Hello!

[Julia_M]

Hi folks,

I'm brand new to the world of aquariums (aquaria?) and really excited to get started.

I've read a lot and watched a lot of videos. I love how it is a combination of science, gardening, pet care, mindfulness and interior decor. Where has this been all my life?!

I've read all about cycling the tank and am planning on getting everything going as an aquatic garden over the next 6 weeks or so before introducing any fish.

I'm in a small flat, so it's a small tank - 60l nano cube.

Brace yourselves for a LOT of questions!

 

[Aspen35]

Hi folks,

I'm brand new to the world of aquariums (aquaria?) and really excited to get started.

I've read a lot and watched a lot of videos. I love how it is a combination of science, gardening, pet care, mindfulness and interior decor. Where has this been all my life?!

I've read all about cycling the tank and am planning on getting everything going as an aquatic garden over the next 6 weeks or so before introducing any fish.

I'm in a small flat, so it's a small tank - 60l nano cube.

Brace yourselves for a LOT of questions!

Yay! Welcome! We love questions, asking questions is how you learn. Do you have any ideas for the tank yet?

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

You should try to find out what 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 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).

---------------------
The following link has information about what to do if your fish get sick. It's not something you need right now because you don't have fish, but it's worth a read when you have some spare time.

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Retired Viking]

Welcome to the forum

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Welcome. I like your approach:

I love how it is a combination of science, gardening, pet care, mindfulness and interior decor. Where has this been all my life?!

I've read all about cycling the tank and am planning on getting everything going as an aquatic garden over the next 6 weeks or so before introducing any fish.

I always think of my tanks as living artwork. Good on you for reading up on cycling and getting your plants well-established before the fish go in. I think that's the way to do it. I agree with Colin: Find out your water hardness and and pH, as that will greatly influence what critters will thrive in your setup.

 

[Julia_M]

Hi and welcome to the forum

You should try to find out what 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 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).

---------------------
The following link has information about what to do if your fish get sick. It's not something you need right now because you don't have fish, but it's worth a read when you have some spare time.

What to do if your fish gets sick

If your fish ever looks sick or unwell, then the following steps might help. Test the Water and Clean the Tank. Test the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH and write the results down in numbers. Check it for general hardness (GH) and carbonate hardness (KH) too if you can, but...

www.fishforums.net

That's excellent, thanks. I've not set anything up yet. I spent yesterday doing the acid test on a bunch of rocks and scrubbing and boiling them (controversial, but they didn't explode!)

I was actually thinking of leaving the rocks in a separate bowl and testing the water to make sure none of them is changing the water conditions. I think they are are all quartz/volcanic, but I want to be sure.

I'm in Scotland, so I'm presuming the water will be soft, which I think I read is better for plant life? So I'm quite excited about that. Fingers crossed!

I'm obsessed with reading/watching aquarium information. Thanks for the extra reading material. My family has been warned that this will form a significant amount of chat over Christmas!

 

[Julia_M]

Yay! Welcome! We love questions, asking questions is how you learn. Do you have any ideas for the tank yet?

Thanks! I have lots of half ideas but nothing set at all. I'm not really in a rush to introduce fish - I'm just as excited about the aquascaping. I feel like I want to get that right and make sure everything is thriving and my water is good before starting.

What would you put in a 60l nano cube?

 

[Julia_M]

Welcome. I like your approach:

I always think of my tanks as living artwork. Good on you for reading up on cycling and getting your plants well-established before the fish go in. I think that's the way to do it. I agree with Colin: Find out your water hardness and and pH, as that will greatly influence what critters will thrive in your setup.

Yes, I think I might even be more excited about the plants than the fish. I love in a small to floor flat and never use our communal garden. I've got some healthy house plants though. This feels like a nice new project.

For ongoing testing of the water, what would you recommend? I bought the strips, which might be okay while getting plants established, but I've read they're not that reliable. Happy to invest in something more accurate in advance of getting the fish in.

 

[Julia_M]

That's excellent, thanks. I've not set anything up yet. I spent yesterday doing the acid test on a bunch of rocks and scrubbing and boiling them (controversial, but they didn't explode!)

