New Tank

[molliesma]

Hi there

I am starting a tank and have spent the last few days doing some research and talking to my lfs. I found your site today and have been reading up on it and in the forums - I have learnt a lot more here than anywhere else and am particularly pleased with all the info on fishless cycling as this was not what my lfs was suggesting, however being a newbie I have loads of questions;

1) I inherited a 100 litre tank from the guy that used to own my house (he left it behind). I have been slowly buying bits for it as and when I can afford them. So far I have bought a hood, a stand a power-head pump and under gravel filter and gravel, I have yet to but a test kit, a thermometer, a gravel vac, a light, a heater some plants and some ammonia . Have I missed anything? I so want to get this right is there anything else I need before adding some plants and starting my fishless cycle?

2) I have washed the gravel etc and had the pump running for a few weeks now (testing for leaks as Alien Anna would say) - simply because it looked better in the sitting room with water and bubbles in than all empty and sad. Once I have all the kit I was going to change the water since it was only in there for effect (I did not de-chlorinate it) and then start my cycle, is this necessary though? a couple of things I have read got me thinking that perhaps this water will have de-chlorinated itself? Do I need to change the water and start a fresh or will it be ok after having been in the tank for some time, to start the cycle - it is still crystal clear.

3) I am trying to do as much research as I can before I start but I have already started to think about which fish I would like (hard not to - even though I know it will be quite some time till I get them ) ) by using the aquarium calculator I know that in my tank I can have 61 cm of stock - how accurate is this? is it the absolute maximum or is there a little leeway?

4) I started to make a list of fish I liked the look of then I researched a little on each one and struck off any that were too aggressive, didn’t like my size of tank, were no good for newbies, didn’t do well with smaller fish etc, I came up with;

Lemon Tetra X 2
Glowlight Tetra X 2
Cherry Barb X 2
Black Neon Tetra X 2
Neon Tetra X 5
Zebra Danio X 2 this would take me up to 60cm
(my original list had 1 more neon and two more black neon tetras on it but that took me to 70cm so I cut it back again)
this is only a first list for starting to research so any comments would be gratefully received, are there any fish here that would not like this community (i.e.; don’t get on with the other fish or hate being in just a pair and need a shoal) would any more than this completely over stock it?

5) if I went with this list how slowly should I add the fish (lfs suggested a pair a week for 8 weeks.

6) on this site people only ever mention “regular partial water replacement” how regular is regular in a matured tank? Another site recommended 20% per week it that about right?

7) one site mentioned that my under-bed filter means I cant plant any real plants is this right?

Don’t worry about offending me, all comments would be gratefully received so please tell me if I am going about anything the wrong way, like I said I really want to get this right.

Many TIA
Tam

 

[Alien Anna]

Once I have all the kit I was going to change the water since it was only in there for effect (I did not de-chlorinate it) and then start my cycle, is this necessary though?

4) I started to make a list of fish I liked the look of then I researched a little on each one and struck off any that were too aggressive, didn’t like my size of tank, were no good for newbies, didn’t do well with smaller fish etc, I came up with;

Lemon Tetra X 2
Glowlight Tetra X 2
Cherry Barb X 2
Black Neon Tetra X 2
Neon Tetra X 5
Zebra Danio X 2 this would take me up to 60cm

Hooray that somebody is listening to us! I'm not saying we're infallible or anything, but the info in my article and others was based on the combined wisdom of people on this group and that's a lot of experience!

2) To dechlorinate the water in your tank you only had to leave it standing for 24 hours. If you live in UK, that's it, it's dechlorinated, but if you live elsewhere you might want to put some dechlorinator directly into the tank as it may contain chloramines.

4) I wouldn't worry too much about the formulae if I were you since they are so incredibly variable. However, if you say what sort of fish you like we can advise you as to numbers etc.

Tetras and danios are schooling fish. This means they should be kept in groups ideally of 6-8 minimum. With neons, the recommended number is 8-10 minimum, since they are so small. I wouldn't personally have fast moving danios with your other fish - they'd spook the tetras possibly!

It is best to start small, with just a few of species of fish as that will give you plenty of work and learning. It's generally a big mistake to have too many different types of fish all together at once.

Your tank is about the same size as one of mine. In that tank I have the following:

8x rummy-nosed tetras
8x cardinal tetras
4x cherry barbs
Pair of pearl gouramis
1x bristlenosed pleco

That looks about right to me. I thought it was very over-stocked but a very experienced fish keeper I trusted said it was fine, given the type of filter I have, the surface area (its not a rectangular tank), the heavy planting (CO2 helps the plants) and the type of fish I have (for instance, the gouramis hang out near the surface and basically don't take up any swimming space).

So, you could have:
6x Glowlight Tetras
Pair of Cherry Barbs
6x Black Neon Tetras
8x neon tetras

Plus you could have a dwarf plec and maybe a pair of gouramis, or sacrifice one of the schools of tetras for a small groups of corys or otto cats.