Help to start - first 30L tank

[marklcfc]

I went to purchase a tank and fish today and was advised the following: to wait 7-10 days to dechlorinate the water, so I have bought the tank, heater and tap water conditioner.
I asked about how to clean the tank, I was told to not do a full clean of water but to take small bits out occasionally.
I forgot to ask a few other questions though.

1. Gravel - which I am guessing I need. How many kg do I need for a 30 litre tank and what is the process for this, from googling it looks like I need to clean it using a colander/sieve first.
2. How is this area cleaned, the fish waste etc.
3. When taking water out, how do I put water back in? I can't put tap water back in as it would need to be dechlorinated again. So if I take a cup of water out, do I need to dechlorinate a cup of tap water for 7-10 days to go back in? This part is especially confusing.

After than it seems I need to lay the gravel down and then add the water. But to be honest it's a bit of guesswork since I've never done it before. Can anyone advise what I should do before I add the fish to the new tank?

 

[Essjay]

First of all the advice to leave the tank running was incorrect, I'm afraid. You need to cycle the tank before it is ready for fish. There are two ways you can do this, depending on whether you intend to have a lot of live plants. Since you don't mention plants, this is the way to cycle a tank without them.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Your questions -
1. Gravel or sand needs washing. The easiest way is to put some into a bucket, run cold water in, swoosh the gravel/sand round, then pour out the water which will be cloudy. Repeat till the water is clean. Put it into a container and wash the next bit.
You need enough gravel or sand to have around 2 inches/5cm, though I don't know what weight this would be.

2. When there are fish in the tank, the bottom is cleaned during a water change using siphon tube like this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003XLBZNO/?tag=
The wide end is pushed into the gravel till no more debris flows up the tube, then it is moved to the next bit of gravel.

3. With a 30 litre tank, it is easiest to use a bucket - a fish-only bucket that has never been used for anything else like cleaning the car and never will be. You may need to keep it safely away from other family members!
Dechlorinator is added to the bucket at the dose rate for the amount of water in the bucket. If you put it in first then run the water in, it mixes better. How you warm the water depends on the kind of boiler you have. if it's a combi boiler, you can use a mix of hot and cold tap water to get the temperature right. But if your hot water is stored in a hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard, boil a kettle of water and use that to warm the bucket of water.
Then pour the water into the tank. Because I am not very tall or strong, I ladle the water from the bucket to the tank using a jug.
With 30 litres, you'll need to change about 15 litres every week. You can either get a big bucket and make up all the 15 litres at once, or a smaller bucket and fill it two or three times.



Please do not listen to any shop worker about which fish are suitable. Most of them know little about fish and will make up any rubbish to get a sale. They will probably try to sell you fish which need a bigger tank, or fish that will try to kill each other.
30 litres is quite small (I have a 23 litre tank) so there are not many fish which are suitable. But you have a few weeks during cycling to decide on fish. Members on here will be able to give you much better advice than any shop worker - and we are not trying to sell you anything

 

[Unknownfuture]

First of all the advice to leave the tank running was incorrect, I'm afraid. You need to cycle the tank before it is ready for fish. There are two ways you can do this, depending on whether you intend to have a lot of live plants. Since you don't mention plants, this is the way to cycle a tank without them.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Your questions -
1. Gravel or sand needs washing. The easiest way is to put some into a bucket, run cold water in, swoosh the gravel/sand round, then pour out the water which will be cloudy. Repeat till the water is clean. Put it into a container and wash the next bit.
You need enough gravel or sand to have around 2 inches/5cm, though I don't know what weight this would be.

2. When there are fish in the tank, the bottom is cleaned during a water change using siphon tube like this
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B003XLBZNO/?tag=
The wide end is pushed into the gravel till no more debris flows up the tube, then it is moved to the next bit of gravel.

3. With a 30 litre tank, it is easiest to use a bucket - a fish-only bucket that has never been used for anything else like cleaning the car and never will be. You may need to keep it safely away from other family members!
Dechlorinator is added to the bucket at the dose rate for the amount of water in the bucket. If you put it in first then run the water in, it mixes better. How you warm the water depends on the kind of boiler you have. if it's a combi boiler, you can use a mix of hot and cold tap water to get the temperature right. But if your hot water is stored in a hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard, boil a kettle of water and use that to warm the bucket of water.
Then pour the water into the tank. Because I am not very tall or strong, I ladle the water from the bucket to the tank using a jug.
With 30 litres, you'll need to change about 15 litres every week. You can either get a big bucket and make up all the 15 litres at once, or a smaller bucket and fill it two or three times.



