Hi just wanted to introduce myself as I am new to the forum, as a child we always had fish aquariums so I know the basics, but I am starting my own new aquarium at home, my son with Autism is obsessed with fish, and it’s very sensory for him, so we are looking forward to having it up and ready, we currently have a small tank which my dad gave us, but I now want to upgrade with new features, so will have lots of questions, hope I can get some good advice before I begin.
Hey I’m new
- Thread starter Al1ce
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HalfTailedOwner
Fish Fanatic
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What are your tank parameters? What's the tank size? And of course, welcome 
Welcome to the forum. So glad your son is interested in fish. It’s a calming type of stimulation. 
What a great calming solution for a child with autism. Pure genius. I don't know much about the condition but is there a possibility he might become too obsessed and it would slow the development of learning how to interact with people? Just a totally uneducated thought.
I would purchase a good basic book on freshwater fish and read about how to cycle your tanks. Educate yourself about the impact of water hardness, Ph, as well as suitability for fish with each other. If you're going to have a community tank then make sure ALL the fish are rated "peaceful" - I made that mistake once and now have to have a separate aquarium for my semi-aggressive fish to keep my peaceful ones stress free. It was a nightmare.
Websites that sell fish online often have a lot of great information about any fish they sell (and many sell far more varieties than a fish store) so even if you don't buy your fish online - read up. Also try Wikipedia as a source. I buy my fish from LiveAquaria.com and they have great info on the fish MOST of the time - I still check Wikipedia as a back up.
Any book should also tell you things like not mixing goldfish with tropical fish (with a few exceptions). Issues with live birth fish like guppies (that may give birth to hundreds of babies - something you may not be ready for LOL)
Then come to the forums with any questions - many of the folks here (not me) have many years of experience and have seen just about everything. Some are also sticklers for being very precise about water changes, using chemicals etc, while others not so much - so after educating yourself you will understand why they give the advice they are giving. For example I try to do a water change once a week on all my tanks but I'm disabled and sometimes I lack the energy to get that done - I do test my water daily and always do a water change on the ones with the worst test results no matter how bad I feel. Just got to suck it up for the sake of the fish - but I may let a couple of other tanks slide for a few days until I feel better.
In my opinion fish are a LOT tougher than some people think - if you thing of what they go through in the wild - it's not always perfect PH and water hardness - they may experience a lot of fluctuations but they adapt. The problem with aquarium fish is that if their water is bad they can't escape it by swimming somewhere else.- so it's up to you to provide the best conditions you possibly can.
Hope your tank helps your child - but make sure you read up on how to cycle your tank before you ever put fish in it. There is an excellent article on the forums about how to do this using household ammonia (no detergents) that takes about the average 4 weeks or so before you can add fish - but you have to have a stable tank before you add fish even if it frustrates your child.
Best of luck and keep us posted.
I would purchase a good basic book on freshwater fish and read about how to cycle your tanks. Educate yourself about the impact of water hardness, Ph, as well as suitability for fish with each other. If you're going to have a community tank then make sure ALL the fish are rated "peaceful" - I made that mistake once and now have to have a separate aquarium for my semi-aggressive fish to keep my peaceful ones stress free. It was a nightmare.
Websites that sell fish online often have a lot of great information about any fish they sell (and many sell far more varieties than a fish store) so even if you don't buy your fish online - read up. Also try Wikipedia as a source. I buy my fish from LiveAquaria.com and they have great info on the fish MOST of the time - I still check Wikipedia as a back up.
Any book should also tell you things like not mixing goldfish with tropical fish (with a few exceptions). Issues with live birth fish like guppies (that may give birth to hundreds of babies - something you may not be ready for LOL)
Then come to the forums with any questions - many of the folks here (not me) have many years of experience and have seen just about everything. Some are also sticklers for being very precise about water changes, using chemicals etc, while others not so much - so after educating yourself you will understand why they give the advice they are giving. For example I try to do a water change once a week on all my tanks but I'm disabled and sometimes I lack the energy to get that done - I do test my water daily and always do a water change on the ones with the worst test results no matter how bad I feel. Just got to suck it up for the sake of the fish - but I may let a couple of other tanks slide for a few days until I feel better.
In my opinion fish are a LOT tougher than some people think - if you thing of what they go through in the wild - it's not always perfect PH and water hardness - they may experience a lot of fluctuations but they adapt. The problem with aquarium fish is that if their water is bad they can't escape it by swimming somewhere else.- so it's up to you to provide the best conditions you possibly can.
