New Guy.

[nelly3164]

hi everyone just a quick message to say that i am glad to be a member of this forum, and seeing as i am new to the art of keeping fish i hope i can ask some very boring and 'new guy' questions, hopefuly using a lot of all your expertise in tropical fish keeping to find all the answers i need. it is now 20.25 and i have just filled my very first tank, got the pump and heater up and running and hopefuly have some fish by tomorrow evening. once again hi to everybody.

 

[karen84]

Hi and welcome

 

[Chri$]

hi nelly
you need to cycle your tank before you add fish, do you know what cycling is??

 

[nelly3164]

cycling?, i will never get a mountain bike in my tank , only joking. no in a word i dont know about 'cycling' what does this mean?, sorry for being a bit dumb but this is all new to me. thanks

 

[Chri$]

i'm not that good at describing these things but here goes.
you set the aquarium up with all accessories operating, in your case filter and heater.You then let the aquarium operate for around 2 to 3 weeks, the time needed for the aquarium to stabalize.
a new aquarium does not contain the bacteria neccessary for it's biological balance, so you heed to add something like neutrafin cycle to cycle your aquarium. This lets bacteria settle in your filter, this bacteria helps break down the waste produced by your fish. You need to monitor ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
then add a couple of highly resistant fish to begin with.

 

[nelly3164]

dear chris thanks for that bit of info, luckily i did not finish work while late so did not go for any fish!, will leave it and monitor it. once again thanks.

 

[Chri$]

no problem.

 

[charlie d]

Hi and welcome. If you go to the chit chat section you can click on the FAQ at the top of the page. That will explain the cycling process. Sorry but I dont know how to set the link up for you.