New guy question

[Essjay]

You need to be aware that a lot of bacterial supplements do not instantly cycle the tank. The nest ones are Dr Tim's One & Only and Tetra Safe Start. If you really want to use one, I would recommend using it to speed up a fishless cycle rather than risking fish.
If you really do want to use fish, you need to test for ammonia and nitrite every day and do a water change if either read anything other than zero. Even if the instructions on the bottle say not to do water changes, do them or the fish will suffer.

 

[Freakshow1966]

Ok so next question plants, yes or no? I have really only used plastic/silk ones before. When i was a kid my dad had live plants in his Oscar tank. As i recall they turned brown and died. Making a huge mess in the tank to boot.

I would like to try live plants but not sure what would be best. I dont know if it matters but for lights i was going to use one of the new LED light setups.

Another question if you will is a thought i had. Even with live plants, i would still have some fake ones. I was thinking i could tack them down to a square of poly styrene and cover that with sand. Does that sound doable? I know i could not do it were i to use a UGF as it would create a dead spot.

 

[Freakshow1966]

You need to be aware that a lot of bacterial supplements do not instantly cycle the tank. The nest ones are Dr Tim's One & Only and Tetra Safe Start. If you really want to use one, I would recommend using it to speed up a fishless cycle rather than risking fish.
If you really do want to use fish, you need to test for ammonia and nitrite every day and do a water change if either read anything other than zero. Even if the instructions on the bottle say not to do water changes, do them or the fish will suffer.

Perhaps i did not explain myself clearly. When i say fast start chems i was referring to ammonia, thus promoting the good bac to get started. That said i am not set in stone with anything. that's why i am researching and asking questions i want to do this right ya know

 

[Essjay]

That's fine, we misunderstood.

But it usually takes longer than a couple of weeks to cycle. It took my betta's tank 7 weeks.

The old method said to add ammonia every time it dropped to zero but it is now known that this made so much nitrite that the cycle often stalled. The method on here was written so nitrite can never get high enough to stall the cycle.


The best kind of live plants are floating plants. Plants need 3 things, food (ammonia), light and CO2. Being on the surface floating plants get lots of light and they can get CO2 from the air so they assimilate ammonia faster than plants lower down in the water. Look for water sprite - this can be planted or used as a floating plant. When it starts to take over, just pick out the older plants and throw them away.

LED lights can be a problem for plants. A lot of them have too much blue and not enough red light. Look at the K rating of any lights before you buy. You need something with a rating of 6500 to 8000 K. Higher than that means not enough red light.
I had to buy a new clip-on light for my betta's tank (the transformer-plug of the one that came with the tank came apart in my hand when I unplugged it ). I bought a new light, not understanding about the K rating. It had white and blue LEDs with the options for all blue or blue and white. My plants started to die. Then I learned about the colours and found another make that has red, white and blue LEDs. My plants are now thriving in the betta's tank.

 

[Munroco]

Like you I had a break from fishkeeping for about 15 years. I got into it again about 7 years ago. I decided to use sand as a substrate as I like the look. Undergravels filters were also my norm. I've used a few different types of filter since returning, but apart from my Juwel 260 which has a built in filter, my favourite is a HOB 500 I got about a month ago from All Pet Solutions. Since I bought it, I've since purchased another two of them. Its like an external filter hanging on the back (or sides in my case) of the tank. Really unobtrusive and absolutely tons of room for filter media in 5 different compartments. I'm really pleased with it. It cost me £22 in the UK.

 

[seangee]

LED lights can be a problem for plants. A lot of them have too much blue and not enough red light. Look at the K rating of any lights before you buy. You need something with a rating of 6500 to 8000 K. Higher than that means not enough red light

I think this may be less of an issue for newer setups designed specificall for tropical tanks. I have 3 tanks with "built in" LEDs and these are all fine. That said I do tend to stick with easy plants, and if the plants don't like my setup I replace them with ones that do.

 

[Freakshow1966]

, my favourite is a HOB 500 I got about a month ago from All Pet Solutions.

Whats it's name? I was thinking about the Marineland Bio-Wheel Emperor 400 Aquarium Power Filter. its rated for up to 80 gallons. I am using a 40 so it should be over kill if anything

 

[Munroco]

https://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/hob-500/ this is it. It may not be available in the US.

 

[Metalhead88]

I highly prefer and suggest the aquaclear filters over Marineland

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