Im New!

[emma.1988]

Hello everybody,
Im new on here. Only joined about 15 minutes ago. Its took me that long to find out how to post a message (Hope ive done it right!)
Me and my hubby want to get a tank. We're currently bidding on a 4ft one on Ebay. We just wanted abit of advice on what to do when it arrives, what fish we can have in there etc.

Thankyou, Emma

 

[Curiosity101]

Welcome to TFF!

You've actually posted in the wrong area. 'New to the hobby', 'Welcome to tropical fish forums' or 'Tropical Discussions' would have been more apt. But it doesn't really matter.

And wow a 4ft tank as your first tank is fab! Will give you plenty of options in stocking. Too many for me to type up at the mo. My brains gone to sleep I think.

But to get you started once it arrives you will need to cycle the filter. There are two ways of cycling a filter, with fish or without fish.
Without fish is much much better and easier on everyone.
Basically cycling is...
Adding Ammonia to the tank
Bacteria (that are just floating around in water), settle in your filter and feed off of the ammonia. As they feed off the ammonia it turns into nitrites.
More bacteria (also floating around in general water), now settle in your filter and feed of the nitrites that the first bacteria create. They turn the nitrites into nitrates.

The time it takes for large amounts of bacteria to settle is anywhere from 4-8weeks (sometimes more but normally not less )

The tank is classed as cycled when it can process ammonia in a fast enough period of time to be safe for any fish that are in the tank. The reason people suggest a fishless cycle is because ammonia and nitrites are toxic to fish and shorten their lives considerably.

Here is a link to an in-depth step by step guide on how to fishless cycle.
Fishless Cycle

Here is a link to the 'Beginners' section with lots of useful links you should have a read through.
Beginners Sections

 

[DaveyG]

Hey, and welcome!

If you're new and want a bit of advice then you might want to post under the 'new to the hobby' area rather than this one, as this is specifically about livebearing fish and you will find more help and advice there.

If you are new to fishkeeping you will want to read these articles to get a better understanding. You will have to set your tank up and either do a fishless cycle (widely recommended on this site) or a fish-in cycle.

If you're not sure about fish then actually this topic may be semi-in the right area as good starting fish are livebearers (guppies, platies, mollies and swordtails to name the common ones). They are all fairly hardy and easy to keep. The only consideration if you are to start with these is the male:female ratio (1:2 or 1:3) and you will need to think about what other fish you may want to keep in the future.

I'd recommend ploughing through the articles on the link above as that's exactly what I did and it was incredibly useful when I started!

Good luck, and any questions you have can be answered by the people here

 

[emma.1988]

Thankyou

I knew i would post in the wrong place haha! Just getting used to it all.
I dont really know anything about what to do with the tank. Cleaning, feeding, wat fish etc. Ive ALWAYS wanted a fish tank and now me and my hubby have got our own house im going to finally get one

Any help will be great..............

Thanks again, Emma

 

[Curiosity101]

Well the beginners section is definitely the way to go. It might seem a bit daunting reading through it all. But it's no where near as hard as it may seem.

How many litres is the 4ft tank? I'm guessing here, but...250l?

 

[DaveyG]

Depends on the height but mine is about 4ft and is 200 litres, so if it's the same you've got a fair old amount of space to play with! Lots of fish in there!

 

[emma.1988]

Depends on the height but mine is about 4ft and is 200 litres, so if it's the same you've got a fair old amount of space to play with! Lots of fish in there!

I put a '4ft tank' in google and it came up with 75 gallons. I converted that on my mobile which said 340 litres......

Could be wrong, Its all very confusing!

Just reading all the things on begginer pages!!! WOW theres so much, im really scared all my fish are all going to die or kill each other if i get the wrong things

 

[emma.1988]

Depends on the height but mine is about 4ft and is 200 litres, so if it's the same you've got a fair old amount of space to play with! Lots of fish in there!

I put a '4ft tank' in google and it came up with 75 gallons. I converted that on my mobile which said 340 litres......

Could be wrong, Its all very confusing!

Just reading all the things on begginer pages!!! WOW theres so much, im really scared all my fish are all going to die or kill each other if i get the wrong things

 

[Curiosity101]

It might seem a bit daunting reading through it all. But it's no where near as hard as it may seem.

^^ Hehe. Told you so!

