New Tank

[vix]

Hello again,

Took everyones advice and purchased the largest tank we could fit (and afford) in our house, the tank is a Premier Cube Aquarium and we were told it was a 225 litre, 50 gallon tank. We have a Bio 3000 "wet/dry" Filtration system with integrated pump.

I have read and printed out the fishless cycle method that i found on this thread, and i'm hoping to find some pure ammonia tomorrow to get the cycle going. And i have a testing kit.

Is there anything else i should be doing before i start researching which fish i can keep? Or anything else we need or you would recommend for our tank.

And once cycled how many fish should be added at one time, and how long should the intervals be inbetween?

The tank is 800 mm in height.


I would also be interested to know what you would do with the tank and what kind of fish you would keep in it. I have already wrote a rough list of fish that i am interested in researching. But would be very interested to have some more experienced peoples opinions and preferences.

 

[diademhill]

A 22"x22" footprint and 31" tall.
This is going to be awkward to stock & do get a big grabber, you will need it.
I would get some branchy bogwood to give height and plant it with Java fern & anubias as it will be difficult to light the to the base for plants.
A shoal of Corydoras sterbai, shoal of head & tail lights, cardinals or black neons, pair of black lace veiltail angels & then golden pencilfish at the surface would be my choice (unless I kept one puffer.)

 

[mark.w.jones]

Hello again,

Took everyones advice and purchased the largest tank we could fit (and afford) in our house, the tank is a Premier Cube Aquarium and we were told it was a 225 litre, 50 gallon tank. We have a Bio 3000 "wet/dry" Filtration system with integrated pump.

I have read and printed out the fishless cycle method that i found on this thread, and i'm hoping to find some pure ammonia tomorrow to get the cycle going. And i have a testing kit.

Is there anything else i should be doing before i start researching which fish i can keep? Or anything else we need or you would recommend for our tank.

And once cycled how many fish should be added at one time, and how long should the intervals be inbetween?

The tank is 800 mm in height.


I would also be interested to know what you would do with the tank and what kind of fish you would keep in it. I have already wrote a rough list of fish that i am interested in researching. But would be very interested to have some more experienced peoples opinions and preferences.

Once your tank has finished its fishless cycle you can completely stock your tank from day one. Some members stagger their fish additions over a few days but there will be more than enough bacteria present in your filter to cope with fully stocking from the beginning.

Its worth getting a liquid water test kit and checking your tap supply. If its very hard then this may influence your decision on which fish you can get.

Follow the add and wait method in the fishless cycling guide and research while its going on. Id imagine your tank will take at least 3 weeks to completely cycle, maybe more so youve got plenty of time.

Get a couple of books with some decent pictures in to help you decide what to get, IMO if you are new to fish keeping its good if the book gives an indication of how difficult the fish are to keep and whether theyre suitable for beginners or not.

My personal feelings on stocking are to go for fish from each level in the tank. Some bottom feeders, some mid level swimmers and some for the top. Also consider getting 1 or 2 larger feature fish for impact. I think that larger schools / groups of one species are more effective than having just a couple of fish from lots of different species. Less is more in terms of number of species in a tank IMO.

Once youve got a stocking list post it here and see what other people think. You can have roughly 1 inch of adult fish per US gallon. Your tank is 225 litres which is about 59 US gallons so your tank can have around 59 adult inches of fish.

In conclusion. Read and research loads. Especially searching this forum as there loads of good info. Good luck.