Newbie....complete Novice!

[JamieMids]

Hi there, I purchased my new Korall 60ltr tank today and have just set it all up and added the water (AquaSafed!). Now its sit and wait time!

My local tropical fish store said that I could add a couple of fish as as early as Sunday (4 days time), is this a bit too soon? Im guessing they know best!?

Any tips/advice would be appreciated

Thanks, Jamie.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi Jamie, welcome to the forum

To run a successful tank, you need to grow beneficial bacteria in your filter that will eat the fish's wastes and stop them poisoning the water, and themselves.

You have two choices with new tanks; a fish-in cycle, where the fish produce ammonia and you remove it with water changes until the bacteria grow, and a fishless cycle where you add ammonia to the empty tank.

We always recommend fishless cycles here, as there is no risk of harming or killing fish if it goes wrong. Shops tend to recommend fish in cycles, as it's more money for them (cynically, even more money if the fish die and you have to buy more...)

There are very good articles on both methods of cycling in our beginner's resource centre (the link is in my sig), so I'd suggest you read those and take it from there

 

[MissT]

Hiya, I started my tank in November. I think it depends if you have a planted tank. If so, you will need to do fish IN cycling. I believe. I did it this way, with 4 Bristlenose plecs (given to me by a friend) and I had only these fish in until just under 2 weeks ago when I added more. My LFS said I could add more and more every 2 weeks or so, but I have found that by doing it this way, even after adding the other fish (10 cardinal tetras and 2 clown loaches) my water levels are still nil.

Good Luck and Have Fun

 

[fluttermoth]

You don't need to do fish in cycles with plants.

There is a thing called a 'silent cycle', but it can be tricky for newcomers to the hobby, and you need at least 75% of the floor space of the tank to be densely covered with plants for it to work without risking fish, which is an awful lot more plants than most newbies imagine.

The reason we recommend you fishless cycle before adding plants is for two reasions;

1; the plants need light, and light + ammonia = algae, and an algae filled tank is not the way most people want to start out! and

2; the plants absorb ammonia, and nitrate, and that can make it hard to be sure of how much ammonia id being eaten by the filter bacteria, and how much nitrate is being produced by them, making the cycle much harder for beginners to understand and follow.

 

[MissT]

Luckily for me the Bristlenose have meant no algae whatsoever! I'm not saying this is the way, just explaining how it's worked for me. Good to have as many views as possible before making the right decision for you, I think.