My New Tank Setup

[pscl227]

Hey,
Been on the look out now for a while for a good deal on a tropical aquarium setup, finally saw one today. Been doing lots of reading and research and i think i have a good setup for a beginner......

-65 Litre tank with a red and white light in hood (and with a curved front!)
-Under gravel filtration system
-100 watt heater

I've set it all up........
-washed all the tank and equipment in plain water
-fitted the under gravel filtration
-washed the gravel
-set the thermometer to 26 degrees C
-added tap water
-added Tetra "Safe Start" biological activation liquid

So now i've got to wait about a week i believe then get some hardy fish to start up nitrogen/ammonia cycle.
So do you guys think i've done everything correctly so far?
what fish would you reccomend to start the tank up with?
do you think its best to add live plants now or wait for the tank to establish its self a bit more first?

thanks for the help, cheers!

 

[minxfishy]

Set up sounds fine, but please dont add 'hardy' fish to start the cycle.

Have a good read thru this article on fishless cycling; http/www.fishforums.net/content-page/113...ination/page/0/

Also have a good reat thru the pinned articles at the top of the 'new to the hobby' forum especially the Beginners Resource Centre, lots of informative and interesting topics there to help guide you thru, also a species index so you can get a feel for the sort of fish you like.

Also the 'safestart' wont do anything in regards to helping you cycle the tank - it may claim you can add fish immediately but it doesnt work in our experience. Fishless cycling is the best way to start the tank up before adding fish.

Also did you add water dechlorinator to the water after filling it up - if not, you will need to add some before adding fish and each time you do a water change to eliminate chlorine and chloramines from the tap water which are harmful to the fish and the established filter bacteria

 

[pscl227]

thank for the help matey! joined another forum and just got a load of abuse about my setup without actully pointing me in the right direction.

Ive had a read of the pinned topics now on this forum and i guess i better get started with the fishless cycling!

Also need to go and buy my self a testing kit and some water dechlorinator, both items i mentioned to the person who sold me the stuff, and he said i didnt need either! useless

thanks again for the help, and its off to the shops for me!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes i agree fishless cycling is definately the way to go, read the link above, also read the link in my sig 'whats cycling' which just gives another explanation of the different levels and how the nitrogen cycle works. Sometimes reading a few different sources helps you to understand things more fully.

now i don't mean to criticise, the last thing i would want to do is to scare you off and for you to then not get the help you need. however i have one comment regarding the stuff you've got so far, undergravel filters are generally not used very much as they don't give the filtration power of an internal/external cannister filter. The filter will still work but by fitting it what you'll do is limit your choices of fish down the line, with a better filter you could keep more fish and have much more comfort in that the water is being kept clear. So I would consider swapping it out now before you start cycling and changing it for a better filter.

If you have a read of the link in my sig 'step by step guide to setting up an aquarium' this gives some more info on types of filters as well as a bundle of other bits of info which will be useful to you.

a 65l aquarium is 17 US Gallons, the general guideline for amount of fish is 1" of fish per US Gallon. So look up the species you like, find out their adult size, add them all together and you should get about 17. Now there is flexibility in it and the rule doesn't work for every type of fish, but it's a good place to start. Really with fish choice everyone has their own preferences so the best bet may be a trip to the fish shop without your wallet, write down the names of all the fish you like, come back and post them here and we can see if we can work out a sensible list from the fish you like. the fishless cycle takes on average 4-6 weeks so you've plenty of time to research and decide on fish.

 

[tyyrlym]

Personally I prefer a 1" of fish per 12 in^2 of surface area since not all gallons are created equal. It's still just a very general guideline.

thank for the help matey! joined another forum and just got a load of abuse about my setup without actully pointing me in the right direction.

Welcome to the internet.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Personally I prefer a 1" of fish per 12 in^2 of surface area since not all gallons are created equal. It's still just a very general guideline.

thank for the help matey! joined another forum and just got a load of abuse about my setup without actully pointing me in the right direction.

Welcome to the internet.

yup both rules work to about the same degree of accuracy!! Just a rough idea for those who've never kept fish before and haven't a clue if they're tank can hold 1 fish or 100 fish.

 

[pscl227]

well, i have all my testing kits, dechlorinator etc as reccomended and have had a read into these canister filters as they seem like the obvious choice! and im sure it would be much easier to srart with one now instead of changing to one later on down the line

so that leads to the question is there any particular make/model that is reccomended?

thanks for the help

 

[fishyness0809]

I have a Cascade 700 it filters up to 65 gallons, of course they do make smaller ones. So far its been running great!

