow again....?

 

[waterdrop]

I think, and wonder if, it is OK to set up the tank bit by bit as I won't have a large chunk of time in which to do it until next weekend. Confusingly, the book I have on keeping tropical fish says nothing about cycling, but it seems I must. So that'll add another few daysweeks to the process...

Yes, I agree with Warehouse up there. The unusual thing is that you've stumbled across one of the best hobbyist forums and this can more or less leapfrog you over all the kind of advice you'll find in little booklets or from LFS workers and the like. At first it may seem kind of arcane and strange but I found that it's the real thing and be of enormous help to your time in the hobby.

In fact, ultimately, giving yourself enough time in the hobby, you wouldn't have wanted to rush through the beginning things and found yourself with a running tank and the long years of maintenance stretching out ahead of you. Instead, the first 3 months or so as a beginner are a gem of a time to learn some things in a hands-on way that you may never quite be able to do the same later. Learning good filter maintenance principles, learning good weekly gravel-clean-water-change habits and why they are needed are of great importance and best learned early on. But the really strategic one is learning about the core skill of "biofilters."

Only as a rank beginner do you typically get the chance to do a hands-on fishless cycle with household ammonia and kind of imprint the experience on your brain. Biofilters are such a core magic that has greatly eased and made possible the easier keeping of fish. The process of getting a biofilter up and running is a little cryptic and can be frustratingly slow, but the understanding you come away with really ends up helping you from then on.

It often works out really well to proceed through the fishless cycle, sharing your progress with the members in your fishless cycling thread and getting help along the way, but at the same time starting other threads where you work on your stocking plan or learn more about the water changing skill or the filter maintenance skills etc. At first it seems like a long couple of months but eventually it goes by and then as the many months of normal maintenance happen, you look back on it as having been a really good way to get started.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Aqua Tom]

WD