Hi All - I'm Newcomer To The Tropical World....

[jamesgjatkin]

Hi all,
 
I'm James from Bedfordshire, Uk, and I'm looking to start up a new Tropical Aquarium.
 
I have been keeping a 350 Litre Marine tank for the last 2 years, but finding it a very expensive hobby to maintain!
Just have a few fish left in the old tank now and a bunch of live rock (been breaking it down slowly)
I love the aquatic world, so decided to move to Tropical.
 
My dad always has fish for as long as I can remember, even Seahorse at one time, so I've grown up with them.
 
Looking to start off a fairly basic (ish) planted aquarium, with less demanding varieties or plants needing no CO2 injection.
Planning to get a 198 Litre BOYU LZ-810 aquarium, which should give me a fair amount of size to play with
I have an external Fluval 405 filter I'll be transferring from my old tank.
I'm planning to build a custom LED lighting unit.
I have a Vecton V2 400 UV Sterilizer that I am considering using - Lots of mixed opinions around as to good or bad.
 
Done a fair amount of reading up specifically on Freshwater Tropical but wondered if anyone has any nuggets of advice to help me make this a success
 
Thanks a lot and looking forward to some fun.....
 
James

 

[fluttermoth]

The biggest nugget of advice I can give, if you haven't researched it already, is fishless cycling! Plenty of info about that on the forum, if you have a look about

Welcome to the forums, and welcome to the freshy side of things!

 

[jamesgjatkin]

Hi,
Thanks a lot for the advice.
Coming from the Marine world, I am used to everything needing to happen gradually, so I am not planning to rush any stage of the process.
I have had a good look into this and the cycling process is pretty much identical to marine.
The only thing I haven't found any real details on whether having plants in the tank from day 1 affects this process one way or the other.
I don't see any reason why plants will cause any problem, but thought it important to ask.
Thanks,
James

 

[fluttermoth]

You can cycle with or without plants.

A lot of people prefer to cycle without, because plants will use some of the ammonia, and they feel they get a more 'accurate' cycle in a more or less bare tank.

On the other hand, some people prefer to cycle with plants, as they feel that plants may help introduce some bacteria, and it also gives the plants to root in and establish themselves before the fish are added, plus the amount of ammonia they absorb is negligable.

It's up to you, really

 

[jamesgjatkin]

Cool, that sounds like a plan
I'll add the plants and get the tank looking nice and monitor the levels as it runs through the cycle...
 
Do you have any thoughts on UV Sterilization?
I've read how some people don't like it due to killing both the good and bad bacteria, but others like the benefits of keeping disease away.
Fitting the Sterilizer before the canister filter, should allow the filter media to develop its bacteria as it needs, right?
I do like the idea of anything that will inherently help with potential algae control!
Controlled feeding & regular water changes do it for the most, but it can do nothing but help...

 

[fluttermoth]

Most people I've spoken to agree that UV is pretty much useless in freshy tanks, tbh.

Don't forget that (unlike salty set ups, AFAIK), you do need to add a source of ammonia for a fishless cycle.

 

[jamesgjatkin]

Ok, cool... I'll post an update when I have things set up.
Looking forward to the new challenge.
 
Thanks a lot
 
James