Hello

[yozzington]

Hi everyone, newbie here, may i add that this is a cracking site and i have learnt much from reading various articles.

I must admit to have been a bit of a lurker on these forums for a wee while before taking the plunge and registering with the site.
I have been toying with the idea of having my own aquarium for a few years now, and finally acquired myself a second hand Clear Seal 4ft tank a few months ago. So far i have not done anymore so far as I don't want to rush into things without thorough research first.
Added to that i recently lost my absolutely beautiful Doberman *****, which has kind of knocked me back a bit, (it was very unexpected).
Anyway, back to the issue of fish keeping.
My tank dimensions are 4ft, 1ft, 1.5ft, which I believe makes it a smidge under 170L, it has a beech effect cabinet base and lid, as for equipment so far i dont have much, just a Hagan elite 150w heater, a really cheap looking Resun pump which unless my eyes are failing indicates that it pumps 1.8L a minutes, and a flourescent light setup, all of which came with the tank.
I am looking at getting one of the AllPondSolutions external filter either the 1400, or the 2000, (which would you guys recommend for my setup?).
I am looking at knocking together a combination LED light setup of some kind white light for the plants and day use and maybe the ever popular midnight blue for night use.
I will be using real plants when it gets to that stage, any suggestions would be most welcome.
As of yet i have not got around to working out the stock level that i can keep in the tank, but the fish i am thinking of are as follows;

Assorted Guppys, some Dwarf Neon Rainbows, Zebra Danios, Possibly some Red Phantom Tetras, Chequer Barbs, Platy's, Neon Dwarf Gourami's, Harlequins, Cardional Tetra's, Julii Cory's And eventually some Glass Catfish of the Kryptopterus Minor variety.
Obviously i would be unable to keep all of these in their recommended numbers so will have to cut back on the variety a little, but as i am a long way off introducing the fish i have plenty of time to decide what to eventually go for, although any suggestions would be very welcome.

 

[seffieuk]

to a fellow Dobermann lover - I'm so very sorry for your loss, it is heartbreaking isn't it. We have a pets section and would love to hear all about her and see some photos

Jump on in to TFF, it's great here with some really, genuine people just waiting to get to know you and them

Seffie x

 

[yozzington]

to a fellow Dobermann lover - I'm so very sorry for your loss, it is heartbreaking isn't it. We have a pets section and would love to hear all about her and see some photos

Jump on in to TFF, it's great here with some really, genuine people just waiting to get to know you and them

Seffie x

Many thanks for the warm welcome Seffie, i will have to dig out any piccies i have of the old girl, and will put them up when i have done so.
You know i was always told before i got her that once you have a Doberman, no other dog will do, i of course scoffed at the idea, but have to admit it's true to the word, i will be maybe looking at getting another sometime next summer/autumn, as the house is just empty without her.

 

[seffieuk]

Would have to agree with that sentiment - once a dobie owner, always a dobie owner or should I say slave I am unfortunately now without dobies as I work full time, so its just not possible, but one day, the day I retire, a baby or two are coming home. Looking forward to seeing some photos of your girl and your new tank

Seffie x

 

[yozzington]

Would have to agree with that sentiment - once a dobie owner, always a dobie owner or should I say slave I am unfortunately now without dobies as I work full time, so its just not possible, but one day, the day I retire, a baby or two are coming home. Looking forward to seeing some photos of your girl and your new tank

Seffie x

I must admit that i am in a slightly more favourable position with regards to getting another Dobie, as due to getting divorced i lost my home, and embarrassingly having to reside at my parents home for the time being, the price of property in the South Hams is way beyond comprehension, and way beyond my financial means, i am but a humble maintenance worker for the local Community College.
To cut a long story short, as my father is retired, there is always someone home for at least 90% of the time, and the rest of the household miss the unique company of a Dobie, and i think they secretly miss being owned by a Dobie, as do i.

