Returning To Fishkeeping
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electropunk06
Fish Addict
hi, what fish are you thinking of?are you cycling your tank?
the tanks looks really good but will look even better with plants.
Lloyd
Thank you for your comments.
Anubias are on my list. I want to have many good plants to compliment the wood and slate. I will be going to get many this weekend, weather permitting of course. How do I prevent snails?
I am not yet at the "cycle" stage. Just added water and will check temp/PH etc before getting plants. Local shop tell me that I dont need to bother with chlorine removal as will go over time. I will not be getting any fish until mid January as we are away on holiday early Jan. This will give plenty of time for tank to establish.
Local fish shop (very good) advised me not to do fishless cycle. What do you think?
Starting to think about fish. Something along the lines of,
Dwarf cichlids (Rams, Apistos, Keyholes etc)
cardinal tetras
small loaches
zebra plecs
swords (although these are not as good as they were 30 years ago)
pearl gouramis
guppies
Been advised against Kribensis and red tailed shark.
what about Fairy cichlid, they look good, would they be ok with above?
Cheers
Andy
Anubias are on my list. I want to have many good plants to compliment the wood and slate. I will be going to get many this weekend, weather permitting of course. How do I prevent snails?
I am not yet at the "cycle" stage. Just added water and will check temp/PH etc before getting plants. Local shop tell me that I dont need to bother with chlorine removal as will go over time. I will not be getting any fish until mid January as we are away on holiday early Jan. This will give plenty of time for tank to establish.
Local fish shop (very good) advised me not to do fishless cycle. What do you think?
Starting to think about fish. Something along the lines of,
Dwarf cichlids (Rams, Apistos, Keyholes etc)
cardinal tetras
small loaches
zebra plecs
swords (although these are not as good as they were 30 years ago)
pearl gouramis
guppies
Been advised against Kribensis and red tailed shark.
what about Fairy cichlid, they look good, would they be ok with above?
Cheers
Andy
Curiosity101
Is now at University! :D
Shops have a main motive, to make a profit. Now that's fair enough... it's a business after all. But if they're advising you specifically against a fishless cycle then I'd be dubious of taking any of their other advice without at least double checking it.
I would definitely 110% recommend a fishless cycle. Alright it means you have to wait longer for fish, but it also means avoiding doing the ridiculous number of water changes every day to keep say... 3-4 fish alive?
They'll still be exposed to ammonia and then nitrites... which 'technically' is avoidable.
I dunno... I guess I just don't see the point of a fish in cycle really.
Just out of interest, what was the reasoning behind them advising you not to do a fishless cycle?
If you're going to go with a fishless cycle then I'd suggest hanging back on buying plants. Fishless cycles are best done in the dark. Free ammonia + light = algae. If you cycle first, then add plants, then you keep a nice algae free practically pristine tank up until the day you buy fish.
If you're going to go fish in then I'd advise the exact opposite, get plants first, try to get them established and growing well. Also try to go for fast growing species such as ludiwgia, cabomba, elodea etc. That way they will hopefully help the fish through the fish-in cycling process as they will absorb some of the ammonia created if they're actively growing.
As for your possible stocking list, I like it
Kribs and RTBS (red tailed black sharks) are good ones to avoid as they can be very territorial and cause havoc. Fairy cichlids are african and therefore quite agressive, too agressive to really go in the community you've listed.
I would definitely 110% recommend a fishless cycle. Alright it means you have to wait longer for fish, but it also means avoiding doing the ridiculous number of water changes every day to keep say... 3-4 fish alive?
They'll still be exposed to ammonia and then nitrites... which 'technically' is avoidable.
I dunno... I guess I just don't see the point of a fish in cycle really.
Just out of interest, what was the reasoning behind them advising you not to do a fishless cycle?
If you're going to go with a fishless cycle then I'd suggest hanging back on buying plants. Fishless cycles are best done in the dark. Free ammonia + light = algae. If you cycle first, then add plants, then you keep a nice algae free practically pristine tank up until the day you buy fish.
If you're going to go fish in then I'd advise the exact opposite, get plants first, try to get them established and growing well. Also try to go for fast growing species such as ludiwgia, cabomba, elodea etc. That way they will hopefully help the fish through the fish-in cycling process as they will absorb some of the ammonia created if they're actively growing.
As for your possible stocking list, I like it
Kribs and RTBS (red tailed black sharks) are good ones to avoid as they can be very territorial and cause havoc. Fairy cichlids are african and therefore quite agressive, too agressive to really go in the community you've listed.
Shops have a main motive, to make a profit. Now that's fair enough... it's a business after all. But if they're advising you specifically against a fishless cycle then I'd be dubious of taking any of their other advice without at least double checking it.
I would definitely 110% recommend a fishless cycle. Alright it means you have to wait longer for fish, but it also means avoiding doing the ridiculous number of water changes every day to keep say... 3-4 fish alive?
They'll still be exposed to ammonia and then nitrites... which 'technically' is avoidable.
I dunno... I guess I just don't see the point of a fish in cycle really.
Just out of interest, what was the reasoning behind them advising you not to do a fishless cycle?