Really it isn't that complicated. And 4ft is just the length of the tank, you need it's depth and height to actually calculate the volume. I'd say 200-250l is the average volume of a 4ft tank.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Emma.
There are lots of tanks that are 4 feet long where I live. the most common of them is 55 US gallons but there are other sizes up to a full 90 US gallons. A 4 ft tank is a very nice flexible tank for a first tank. They are big enough to hold a nice selection of fish and because of their size they won't have the water go bad on you in a big hurry. Let's face it, it takes time to change the chemistry or temperature of that much water. In many ways, a large tank like that is easier to care for than a small one for the simple reason that it is relatively stable.
As has been suggested, you want to read through the beginner threads on cycling a tank, tank mate selection and similar subjects. Don't let it become too much to understand, many of us started out knowing almost nothing and had good success with our very first tank. Sometimes we get a bit carried away with the technical details but the actual fish care usually boils down to setting the tank up properly, then adding fish and plants and feeding the fish. Once in a while, maybe every week or two, you do a partial water change using a gravel vacuum which lets you clean the bottom of the tank at the same time. Sounds simple doesn't it. Once you gain the confidence that it takes, it really is that simple. Personally, I love the technical details so I spend time here answering questions at great length that usually amount to encouraging people to keep doing what they already know is right.

 

[emma.1988]

Welcome to the forum Emma.
There are lots of tanks that are 4 feet long where I live. the most common of them is 55 US gallons but there are other sizes up to a full 90 US gallons. A 4 ft tank is a very nice flexible tank for a first tank. They are big enough to hold a nice selection of fish and because of their size they won't have the water go bad on you in a big hurry. Let's face it, it takes time to change the chemistry or temperature of that much water. In many ways, a large tank like that is easier to care for than a small one for the simple reason that it is relatively stable.
As has been suggested, you want to read through the beginner threads on cycling a tank, tank mate selection and similar subjects. Don't let it become too much to understand, many of us started out knowing almost nothing and had good success with our very first tank. Sometimes we get a bit carried away with the technical details but the actual fish care usually boils down to setting the tank up properly, then adding fish and plants and feeding the fish. Once in a while, maybe every week or two, you do a partial water change using a gravel vacuum which lets you clean the bottom of the tank at the same time. Sounds simple doesn't it. Once you gain the confidence that it takes, it really is that simple. Personally, I love the technical details so I spend time here answering questions at great length that usually amount to encouraging people to keep doing what they already know is right.

I told my husband the water needs changing every week and he said thats wrong it should be once every 6months!! He said aslong as you've gt a filter and clean it regulary.

Is he right??

Also are most people on here talking about fresh water tanks? not salted. Also are they heated tanks or not?

CONFUSING

 

[Curiosity101]

No he isn't. The filter cycles the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates.

So the nitrates build up all the time. Lets use an example, if your fish create enough ammonia to make 10g of nitrates a week then these will be dissolved into the water.
Giving you 10ppm of Nitrates.
Next week the same will happen...this will give you 20ppm of nitrates
Next week the same will happen...this will give you 30ppm of nitrates.

And so on. The only way we can get rid of nitrates is with water changes. And although nitrates aren't toxic at low levels. At high levels (100ppm) they are as bad as ammonia and nitrites.
With your husbands theory you would be at very dangerous levels in only 10weeks!

Water changes of between 20-30% a week are neccesary to remove nitrates and also to refresh any minerals etc that have been used up by fish and plants during the week.

Most people are talking about freshwater. And also most are talking about heater. But the same rules apply to all freshwater tanks.

 

[emma.1988]

No he isn't. The filter cycles the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates.

So the nitrates build up all the time. Lets use an example, if your fish create enough ammonia to make 10g of nitrates a week then these will be dissolved into the water.
Giving you 10ppm of Nitrates.
Next week the same will happen...this will give you 20ppm of nitrates
Next week the same will happen...this will give you 30ppm of nitrates.

And so on. The only way we can get rid of nitrates is with water changes. And although nitrates aren't toxic at low levels. At high levels (100ppm) they are as bad as ammonia and nitrites.
With your husbands theory you would be at very dangerous levels in only 10weeks!

Water changes of between 20-30% a week are neccesary to remove nitrates and also to refresh any minerals etc that have been used up by fish and plants during the week.

Most people are talking about freshwater. And also most are talking about heater. But the same rules apply to all freshwater tanks.

Right so......

Do you have to empty the tank every week and clean it, like the stones etc. Does this mean taking the fish out etc.

Sorry for all the questions

 

[Curiosity101]

Nope, just remove 20-30% of the water a week and give the gravel a good vac with one of These

Then re-fill with conditioned(dechlorinated) tap water. And you're done.

 

[emma.1988]

Thankyou for your help

Lets just hope i win this tank on Ebay