Hey Guys ! New Blood Right Here :)

[Hoody]

Hey Guys and Gals,

First off i'd better introduce myself I'm Graham and I live in a small village on the edge of West Yorkshire called "Upperthong" (cue childish giggles). Im knocking on the door of 30 and have decided to set up a Tropical Aquarium at home to watch while i smoke my pipe whilst putting my slipper shod feet up

I've had a few basic setups in my youth but nothing done properly... i.e cycled 'fish-in' and prety much bought the fish i thought looked nice As a 'responsible' adult I am now looking to put together a tropical aquarium the right way.

I have - Juwel Rio 180 tank with the built-in filter removed
Fluval 305 external filter
Juwel 200w heater
Some black aquarium gravel
and not much else...


I filled the tank up last night and set the filter going.

I checked the ph of the water this morning and as luck would have it, it would appear its bang on 7. I will be heading out shortly to pick up a bottle of chlorine remover... Im as yet undecided what to stock in it. Although I guess i've got at least a week to ponder it before the waters ready I'm thinking of cichlids of some variety BUT i would love some sort of inverts... Shrimp or something similar..? Is it possible to house shrimp with cichlids or will they just become a part of the specials menu ?

Also does anybody have any pointers (or links) as to what i can use as ornaments in the tank without spending loads on plastic tat at the store ? Types of rock/stones/wood etc ?

Many thanks !

Graham

 

[Jinty McGinty]

Welcome to the forum.

Can't you fit the filer into a shelve instead of at the side of the tank. Or on the floor and then hide it with something.

 

[Hoody]

I will be hiding the filter in one of the cubby holes in units underneath the tank as soon as i pick up some longer tubing... I cut them shorter when i used the filter for a tank i had for my turtle many moons ago.. Its just there to get going with the cycling tbh

 

[Rickzayne]

eBay has quite alot of decent ornaments but there's a few online plant shops that sell wood and slate

Or if you know any builders that do roofing that can let you steal some to make a few caves ect

 

[colleen0309]

Please read up on tank cycling before you get fish! You can find that info in the beginners resource center. Welcome and good luck to you!

 

[moochy13]

youve got a month till the waters ready buddy

 

[Blubble37]

+1 and welcome.



may it provide you with endless hours of fun watching the fish do daft things!

 

[Hoody]

youve got a month till the waters ready buddy

+1 and welcome.



may it provide you with endless hours of fun watching the fish do daft things!

Ooof patience is a vertue eh ? Well 5 days (nearly) has gone fairly quickly Ive actually found myself just watching the empty tank

Quick question ? My tank is looking pretty cloudy... It was crystal clear (well almost) for the first two days and now it looks like this.

Is this normal ?

Many thanks !

Graham

 

[Rickzayne]

Bacterial bloom by the look of it.

Should settle back down in s few days

 

[colleen0309]

Just running the filter on an empty tank will not cycle it. Are you adding ammonia?

 

[Rickzayne]

I guessed he was if you read the fist post.

About fish in when younger now doing it the way.

 

[colleen0309]

Sorry about that. See what happens when I try to post before my first cup of coffee!!

 

[Hoody]

Thought id post a little update Having cycled my tank and bought a few plants and some fishy's ! Everything's gone swimmingly (pardon the pun) ! Apart from some refugee snails that snuck in on the plants and proceeded to procreate at an alarming rate despite a conscious effort to not overfeed...

I haven't got much stock in yet - 4 Mollies (2 dalmatian, 1 black, 1 white)
2 kuhli loaches (only babies)

Will be looking to add a few armano shrimp and half a dozen black neon tetras this weekend. Then i think that'll be about it. Maybe a small plec of some description or a feature fish

Any recommendations gladly received !

 

[Malawi MaD]

Any chance of a full tank shot ?

 

[Hoody]

I'll pop one up tomorrow