New To This - Sanity Check Me So Far Please :p

[Ap0ll0]

Hi there,
 
I've always wanted to have tropical fish and now I feel I have the time, money and space to take it on as a hobby.
 
So far I've got myself
 
Fluval Roma 200 + Cabinet, came with heater, internal filter, 2xT8 lights, thermometer etc
Tetratec EX1200 Filter
Some 1mm grain PFS that I'm assured will arrive early next week
 
once I've got the sand and testing kits for ph, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, gh and kh, and a source of ammonia I figured I'm good to start the cycle
 
before I introduce fish though I intend to get:
 
python water changer - might DIY one as the 25ft one is just too short but 50ft is massive overkill, probably work out cheaper too
 
Background, Rocks and other decor
 
PLANTS! this is something I need advice on
 
Fish net (obv)
 
Quarantine tank + light - I will run the internal filter in the main tank along with the ex1200, so I can use it in the quarantine tank as needed
 
Better heater, so I can have 2 backing each other up and one spare for the QT
 
Better thermometer (again so I can use both and the lesser one for the QT)
 
QUESTIONS:
 
I'm pretty sure I understand the basics, but I am struggling to see a clear answer on what I should do re: plants.
 
From best I can work out, I can get away with no nutrient substrate (I want bottom feeders such as corys anyway), the lights it came with (2xt5),possibly dosing ferts/co2 or root tabs for major root feeders, but if I stick to water column feeders and the easiest root feeders even that shouldn't be a big issue?
 
I'm not really fussed about types of plants just having enough and a bit of variety. I'm assuming I can afford a CO2 injection setup but not clear if that's really worth if it for me initially. I don't believe I'd need an airstone with my ex1200 providing current and surface movement?
 
The water report from my supplier says pH is 7.2-7.4, and KH is 300mg/l which I believe works out as 17 dKH roughly? I understand this is fairly hard (but will make for a stable pH), which I knew would be the case given the limescale I get (gonna get me a water softener tbh) so I've been immediately discounting fish that can't cope while researching them. I will obviously test my actual water to see what the real story is but I wouldn't think it'd be far from it.
 
I do have a rough idea of the sort of fish I want to keep, but obviously will depend on what I can find in my LFS' (don't really like the idea of ordering from afar, but not really looked into) - I definitely want a peaceful community tank with as much variation in activity as possible - hard water seems to mean all really small schooling fish are out, so platys are the next best alternative I can see for that
 
Rainbowfish (Boesmani ideally) school - can you mix rainbowfish in a school?
Corys - I know they aren't suited for the hard water really, but it looks as if the Sterbai Corys would be alright or at least the best choice for hard water corys?
A betta
A gourami (ideally pearl)
Platy school - again, do they need to be the same platys or can they mix and still be happy to school? I'm guessing they wouldn't be so much as schooling is about making themselves indistinguishable from the others? Also from what I can see the bigger schooling fish such as platys and rainbows seem to 'hang out' rather than school like tetras where they move in unison? - I love watching schools of small fish suddenly change direction on a dime all at once, if anyone can suggest the best schooling fish of that sort for my water type that'd be very appreciated. (ETA: apparently the 'hanging out' I described is shoaling rather than schooling)
Swordtail
Possibly hatchetfish, maybe a community suited cichlid or two.
 
Thoughts welcomed - there's so much to learn and so many different schools of thought - it seems tricky enough just working out what fish should go well together, as you have to consider pH, hardness, temp, temperament, still vs moving water, and more - from all I've read it is best to start off letting yourself be guided by budget and water type constraints and pick fish that will be easy to care for within those constraints rather than aiming to keep certain fish right out the gate...so I just want to make sure I have as much variety in appearance and behaviours as I can get away with.
 
Also, last question, what order might be suggested to acquire fish in? Do you need a few particularly hardy ones as the first fish even after a fishless cycle just in case?
 
Thanking anyone who responds for their time in advance.

 

[This Old Spouse]

First off, 

 
Secondly, I'd like to shake your hand for doing all your research before buying any fish! And it appears you're looking at all the right points of interest such as pH, water hardness, compatibility, etc. Love it.
 
The only question I have (others will have more) is the betta in such a big tank, which ideally should have a powerhead for water movement, which may be too much for the betta. Mind you, I don't have bettas but everything I've read suggests they like calmer water.
 
And a quick suggestion: I have an inline heater on each of my tanks and I'm very happy with them. No worrying about hot and cold spots or chance of fish getting burned or stuck behind them, plus you don't have that bulky heater inside your tank ruining the view.
 
That's all I've got! Best of luck, and the suggestions will be coming soon ...

 

[kad191]

An inline heater?? Explain please? I'm presuming its a heater that goes in the filter line? I'm watching my pleco sucking on my 300w heater right now, can't do him any good when it fires up.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Yes, it's a heater that's installed in the line and warms the water before it hits the tank. The ones I have are Hydor.

 

[kad191]

May have to invest. Will take a look.

 

[Ap0ll0]

well as I say I shall be looking to get a better heater before adding any fish, so if that is the best option I'll go for that. Then I guess I have the other heater spare as backup/QT heater, and if I was going to be away for a period of time without anyone checking in on the tank I could stick it in as a backup in case of the primary failing (i'm assuming it can be pretty disastrous if so)

 

[This Old Spouse]

I've had several problems over the years with internal heaters, but not a one with the Hydors. I did have to rig a DIY coupling for one of them to match the hose size, but that's been fine as well. They run about $45 in the States. (I don't know where you're from!)

