Very New Member

[Brian]

Hi All,
we have just bought our first ever tank and are in the process of maturing it before we buy any fish....In my time honoured tradition - I'm trawling the net ( is that an insensitive term on this site ? ) for information...just found this site and looks as if it could be useful......the only thing that I am looking for currently is some help with what to put in the tank - it's a 40 gallon tank, we don't want anything exotic to start with.......

Brian.

 

[William]

Hi,

Welcome!! For a first fish I would personally reccomend Platies, they can be colourful fun and they are hardy they will be good first fish for your tank. They are not aggressive and (in my experience) will not attack other fish. Also they breed easily too if you want this.

William 8)

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Hi Brian, welcome to the world of fish keeping.
I'd recomend any tetras.
The best thing I'd suggest is to go to your local shop, there's plenty in fife. I'd also recommed a trip to Stirling, there's the best shop in Scotland there, especally now that they have a new big shop.
Anyway go to your shop, have a look, and see if you fancy anything, then come back here and get info on it and we'll help tell you if you should get them or not

 

[Brian]

Thanks for the welcome....
Its nice to know there's someone to talk to....We've read all sorts of conflicting stories about maturing your tank....We've had water in the tank for a week, tested pH at 7.0, and temp is 24 degC, so we are on the right track there. We have added Filter start stuff ( very smelly ) - when do we put fish in - some advice reads 2-3 weeks, others say 3-4 fish to help the filter mature, which I can understand why.....any suggestions ?

thx, Brian.

 

[Davy Reynolds]

I've moved this as it's getting technical now. n' everyone will join if it's in the Q&A bit.


I wouldn't say it's conflicting, It's just peoples diffrent views, basicly the longer you wait the better.
It all comes from the cycle process. You've prob. read about it.
When fish are added they create wastes and food creates even more waste, this causes havoc with the water chemistry. So until you give the tank time to get into the cycle all #### can break loose.
Even when you add fish don't do it all at once cos it will be to much on the system. Get a few at a time.

 

[Brian]

I understand what you are saying and I'm probably thinking about this too much - The reason for waiting is for the filter to mature, so that it breaks down the waste etc....due to bacteria growth in the filter. However, the only bacteria present will be from the filter start stuff - how long should I give this to get started ?

If I hadn't used the filter start, where would the bacteria come from ?

Excuse all the questions, but like I said, I'm probably giving this too much thought, or is it that I just want some fish in the tank ???

cheers....Brian.

 

[William]

If there is no waste (ammonia or fish excrement) in the tank then the bacteria will die. I would hazard a guess that all the bottle you put in have died by now!! I reccomend getting a few platies maybe 6 to start with. Then you will have to wait for the filter to mature. The bacteria come in the water you put in, you must put in a bit of dechlorinated tap water. and also when you put the fish into the tank the water from the fish store will have some in it.

William

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Bacteria can come from anything thats in the tank. Plants etc.
The couple of weeks lets the tank settel, and it starts slowly, Add a could of fish that produce a bit more waste, thus putting a bit more pressure on the filter, not to much that the bacteria thats already there can cope with it, then incressing it again, then again. There you go everythings go.

The problem most people have is they don't start slowly, and we get question about everything, fish dead etc. If you start slowly and take it easy, then do the regular 20% water changes (that's my opinion) and clean the filter every now and then. The water chemistry will be kept happy and then you should have a happy tank

 

[William]

Try not to clean the filter during the cycle unless it is disgusting!! I think that 6 small fish like platies would be suitable for tanks (yup you guessed it I like platies ) 40 gallons is a big tank so 6 will be fine are you sure it is 40 gallons and not 40 litres? Cause it is a very big starter tank

William

 

[Brian]

Right, I'm beginning to understand this now....no danger of running out and filling the tank at once - my wife is a die hard animal lover and won't do anything that's not recommended and I don't think I could afford it anyway - it will have to be gradual....

Definitely 40 gallons (ish) - 180 litre - We thought that if we were going to start, we'd be better off doing it properly and it kinda fiited into a space we had...

May add a couple of fish this week....

 

[William]

I think 6 fish would be ok for the start. Say the ones (choose a few because the ones you like you may not be able to get at the start and just once the tank has cycled) you like and we will tell you if they are hardy enough to survive the cycle. You will need to get some test kits also. Ammonia and NitrIte to begin with but later on you will need NitrAte so you may want to get a master test kit.

William

 

[Brian]

Hi William, took your advice and consulted the books and got 6 Platys at the weekend. Have got test kits for pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, and am planning to check every two days initially, just in case of initial problems.

We have a list of what we'd like to add eventually, a couple of Guppies, some Otocinclus (sp?), and some Neon/Cardinal Tetras. I think once the filter is fully matured we can get some more, but we'll worry about that when it happens....

Now for the difficult bit - more questions......

I now am the proud owner of 4 individual test kits ( my living room resembles my old chemistry class when I was at school !
Meaning I have 4 separate tests to carry out - is there a combined type of test you can do, I think I read somewhere about some type of test strips ?

 

[Davy Reynolds]

Your right there is a test kit which is a strip which you place in your tank water. Theres diffrent bits on it for each test. There dearer than normall test kits and the name of them escapes me