Help.

[forestfire]

Hi, ive had an aquarium in the past but never really went into depths with it (excuse the pun), i've just purchased a Juwel Vision 450 and it comes next week, i just would like a little advice please on what to use for my new tropical tank.

1. I like the look of sand rather than gravel, ive seen coral sand advertised but what sort of sand can I use as I want to put real plants in to root in as well and is coral sand alright in a tropical as ive only seen advertised for marine..

2. Im thinking of having one corner full of plants and one corner in a rock formation with them fading into the centreish with a centrepiece of some kind in the middle, does this sound alright.

3. What treatments etc are best to buy and put in my tank.

4. Is there anything out there that I should just have (money permitting)

5. Is there any online dealers in the UK who I can purchase fish off like tropicalfish4u who ive had a look at

Thankyou

 

[fishkers]

Regarding the sand. I was told on this forum somewhere that basically any sand can be used but you may need to like screen it or make sure that you get a lot of the goop out of it. Also i've been told sand can ruin filter systems. I've always wanted to try sand but it sounded like a lot of hassle.

I will let other people answer your questions because I'm in the U.S. and you have different items in the U.K.

Goodluck and have fun!

 

[loachman]

Hi, ive had an aquarium in the past but never really went into depths with it (excuse the pun), i've just purchased a Juwel Vision 450 and it comes next week, i just would like a little advice please on what to use for my new tropical tank.

1. I like the look of sand rather than gravel, ive seen coral sand advertised but what sort of sand can I use as I want to put real plants in to root in as well and is coral sand alright in a tropical as ive only seen advertised for marine..

Depends on the fish. African cichlids are generally fine with coral/marine type sands. These buffer the water to a basic pH.

Most other fish are best with a plain play sand (from a hardware store) or pool filter sand which are much cheaper.

3. What treatments etc are best to buy and put in my tank.

Just dechlorinator.

You may need some plant fertilizers, but that can wait. Ask around on the plant forum once you know more precisely what substrate, lighting, and plants you'll have.

 

[mark.w.jones]

Hi, ive had an aquarium in the past but never really went into depths with it (excuse the pun), i've just purchased a Juwel Vision 450 and it comes next week, i just would like a little advice please on what to use for my new tropical tank.

1. I like the look of sand rather than gravel, ive seen coral sand advertised but what sort of sand can I use as I want to put real plants in to root in as well and is coral sand alright in a tropical as ive only seen advertised for marine..

2. Im thinking of having one corner full of plants and one corner in a rock formation with them fading into the centreish with a centrepiece of some kind in the middle, does this sound alright.

3. What treatments etc are best to buy and put in my tank.

4. Is there anything out there that I should just have (money permitting)

5. Is there any online dealers in the UK who I can purchase fish off like tropicalfish4u who ive had a look at

Thankyou

1. Cheapest option is childrens play sand from a toy or DIY shop. This has had all nasties removed and is far cheaper than aquarium stuff.

2. As long as you pick interesting looking rocks and easy to grow plants sounds fine. Post some pics of your initial layouts and we'll offere suggestions.

3. Er, time and patience. Don't get in the habit of regularly dosing all the crap they try to sell you at the LFS. If you have live plants the most valuablr additions are a laterite substrate and some sort of plant feed. Seachem flourish is good.

4. Rather broad. Post a list of what you're planning on getting and we'll let you know if anything glaring is missing. People often forget things like tea towels, buckets etc.

5. I have no experience of online purchase I'm afraid.



ps please fishless cycle before adding fish. Add & wait method. Link in sig.

 

[lilfishie]

yes certainly don't forget the cycle, as for ordering online, i suppose it would depend on the type of fish your looking at keeping, can't recommend any myself as i have nevered ordered online, maybe check out some of the site sponsors, some offer discoounts to members

 

[rdd1952]

As for the sand, the play sand works well but is hard to get clean (get all the dust out so it doesn't cloud the water). If you don't like the light brown color of it, there are darker options like Tahitian Moon Sand which is black. it is much easier to clean (simply rinse and you're done) and it won't cloud the tank. It is considerable more expensive though. I have it in two of my tanks and love how it brings out the colors of the fish and plants. In most cases, fish prefer a darker substrate too. As a general rule, the cheaper the sand is, the harder it will be to get clean.

Stay away fromall chemicals excpet dechlorinator and possibly fertilizers if you do have plants. The others are just crutches for fixing the real problems that you would be using them for. It much better to identify the real problem and fix it than to mask it with chemicals. You can become dependent on them and that can be expensive.

 

[angelmouse]

i have plants growing well in sand (there is a layer of laterite on bottom to help plants) or you could just have sand in front and middle and put a plant substrate(eco complete/aqua soil etc) just in corner where you want the plants. Play sand is great ,coral sand for hardwater fish it will raise ph.
I've had good fish from tropical fish 4u and Trimar is v.good
Your layout sounds good maybe do some light planting behind rocks as well
Angel

 

[dwarfgourami]

I have had good fish from TriMar and good plants from Greenline. Wholesale Tropicals in London also advertise that they post fish now, they have an excellent reputation.