Newbie - General Introduction

[daznmindy]

Hi All,
 
I would just like to introduce myself, I am Darren and have very little experience with tropical fish only a few gold fish many years ago but after toying with the idea for a few years, me and my partner decided that now is the time to venture into Tropical Fish.
I have purchased a Jewel Vision 260 litre tank, which came with a bio 6.0 internal filter and set this up according to the manufacturers instructions.
We have filled and decorated this tank with a few plants and ornaments to provide shelter and added some aquarium blue leds for the evenings to add a different look to the tank instead of the two T5 daylite tubes.
We have filled the tank a few days ago and added the liquid to dechlorinate the water and some stress zyme to kick start the fishless cycle (both were added to the manufacturers doses).
The water in the tank was clear but now cloudy which i am assuming is a bit of bacterial bloom from setting up the new tank, I have researched the forums and ordered a API master test kit and this should be here in a few days to enable to check the water.
I will let you know the results when it arrives but we didnt want to rush into things and wanted to do things right but cant wait until we can start slowly stocking the tank.
We have also purchased some plants from our local LFS but after reading the forums it might appear we have purchased some that are non aquatic but i will post pics of these in the relevant forum.
 
Looking forward to our first purchase for our community tank.
 
Darren
 
 

 

[ReddSamurai]

, Hi have a look at ways of cycling your tank
have you got any rough ideas for what fish you want to put in there??

 

[Ninjouzata]

When you say researched the forums about cycling..have you read the article at the top of the page? If you are going to fishless cycle (highly recommended) then you'll want to read that and pick up some ammonia, and like you said, a test kit

It will be a while before you can purchase fish but it will be worth it in the end and you'll have plenty of time to figure out what kind of stocking you want. Also welcome! 

 

[Ch4rlie]

 
This is a great forum and the best place to ask advice, so you already have made a great start.
 
Decent sized tank and doing research, hmm, you sure are off to a storming start.
 
Keep it up and do keep asking advice anytime you get unsure and of course post lots of pictures, this forum loves photos as I have found out 

 

[daznmindy]

Thanks all for the advice will carry on looking into this and API master test kit due tonorrow so i can check the water.
Uploaded a few photos of our newbie set up as well.
Daz n mindy

 

[Ch4rlie]

Not bad, I do like the background.
 
Is that 3d background from Juwel?

 

[daznmindy]

Got to many fish we would like but due to compatability issues and recommendations we are having a rethink and using aquadvisor as well to check things out...but in no immediate rush.
More research before we decide but looking into a community tank with a variety of different species that hopefully live peacefully together and help the tank look after itself other than the usual maintainance and water changes.
Yes its the jewel stone granite back ground which are a little pricey but well worth it for the realistic 3d look.

 

[ReddSamurai]

look at the 3 levels as well, have some bottom feeders and a mix of mid to top level swimmers
also think a possible "center piece" fish wise, like a pair of peaceful cichlids or some gouramis.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Snails & shrimp are lovely and help to keep the tank clean. Keep in mind that advisor site you are using is not the most accurate.
Also just noticed in your pic, the green and white plant on the left, is non-aquatic. 

 

[daznmindy]

Yep i had the feeling that the plant was non aquatic from reading other posts in different forums... we purchased from our LFS as a aquatic plant and originally mentioned that in my original post.
Us newbies have a hell of a lot to learn....thank you for the advice...plant now removed and you have saved me from posting this the correct forum.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Yep i had the feeling that the plant was non aquatic from reading other posts in different forums... we purchased from our LFS as a aquatic plant and originally mentioned that in my original post.
Us newbies have a hell of a lot to learn....thank you for the advice...plant now removed and you have saved me from posting this the correct forum.

Even experienced fish keepers can still learn things, no one can know everything about fish
You're welcome, also forgot to say I like the look of your tank~

 

[daznmindy]

Cheers ReddSam we were looking for a mixed variety at all 3 levels and the possibility of some feature fish like gouramis. Are all cichlids not too agressive for a community tank or are there varieties which are more peaceful to avoid clashes / fin nipping.
Any help or advice would be appreciated on this matter.
We have a blank canvas and a reasonably sized tank so stocking advice with a few feature fish would be helpful as newbies to give us some ideas that we hadnt thought of as a noob.
Yep i had the feeling that the plant was non aquatic from reading other posts in different forums... we purchased from our LFS as a aquatic plant and originally mentioned that in my original post.
Us newbies have a hell of a lot to learn....thank you for the advice...plant now removed and you have saved me from posting this the correct forum.

 

[ReddSamurai]

there are quite a few peaceful cichlids the only problem is when it comes to breeding as that's when they get a bit more territorial but in the size tank you have there should be plenty of space.
some ideas for fish
Bottom dwellers:
-Corydoras (in that size tank id go for a decent size shoal maybe 8/10+)
or
-Loaches(yoyo loaches are my favorite and again at least 6 of them)
 
Mid swimmers
maybe a couple shoals of tetras and/or rasboras, each shoal being more than 6 fish
loads to choose from
 
also have the option of livebearers (mollys,platys,guppies etc etc)
but they breed like crazy if you have males and females
 
for feature fish some ideas are
- Gouramis (honey,moonlight and pearl gouramis are the more peaceful varieties)
- Angel fish (depends on what other fish you decide to go for)
- Kribensis
- Ram cichlids (GBR, Electric, Bolivian etc, can be quite hard to keep sometimes)
- Firemouth cichlids (again depends on what other fish you decide to get)
 
some algae eaters / clean up crew
- plecs (id stick with small ones like Bristlenose and Rubbernose)
- ottocinclus (small algae eaters better kept in shoals so 6+)
- Snails (avoid if you decide to go for loaches as they will have them for dinner)
 
dont know if this is of any use

 

[daznmindy]

Thank you all for the advice....more food for thought...with much more research needed prior to stocking, we are now even more determined to try and get things right. There are so many varieties and so much to think about but thanks again. We will have a look and be back in touch on the forum once we narrow the fish down after checking availability with our LFS's.