New Tank A Few Questions

[peediedj67]

hi all iam new to the hobby and just purchased a tank online, the 1st question i have is how much(weight) gravel do i need to get started? the tank i bought is this one
http/www.lovepets.co.uk/item-640235/rekord-600-aquarium-63ltr-61x31x42cm.htm

thanks

 

[KittyKat]

Hi, a good sized tank to start with! I've made a list of fish which will be good in a tank that size (not all at the same time, of course), which you might find useful: http/aquariumadventure.wordpress.com/species-for-a-60-litre-aquariums/

For planted, I prefer to have 1 cm of substrate at the front, going up to 10 cm at the back, which is on average 6 cm. So, that will be 61*31*6/1000 = 11.3 litres of substrate. At this point, you either need to find the conversion for litres to kg. For unplanted, I prefer 2-3 cm throughout, so around 5 litres would do well. I recommend that you reconsider gravel in favour of sand. It will give you more options in terms of fish and critters.

Please fishless cycle your filter, it often proves to be less headache and is safer for the fish: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

 

[peediedj67]

so i can keep more kinds of fish if i have sand?? i just think coloured gravel looks a lot better

 

[CezzaXV]

My LFS sells sand in 3kg, and it took me 2 bags to cover my 60L tank.

Alot of bottom dwellers much prefer sand to gravel, but it depends on what kind of fish you plan on keeping really.

 

[peediedj67]

My LFS sells sand in 3kg, and it took me 2 bags to cover my 60L tank.

Alot of bottom dwellers much prefer sand to gravel, but it depends on what kind of fish you plan on keeping really.

looking to keep neons,guppy tetras etc

 

[KittyKat]

looking to keep neons,guppy tetras etc

Those are fine on gravel. I do recommend that you go for tetras (including neons) or guppies because the two do best in quite different water parameters. Also keep in mind that if you want to give the fish the best environment, you only have enough room for one species of tetra because they are schooling fish. I recommend that if anyone are stocking from scratch, they should aim to have at least 10 individuals per schooling species, although I consider 6 per species to be an absolute minimum.