I was actually thinking of leaving the rocks in a separate bowl and testing the water to make sure none of them is changing the water conditions. I think they are are all quartz/volcanic, but I want to be sure.

I'm in Scotland, so I'm presuming the water will be soft, which I think I read is better for plant life? So I'm quite excited about that. Fingers crossed!

I'm obsessed with reading/watching aquarium information. Thanks for the extra reading material. My family has been warned that this will form a significant amount of chat over Christmas!

I have found my reservoir report, but I'm struggling to read what the general hardness and carbonate hardness would be. Looks like a pH of around 8, so I may need something to bring that down.

I have a friend who works at Scottish Water. I'll be bugging him for information!

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Yes, I think I might even be more excited about the plants than the fish. I love in a small to floor flat and never use our communal garden. I've got some healthy house plants though. This feels like a nice new project.

For ongoing testing of the water, what would you recommend? I bought the strips, which might be okay while getting plants established, but I've read they're not that reliable. Happy to invest in something more accurate in advance of getting the fish in.

If it's available in your part of the world, get an API master test kit and water hardness kit. Strips are better than nothing but just barely.

 

[Link]

My only advice is learn how to keep and maintain the water. Nail that, and the fish will look after themselves

 

[Essjay]

@Julia_M That document is the water quality report which doesn't give hardness; and very few UK water companies give KH (which they call alkalinity)

The document does give your water zone, Glencorse C, and this is your hardness from another page on Scottish Water's website

Fishkeeping uses 2 units - some profiles use one, some use the other so you need to know both. For Glencorse C, the numbers you need are:
Hardness as mg/l CaCO3 = 33.83 - this is called ppm in fish profiles
German degrees = 1.89 - this is called dH or dGH in fish profiles.


Your hardness is very soft.

What are the dimensions of the tank?
Something like a large shoal of one of the Boraras species could look stunning

Search Results boraras — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome.
Get the API water testing kit.
Get familiar with the seriouslyfish.com website. Also with the back pages of this place by searching for your subject (fish type, shrimp type, snail type, plant type etc) using the search box. There’s nigh on 20yrs of knowledge and bickering to read.

It sounds like you’re going for a “silent cycle”. A wise choice. All the best people do. Just add sand, rocks, sponge bobs, scooby doos, Loch Ness monsters, filter, heater and a load of fast growing plants like:
Water Sprite
Water Lettuce
Frogbit
Duckweed
Anacharis
Hornwort
Moneywort
Some flourish root tabs.
Turn the lights, filter and heater on then take a photo. Go to the pub for a few weeks popping back every four days or so to lob in a quarter of a cap of liquid flourish. Start comparing plant growth with your photo. Once there’s definite growth you should be good to go. Test your water before adding fish though.
Trust me you don’t want to get involved with any of this fish in fish out ammonia adding water testing chemical nonsense that clogs up half of this place and needs the advice of the clever people on here to get the poor fish living happily ever after.
Cycle the easy way, the chemical free way, the natural way, the lazy way.......cycle the silent way. You know it makes sense.

If you don’t like the look of the plants above don’t worry you they may not all thrive in your tank anyway. You can also sling the ones you don’t like SLOWLY once you’re up n running and replace em (or hide em behind) ones you do like. Though your new choices may not be as good for the tank as the old.
Best of luck....oooh dinner is served....about time as well.....bye. Remember silent cycling is the way.

 

[ClownLurch]

@Julia_M That document is the water quality report which doesn't give hardness; and very few UK water companies give KH (which they call alkalinity)

The document does give your water zone, Glencorse C, and this is your hardness from another page on Scottish Water's website
View attachment 123869

Fishkeeping uses 2 units - some profiles use one, some use the other so you need to know both. For Glencorse C, the numbers you need are:
Hardness as mg/l CaCO3 = 33.83 - this is called ppm in fish profiles
German degrees = 1.89 - this is called dH or dGH in fish profiles.


Your hardness is very soft.

What are the dimensions of the tank?
Something like a large shoal of one of the Boraras species could look stunning

Search Results boraras — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

33ppm☹! What! What?

 

[Essjay]

Yes, Scotland has lots of incredibly soft water