hi there to you all, I'm dan and new here today! I used to be a very keen fish keeper between the ages of 11 and 18 years old, then my interests went to girls instead lol!! Now I'm a family man and have got our new house, I'm very keen to start up again a hobby I once enjoyed very much!! As I'm sure the basics are still very much the same I would be very greatful on any tips you all have to help me get started again!! I'm setting up a tropical 3foot tank. Do I still need to leave the tank a week or so to let the tank settle? and how about checking the water etc and do i add plants before introdusing any fish? pH etc etc? what products do I need to do this?
A few days to settle and get the temperature up is fine if you are going to cycle the tank with fish IMO. If your going to fishless cycleit wont be a problem to start straight away.
I assume you know the importance of cycling a tank first? if not have a quick read of this
as an alternative you can cycle your tank without putting any fish under any stress at allby fishless cycling. have a look at this. or or this
good luck.
if you decided to cycle with with plesae dont make the same mistake as most and use the wrong (less hardy fish) and too many. All you need to cycle with fish are a few very hardy fish at the ratio of 1inch of fish for every 5 gallons. hardy fish are zebra danios, platies, or blackwidow tetras. they are by far the best for cycling IMO and should withstand the toxin levels of a cycling tank.
example. to cycle a 30gallon tank. 6 zebra danios should do the trick
Hi Dan and welcome to the forum. Looks like gixer has you all lined out - try reading the threads about folks that are cycling their tanks - you'll learn loads Best of luck to ya.