 

[tyyrlym]

On a tank that size a canister is a bit of overkill. A good hang on back filter like a Marineland Penguin or Emperor, or an Aquaclear from Hagen would more than filter your aquarium and keep things looking good.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes, definately easier to change it now than down the line.

On a tank that size a canister is a bit of overkill. A good hang on back filter like a Marineland Penguin or Emperor, or an Aquaclear from Hagen would more than filter your aquarium and keep things looking good.

just go for an internal cannister not an external one.

it's generally agreed that Eheim make the best most reliable filters.... but you have to pay for that reputation. Other reasonable and more affordable options are Rena, Fluval and Tetratec.

filters will come for a rating giving litres per hour, you want 5x tank turnover, so your tank size is 65 litres, times that by 5 and you get 325. So look for a filter that is rated for 325 lph as a minimum.

Filter manufacturers also often give a rating saying suitable for tanks up to X litres, just remember that this figure is optomistic at best so either make sure you buy one that say's tanks up to 80/90 litres, or to be more accurate just go by the litres per hour.

If you're not sure have a shop around, when you've found something that you think is suitable, or a few options, then post links here and we'll advise.

 

[pscl227]

Well i have gone with a Tetratec ex600 external canister filter, has a 600l/h turn over, sorry for not posting any links before hand but i found a good deal on ebay for only £40 new so i thaught i'd just go for it.

I dont rate ehiem products paticularly well, have had 2 ehiem pumps now running on a 1/4 inch system (in my water cooled pc) and they have both broken

 

[pscl227]

Really with fish choice everyone has their own preferences so the best bet may be a trip to the fish shop without your wallet, write down the names of all the fish you like, come back and post them here and we can see if we can work out a sensible list from the fish you like

Forgot to say think ive found lots of fish i like so you guys can help me choose some! havent got a clue what goes together.

my water pH is 7-7.5

Here are the list of the ones i liked:
-Neon Tetra
-Anglefish (do they have problems with smaller fish?)
-Guppies
-Dwarf gourami

Nothing particularly exotic, got any reccomendation for any more colourful fish that would suit my tank?

Also is it possible to keep shrimp alongside fish? My girlfriend does a lot of invertebrate work in her job and i think she would love the prospect of keeping some shrimp at home!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Really with fish choice everyone has their own preferences so the best bet may be a trip to the fish shop without your wallet, write down the names of all the fish you like, come back and post them here and we can see if we can work out a sensible list from the fish you like

Forgot to say think ive found lots of fish i like so you guys can help me choose some! havent got a clue what goes together.

my water pH is 7-7.5

Here are the list of the ones i liked:
-Neon Tetra
-Anglefish (do they have problems with smaller fish?)
-Guppies
-Dwarf gourami

Nothing particularly exotic, got any reccomendation for any more colourful fish that would suit my tank?

Also is it possible to keep shrimp alongside fish? My girlfriend does a lot of invertebrate work in her job and i think she would love the prospect of keeping some shrimp at home!

the neons and guppies would be fine, neon's you need a group of 6 of them, guppies i would strongly recommend you get all males, they breed like crazy and you'll very quickly be overcome with babies. Now while breeding might sound dead exciting and cool, when you're getting 20 babies each month from one female, and then the babies start breeding as well, you can see how quickly it would get out of hand, and because they're so easy to breed no one will want to buy or take lots of babies from you.

Both of these fish can be a touch sensitive in newly cycled tanks so it would be best to wait until after the cycle, then wait another month or two before adding them.

angels get waaay to big for your tank unfortunately, they would also eat the neons and possibly the guppies so that's a no go!

I would advise against the 'standard' dwarf gourami's because they are very prone to disease, will get you a link in a minute which explains more. But some of the other dwarf gourami species such as the sparkling gourami are a lot hardier and could be a good choice for you.

yes you can definately get some shrimp, the most common one is amano shrimp, they're easy to keep, eat algae so will help clean the tank. They're a touch shy if kept with larger fish though so best to stick to all small fish with them.

There are other shrimp varieties which are more colourful/unusual which could work for you, pop over to the inverts forum and you'll find some more info there. You can also get Aquatic snails for fish tanks which may interest your gf.

For some more options of fish you might like which would be suitable do a google image search for the following

bolovian rams
kribensis
apistogramma cacatuoides, borelli, agasizzi...... just look for apistos and you'll see plenty
harlequin rasboras
ottos
corydoras

 

[pscl227]

thanks for the help again miss wiggle, your a star!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

heres the link about dg's

http/www.fishforums.net/content/Gouramis...ami-Mini-F-A-Q/