If you're going to go with a fishless cycle then I'd suggest hanging back on buying plants. Fishless cycles are best done in the dark. Free ammonia + light = algae. If you cycle first, then add plants, then you keep a nice algae free practically pristine tank up until the day you buy fish.
If you're going to go fish in then I'd advise the exact opposite, get plants first, try to get them established and growing well. Also try to go for fast growing species such as ludiwgia, cabomba, elodea etc. That way they will hopefully help the fish through the fish-in cycling process as they will absorb some of the ammonia created if they're actively growing.
As for your possible stocking list, I like it
Kribs and RTBS (red tailed black sharks) are good ones to avoid as they can be very territorial and cause havoc. Fairy cichlids are african and therefore quite agressive, too agressive to really go in the community you've listed.
Sorry, ignore last post, just getting used to this forum.
As i am on holiday first week in Jan, should i wait until then to start fishless cycle? Then add plants and fish. If i start cycle on 7 Jan, when will tank be ready for fish approx?
Once cycle complete and plants added, do i need to keep adding amonia until fish added?
It was never like this before
Andy
As i am on holiday first week in Jan, should i wait until then to start fishless cycle? Then add plants and fish. If i start cycle on 7 Jan, when will tank be ready for fish approx?
Once cycle complete and plants added, do i need to keep adding amonia until fish added?
It was never like this before
Andy
Hi welcome to the forum! Thats a great piece of wood you have in there!
With the fishless cycle you dont really need time off work it just takes about less than a minute to do each day. Simply add a few ml of house hold ammonia on a morning then test the water in the evening and top up as and when required.
The fish you are picking look like a good idea I would go for apistos and keyholes over kribs as kribs can be a bit unpredictable at times. But there are a few other species of dwarf cichlids you could think about, like the Laetacaras and Cupid Cichlids both of them would work really well in that tank.
Other issues I would raise with those fish are - the livebearers - swordtails and guppies, as you will know breed constantly. And these days the fry and young fish can be hard to rehome so its easy to become innundated so just something to consider? Also the Zebra Plecs, mega mega expensive they seem to average these days at around £150 for an 8cm juvi IMO not something to put in a general community tank.
Wills
With the fishless cycle you dont really need time off work it just takes about less than a minute to do each day. Simply add a few ml of house hold ammonia on a morning then test the water in the evening and top up as and when required.
The fish you are picking look like a good idea
I would go for apistos and keyholes over kribs as kribs can be a bit unpredictable at times. But there are a few other species of dwarf cichlids you could think about, like the Laetacaras and Cupid Cichlids both of them would work really well in that tank. Other issues I would raise with those fish are - the livebearers - swordtails and guppies, as you will know breed constantly. And these days the fry and young fish can be hard to rehome so its easy to become innundated so just something to consider? Also the Zebra Plecs, mega mega expensive they seem to average these days at around £150 for an 8cm juvi IMO not something to put in a general community tank.
Wills
Biulu
Fish Aficionado
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If you are serious about getting this tank planted, then if you plant heavily (let's say around 80% of the surface covered), then don't bother about a fishless cycle. You can put the fish straight in. What we are afraid of is ammonia produced by fish waste, but with plants, ammonia doesn't get time to develop as all the fish waste is converted into nutrients for the plants.
Your wood is great, and you have all the potential to make a nice aquascape with it.
I guess you hava 4ft Fluival Roma with hood and standard lighting? That would mean you have 240 litres (55 gallons), with 2x 40W T8 tubes, so almost 1.5 wpg. With that light there are more than enough plants to choose from. I suggest you have a read up at this link: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/296418-planted-aquariums-resource-center/page__view__findpost__p__2448827.
Here you will find all the info you need to get a planted tank, and if you do: please make a journal for all of us to enjoy and help you along the way!
Good luck, and welcome!
Your wood is great, and you have all the potential to make a nice aquascape with it.
I guess you hava 4ft Fluival Roma with hood and standard lighting? That would mean you have 240 litres (55 gallons), with 2x 40W T8 tubes, so almost 1.5 wpg. With that light there are more than enough plants to choose from. I suggest you have a read up at this link: http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/296418-planted-aquariums-resource-center/page__view__findpost__p__2448827.Here you will find all the info you need to get a planted tank, and if you do: please make a journal for all of us to enjoy and help you along the way!
Good luck, and welcome!
weezawoo
Fish Gatherer
It looks lovely, and once the plants start growing and filling it out it will look even better
hi everybody, thanks for the feedback. 
just noticed that the plants are starting to get a brown coating/fungus on the leaves. I am not adding any ammonia and lights are on for approx 8 hours. I have added some liquid fertilizer.
What is causing this, have i got the lights on for too long this early?
Andy
just noticed that the plants are starting to get a brown coating/fungus on the leaves. I am not adding any ammonia and lights are on for approx 8 hours. I have added some liquid fertilizer.
What is causing this, have i got the lights on for too long this early?
Andy
Here is the main problem with cycling with plants. It sounds very much like Diatoms (a type of algae), this is caused by ammonia build ups (even really small ones). If there are plants, there may be the odd decaying leaf, that has caused to ammonia spike. Light + Ammonia = Algae. It will eventually go when the tank becomes cycled and the filter is ready for action. There isn't enough plants in there to cope with the ammonia.
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