Newbie Here, My First Tank In 10 Years.... Loving It

[westy3131]

Evening all,

I have just purcahsed my first tank since i was a teenager and am loving it already!.

I finished with a 5ft tank before i left for uni and always missed it once i had sold. Now i'm settled in one place again I went and bought a 90 litre Fluval Roma 90.

I have cycled for about 2 weeks with daily care and regualr checks to stats. All the levels seem pretty good fter just 2 weeks, so i added my 1st fish today. 3 blue coral platies and 3 guppies. I realise this is slightly quick but couldn't resist and stats were consistantly good for days.

Any suggestions of what may happen next after adding 6 new fish to a young tank? also what live stock can anyone suggest?

Thanks
Phill

 

[furry catfish]

Hi,welcome to the forums I would suggest harlequin rasbora,I have 8 of them in my tank and they look superb.Also corys are a good choice,Or a center peice fish like 2 dwarf gouramis or 2 of the more hardy apisto chichlids these are all small enough to have a few of them in you tank without over crowding. Anyway Good luck with your new tank




chris

 

[Curiosity101]

Just out of interest, how did you actually cycle it?

And what were 'good' stats?

 

[westy3131]

Hi,welcome to the forums I would suggest harlequin rasbora,I have 8 of them in my tank and they look superb.Also corys are a good choice,Or a center peice fish like 2 dwarf gouramis or 2 of the more hardy apisto chichlids these are all small enough to have a few of them in you tank without over crowding. Anyway Good luck with your new tank




chris

Great cheers.... will keep u posted when i get a bit further

 

[mattbond]

4 corys, group of shoalers, pair of centrepeice fish such as some dwarf cichlids or gouramis + cleaners

and im guessing you did what lots of people do, add starter bacteria, measure the stats (ammo, nitrite, ph), and add a few fish each week?

 

[westy3131]

Just out of interest, how did you actually cycle it?

And what were 'good' stats?

it was fishless....

this morning wa 8.3 Ph, 0.1 ammonia, 0.1 nitrite and 40mg/l nitrate. A good start?

4 corys, group of shoalers, pair of centrepeice fish such as some dwarf cichlids or gouramis + cleaners

and im guessing you did what lots of people do, add starter bacteria, measure the stats (ammo, nitrite, ph), and add a few fish each week?

basically thats what i have done yes. just posted the levels i am showing so i thought i would go for it...

What cleaners would u go for?

I love the look of the blue ram or similar, it take these are ok in a community? Angel possibly?

 

[Curiosity101]

No but EXACTLY how did you cycle it?
How much ammonia did you add daily? Ie. to what ppm value were you cycling?

It just seems odd that it would have cycled so far within 2weeks...Unless it was only cycled with a very small ppm of ammonia. In which case all I'd say is to be aware you may have a big spike in ammonia + nitrites.
Also technically you shouldn't have added ANY fish until the tests showed 0,0 for ammonia and nitrite.

You don't need cleaner in your tank, but a few shrimp and a nerite snail would probably help to keep algae down on rocks and decor etc.

German Blue Rams would've been ok in your tank, but they require much higher temperatures than the platies and guppies can live in so they aren't now suitable.

You could probably get away with an angel in that tank (going by it's dimensions), but I wouldn't recommend mixing angels with guppies. The guppies may well become lunch at some point.

 

[westy3131]

No but EXACTLY how did you cycle it?
How much ammonia did you add daily? Ie. to what ppm value were you cycling?

It just seems odd that it would have cycled so far within 2weeks...Unless it was only cycled with a very small ppm of ammonia. In which case all I'd say is to be aware you may have a big spike in ammonia + nitrites.
Also technically you shouldn't have added ANY fish until the tests showed 0,0 for ammonia and nitrite.

You don't need cleaner in your tank, but a few shrimp and a nerite snail would probably help to keep algae down on rocks and decor etc.

German Blue Rams would've been ok in your tank, but they require much higher temperatures than the platies and guppies can live in so they aren't now suitable.

You could probably get away with an angel in that tank (going by it's dimensions), but I wouldn't recommend mixing angels with guppies. The guppies may well become lunch at some point.

followed all the fishless intsructions on forums such as this etc. added starting bacteria/ammo at the levels it stated for the tank size, then let it run. tested after a wekk the daily from there and they seemed consistant so i decideed to add a couple of fish. maybe i was hasty and will pay the price!? i hope not, they seem happy but your maybe right. A spike may be on the cards. fingers crossed

 

[Tolak]

Just keep an eye on test results, and let that be your guide to water changes. You may be doing large daily water changes to keep ammonia & nitrite as close to zero as possible.

Unless you have some really small guppys I wouldn't be too concerned with an angel. Neons are an easy treat for a larger angel, cardinals are a bit too big. If your guppys are cardinal tetra body size or better there is little need for concern.

Apistos are another nice smaller colorful fish for a centerpiece, cacatuoides are more forgiving of harder water, as well as being one of the more colorful species.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, I think if you test daily for ammonia and nitrite(NO2) levels you'll be able to catch it in time if either goes over 0.25ppm, which is the upper limit you want to set. If it does head in that direction then the test results can help you figure out a percentage and frequency of water changes that will keep it circling around between 0 and 0.25ppm.

~~waterdrop~~