Got the aquarium, put water in.. getting excited!

[nlpmaster1974]

Hi All,

Im a complete newbie here. Been reading posts here for about a week and I love the pics and especially the videos.

I bought a Juwell Vision 180 (180 litres, abt 45 US gallon) last saturday and it was setup, filled with treated (chlorine) water and heated all last saturday.

It currently contains some wood, stones and plastic plants. I will be gettins one or two real plants too sometime. I have had some difficulty setting the heater to the correct temperature as there is no degrees marking on it, only a + and - which isnt much use when it takes 6 hours to warm up fully. Anyway, we are at 26 deg C now and I'm happy with that.

I was told by the fellow at the pet store that if I apply some food to the tank on saturday then it will decompose and will produce some amonia and thus being the nitrate cycle. Some bacteria will be working within a week, nitrite will begin to rise, amonia will drop and I can add a few hardy fish until the complete cycle is complete after about 6 weeks.

Any thoughts? I thought of buying some platies and tetras (Black skirt or Neon) to start off. Is that a good idea?

Thank you,

Chris

 

[Ferris]

Welcome to the forum

The advice about using food to cycle the tank is true, however you can buy ammonia solution, which will do a better job. Buy a water test kit if you haven't already as you will be able to monitor your tank and establish when it has completed the cycle, although 6 weeks is a good average.

Platies are a good choice for your 1st fish, as are black skirt tetra's. Neon's could be a risk though, they do better in a tank approx 6 months old. I'd also reccommnend zebra danios, they are one of the hardiest fish around and are very active and a credit to any tank.

Your temp is fine, don't worry about that.

Have a look at some of the pinned articles at the top of this forum, you'll find some good tips there and lots of info about cycling your tank.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[nlpmaster1974]

Thank you very very much for your help.

I will be visiting the pet shop this coming weekend for a free water test and if things are not too bad, my first few fish Im Excited!

Thank you once again, I'll keep you updated.

Chris

 

[Ferris]

No problem and great, let us know how you get on.

 

[redtailblackshark]

hello,

I am glad to see you are so excited to get your first tank, I know I was! Your temperature seems to be fine, unless you are getting coldwater fish. (Tropical are much more exciting ) I would suggest some platys, and maybe some tetras, or gouramis. I would also suggest reading this article, http/www.aquahobby.com/e_articles.php it is about aquarium keeping, and everything you would ever wonder, and some things people wouldn't wonder, but is interesting to know. I have helped quite a few people by using topics from that website.

Welcome to the forums and enjoy your stay!

 

[nlpmaster1974]

I absolutly love that redtail shark!

Would I be able to keep one of those with the fish I am hoping to buy? Or is it not a community fish? Is it difficult to keep? How many do you have?

Thanks and sorry for all the questions.

Chris

 

[Slyspy]

Don't forget to do a water change before adding your fish, especially if you have been adding amonia solution as suggested above. In fact I would suggest a fishless cycle (see pinned topics) using just ammonia. If you do use the food and then fish method then I understand danios are a good tough fish to start out with. You may still take casualties though. Keep testing the water, changing it if it is too toxic, and whatever you do don't add too many fish at once! By the way that sounds like a good fish shop you have there. Most don't even offer that much advice to newbies!

 

[redtailblackshark]

Yes, they are not aggressive to any of my fish, you should be fine. It is a good community fish, you will just need to give it a good place for it to hide. It is simple to keep, they almost take care of themselves, mine is HUGE! and it eats algae and sometimes brine shrimp and flakes (you do not need to feed it flakes) they sometimes like some veggie-type fish food, but they are fairly easy to keep. I only have one, as they get aggressive towards other red-tail blacksharks, but are good with other sharks.

 

[CTS]

welcome to the forum and good luck in your fish adventure!!