Hope your tank helps your child - but make sure you read up on how to cycle your tank before you ever put fish in it. There is an excellent article on the forums about how to do this using household ammonia (no detergents) that takes about the average 4 weeks or so before you can add fish - but you have to have a stable tank before you add fish even if it frustrates your child.
Best of luck and keep us posted.
Yes I have uploaded the tank details thanksWhat are your tank parameters? What's the tank size? And of course, welcome
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Wow thanks for all the info, as for my son he is actually very bright and gifted with an amazing memory, he is only 4 and can name every shape incl 3D and 2d every planet in space, maths and English above average for his age, he just absorbs like a sponge I have a sensory bedroom with a bubble tube with pretend fish in, it just calms and soothes him, we already have a smaller fish tank with guppies, tetra and Cory, these will be going in the new tank when it’s set up, they all get on well I have a school of each, my guppy is pregnant at the moment, I am not going to rush my new tank I want it perfect for them, and yes I will be doing the cycle and leaving it a few days before I put new fish in.
I just cancelled a plant soil I ordered because someone said it can be harmful for the fish, so I am wanting to know about plants I can use, they don’t seem to last long in my other tank, and I don’t have the light on often only evenings, I only have gravel in it, so will be using sand in new one, do I need a substrate under the sand? And should I use potted plants, I was torn between the volcanic soil and doing a carpet bed of plants or use sand only
If anyone can help me decide please ? ThanksI heard a talk recently from an amazing guy with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. He said that what we view as "obsessions" in autistic people are actually self-regulating behaviour. So the individual uses the familiar past-time to manage their emotions. Rather than detracting from other experiences the hobby would allow the individual to deal with the world better by successfully managing their emotional state.
And we all know how soothing looking at a fish tank is!!!
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Yes that’s absolutely true, he has a black tent too with projector so when he is stressed he will go inside and it calms and soothes him, he has always been mute and only starting talking the last few months, since we had all the sensory equipment, he loves the noise of the filter in the tank too, and watching them, I’m hoping to have the new tank set up before my guppy gives birth, so I can try and save the babies from being eaten, I will some in the new tank to give them a chance to grow before I put the others in.
Let us know if you need any help.
Let us know if you need any help.
Can I ask about the hardiness of the water and how it can be increased mine is very soft when I do a water test, KH 20 i know it’s suppose to be between 80 - 180 thanks
GH is actually the measure of hardness, not KH. Can you tell us your GH, please, and the unit. Once we know the GH, if it is low we can suggest ways of raising it.
Oh ok it’s gh 120 and kh20 it’s in the test kit says, gh general hardiness and k h corbonate hardiness, I am preparing a new unit at the moment, so they are in a 90 litre tank currently. Thanks
GH is the one that affects fish directly. KH can affect tfish indirectly - it stabilises pH so if KH is low, the pH can fall.
If the GH is 120, that must be ppm. It converts to 6.7 dH, and is at the top end of soft water. But the KH is very low - 20 ppm converts to 1 dH.
Despite what test kits say, there is no ideal range for GH and KH. Some fish need hard water, or very hard water, or soft water etc.
Unfortunately, a GH of 120 ppm is a bit too low for guppies; they need a GH of over 200 ppm to be healthy. If you want to stay with them, you will need to 'harden' the water. This can be done by using a form of calcium carbonate in the tank - coral, limestone etc. Or by adding Rift Lake salts to the water. The latter must be added to the new water at every water change at exactly the same amount per litre or gallon to keep the amount in the tank stable.
The other alternative is to let the guppies live out their lives, and get fish which need the same hardness as your tap water.
If the GH is 120, that must be ppm. It converts to 6.7 dH, and is at the top end of soft water. But the KH is very low - 20 ppm converts to 1 dH.
Despite what test kits say, there is no ideal range for GH and KH. Some fish need hard water, or very hard water, or soft water etc.
Unfortunately, a GH of 120 ppm is a bit too low for guppies; they need a GH of over 200 ppm to be healthy. If you want to stay with them, you will need to 'harden' the water. This can be done by using a form of calcium carbonate in the tank - coral, limestone etc. Or by adding Rift Lake salts to the water. The latter must be added to the new water at every water change at exactly the same amount per litre or gallon to keep the amount in the tank stable.
The other alternative is to let the guppies live out their lives, and get fish which need the same hardness as your tap water.
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