My New Tank

[arobinson1984]

Ideally you want the temperature about 29 degrees celcius as this is the optimum temperature for bacterial growth, most plants have quite a large temperature range that they will survive fine in. They have amuch larger range than fish do.

You are best to go slightly under than over when dosing ammonia, you want to aim for between 4-5ppm but if the reading goes over 8ppm then a different type of bacteria grows that we dont want.

According to the calculator for your tank you should need to dose 2.89ml to reach 5ppm so I'd go under this a bit, aim to add 2.5ml to achieve between 4ppm and 5ppm


If you got the 500ml of boots ammonia then that is more than enough

Andy

 

[zophie]

hi zophie i've tred adding a picture but im finding it difficult to post up any ideas?
i'll remove the flake.
theres a lot of plants 8 species of them and some are growing on the log
im at 24-25c at the mo and the ph is around 7.6 but the log ive just added may help a little.
The tank is brand new and the filter and the heater the gravel is also new.
i plan on putting guppy's and mollies in the tank as they are apparently quite simple to care for they are also livebearers so possibilities to raise a few fish.
but i am also liking the danios as a first fish to add to the tank as they are very lively and hardy.



i am quite new to this but do want the best for my fish i hear bio-spira or something is good i'll read some more on fishless cycling.

thanks for everything
Rich

Great job, Rich. You seem to be doing very well. The pH is fine for guppies and mollies- You don't have to change that. Oh, and also, good job for choosing fishless cycle. How many mollies/guppies do you plan on putting in?

Zophie

p.S. I would,'t reccomend the other fish. They have different water chemistry, and they might not fit.

 

[d1k1m4y]

i think i'll aim for 6 guppeys (2 males 4 females) and 3 mollies (1 male 2 females)

then i want to get some bandit corydoras i think 6-4 of those depending on how much i wanna spend.


will that work ok?

how many fish do you reckon i could have happily?

what did you guys have in your first tropical tanks?

thanks alot, Rich

 

[Ashley1991]

if your going to go for livebearers be prepared for a tank full off fry they never stop doing it lol you wont just get a few and if you decide to get female guppys from a fish shop they will already be pregnant and then can hold onto the males sperm who fertilised them for up to 3 drops ( dont know about mollies never had experiance with them)

ash

 

[d1k1m4y]

say i bought someones filter out of there tank, all being the right size and stuff, would that have all the bacteria already there?

so it would take me alot less time to do the cycle?

or is alot of the bacteria found somewhere else.


thanks alot rich.

 

[Assaye]

i think i'll aim for 6 guppeys (2 males 4 females) and 3 mollies (1 male 2 females)

then i want to get some bandit corydoras i think 6-4 of those depending on how much i wanna spend.


will that work ok?

how many fish do you reckon i could have happily?

what did you guys have in your first tropical tanks?

thanks alot, Rich

Stick with male guppies. Breeding guppies seems like fun initially but they can take you from a nicely stocked tank to a tank with ammonia problems and too many fish in no time! The males are the pretty ones anyway ^^

Also wouldn't recommend mollies for a tank as small as yours. How about a trio of male platies instead?

I'd say 6 male guppies, 3 male platies and 6 corys check to make sure your water is suitable for everyone as livebearers like hard water and corys like soft water. Something in the middle would be fine but if it goes one way or the other, I'd be careful about what you stock.

My first tank was a disaster! I had 5 neon tetras and a betta in a 14 litre tank >.< once I got everything sorted out I had 7 neon tetras, 3 corys, a betta and a shrimp in a 60 litre tank. Was a lovely tank but in retrospect I should have had more shrimp and corys and not added the betta.

 

[d1k1m4y]

added the ammonia today and the test has gone dark green i added around 2.7ml of ammonia is it just a case of sit and wait now? until it drops to zero.
temp is at 29-30c and my ph is 7.6

 

[d1k1m4y]

decided on the fish that im going to get.

4x pygmy cories
3x sparkling gouramis (1male 2female)
5x myers/pygmy hatchet fish


what do you guys reckon to that?

thanks alot rich.

 

[Assaye]

decided on the fish that im going to get.

4x pygmy cories
3x sparkling gouramis (1male 2female)
5x myers/pygmy hatchet fish


what do you guys reckon to that?

thanks alot rich.

Add 2-3 more pygmy corys and another hatchet and you'll be sorted

You've got a good lid for the tank, right?

 

[waterdrop]

yes! those hatchets will jump!

 

[d1k1m4y]

keep a lid on it you!!!

yh the tanks got a lid just into the second day of my cycle all is going swimmingly

did i really just say swimmingly when talking about fish, doh!

thanks alot guys, rich.

 

[arobinson1984]

Mine too rich

I've just added my ammonia yesterday for the fishless cycle on my 2nd tank. Just ordered the API ammonia test as my master kit has run out out of the ammonia test. I've got a saliferts ammonia test which are good tests but I think its harder to read than the API


As assaye said:

6-8 pygmy corys
3 sparkling gouramis (1m,2f)
6 Hatchets

Sounds great

I'm trying to come up with ideas for my tank, I've done the standard community tank so many times that I'm trying to think of some unusual fish/ideas


Andy

 

[d1k1m4y]

yours is a big tank isnt it?

would love some new ideas for tanks i just looked on the 10 gallon tank fish thing on the beginners secton and mines a 12 so i thought may aswell use those fish.

yh that bottle of ammonia looks smaller on the pictures its huuuuge.

im happy about cycling to say the least and now i know what fish i want its a waiting game

i'll just find a place where i can buy them. to make sure they're available.

my friend has a load of guppy's she wants me to have because they're breeding like crazy, but im not so struck on them.

i might have a few instead of the sparkling gouramis but they're not as special


thanks a lot guys im very happy and excited about it all at the mo

 

[arobinson1984]

No i dont have the room for a large tank at the min until I next move house.

I have a 33 gal which is about 5 years old and currently cycling a 2nd tank which is 25 gal.


Andy

 

[d1k1m4y]

twice the size of mine though.

found the pygmy coyrdoras and could only find marble hatchetfish no pygmy hatchetfish and couldnt find the sparkling gourami.

can fish places order the fish in that you want? or do you keep having to check every shop in your local area?

thanks alot rich.