Trying Again With Tropical Fish

[Tropical_Fish]

10ish years ago I was given a Clearseal Aquarium. It's about 2' x 1' x 1' so not huge. I had fish for a while and to start with I did OK, but they slowly died off one by one and I failed and ended up giving up!

Now we've got a daughter my wife wants to get the tank out to set it up for her to watch and enjoy, but I wanted to do it right (if possible) without spending a fortune.

I'd like to know if what I've got is suitable to be successful or if I'd be wasting time and money trying to make it work.

I don't know a huge amount about what I've got, there's the tank itself with a black lid with a light in it, a Whisper air pump, a heater which sticks on the inside of the tank with suckers.

The Air pump goes to a T piece, from that one tube just goes into the middle and has an air stone on the end and the other tube goes into a tube at the side again with an air stone on it. That tube on the side i connected to a plastic tray at the bottom which covers the bottom underneath the gravel.

So where do I start!?

Is it suitable? How many fish could I have in it? Should anything be improved? Any tips etc.


I had suggested we just went for some fan tail gold fish and forget the heater but since we looked on the net we found out that for gold fish you should really have a 3' tank as a minimum - so we've dismissed that now

 

[Tropical_Fish]

The other bit to ask about is positioning.

We only really have one place to put the tank and I'm not sure how good it will be. The place where it would be going is in the living room in a bit of a dark corner. It never gets any direct sunlight and that corner stays quite darkish all day long.

Would that be OK or would it require more sunlight?

 

[Bobtastic]

HI Tropical_Fish and welcome to TTF!!

You're in the right place for help as everyone is really friendly and helpful on here, and won't judge you for you're silly mistakes (which most of us make ).

I think your first port of call is the Beginners Resource Center. Have a read through this section as it has all the information you'll need to start off with. I would pay particular attention to the cycling sections (Fishless and Fish-in - links for them can also be found in my sign) as these are extremely important, also get to know the the Nitrogen Cycle and understand how ammonia gets turned to nitrITEs and then into NitrATEs.

I think your setup sounds ok as a starter. Essentials are tank (obviously), filter, heater and thermometer. By the sounds of it you have also have an Under Gravel Filter (UGF), you're probably best taking that out. I understand they can be really good bio-filters but they require a lot of maintenance and tend to be used mainly by experienced fish keepers. It's probably best to start off as simple as possibly, as there's less to go wrong.

I'm sure I'll have missed something but some of the other helpful members will be along to offer their help too.

Happy fish keeping!!

 

[gaz gun man]

Good post Bob, I would suggest replacing the UGF too for an internal filter. You should be able to pick one up for about £30, something like this
http/www.aquariumsdelivered.co.uk/catalo...ter-p-2837.html

and yes, a dark corner would be better than somewhere that gets alot of light, as you'd have more algae problems in a bright area.

 

[craig855s]

Welcome, I also recomend binning the UGF and buying something like a fluval U2 filter..make sure u dont subject any fish to high levels of ammonia or nitrite (so if u do buy fish soon then do daily or even twice daily large water changes,or if u fishless cycle that would be perfect but obviously means u cant stock the tank for several weeks)

Best of luck and welcome to an enjoyable hobby and im sure ur daughter will love her fishies

 

[JohnRossDele]

why not try livebearers 4 that size tank? also to TFF!!

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree with the advice given, better to start out without an undergravel filter. Spend some time here discussing what filter media to put in what ever new filter you end up deciding on.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Tropical_Fish]

Thanks for the advice - I've been going over the beginners resources.

I've also dug the tank out, and I was wrong about the size it's a 18" x 10" x 10" so smaller than I thought! We also don't have any gravel any more and I can't find the heater!

So perhaps not as cheap as I had hoped to set up?

I now need a new heater, a new internal filter?, and some gravel.

Is one gravel better than another?

Does the advice given still apply with the smaller tank?

Sorry to add a bit, but if I go for an internal filter do I still need an air pump? Or does that replace it?

Forgot to mention that the air pump that's with it isn't the original whisper one I had forgotten it got replaced for a larger one with two speed settings

 

[Kizz]

Well a little Fluval 2+ Filter will set you back around £25 ish gravel or sand? you can pick up a bag of argos play sand for £3 you can also pick up a heater for around £20 too have a browse on e-bay for a few extra bargains . Does the tank have light fittings? you'd prob be looking at a 15" light for a tank that size

The initail set up of a tank can be expensive you should also have alook in the classified add's on site see if anyone is selling what you're needing check gumtree ad trader etc aswell

If you have an internal and your a dab handy with diy and a bit of flexi tubing you could make a spray bar for the internal then your still having surface movement without using an extra plug for a airpump

If you go down the livebearer route you'll have tons of fry in no time some will get eaten by other fish in the tank but some will also survive so up to you on whether you go down this route. Once you've read up on cycling and started cycling then you can go and read up on what fish are compatibe and which will fit in your tank and come back and ask about stocking !

Oh and invest in an API liquid test kit ...Much needed piece of equipment

Good luck and Happy Reading

 

[Tropical_Fish]

Thanks for that - just been looking on ebay.

Any idea what sort of wattage heater I would need they seem to range from 25w to 300w+

Would a Fluval 1 be sufficient it says it is for upt to 45 litres, I just used the calculator at the top and that works my tank out as a 30 litre tank.

Also is it worth spending a few extra pounds for the Fluval U1? (not sure what the difference is with the U)

The lid has two flourescent tubes fitted - not sure if they still work though.

Will have to llok up what livebearers are!

Right... Looked up Livebearers - they seem very suitable and if they are that easy to breed then could be a cheap way of populating the tank

 

[OldMan47]

Heater size is easy to figure. Unless you have unusual home room temperatures, 5 watts per gallon will be plenty. For 10 to 15 gallons, I would go to 50 watts of heater.

 

[Bobtastic]

Going back to your previous post I personally would go with sand. It can be a little more difficult to clean (so I understand) but it is softer for the bellies of bottom feeders and a lot better looking!

 

[Kizz]

as Waterdrop said a 50W heater will suffice with that tank as will a fluval 1 . Sand would be your best bet . I find it easy to keep clean rather than sticking it in the gravel when doing a water change you hover it about the debris on the sand and woosh up it goes ...You may loose some sand over time so always better to keep some back to add to it at a later date .And for 3 quid a bag you really can't grumble at that price i managed to fill my 190L with 2 bags rather than the £20 i spent on a 30Kg bag of gravel !

 

[Tropical_Fish]

Right so Shopping List is:

Fluval 1 / Fluval U1 - £13
50w heater - £10
Bag of Sand - £3
Some real plants (any recommendations) - £?
API liquid - £?
Ammonia - £2
Fish - £?

It's starting to sound like I might be better off buying a second hand set up!


Can you explain how the debris is cleaned form the sand during a water change? Is there a device to do it, or is it simpler than that!?

 

[Tropical_Fish]

Is this Filter any good:

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aqua-Flow-50-Aquariu...93%3A1|294%3A50

It's an Aqua Flow 50, just wondered as it's half the price of the fluval