Starting Up A Tank Questions

[DemureGirl]

Hello

After reading through some of the information regarding starting a tank and the different cycles I have deicded that I will do a fishless cycle to begin with.

Now for my questions!

I would like to use sand in my tank rather than gravel. I really like the look of it but is it suitible for a newbie fish owner? Also, I've been looking up tank vacs and they all say they are specially built for cleaning gravel, but no mention of sand. Is this simply beceause gravel is so widely used or are they not appropriate for sand?

What is better for fish, real plants or fake? And which is better for a tank just starting up? I would like to have real plants in my tank at some point but I don't know how to care for them. When I had fish in the past though I had a couple of worrying moments when the fish ate the fake plants. Would it be better to just stick with some good quality fake plants while the tank is starting up and replace them with real ones as my knowledge grows?

 

[markandhisfish]

hi . great choicee to do a fishless cycle much much better for your fish .

sand is an excellent substrate to use , particularly if you plan on having fish such as corydoras . argos play sand is 1 of the best and very cheap too . the easiest way of cleaning sand is to remove your water during waterchanges with a hosepipe as a syphon. whilst doing this simply hover the syphon just above the sand , the poo etc will be sucked up leaving the sand behind. it takes a little practice and you will always get a small amout of sand but you will soon get the hang of it .

as for plants it all down to personal choice really . real plants can help with water quality by sucking up nitrates and releasing oxygen . its all down to wether or not you can grow them i guess. ( which i most certainly cant ) . but your fiush will be just as happy with fake. there are some pretty realisitc silk plants available nowadyas which look nice .

 

[term_22000]

Hello

After reading through some of the information regarding starting a tank and the different cycles I have deicded that I will do a fishless cycle to begin with.

Now for my questions!

I would like to use sand in my tank rather than gravel. I really like the look of it but is it suitible for a newbie fish owner? Also, I've been looking up tank vacs and they all say they are specially built for cleaning gravel, but no mention of sand. Is this simply beceause gravel is so widely used or are they not appropriate for sand?

What is better for fish, real plants or fake? And which is better for a tank just starting up? I would like to have real plants in my tank at some point but I don't know how to care for them. When I had fish in the past though I had a couple of worrying moments when the fish ate the fake plants. Would it be better to just stick with some good quality fake plants while the tank is starting up and replace them with real ones as my knowledge grows?

Real plants are better for fish just make sure that the fish that you decide to get isn't the kind that will eat the plants. This means stay away from most cichilds. Sand would be fine if you are doing real plants. Start with low light plants to get a feel for what you are doing with them. General rule of thumb is 2 wpg. As far as the filter make sure that you don't suck up the sand. That's all they mean when they are made for gravel. They will suck up your sand if you get to close to the sand with it.