 

[seffieuk]

Sounds like there is indeed a silver lining to your cloud and funnily enough after being made redundant twice and having a stroke, my other half does exactly the same job as you part-time and loves it, gone is the stress of making loads of money for a company (which made him have the stroke) and having awful deadlines and in, is having time to have a laugh and play loads of golf. You are right, it doesn't pay much, but other things are more important, Lets hope the government cuts dont have too big an effect on adult education

Seffie x

 

[yozzington]

Sounds like there is indeed a silver lining to your cloud and funnily enough after being made redundant twice and having a stroke, my other half does exactly the same job as you part-time and loves it, gone is the stress of making loads of money for a company (which made him have the stroke) and having awful deadlines and in, is having time to have a laugh and play loads of golf. You are right, it doesn't pay much, but other things are more important, Lets hope the government cuts dont have too big an effect on adult education

Seffie x

It is indeed a most satisfying job, unfortunately during the last couple of years we have lost two excellent members of management, only to be replaced, by a couple of replacements who seem totally out of their depth, i think maybe to many chiefs and not enough indians so to speak. Other than that, it's great, the kids as a whole are excellent, which maybe due to all the out of school activities they are encouraged to participate in, my only slight bugbear is that my five day week is increasingly being stretched to six or even seven at times, and i am constantly on emergency callout, which means as a rule no partying for me, lol.

At this time the college is applying for Academy status, so hopefully any cutback won't effect us at all, but i guess you never know.
I have to admit that i changed jobs mainly so i could stay in the area, before that i was a sales rep for Wilton carpets, sent out to exile in those there United States, in the end i became tired of making others rich at the expense of my own well being.

 

[seffieuk]

Ah, we have even more in common, I am a teacher in a secondary school well, a teacher who no longer teaches classes full of children, so maybe not a teacher anymore!! i work in safeguarding and emotional behavioural issues.

Our caretaking staff are the backbone of the school, we are very lucky to have their skills.

Seffie x

 

[Carlovel1]

 

[the biffster]

hi and welcome to the
forum its a happy place
most of the time

 

[yozzington]

Many thanks for the welcome Carlovel and Biffster, it does seem a very friendly environment, just what I need, as this is my first venture into tropicals. Just about remember having a small tank when I was a nipper, the only real thing I remember about it was the awful bright coloured gravel it had, (probably the reason I get migraines these days, lol).

 

[cowbla1]

sorry about your losses

 

[Carlovel1]

Many thanks for the welcome Carlovel and Biffster, it does seem a very friendly environment, just what I need, as this is my first venture into tropicals. Just about remember having a small tank when I was a nipper, the only real thing I remember about it was the awful bright coloured gravel it had, (probably the reason I get migraines these days, lol).

I too have a dislike for multi coloured gravel After a few years, the paint of the rocks will peel and that probably won't do your fish much good IMO its cheap and tacky
Carl

 

[yozzington]

Many thanks for the welcome Carlovel and Biffster, it does seem a very friendly environment, just what I need, as this is my first venture into tropicals. Just about remember having a small tank when I was a nipper, the only real thing I remember about it was the awful bright coloured gravel it had, (probably the reason I get migraines these days, lol).

I too have a dislike for multi coloured gravel After a few years, the paint of the rocks will peel and that probably won't do your fish much good IMO its cheap and tacky
Carl

I know exactly where you are coming from on that one, i have not really looked at gravel much as of yet as i am still in the process of aquiring the items for setup, and i think i would like to get spares of everything too, just in case.
I think for gravel i would be looking for something that looks a bit like black granite, but that is at least a couple of months away yet.
I also think that for peace of mind i would like to get battery powered back ups for the pumps and such too, as we have had a couple of pretty long term power cuts this year, (Wouldn't want to wake up one morning to see my setup all lifeless).

sorry about your losses

Many thanks, she is greatly missed, still i guess at least she didn't suffer very much, small miracles.