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Newbee
- Thread starter gluggs
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What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?
What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).
Depending on what the tank dimensions and GH of your water are, will determine what fish you should keep and how many will fit in the aquarium.
Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.
Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.
If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.
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Normal aquarium maintenance involves a partial (50-75% water change and gravel cleaning the substrate once a week. You should also do a big water change if you ever get an ammonia or nitrite reading in the water when there is fish in the tank.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the aquarium.
An established biological filter should be cleaned at least once a month. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it because the beneficial bacteria are still settling into the media. To clean a filter that isn't an undergravel filter, wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Undergravel filters get cleaned with a gravel cleaner when you do a water change. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so the fish will be healthier.
Wipe the inside of the aquarium glass down at least once a month and once a week or every couple of weeks is better. Cleaning the glass removes the biofilm, which is made up of various microscopic organisms, many of which can make the fish sick. You can use a sponge to wipe the inside of the glass down. Just get a cheap pack of sponges from a $2.00 shop and wash them with soapy water, then rinse well under tap water. Make sure the sponge doesn't have anti-mould agents or anything extra added to it. The cheap sponges don't normally have anything extra and have a yellow sponge on one side and a green nylon scourer on the other side. Use the yellow sponge side to clean the glass. When you clean the sponge before using it the first time, use a soap without perfume so it doesn't leave any residue. You wash the sponge before you first use it to remove any dyes in the sponge that haven't set properly. After you have washed it with soapy water the first time, you can just rinse it under tap water after that. you don't have to wash it with soap every time, just once to get the dye out.
What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).
Depending on what the tank dimensions and GH of your water are, will determine what fish you should keep and how many will fit in the aquarium.
Angelfish, discus, most tetras, most barbs, Bettas, gouramis, rasbora, Corydoras and small species of suckermouth catfish all occur in soft water (GH below 150ppm) and a pH below 7.0.
Livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), rainbowfish and goldfish occur in medium hard water with a GH around 200-250ppm and a pH above 7.0.
If you have very hard water (GH above 300ppm) then look at African Rift Lake cichlids, or use distilled or reverse osmosis water to reduce the GH and keep fishes from softer water.
---------------------
Normal aquarium maintenance involves a partial (50-75% water change and gravel cleaning the substrate once a week. You should also do a big water change if you ever get an ammonia or nitrite reading in the water when there is fish in the tank.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the aquarium.
An established biological filter should be cleaned at least once a month. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it because the beneficial bacteria are still settling into the media. To clean a filter that isn't an undergravel filter, wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Undergravel filters get cleaned with a gravel cleaner when you do a water change. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so the fish will be healthier.
Wipe the inside of the aquarium glass down at least once a month and once a week or every couple of weeks is better. Cleaning the glass removes the biofilm, which is made up of various microscopic organisms, many of which can make the fish sick. You can use a sponge to wipe the inside of the glass down. Just get a cheap pack of sponges from a $2.00 shop and wash them with soapy water, then rinse well under tap water. Make sure the sponge doesn't have anti-mould agents or anything extra added to it. The cheap sponges don't normally have anything extra and have a yellow sponge on one side and a green nylon scourer on the other side. Use the yellow sponge side to clean the glass. When you clean the sponge before using it the first time, use a soap without perfume so it doesn't leave any residue. You wash the sponge before you first use it to remove any dyes in the sponge that haven't set properly. After you have washed it with soapy water the first time, you can just rinse it under tap water after that. you don't have to wash it with soap every time, just once to get the dye out.
While discussing fish you can prepare the tank for them. It needs to be cycled before any fish are added - that means growing two colonies of bacteria which 'eat' fish waste.
www.fishforums.net
Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!
Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...
www.fishforums.net
All depends on dimensions and what fish you go for. Some fish like goldfish will produce a lot of waste so you'd be cleaning more, others much less etc. As a vague rule expect to change around 50% of your water a week but again this will be dependent on what fish you get.
While you're cycling find out how hard your water is and then you can start looking at ideas of what fish might suit.
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