How to prepare new tank for first fish?
- Thread starter Daisyfish
- Start date
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
Cycle it. Monitor ammonia and nitrite levels.
Thank you. The filter and heater are on. How do I monitor those levels? I assume there is some water tester kit?
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
Yes, you're right. API Master Test Kit is a bit pricey, but really worth it.
Since you have live plants in the tank, adding ammonia (which is the way to cycle a tank without plants) is not an option.
The plants you have are quite small at the moment, you need to wait until they grow a bit more. Getting floating plants will help a lot too.
Do you know about the nitrogen cycle? At the risk of saying what you already know, fish excrete ammonia, which is toxic. Bacteria grow in the tank which 'eat' ammonia and turn it into nitrite. This is also toxic, but another type of bacteria grow in the tank which 'eat' nitrite and turn it into nitrate. Nitrate is less toxic than the other two but needs to be kept below 20 ppm so we do water changes to remove it. Fishless cycling is where ammonia is added to the tank before fish are added to grow these bacteria ready for fish.
Plants take up ammonia as fertiliser and they do it faster than the ammonia eating bacteria. If there are enough well growing plants, they will take up all the ammonia made in a sensibly stocked tank of fish. Floating plants are near the lights and can get carbon dioxide from the air so they are particularly good at removing ammonia. Using plants to remove the ammonia is called plant or silent cycling.
Since you already have plants, you have started a silent cycle. Wait until they are growing well and not about to die - and I do suggest floating plants as well. Then get the first batch of fish. Buy a test kit - or at the least, testers for ammonia and nitrite - and test for those every day after adding fish. If either show above zero, do a water change. Once you know they are staying at zero, and the plants are still doing well, get the next batch of fish.
In the meantime while you wait for the plants to grow, get a test kit and research the fish you want to get. The first stage in research is to look on your water company's website for hardness. You need a number and the unit of measurement rather than vague words. As UK water companies often use units different from the ones fish keeping uses, post your hardness on here and if necessary we can convert it.
The reason for this is that fish have evolved in water of a certain hardness. If we put hard water fish in soft water they will suffer from lack of minerals; if we put soft water fish in hard water they get calcium deposits in their bodies. Neither will live as long as they should. It is better to keep fish which come from the same hardness as our tap water.
I've thrown a lot at you all at once. We can talk about which fish are suitable for your water and tank in another post
The plants you have are quite small at the moment, you need to wait until they grow a bit more. Getting floating plants will help a lot too.
Do you know about the nitrogen cycle? At the risk of saying what you already know, fish excrete ammonia, which is toxic. Bacteria grow in the tank which 'eat' ammonia and turn it into nitrite. This is also toxic, but another type of bacteria grow in the tank which 'eat' nitrite and turn it into nitrate. Nitrate is less toxic than the other two but needs to be kept below 20 ppm so we do water changes to remove it. Fishless cycling is where ammonia is added to the tank before fish are added to grow these bacteria ready for fish.
Plants take up ammonia as fertiliser and they do it faster than the ammonia eating bacteria. If there are enough well growing plants, they will take up all the ammonia made in a sensibly stocked tank of fish. Floating plants are near the lights and can get carbon dioxide from the air so they are particularly good at removing ammonia. Using plants to remove the ammonia is called plant or silent cycling.
Since you already have plants, you have started a silent cycle. Wait until they are growing well and not about to die - and I do suggest floating plants as well. Then get the first batch of fish. Buy a test kit - or at the least, testers for ammonia and nitrite - and test for those every day after adding fish. If either show above zero, do a water change. Once you know they are staying at zero, and the plants are still doing well, get the next batch of fish.
In the meantime while you wait for the plants to grow, get a test kit and research the fish you want to get. The first stage in research is to look on your water company's website for hardness. You need a number and the unit of measurement rather than vague words. As UK water companies often use units different from the ones fish keeping uses, post your hardness on here and if necessary we can convert it.
