Just to say hi

[MARK B]

Hi people I'm new to fish keeping still wait for my tank it made to order it's a aqua marin 1200 freshwater any good or not I've got the aquamanta efx 400 external filter oxymax200 air pump and the aqua led heater 500w and lots of other bits and Bob's do you think I've made a decent choice or not thank Mark B

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hi welcome aboard! And yeah that's a beautiful tank in my opinion!

Have you clued yourself up on the nitrogen cycle and how to cycle your tank? Always a good place to start! And if you haven't already, grab yourself the API Master Kit, you're going to need it look forward to seeing your tank in the future, any ideas whatb youd like in it?

 

[Rocky998]

Hi people I'm new to fish keeping still wait for my tank it made to order it's a aqua marin 1200 freshwater any good or not I've got the aquamanta efx 400 external filter oxymax200 air pump and the aqua led heater 500w and lots of other bits and Bob's do you think I've made a decent choice or not thank Mark B

Welcome! Cant wait to see your tank when its finished! Make sure you do what Captain Barnicles said (unless you already have) and read up on fishless cycling (with or without plants).

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Welcome.
You're in that fortunate position where you can actually do the necessary research to make it all go...er...'swimmingly'.
The tank's a beauty and the filter, pump and heater are all appropriate. (I suspect Maidenhead where very happy with your purchases. )

As long as you don't rush headfirst into filling it up with fish, you'll do okay.
This thread might help.

 

[MARK B]

Hi welcome aboard! And yeah that's a beautiful tank in my opinion!

Have you clued yourself up on the nitrogen cycle and how to cycle your tank? Always a good place to start! And if you haven't already, grab yourself the API Master Kit, you're going to need it look forward to seeing your tank in the future, any ideas whatb youd like in it?

Hi captainbarnicles I will grab one of those kits today but not sure whether to have a community tank or go for the less aggressive cichlids when I get thr tank I will set it up and let it run for a week or two and test the water and hopefully it all goes well

 

[MARK B]

Welcome.
You're in that fortunate position where you can actually do the necessary research to make it all go...er...'swimmingly'.
The tank's a beauty and the filter, pump and heater are all appropriate. (I suspect Maidenhead where very happy with your purchases. )

As long as you don't rush headfirst into filling it up with fish, you'll do okay.
This thread might help.

They sure were and lots more money to be spent

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hi captainbarnicles I will grab one of those kits today but not sure whether to have a community tank or go for the less aggressive cichlids when I get thr tank I will set it up and let it run for a week or two and test the water and hopefully it all goes well

Well the easiest way to make your mind up is quite simply finding out what kind of water you have...as in, is it hard water, or soft water? You can look on your water supplier's website or take in a sample to your local fish shop and ask them to test it for you. Your water hardness will determine which fish will be suitable for you believe it or not its not as simple as just picking the fish you want and sticking it in a tank (if only it was )
You can't just let it run for a couple of weeks unfortunately, if you read the how to cycle your tank thread you'll hopefully get some clarification of what I mean

 

[MARK B]

Well the easiest way to make your mind up is quite simply finding out what kind of water you have...as in, is it hard water, or soft water? You can look on your water supplier's website or take in a sample to your local fish shop and ask them to test it for you. Your water hardness will determine which fish will be suitable for you believe it or not its not as simple as just picking the fish you want and sticking it in a tank (if only it was )
You can't just let it run for a couple of weeks unfortunately, if you read the how to cycle your tank thread you'll hopefully get some clarification of what I mean

Ok will do and I have hard water I'm in Bristol

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

I have very hard water too here in Lincolnshire...and unfortunately we're very limited in what we can stock....

Livebearers: guppies, platies, mollies and swordtails

Rainbow fish: look for boesemani and praecox (will look amazing in your tank)

Then there's the African lake cichlids

 

[Rocky998]

Hi captainbarnicles I will grab one of those kits today but not sure whether to have a community tank or go for the less aggressive cichlids when I get thr tank I will set it up and let it run for a week or two and test the water and hopefully it all goes well

Yeah, I'm cycling my tank right now. You dont just "run it for a few weeks". You have to have some sort of ammonia being produced and then wait for nitrites to spike and fall... (I used pure ammonia from a hardware store with no additives). There are also other ways of cycling by using fast growing plants and stuff as well.

 

[MonsieurLaGrenuoille]

Hello Mark B, let me welcome you, I started having aquariums as a child in the seventies and then no one spoke of cycling or such concepts (which though are helpfull), to have plants from the begining is enough to introduce the needed nitrification bacteria and a little piece of (saltwater) fish or a peeled shrimp to decompose is the old fashioned way of ciclying, very sure and without expensive products, be sure to wait for at least 4 weeks before putting fish in, it's only a suggestion, but above all be well informed and read as much as possible from the forum information and others, as people here said. (when having plants don't forget they need to have light from the first day on)