Newbie To Forum Aswell As To The Tropical Tanks

[Ashcroft]

Hi all,
I'm luke from Plymouth and have recently bought and started to set up an aqua nano 40 tank with capacity of 55 litres.

So far have bought the tank, cleaned it, set up the substrate with a few plants and rocks.

Am letting the water mature for this week before I add the first batch of fish next weekend

Here are a couple pictures...

Any help or advise will be much appreciated

 

[DrRob]

Am letting the water mature for this week before I add the first batch of fish next weekend

)
Any help or advise will be much appreciated

)

 
Hi Luke, welcome to the forums.
 
First piece of advice is to have a read up on our articles on cycling. Will help you out hugely as your start up. That or have a look around for some mature filter media you can get your hands on locally (or, in fact, both).

 

[fm1978]

Hi Luke, welcome to the forum 

 
That's a nice looking tank and I'm digging the veedub. 
 
As a beginner myself, the single best piece of advice I can give you is fully cycle your tank before you add fish! As suggested by DrRob. I didn't, and I'm constantly stressed about how my fish are as well as feeling pangs of guilt if I think there's anything wrong with any of them. As overwhelming as the urge is to add fish straight away, I'd strongly advise you to read, read, and read some more about the Nitrogen Cycle and how to correctly cycle your tank!
 
There will be many more people on here with far more knowledge and experience than I more than willing to help so ask all the questions you need to.
 
I'd never ever do a fish-in cycle again...
 
Best of luck and let us all know how you're progressing!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Hi Luke, to the forum.

The two best pieces of advice I can give you are....
1. Fishless cycle your tank (the link is in my signature and is what Dr.Rob has linked you to).
2. Research, research and research some more about any fish that you want to buy. Unless you know your LFS is trustable, don't take there advice. Even if they're trustable, come home and research about the fish. If you have any questions, ask them here

I like your tank BTW, nicely aquascaped!

 

[Dreamer03]

Hi!!! Welcome to the forum!! the tank does look really nice. But as people above said, you got to cycle the tank. But any idea what fish you want to add to the tank?

 

[Ashcroft]

Hi all,
Thanks for the quick and helpful replies
I thought the fish less cycle was going to be the best option, I've done a bit of reading up on it but not a great deal as I've been rather busy.
I've also done some reading up on cycling the tank with fish aswell as active bacteria.
Is this a good option? Has anyone done this method before??
I know the fish less cycle will always be the best option but I'm keen to get started with some fish. And adding only a few fish at a time is no bother to me. I think would be more interesting then doing a fish less cycle then adding all fish at once.

Of course I'm still in early stages and can always be persuaded on which method of cycling to use.

 

[DrRob]

You're unlikely to find many exponents of fish in cycling on here. Many of us have done it, and generally it's hard work doing it properly.
 
By far the best approach is to seed a filter with live media from somewhere, there's a list of contacts on here and sometimes the LFS will give you a bit of live media (not tank water it barely makes any difference) which can make the cycle far, far less painful.
 
With a good slug of media I've cycled small filters in a matter of a week or so and been able to stock rapidly.

 

[fm1978]

Hi again Luke
 
It is perfectly possible to do a fish in cycle. As I said before, I'm doing that simply because I got to this forum a week or so too late.
 
I wouldn't ever do a fish-in cycle again. However, that said, if you feel you must add a couple of fish quick smart just be prepared to work a little harder at testing and many many water changes. In your tank it shouldn't take very long to do the daily changes you'll need.
 
Get a good test kit that covers all the basics - the API Master Kit is a good start, although it's not perfect. This will test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates and pH (high and low range pH). Read the instructions and follow them to the letter.
 
Personally, I keep a diary of all my results, which I test daily, around about the same time at night and also note down my water changes and any changes/additions I make to the tank. This might be overkill but it makes the process more simple for me.
 
As DrRob suggests, and if you can, get some mature filter media from a healthy tank and get it in there. On a side note, I asked an LFS (Maidenhead Aquatics) close to me for some media and they wouldn't...
 
Good luck and let us know of your progress!

 

[janeface]

Hi Luke,
That is the same tank as I bought last weekend!
It is looking good, I have yet to finish my cycling etc but have decorated it a little.
I am jealous though. You have a VDub van in your tank. I now have some serious tank envy going on.
I have wanted a real one of those since my student days and a very cool road trip in a mates lime green and black one. My fish would love it, they just dont know it yet! 
Good luck with setting it all up and cycling, enjoy the fish!
Jane.
VDub admirer. And fish admirer too of course!