Please do not listen to any shop worker about which fish are suitable. Most of them know little about fish and will make up any rubbish to get a sale. They will probably try to sell you fish which need a bigger tank, or fish that will try to kill each other.
30 litres is quite small (I have a 23 litre tank) so there are not many fish which are suitable. But you have a few weeks during cycling to decide on fish. Members on here will be able to give you much better advice than any shop worker - and we are not trying to sell you anything

Totally agree with the above .

Once upon a time a shop keeper tried to sell me an MBU puffer for a 100 litre tank. I was naive at the time but always armed with a quick google search I jogged him on. They are just there to unload their stock on anyone. Also if you buy shop bought fish, Quarantine if possible, if you don’t have the spare tank you’ll probably have to treat whole aquarium. Always have meds on hand some people think I’m mad but I worm the tank once a month. Overkill perhaps but these pesky little mites turn fish off food and all sorts. Just be wary of you own snails - it will kill them

 

[marklcfc]

That seems overly complicated to get the tank ready for fish, I was told 7-10 days using some water conditioner, I’m not sure I can spend that long getting it ready, it was for my son who has already waited 2 weeks

 

[Unknownfuture]

That seems overly complicated to get the tank ready for fish, I was told 7-10 days using some water conditioner, I’m not sure I can spend that long getting it ready, it was for my son who has already waited 2 weeks

That’s the proper way. You can cut corners but be aware that the fish may suffer more stress due to parameters fluctuating. The smaller the tank the bigger the fluctuations. I know people who follow the quick regime and all works out well but you may be doing a lot more water changes in first month or two due to no decent bacteria colonies set up. Hardy fish can take it but it’s a risk I wouldn’t take.

 

[marklcfc]

I’ve read that guide but I’m confused by the part where it says when it’s all ok, then do a full water change. How does that work when I’ve just spent ages getting that water ready?

 

[marklcfc]

And when it’s cleaned how does the new water (15 litres) become the right temperature to be put into the water I already have in the tank?

 

[marklcfc]

Also not sure what to test the ammonia and nitrate with either

 

[Unknownfuture]

Once the cycle is established as in ammonia and nitrite = 0ppm you can do a water change and add fish. The bacteria colonies will have established on your filter media whatever that may be so changing the water doesn’t mess with the cycle. The new water combi tap into a bucket with a thermometer in it so you can work it to the right temperature, just de chlorinated it before adding.
you can get test strips that test but I prefer liquid tests. There are loads online. The Master API one for freshwater lasts for ages. It’s a great bit of kit to have. Try it on your tap water. You will be surprised how much nitrates are in your tap water

 

[marklcfc]

It’s all a bit advanced me for all of this. I was hoping to get fish in the tank by around the 10th July

 

[marklcfc]

Are these what I need to test it https://amzn.to/3qrgnrj ?

 

[marklcfc]

The new water combi tap into a bucket with a thermometer in it so you can work it to the right temperature

How though, I would start with cold water and then dechlorine it, do I need another heater as well as the one in the tank?

I’d be concerned that the nitrates etc will go up again after a week or so of getting it ready for fish if I’m just taking the treated water out

 

[Unknownfuture]

Those strips will work but are not fantastic. There are better liquid test kits out there. If your using cold water only buy another cheap heater and make sure the temperature is same as tank obviously de chlorinate the new water.

just test the nitrate level before adding the fish. To be fair 20-40ppm most fish will do ok in. British tap water is around 20ppm in most areas. Lower the better but 20-40 will do. The ones that must = 0 are ammonia and Nitrite.

 

[redtailshark34]

It isn’t the water that cycles when you cycle your tank.

It is the filter cartilage and filter that cycle.

New water doesn’t effect this and won’t harm the fish or mess with the beneficial bacterial colony that has been built and established in the filter.

Most water conditioners nowadays are able to remove chlorine from the water in just a few minutes some instantly. Seachem Prime is an amazing water conditioner. So you don’t need to wait forever before adding the water to the tank, you can use room temperature water as well.

 

[Essjay]

If fish are put into a tank which had just run for 7 days, ammonia and nitrite will shoot up and harm the fish. There will be no beneficial bacteria to keep the fish safe so the fish keeper has to test the water every day and do a water change every day until the bacteria have grown. It is much easier to grow them before there are fish in the tank.
Few shop workers know anyhting about cycling a tank which is why they said to let it run for a week. besides, if your fish get sick you'll go back and spend money on medication; if they die you'll go back and spend money buying more fish. So why should they worry about giving poor advice?



The bacteria which keep the fish safe grow on surfaces not in the water. Provided the new water has dechlorinator added, the bacteria won't come to any harm.

Are these what I need to test it https://amzn.to/3qrgnrj ?

No, those are strip testers which are not very accurate and they don't include ammonia.

This is a better test kit, it does more tests that the strips so even though it costs more to buy it lasts a lot longer.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000255NCI/?tag=

Any brand of liquid testers is better than strips.