Just Starting out.. Bought a large used tank...

[nfm-malice]

OKay... Let me give a little bit of back story first...

When I was a child, my father raised Oscars... We had a 75-100 gallon tank (Cant remember) with 4 LARGE Oscars and a Porthole Clown Knife (Featherback?)...

I remember how beautiful they were, and how much fun they were, so I decided I wanted to Raise some for my Children to Enjoy...

I knew I would have to go out and buy a ~100g Tank, so I went shopping and found a 100g tank with Hood and Cabinet for about $750... Then went looking for Supplies and after everything was said and done, I was at almost $1200 With Filters, Supplies, Etc...

So I went out and perused the classifieds and found a 115g Tank with Cabinet and Hood + Supplies for $490... I figgered that, since the Tank and Cabinet/Hood New were $250 above that, I would buy everything for the $490.


Now I have everything at my House and I am Perusing Everything. There is a Marineland Magnum 350 Canister with 2 Biowheels (And 2 Extra Biowheels as well) and 2-HBH Mini Trickle Filters with an Inline Heater. There is also an Under Gravel Filter Setup, but there dont seem to be any Power Heads.

After further inspection I concluded that the Magnum Needs New Gaskets and a New Filter, so I may just run out and Spend the $80 to Buy a New Magnum 350 (Just in case there are other problems).. Unless there is a Better Option in that price range.

I also Noted that One of the HBH Trickle filters is Missing a sump...

I was trying to get the tank going and water set up (with fish) by Thanksgiving, so I was wondering if anyone could give me any advice on where to start (What Kind of sump I would need, maybe advice on a different filter, or the same one?)

I know this is a mouthful, but I'd rather give you all a small background so you know where I am planning to go with this.

I hope to develop a fun, friendly relationship with other people who are interested in the promotion of aquatic life..

Thank you very much!!

 

[Gabe]

Well, I don't have any advice for you (so sorry!!!!) but I wish you the best. Oh and you better post pics when it's set up . I'm sure some one will be able to help you out very soon.

Gabe

 

[nfm-malice]

Thank you very much, and I will post pics as soon as possible... Im sure I'll need all the help I can get...

 

[Inchworm]

Hi nfm-malice and welcome to the forum

Sorry, I can't answer your hardware questions either, but I did see you here and wanted to greet you. We are a friendly and helpful group of people on this forum and I'm sure you'll enjoy it here.

You are off to a great start with that HUGE tank. If I can offer any suggestions to you, at this point, it would be to take it slow and easy. Don't be in too big a hurry to stock it if it has been a while since you've kept fish. Things have changed a bit since your father's day.

For example, there is something called "fishless cycling" which makes things much easier on the fish. Here is a link to an article that will get you started thinking about it:

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?sh...showtopic=10099

Good luck with your project. I'll be looking forward to reading your posts.

 

[Lateral Line]

That article of AA's is well worth reading, digesting, re-reading, printing out and sticking on the ceiling above your bed and wherever else you're likely to see it.

The filters you talk about are American, and are not generally available in Europe. Something I would say is that the use of under gravel filters is in terminal decline. Most people these days use eithr internal or external canister power filters. I prefer external canister because they don't take up any space in the tank.

Looking at the stats on the Magnum, it would seem it is rated at 350 gallons per hour, so should be enough for the size of tank you have, especially with the add on trickle/wet and dry units. Frankly, I'd forget the ugf.

 

[nfm-malice]

Thank you very much, and I have taken both of your Suggestions on the Cycling... Including Printing it out and Pasting it to the cieling in my bedroom.