 

[kad191]

They are ranging from £30-£50 for a 300w with 16mm connections. On my wish list.

 

[This Old Spouse]

What kind of substrate are you going to get?

 

[Ap0ll0]

i have some pool filter sand arriving (i'm assured) early this week - they had two grain sizes and i went for the larger 0.8-1.2mm

 

[Ap0ll0]

ok so bump and update - I've now got the water, the heater on, the filters running, and about 4ppm of ammonia
 
I asked a mate I suspected to be a good bet if he knew anyone who could donate me filter media, he jumped the gun slightly and turned up last night on my doorstep with a tupperware box of floss, bioballs and nasty looking water from a big ass tank that was due a filter change (well ok he rang first but he'd already got it), so I took this afternoon off work to get the last bits i needed to get the cycle started. I am now just waiting for the water to get a lot warmer before i stick the old media in the filters - I've had the tupperware in the airing cupboard overnight, so it will have been in there for between 1 and 2 days - I'm hoping there still should be some left, from what I've read those that die off produce nutrients for others to grow so while most people seem to aim for 24h maximum I suspect if this media was loaded with them to start with I'll be ok? I'm also going to add nutrifin cycle since it came with the aquarium I assume it is either water and some bacteria or water and dead bacteria and can't hurt
 
the 6 in 1 test shows about what I expected based on the suppliers water quality report, im missing the colour chart for the ph specific test but its a light bluey green and i'm assuming it is the same ph colour chart as you see in basic chem i.e red-green-blue acid-neutral-alkali
 
I'm assuming the nutrifin water conditioner that came with the aquarium should sort the water out, the 6-1 still shows a bit of chlorine but definitely way down from where it was so I'll add a bit more of it before adding the live media
 
sand still hasn't turned up which was a little annoying as it'll be more awkward adding it after, but reading plenty of people changing a live tank from gravel to sand and that must be a way bigger pain
 
the ex1200 and fluval internal are providing loads of current and surface agitation, probably 75% of the surface is agitated and the rest is in decent motion

 
heater is taking its time though, I've pointed a room heater at the tank to try and speed things up a bit - the bacteria are dying! I've also been constantly filling the kettle from the tank and heating it, but its pretty slow going that way and i imagine it'd effect the water conditions somewhat so will need to retest and water change later. I managed to short half the house coz the kettle was wet...
 
apparently the friend of a friend can give me a bit more if it does turn out to all have died. the kindness of random fishkeepers is making me like this hobby already!

 

[This Old Spouse]

Wonderful! I'll be looking forward to updates!

 

[leighton_87]

Sounds like all is going well so far

One recommendation I would have at this stage is to dump the test trips and get a liquid test kit - they are much more reliable and are exactly what you need when doing a fishless cycle

They are more expensive than strips but last longer and work out more cost effective in the long run.

Also - with regards to bacteria the general consensus from the people in the know on here is that in that time the bacteria are unlikely to have died but may have gone dormant and take a few days to be 'woken' and processing ammonia. However, the quicker you can get them in the tank the better.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Ap0ll0]

the water got to about 22c which i figured was probably about the temp of the water the old media was in so I whacked most of it in the ex1200 and the rest in the fluval. 
 
I do have api liquid test kits for everything except chlorine which i kinda forgot about when i was at the store so was relying on the strip for that. unfortunately they didnt have the all in one master kit so had to buy all seperately 
 
Do you need to test for chlorine all the time or can you know that the amount of conditioner you put in works?
 
Also, the ex1200 has been noisy especially since I put the extra media in - I've shaken it and tilted it and got more air out but its still buzzing from the motor - can just about hear it over the water flow noise as the cabinet makes it a bit worse. I'll mention this to the place I got it from and see if I can reseat or whatever and sort it this weekend, pretty sure it shouldn't be this loud 
 
the filter media and water made my tank mega cloudy also

 

[Ap0ll0]

ok so I'm thinking/hoping the cycle might actually be starting already and that the seed media is doing its job - I tested for nitrite last night and it was a faint blue, and I tested again this morning and it was a bit stronger - I thought this might be wishful thinking so I tested my tapwater as a control and unless the water temp makes a lot of difference, it showed no/barely any blue. so unless its from the donor filter media water or something which would have had to have pretty high nitrites to have any effect on the whole tank there's definitely something starting
 
the ammonia reading *seems* to have gone down a touch but nothing conclusive, and I guess the ammonia dropping rather than seeing a low nitrite reading would be better confirmation...
 
I emailed the retailer explaining the noise the ex1200 filter was making (it is a lot quieter now I've cleaned + reseated everything again but there's still this intermittent buzz that becomes a constant buzz at max flow, that you can hear through the water + glass when the filter is in the cabinet). they replied within 10 minutes saying they were notorious for this issue and they'd send me out a replacement if I couldn't get it to stop. I'm hoping they'll be willing to send the replacement without me sending mine back, especially if I have just managed to get the cycle started. That way I could also use the 'noisy' motorhead as a spare, as it'd be fine for the week or so it would take me to get a replacement
 
I've given up on the pool filter sand arriving so ordered 3x10kg of different colours of pettex roman gravel sand, which I think will end up being better as it means I won't have completely white/light sand throughout which might be better for some fish that prefer darker ambience. 
 
I've also ordered a hydor 300w external heater, although a couple of user reviews said they had issues with them going wrong and spiking the temperature, killing the fish? the only stuff I think I'm yet to get or order is the quarantine tank setup, aquarium decor (background, rocks, plants, ornaments) and look into whether it is worth having an airstone/pump or co2 injection.