Hi!

[ClaireG]

Hi Everyone,
I am brand new to fish keeping and haven’t even bought my tank yet. It’s something I have wanted to do for years so finally decided to do it. I would like to get a freshwater tropical tank approx 3ft which is the space I have available and I think should be sufficient as a starter? I think from having looked online and talking to people that have tanks that I would like to start with Guppies, zebra fish and neon tetras along with some shrimps after the water has settled. Looking for some really basic advice as to what to look for when I go to buy my tank tomorrow? I have no idea about plants either so really grateful for any advice you experienced keepers may have..
Thank you.
Claire

 

[vanalisa]

Hiya Claire
Welcome ??
Members will want to know your water parameters. The fish you will want to get can depend on this info also, different tanks for different fish. You will need to know about cycling a tank. I'm not the go to as I am still somewhat a beginner, too!
Pardon if you've researched already...

Expect to hear from the experts soon...

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Depending on what the GH of your water is, will determine what fish you should keep.
Tetras, barbs, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.

Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.

If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.

--------------------
When you get an aquarium, look for one that is long, wide and not too high. An aquarium that is 3 foot long x 14-18 inches wide x 18 inches high is a good size. It has plenty of room for a variety of fishes, holds a reasonable amount of water, but doesn't take up too much space or need a truck and crane to move it.

Tall aquariums look good but are harder to clean and fish swim left to right, not up and down.

Octagonal, hexagonal or even square aquariums are usually tall and have a small surface area (length x width). This makes them look good but completely unsuitable for most fish.

--------------------
I prefer to buy a bare tank and then separate items to go in it. You can't always do that in most countries and you might be stuck with a package that contains a tank with a built in filter and light unit. Most of these suck and the filters are hard to clean and you can't get replacement parts for the filter or light. So if something breaks, you through it away and buy a new set up.

Your best bet is to look online and visit pet shops. Take pictures and get details of the tanks they have, then post that information here so we can go through it and say yes or no. After that, go back and get the tank and other equipment.

When you get the tank, take it home, rinse it with tap water and set it up. Try to locate the tank in a room where lots of people move around it. This helps the fish tame down seeing people moving around all the time and they will be less stressed compared to fish living in a dark corner in a room nobody goes into.

 

[Colin_T]

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT AQUARIUM PLANTS

LIGHTING TIMES
Most aquarium plants like a bit of light and if you only have the light on for a couple of hours a day, they struggle. If the light doesn't have a high enough wattage they also struggle. Try having the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day.

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it.
If you get a small amount of algae then the lighting time is about right.

Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off.

--------------------
LIST OF PLANTS TO TRY
Some good plants to try include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, H. ruba/ rubra, Elodia (during summer, but don't buy it in winter because it falls apart), Hydrilla, common Amazon sword plant, narrow or twisted/ spiral Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).
The Water Sprite normally floats on the surface but can also be planted in the substrate. The other plants should be planted in the gravel.

Ambulia, H. polysperma, Elodia/ Hydrilla and Vallis are tall plants that do well along the back. Rotala macranda is a medium/ tallish red plant that usually does well.

H. ruba/ rubra is a medium height plant that looks good on the sides of the tank.

Cryptocorynes are small/ medium plants that are taller than pygmy chain swords but shorter than H. rubra. They also come in a range of colours, mostly different shades of green, brown or purplish red.

Most Amazon sword plants can get pretty big and are usually kept in the middle of the tank as a show piece. There is an Ozelot sword plant that has brown spots on green leaves, and a red ruffle sword plant (name may vary depending on where you live) with deep red leaves.

There is a pygmy chain sword plant that is small and does well in the front of the tank.

--------------------
IRON BASED PLANT FERTILISER
If you add an iron based aquarium plant fertiliser, it will help most aquarium plants do well. The liquid iron based aquarium plant fertilisers tend to be better than the tablet forms, although you can push the tablets under the roots of plants and that works well.

You use an iron (Fe) test kit to monitor iron levels and keep them at 1mg/l (1ppm).

I used Sera Florena liquid plant fertiliser but there are other brands too.

--------------------
CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)
There is no point adding carbon dioxide (CO2) until you have the lights and nutrients worked out. Even then you don't need CO2 unless the tank is full of plants and only has a few small fish in.

There is plenty of CO2 in the average aquarium and it is produced by the fish and filter bacteria all day, every day. The plants also release CO2 at night when it is dark. And more CO2 gets into the tank from the atmosphere.

Don't use liquid CO2 supplements because they are made from toxic substances that harm fish, shrimp and snails.

--------------------
TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day.

 

[ClaireG]

Hiya Claire
Welcome ??
Members will want to know your water parameters. The fish you will want to get can depend on this info also, different tanks for different fish. You will need to know about cycling a tank. I'm not the go to as I am still somewhat a beginner, too!
Pardon if you've researched already...

Expect to hear from the experts soon...

Thank you Vanalisa. I’m just trying to work out the water volume now. Buying the tank tomorrow but I know what measurements I need Due to the space available

 

[ClaireG]

BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT AQUARIUM PLANTS

LIGHTING TIMES
Most aquarium plants like a bit of light and if you only have the light on for a couple of hours a day, they struggle. If the light doesn't have a high enough wattage they also struggle. Try having the tank lights on for 10-12 hours a day.

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it.
If you get a small amount of algae then the lighting time is about right.

Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off.

--------------------
LIST OF PLANTS TO TRY
Some good plants to try include Ambulia, Hygrophila polysperma, H. ruba/ rubra, Elodia (during summer, but don't buy it in winter because it falls apart), Hydrilla, common Amazon sword plant, narrow or twisted/ spiral Vallis, Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta).
The Water Sprite normally floats on the surface but can also be planted in the substrate. The other plants should be planted in the gravel.

Ambulia, H. polysperma, Elodia/ Hydrilla and Vallis are tall plants that do well along the back. Rotala macranda is a medium/ tallish red plant that usually does well.

H. ruba/ rubra is a medium height plant that looks good on the sides of the tank.

Cryptocorynes are small/ medium plants that are taller than pygmy chain swords but shorter than H. rubra. They also come in a range of colours, mostly different shades of green, brown or purplish red.

Most Amazon sword plants can get pretty big and are usually kept in the middle of the tank as a show piece. There is an Ozelot sword plant that has brown spots on green leaves, and a red ruffle sword plant (name may vary depending on where you live) with deep red leaves.

There is a pygmy chain sword plant that is small and does well in the front of the tank.

--------------------
IRON BASED PLANT FERTILISER
If you add an iron based aquarium plant fertiliser, it will help most aquarium plants do well. The liquid iron based aquarium plant fertilisers tend to be better than the tablet forms, although you can push the tablets under the roots of plants and that works well.

You use an iron (Fe) test kit to monitor iron levels and keep them at 1mg/l (1ppm).

I used Sera Florena liquid plant fertiliser but there are other brands too.

--------------------
CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)
There is no point adding carbon dioxide (CO2) until you have the lights and nutrients worked out. Even then you don't need CO2 unless the tank is full of plants and only has a few small fish in.

There is plenty of CO2 in the average aquarium and it is produced by the fish and filter bacteria all day, every day. The plants also release CO2 at night when it is dark. And more CO2 gets into the tank from the atmosphere.

Don't use liquid CO2 supplements because they are made from toxic substances that harm fish, shrimp and snails.

--------------------
TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day.

Hi Colin,
This is really helpful advice thank you. I know that my tank size ideally will be 3ft length by 2ft max width and I am looking to buy it with a cabinet underneath for ease. It’s a bit of a minefield when you look online so I’m going to go to an aquatic shop tomorrow as they are still open here in the UK ( not sure where you are). I’m hoping they will also be able to advise me somewhat. I think in terms of water hardness my area is quite hard. I’ve just looked it up and between 7-9 so maybe ideal for guppies etc?

In terms of plants would you recommend live plants as opposed to artificial then? Also for lighting I have heard that you can get automatic lighting that changes from day to night... what are your thoughts on that?

Am I right in thinking that I should leave the tank for approx. 4 weeks to stabilise before adding fish?
Thank you again for all your help, much appreciated ?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[vanalisa]

Thank you Vanalisa. I’m just trying to work out the water volume now. Buying the tank tomorrow but I know what measurements I need Due to the space available

Great! Keep us posted!

 

[UnknownFishies]

Welcome!!
Can’t wait to see the tank. Feel free to ask any questions!
Some items I would definitely get:
API Water testing kit- it’s a bit pricey but it’s a lot more accurate than strips
A bucket-For water changes and aquarium maintenance
A spare small tank. For quarantine, always good to have one on hand
—————————————————-
ADVICE:
Don’t add a lot of fish in at the same time as you can have ammonia spikes.
ALWAYS quarantine fish before putting them in. Rids them of dieseases.
Have fun. Have fun while your doing this. It’s a hobby that should be enjoyed!

Good Luck and Welcome to TFF!

 

[ClaireG]

So I bought a tank today! I pick it up at the weekend. So very exciting. As below ??

 

[FishGuest5123]

That’s a pretty nice tank. Get the thing cycled and we can help with fish. Neon Tetras are known to be a starter fish but in my opinion, they no longer are. Lots of issues with them. I have about 50 of them but would not recommend them for a beginner any longer. If parameters are compatible, go with cardinal tetras instead. They look a lot like neons but much healthier.

 

[vanalisa]

SWEEET tank
Okay, you may want to get ready for major recommendations ...?
Members will be vicariously stocking their dream tanks .

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome to the greatest aquatic forum on the internet.
Nice tank. It’s good that you’ve researched before buying any fish.
Research the fish you may like on seriouslyfish.com then ask on here if they’ll do well alongside your other choices. This lot will keep you right.

But first find out your water hardness and PH on your water providers website as mentioned by Colin upthread. Then tell us because we’re nosy and love extolling the virtues of our fish if they’re suited to your water hardness and PH.
Also read up on cycling your tank, THATS a must. An uncycled tank is one of the quickest ways to kill your fish. As I’m not the sharpest pencil in the box I use the silent or planted cycling method. It’s a lot easier on the brain and anxiety levels. Read about it in the cycling section of this place.

Most of all have fun.
Stay safe.

 

[ClaireG]

Hi Clown, okay so I really like guppies and tetras, and zebras too. I was looking at YouTube vids earlier and I need to get the tank in and filled... add the plants, sand I want sand as I want cory’s and the fins get hurt with gravel right? I think it’s all about patience at this stage, just build it all up gradually?

 

[vanalisa]

Patience .