Going in blind

[Gaagaad]

Hi all.

At the tender age of 60 (well two weeks short thereof) I'm starting up this fishkeeping lark. I've bought myself a tank (Fluval Roma 240). Build the stand and plonked the tank on top today and now I'm ready to get started with setting up. That's the weekend's job.

At this point I have no idea what fish I'm going to get but that's fine by me as I'm going to play it by ear. Will probably start with some neon tetras as my wife wants me to have some of these at least and I remember my dad keeping some back in the day.

One thing I have found frustrating is knowing how much of something to buy. For instance I bought a book which recommended a certain substrate for plants. However nowhere can I find how much I should buy for certain sizes of tank. "An inch depth" has no meaning when the tub says it's 2.5kg. Same with gravel. It's something I'm going to learn obviously but as a beginner it's frustrating. But I'm patient and getting set up will take as long as it takes I suppose. I'm not going to hurry this!

That's more waffle than I intended for a brief introduction. Suffice to say I'm looking forward to picking brains and learning a lot.

Thanks.

 

[BettaFishGirl]

Welcome to TFF! I hope you find lots of useless tips and tricks here.
As for the tank, a nice big tank is a nice starting point as it is much easier to care for. Make sure you know about the Nitrogen cycle before you setup or add fish.
We can't wait to see what you do with your tank and see what it looks like in the end!

P.S. I usually use 1-2 pounds of gravel/sand per gallon of water. I've never used aquasoil so I wouldn't know that but for inert send or gravel 1-2 pounds per gallon is good.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

If the tank has a flat base you can insulate it with 1-2 inch thick polystyrene foam sheet. You can also put the same foam sheets on the back and sides to help insulate it. Just tape them to the outside of the tank.

Don't buy anything else yet. Go to a pet shop and make a list of fish and plants you like. Post the list here and we can make suggestions on what goes well together.

--------------------

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

 

[Gaagaad]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

If the tank has a flat base you can insulate it with 1-2 inch thick polystyrene foam sheet. You can also put the same foam sheets on the back and sides to help insulate it. Just tape them to the outside of the tank.

Don't buy anything else yet. Go to a pet shop and make a list of fish and plants you like. Post the list here and we can make suggestions on what goes well together.

--------------------

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.

Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

Thanks Colin,

A quick reply as I really should be in bed. The tank is 120x40x55 cm and the water here is moderately soft with 3.58 German degrees. I'll be getting a ph kit soon to test that as well but generally "Drinking Water in Scotland should be in the range pH 6.5 to pH 9.5." According to Mr. Google that is.

 

[Endlersendlers]

Welcome to TFF! You are in the right place. It is so refreshing to have someone asking questions before buying fish so we can prevent common pitfalls. Are you familiar with the nitrogen cycle in aquariums?

I see Colin responded. He really is the fish guru and a great resource, along with several other very knowledgeable people on here.

Getting the water parameters first and selecting from species that thrive in that pH and hardness, and introducing them strategically after the tank “cycles“ will make the tank so much easier and successful to manage, preventing avoidable fish deaths/illness.

Thinking it out in advance will enable getting compatible species that you like rather than limiting you to what will get along with the first impulse buy. One thing you should know up front is that the LFS (local fish store) will tell you lots of things that may or may not be correct. I’m sure they mean well but it is better to run it by the forum first for feedback before jumping in and getting stuck.

You picked a good tank size to start with that will enable stable water chemistry. It looks like a quality package to me, so congratulations on that choice. I took the liberty of looking up the tank and dimensions. I’m going to post them for Colin and others to know what we’re working with. I’m not an expert but am learning on this forum as well. Here’s wishing you success!

Roma 240 Bluetooth LED Aquarium Kit, 63 US Gal / 240 L - Fluval USA

Fluval's Roma designer aquarium range offers something for every type of Fishkeeper with its contemporary design and clean, simple lines. The full range of Roma aquariums are equipped with energy efficient Bluetooth LED lighting that operate exclusively via mobile device and have a bright...

fluvalaquatics.com

 

[Endlersendlers]

At the tender age of 60 (well two weeks short thereof) I'm starting up this fishkeeping lark. I've bought myself a tank (Fluval Roma 240). Build the stand and plonked the tank on top today and now I'm ready to get started with setting up. That's the weekend's job.

At this point I have no idea what fish I'm going to get but that's fine by me as I'm going to play it by ear. Will probably start with some neon tetras as my wife wants me to have some of these at least and I remember my dad keeping some back in the day.

One thing I have found frustrating is knowing how much of something to buy. For instance I bought a book which recommended a certain substrate for plants. However nowhere can I find how much I should buy for certain sizes of tank. "An inch depth" has no meaning when the tub says it's 2.5kg. Same with gravel. It's something I'm going to learn obviously but as a beginner it's frustrating. But I'm patient and getting set up will take as long as it takes I suppose. I'm not going to hurry this!

That's more waffle than I intended for a brief introduction. Suffice to say I'm looking forward to picking brains and learning a lot.

Thanks.

Your book may have already covered this but I’m going to put this resource here for you anyway. I stole it from CaptainBarnacles who so helpfully gave it to another member today (thanks Cap!). https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/

Edited for redundancy.

 

[Colin_T]

Thanks Colin,

A quick reply as I really should be in bed. The tank is 120x40x55 cm and the water here is moderately soft with 3.58 German degrees. I'll be getting a ph kit soon to test that as well but generally "Drinking Water in Scotland should be in the range pH 6.5 to pH 9.5." According to Mr. Google that is.

A good size tank with soft acidic water means there are lots of South American fishes you could potentially keep including tetras, dwarf cichlids, Corydoras, along with gouramis and rasboras from tropical Asia.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hello I like you already

I have the same tank and I love it! And your options for fish are super with such soft water too. Here in east anglia we're extremely limited with the liquid rock that tumbles out of our taps!

Welcome aboard, looking forward to watching your journey into the hobby, we're a good bunch here, hope you stick around to play with us

 

[The603]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Naughts]

Hello and welcome
Consider playsand (from Argos or B&M) as a substrate. Plants grow well in it and it is essential for corydoras. A 20KG bag will suffice.

 

[emeraldking]

Well, welcome to TFF...
That's a nice sized tank for a novice aquarist. Feel free to post some photos once it's done.

 

[emeraldking]

I hope you find lots of useless tips

I hope you meant "useful"...?

 

[BettaFishGirl]

I hope you meant "useful"...?
Yes I meant useful! I hope you find a lot of useFULL tips here!

 

[emeraldking]

I hope you meant "useful"...?
Yes I meant useful! I hope you find a lot of useFULL tips here!

You're forgiven...

 

[Gaagaad]

For information in reply to a question about water. I added gravel and some water to the aquarium today preparing for planting (that's all on another post) and thought I would test the water using a 6 in 1 strip. The results were:

NO3 0
NO2 0
GH 16 d
KH 6 d
PH 7.2
CL2 0