The reason for this is that fish have evolved in water of a certain hardness. If we put hard water fish in soft water they will suffer from lack of minerals; if we put soft water fish in hard water they get calcium deposits in their bodies. Neither will live as long as they should. It is better to keep fish which come from the same hardness as our tap water.
I've thrown a lot at you all at once. We can talk about which fish are suitable for your water and tank in another post
Thank you so much for all this information! It’s like going back to school, and science classes!
Ok so what’s the best way to cycle the aquarium as it’s planted?
Get this tester and can I have the floating plants without a co2 system?
Ok so what’s the best way to cycle the aquarium as it’s planted?
Get this tester and can I have the floating plants without a co2 system?
With plants, just wait till the plants are growing well. It is risky to add fish until you are sure the plants are not about to die. Once there is lots of new growth, get the first batch of fish.
I use the API master test kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000255NCI/?tag= - make sure it's fresh water not marine. Testing for several days after every batch of fish is to make sure that the plants are taking up all the ammonia.
Floating plants don't need CO2 as they can get it from the air and there's more CO2 in air than in water
I use the API master test kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000255NCI/?tag= - make sure it's fresh water not marine. Testing for several days after every batch of fish is to make sure that the plants are taking up all the ammonia.
Floating plants don't need CO2 as they can get it from the air and there's more CO2 in air than in water
I agree with everyting essjay has posted. Plants is the easiest and frankly safest way to establish a new tank. Find some nice floating plants, and when you see signs of growth, you will be able to add some fish, in stages. We can help you with that. We will need to know the water parameters--parameters refers to GH (hardness), KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity), pH and temperature. But here we are really only needing the GH and pH. These you may be able to get from your water supplier, check their website.
The afore-mentioned are "parameters," the level of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate we can test for are water conditions, not parameters, just so you know. Many confuse the two.
The afore-mentioned are "parameters," the level of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate we can test for are water conditions, not parameters, just so you know. Many confuse the two.
Can you see any other data? The general hardness (GH) which is the most important parameter is not given here. The pH is OK, once we know the GH we will be set to go.
Floating plants that work best are the substantial species like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris cornuta) which is probably the best, or Amazon/Tropical Frogbit or Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes). Smaller floaters like Salvinia and then duckweed are certainly floating, but they are probably less desirable than the former. It is easy to control floating plants; they are fast growing (which is the great benefit) but easy to thin out/trim, etc, during the weekly water change.
The hardness is 15 dGH, which equates to 268 ppm (I usually give both as these are the two units used in the hobby, some like dGH and others ppm. This is fairly hard water, not a problem for plants but will limit your fish options more.
Fertilizer for the plants is a good idea, especially intially as there are few nutrients occurring naturally without fish present. A comprehensive liquid will supply nutrients to all plants, including floating which will need them, but substrate tabs will also really benefit the three sword plants.
For the tabs, I use and highly recommend Seachem's Flourish Tabs. For the liquid, there are three basically equal that are comprehensive (meaning all nutrients and in specific proportions):
Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium.
Brightwell Aquatics' FlorinMulti.
The Nutrient Company's TNC Lite.
The latter is in the UK and looks to be perhaps the best. Each manufacturer makes several different products under these names, so make sure you get exactly the one here, whichever you decide on. A small bottle will do you for months.
Ok thank you so much! I will get some nutrients then and floating plants and the water tester.
in terms of fish ... I was hoping to have discus but I think from what I’ve read they need softer water? is it quite complicated to get softener?
I would just like to have colourful and a variety of fish. Ones that will be on the bottom and middle and top of the tank.
in terms of fish ... I was hoping to have discus but I think from what I’ve read they need softer water? is it quite complicated to get softener?
I would just like to have colourful and a variety of fish. Ones that will be on the bottom and middle and top of the tank.
Salty&Onion
Fish Aficionado
Guppies are colourful and come in different colours and they also will do fine in hard water as any other livebearer. What size is the tank?
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