Novice With A New Tank :)

[chappell16]

hi all,
        been wanting to get a tropical tank for years since I have been young and finally picked one up today got it all set up as my local shop said
I have a 65l tank and I was told to
 
set up tank with heater filter ect
add dechlorine water conditioner
add live bacteria from a packet (blue gel)
then add aqua care biological supplement
for the next 3 days and my tank will be ready to take a few small fish in a week to 10 days
 
ive since looked online and seen some conflicting opinions on this way of doing it and would like to know more about how this will work with the live bacteria and supplements,
 
thanks for reading
 
regards
 
Dan

 

[AshleyNZ]

I would cycle using a source of ammonia and patience to establish the bacteria colony, as some products can cause mini-cycles later on, which can cause harm to fish. Just my opinion

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Read the link in my signature "cycling-all beginners read this" 
It tells you almost everything you need to know about cycling.
 
Btw, 

to the forum.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Hiya, the way they are trying to get you to cycle is going to result in you doing a fish-in cycle which is a bit more difficult to do than fish-less and can result in permanent damage in your fish.
I would not listen to them about this and instead do a fish-less cycle like the others mentioned above. You can read about it HERE. You'll need a liquid test kit and some ammonia. You can find ammonia sources HERE.
 
The test kit would be needed regardless of doing fish-in or fish-less, they're very good to have. Here is what the API master test kit (recommended) looks like:

 
It may sound complicated at first but it's really not once you start doing it, it can be fun actually. If you have any questions someone will be happy to help you out

 

[chappell16]

Ok right that's for all your help I'm going to go for a fishless cycle I have picked up a master nutra test kit with test tubes ect I'm looking for some ammonia I look at the range but it said less than 5% surfactants So I didn't buy it as I'm sure I read that I can't use it if it contains that, going to try the market in the morning if not going to have to get it off Amazon, can someone also help me as my kit is in mg/L instead and I see guides in ppm thanks all Dan

 

[DeanoL83]

I can't help you with Ammonia sourced sorry but I can tell you that mg/L is the same as ppm.

So 2mg/L = 2ppm etc

 

[chappell16]

Thanks got a test kit ph is between 7.5 and 8 and I have dosed about 2.5ppm of amonia into my tank going to see how it goes should I check tank Monday and then every two days thanks again