Newbie!what Do I Need For A Tropical Set Up?
- Thread starter hobbz
- Start date
smegforbrains
Fish Addict
ideally, you would be looking at an external canister filter such as a Fluval 405 (around £125) or FX5 (around £175 but worth the spend). A spray bar is a worthy addition to this piece of kit.
Heating, I would recommend having two 200 watt heaters as opposed to one 300w heater (a rough guide is 1w per litre). You could have two 150w heaters but they will not last as long as 200w ones and they cost near enough the same (maybe 32 difference). I would put one at each end of the tank.
I presume since you are asking about lighting, you don't have a canopy with thwe tank? If you do, the lighting that comes as standard is usually decent enough until you get into the heavily planted tank area of fish keeping.
New tubes would be a good idea though if you have obtained the tank second hand. For a general tropical community tank with a few live plants I would recommend a Tropical Glow tube (a yellowish light). If you have two tubes I would also get the Daylight tube (simulates daylight).
Heating, I would recommend having two 200 watt heaters as opposed to one 300w heater (a rough guide is 1w per litre). You could have two 150w heaters but they will not last as long as 200w ones and they cost near enough the same (maybe 32 difference). I would put one at each end of the tank.
I presume since you are asking about lighting, you don't have a canopy with thwe tank? If you do, the lighting that comes as standard is usually decent enough until you get into the heavily planted tank area of fish keeping.
New tubes would be a good idea though if you have obtained the tank second hand. For a general tropical community tank with a few live plants I would recommend a Tropical Glow tube (a yellowish light). If you have two tubes I would also get the Daylight tube (simulates daylight).
Spishkey
Spishkeys Turtle Rescue
Hey my big sister,is that really you??! welcome to the fishy world!
have emailed you a great guide to heater sizes, comes in very useful so you may want to take a peek!
filters are really to do with what you want, which would you prefer? an internal filter (one thats sits inside your aquarium) or an external (sits outside the aquarium) there are pros and cons to both, its down to personal preference really! am sure you'll fnd this forum a big help, its certainly helped me! when your good and ready you may want to pop over to the tropical fish section. theres some great help there for newbies on the 'new to the hobby' section (link - http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=26) or in the tropical discussion part (http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=1)
some great pinned topics there on weekly maintenance, fishless cycling, and just about everything you need to know to keep your fishies happy!
(((big hugs to the family, missing you all like crazy)))
have emailed you a great guide to heater sizes, comes in very useful so you may want to take a peek!
filters are really to do with what you want, which would you prefer? an internal filter (one thats sits inside your aquarium) or an external (sits outside the aquarium) there are pros and cons to both, its down to personal preference really! am sure you'll fnd this forum a big help, its certainly helped me! when your good and ready you may want to pop over to the tropical fish section. theres some great help there for newbies on the 'new to the hobby' section (link - http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=26) or in the tropical discussion part (http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=1)some great pinned topics there on weekly maintenance, fishless cycling, and just about everything you need to know to keep your fishies happy!
(((big hugs to the family, missing you all like crazy)))
Miss Wiggle
Practically perfect in every way
hi there,
if you look in my signature there's a link called 'step by step guide to setting up an aquarium' this will help you out with a shopping list and details of how to set it all up and prepare it for fish.
if you look in my signature there's a link called 'step by step guide to setting up an aquarium' this will help you out with a shopping list and details of how to set it all up and prepare it for fish.
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