New To Hobby And Need Some Advice...

[waterdrop]

Right, you've got the idea. Its no big deal to keep the lights out every minute.. I would turn them on to see what I was doing getting the test tubes filled for instance.

After the big water change its important that fish come pretty much the same day as of course they are supplying the food now for the bacteria!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lee.barros]

When I get the tank, I will add in the sand substrate and start the cycling process with the tank covered up so no light can escape.What temperature should the heater be set at during cycling and when the fish that I previously mentioned are added?

When adding water, do you add the required amount of dechlorninator to the first bucket and then keep adding water? Or do you add dechlorinator to each bucket you add, splitting the amount equally?

 

[arobinson1984]

You can either add a bit to each bucket, or add enough for the whole tank directly to the tank before filling it.

In a new / uncycled tank its advisable to use a little bit more dechlor than normal, I'd recommend using 1.5x - 2x the stated dose but dont use more than double

I think the optimal temp for cycling is around 28-29 degree celcius

Andy

 

[lee.barros]

Cheers for your help again!

Im asking all the questions i need answers to within this thread so I can find them all easier later on once its time to set up the tank etc...

Whats the deal with live plants and an air pump/airstone? Can you use them together or not?

-Lee

 

[arobinson1984]

I've used them before together with a certain degree of success but I'm not an expert on live plants. If you have plants too close to an airstone then the leaves tend to rot.

If you want the best plant advice you'd be best sending a message to a user called aaronnorth asking for some advice, he is one of the resident plant experts on this forum.

Andy

 

[waterdrop]

Air pumps/stones are aesthetic.. all about looks, they are not really needed for oxygen transfer. Instead, surface movement is more important and that can be done by aiming filter outlets usually. An airstone lifting a bit of water from substrate level can, however, aid circulation a bit through the various depths. There's not usually any problem mixing airstones with plants. The only slight thing I can think of would be that the more gaseous exchange you have at the water's surface, the more oxygen will be in the water and the less CO2 there will be. If you're not getting carbon in to the water in some other way (pressurized CO2, DIY CO2 or liquid carbon) then the plants might have a tiny bit less CO2 available in a well exchanged tank versus a more static tank.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[lee.barros]

So to be safe its best to keep airstones/pumps out of tanks that are planted with live plants? I like the look of the bubbles created by the airstones and ive heard that fish like to swim in them etc.

What plants would be suitable for a beginner? Im not wanting too many plants, just enough to make the tank look decent.

 

[waterdrop]

No, nothing wrong with airstones and fish -or- plants. Airstones are mostly a "looks" thing, so go ahead if you like the look. My comments were in the way of just info for you to pick up and know for the future. There may come a day when you'll be watching more details of what is having what effect on particular plants.

Here's a link that had 3 "easy plant" posts:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=22604

~~waterdrop~~

 

[OldMan47]

The best thing that I know about bubbles is that they make great water slides for a group of cories. I have watched cories play in the water flow of a bubble stream all day long.