What Should Go In First?

[Carl the Crimson Wonder]

ok so I got my tank all set up (40 gallon) and I'm waiting the two weeks or so to put fish in. I did a test on my water to see what my tap water was like, my water is good for most fish (with the exception of the chlorine which is still in there) and my water is really really hard. So I was wondering, I want to start up a community tropical tank, what would be some good fish to get the biology in my tank going?

 

[Truck]

are you cycling?

 

[Carl the Crimson Wonder]

I got it set up last night I haven't done anything to it just yet, but I was thinking of doing Fish-in cycling.

 

[Truck]

letting it sit there will do ####all mate, to be point blank, if your doing fish in you need to be religous with the water changes, keeping an eye on water parameters. and add very slowly.

as for stock because the UK has a high water PH in most areas, fish have been breed in these conditions and have addapted to living in them.
i would recomend guppies or danios, although in recent years guppys have been inbreed so are getting weaker, unless there pure breed.

 

[toshapetriji]

Please go for fishless cycling. It is much better for the fish and will be far less work and stress for you. Use the time to research the fish you want to keep.

 

[Carl the Crimson Wonder]

Ok that sounds good to me, so then I should just leave that tank alone bascially for about a month?

 

[Truck]

no that does nothing, you need house hold ammonia, or flakes. i dont know how to work out how much ammonia is needed but this happens

as the ammonia is added bacterial cultures build on the filter sponges, there are bacteria which convert ammonia to nitrite(both lethal to fish) then another type of bacteria that converts nitrite to nitrate which is relativly safe for fish in small amounts, which is sometimes converted to nitrogen which leaves the water as gas, thats why we doo water changes to keep nitrates down and sometimes ammonia and nitrite if a little high, you will need a test kit for the following,

ammonia/ammonium:NH3/NH4
nitrite:NO2
nitrate:NO2
PH/relative acidity or alkilinity

 

[Carl the Crimson Wonder]

Yeah I just read the thread about fishless cycling, I'm going to get some pure ammonia to start the cycle. Thanks for the imput guys

 

[Schmill]

While the calculator link at the top of the page is broken an archive version can be accessed here:

Aquarium Calculator



And to echo, PLEASE do fishless cycling...

 

[sic0198]

I would try a really hardy fish.

 

[LongS]

ha i filled my 95 litre the other day and put the chlorine treatment and the bacterial drops into the the water. I was told to leave it a week then add some tough fish. Said nothing about adding flakes or that.

Not correct then?

 

[Truck]

bacteria in a bottle? how can it be alive with no food its false. it does nothing. thats why we cycle to build up bacteria in the filters, read the fish less cycling threads

 

[malakye]

No longshlong you need to do a lot more than that, read the part about fishless cycling its great advice.

 

[Carl the Crimson Wonder]

Yeah I'm def. ganna do fishless cycling, should I get one more filter, because I have a undergravel filter with 2 (30) gal pumps attacted to it. I heard the undergravel filters aren't that good. I was thinking of getting a biowheel or something that is designed for a 50 gal tank. That way theoreitcally I will have enough filtration for a 80 gal tank. (BTW this site is so amazing a helpfull ty)