First Tank

[rodeo-clown]

I stumbled across this site a few days ago and it inspired me to setup my aquarium.

Today I got sometime to visit the local fish shop and purchased the following;

Aqua One 620 (includes light, pump, and filter)
Gravel
Heater
Water ager
Water tester (Ammonia and PH at this stage)

It's all up and running now, well the basics anyway. I'll be adding a few plants in the next few days and will wait patiently to cycle the tank. PH was at about 8 and Ammonia was sky high.

Here's a pic of it at the moment. Very bare I know. There are an enormous amount of air bubbles around the glass. Will these disappear soon?

Now it's a matter of purchasing some plants and letting nature take its course. I'll also have the hard job of picking what fish I want!

 

[KentBlokey]

Hi and welcome. Yep, the bubbles will clear in a day ot two!

 

[Dragonslair]

In a newly stup system, especially as new as yours is, there will always be bubbles etc. These will disappear. Your water will also turn cloudy when you add plants, this is normal-bacterial bloom. Again this will disappear. If you intend to decorate the tank, my suggestion would be to do it before you add any fish. This allows the whole system to settle in. It is also important to keep a regular check on the Ph and Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate levels within the tank. Ammonia is the number one killer of fish in tanks. Carbon is only useful for a very short period of time and then it "dumps" everything back into the water, causing more problems. There are many products on the market which claims that each can do a specific thing, but the best thing a beginner can do is use their eyes. You can spot trouble brewing and take remedial action.
Attention, care and good fish husbandary is what is needed to keep your fish happy, healthy and looking at their best.
Good luck.

 

[Dragonslair]

Just a word about Ph. When you read all about fish in books etc. it gives you the "right" Ph. This assumes that the fish you have are "wild" and have not been bred in captivity. If your fish which will invariabily be captivity bred fish as "starters", because rarely does a beginner go straight for the exotic most expensive fish. The Ph levels of your tank should match the Ph levels of that of your lfs. So check what Ph the water your lfs has first and then match your water to it. You will find in most instances that it will match very closely as the resevoir supplying the water will be the same one.
You will need a de-chlorinator. I find Tetrasafe ideal, but that's only my personal choice.