New to this

[threecupsofcoffeelster]

Hi there,
Nice to meet you all. When I was very young my dad had a large aquarium which we used to love to watch. Get really excited to see little baby’s only to wonder what happened to them and which fish was really the evil one eating them! Dad eventually refused to turn the light on because of the algae and lost interest. Well I am now in the process of starting up a new tank, hopefully learning quickly enough along the way. It’s just under 30 gallons and looking good but a bit sterile at the moment. It’s been set up a week but not sure how long to wait before adding fish. I’ve used water conditioner and plant nutrient so far.

 

[MattW]

Welcome to to forum

Nice looking tank! The size will give you plenty of options for stocking especially nano fish. I would advise in purchasing a test kit ideally a liquid one so you can get a better understanding of your water parameters and whether or not it's safe for fish at the current time . -

(Cycling an aquarium) https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

Also, I would look into keeping fish that fit your water parameters i.e Water hardness. (You can find water hardness from your local water company usually online) It may seem like a lot of info to learn about, but in the long run your fish will prefer to be kept in water conditions similar to those where they are found naturally matched with that of what comes out of your tap water. Unless you are using RO water which is a whole other topic of conversation .

 

[gwand]

Matt said it all. Welcome. Read the cycling article and do not add fish until the tank bacteria can quickly metabolize ammonia and nitrite. This can take 3-6 weeks. It can be accelerated by the addition of Tetra Safe Start or Dr. Tim’s one and only bacteria. Your fish options depend on your water hardness, GH. You can measure this with a kit or from your water department website.

 

[threecupsofcoffeelster]

Okay, I also added tetra filter active bacteria

 

[Essjay]

The bacteria in the Tetra product are the ones which grow in aquariums, unlike some other brands. But they do need to be fed. There are two ways to feed them - put fish in the tank as they excrete ammonia or add ammonia from a bottle. Because the Tetra product does not work instantly, putting fish in the tank will expose them ammonia and nitrite; adding ammonia from a bottle means all the necessary bacteria will be there before fish are added.

Personally, the way I would go is to get some ammonia - Dr Tim's ammonium chloride is available on Amazon & eBay - and add the amount the bottle gives for your tank volume. Test the ammonia level after half an hour (to allow the ammonia to mix in thoroughly) then test for ammonia and nitrite 24 hours later.
It's only safe to add fish when you add a dose of ammonia and both ammonia and nitrite test at zero after 24 hours. If you still have ammonia, with or without nitrite, after 24 hours you will have to wait before getting fish.