Newbie - New Tank - Please Check

[Frost]

Hello folks.

First like to say hello to everyone, this being my first ever post on the forum. Although i've been reading a lot for the past week or so!

I've got myself a good deal on a 2nd hand Juwel Fish tank which i collected today. From what ive measured and tried to work out, i gather the tank is 17.5 UK Gallons or (80 UK Litres). Its got the light, filter, pump, heater and everything i think i need to start a tropical fish tank (i think).

Question Number one - The tank, the glass is in good condition but looks quite mucky at the moment. What would you use to clean it? Just water? Or other cleaning fluids.

Question Number two - I've noticed the tank hasnt got the thin layer of POLYESTERENE (sp) in between the tank and the stand which i noticed most tanks have. The tank has about a 1/4cm gap between the bottom glass pannel and the wood stand. Is it essential that i get some to put here to support the tank when its loaded with water.

Question Number three - My dad keeps a marine fish tank, and in the garage he has a reverse osmosis filter which is always making nice clean fish water for his marine tank (he adds the salt after). I wondered if this water would also be OK for me to use in my tank, as i think it removes chlorine from the tap water and also some other things.

Question Number four - I'm going to be doing a fishless cycle using the 'add and wait' method. I add the gravel, ornaments, then add the water. Then follow the sticky post at the top of the Beginner section. Just a couple of other things i need to clear up on this topic though. 1) Should i keep the light on during the cycle? (if not, what sort of lighting should i do - if any at all) 2) Is it a good idea to add live plants at the start of a cycle? or is this likely to kill them off? 3) Should the heater be on in the tank during the cycle? If so at what temerature?

Question Number five - Is this shopping list OK for tomorrow - baring in mind, i just have an empty tank at the moment with a filter, pump, heater and light in it.
> Polyesterene for base of tank?
> Gravel
> Picture for back of tank
> Thermometer
> Water testing kit
> Amonia solution
> Ornaments?
> Plants?

If you think ive forgotten something, please tell me. As its a fairly long drive to my nearest Fish shop. 20miles.

Thanks a bunch for any help you chaps can give me! I really appreciate it and look forward to hearing from you.

Take care

Frosty

 

[newtotropical]

Hello folks. - HI

First like to say hello to everyone, this being my first ever post on the forum. Although i've been reading a lot for the past week or so!

I've got myself a good deal on a 2nd hand Juwel Fish tank which i collected today. From what ive measured and tried to work out, i gather the tank is 17.5 UK Gallons or (80 UK Litres). Its got the light, filter, pump, heater and everything i think i need to start a tropical fish tank (i think).

Question Number one - The tank, the glass is in good condition but looks quite mucky at the moment. What would you use to clean it? Just water? Or other cleaning fluids. - Only use water & scrub carefully!!

Question Number two - I've noticed the tank hasnt got the thin layer of POLYESTERENE (sp) in between the tank and the stand which i noticed most tanks have. The tank has about a 1/4cm gap between the bottom glass pannel and the wood stand. Is it essential that i get some to put here to support the tank when its loaded with water. - Yes i would!

Question Number three - My dad keeps a marine fish tank, and in the garage he has a reverse osmosis filter which is always making nice clean fish water for his marine tank (he adds the salt after). I wondered if this water would also be OK for me to use in my tank, as i think it removes chlorine from the tap water and also some other things. Dont think RO is good for freshwater. You would need to add to it so uts easier to use tap water & Aquasafe

Question Number four - I'm going to be doing a fishless cycle using the 'add and wait' method. I add the gravel, ornaments, then add the water. Then follow the sticky post at the top of the Beginner section. Just a couple of other things i need to clear up on this topic though. 1) Should i keep the light on during the cycle? (if not, what sort of lighting should i do - if any at all) 2) Is it a good idea to add live plants at the start of a cycle? or is this likely to kill them off? 3) Should the heater be on in the tank during the cycle? If so at what temerature? I put my life plants in and they were fine, they also use nitrates. With real plants use lighting 4 on 1 off 4 on this helps keep alge at bay.
Run your heater & filter, the heat will help the bacteria grow

Question Number five - Is this shopping list OK for tomorrow - baring in mind, i just have an empty tank at the moment with a filter, pump, heater and light in it.
> Polyesterene for base of tank?
> Gravel
> Picture for back of tank
> Thermometer
> Water testing kit - us eAPI freshwter master test kit, we all use it
> Amonia solution
> Ornaments?
> Plants?

If you think ive forgotten something, please tell me. As its a fairly long drive to my nearest Fish shop. 20miles.

Thanks a bunch for any help you chaps can give me! I really appreciate it and look forward to hearing from you.

Take care

Frosty

Thgink you have covered all!! Good luck!

 

[doresy]

Question Number two - I've noticed the tank hasnt got the thin layer of POLYESTERENE (sp) in between the tank and the stand which i noticed most tanks have. The tank has about a 1/4cm gap between the bottom glass pannel and the wood stand. Is it essential that i get some to put here to support the tank when its loaded with water. - Yes i would!



Frosty[/quote]

Thgink you have covered all!! Good luck!
[/quote]

Bad advice......your tank has a floating base therefore does NOT need anything under the floor

 

[Tessla]

Welcome, sounds like you're off to a good start with your new tank!

Question Number one - The tank, the glass is in good condition but looks quite mucky at the moment. What would you use to clean it? Just water? Or other cleaning fluids.

I find that soaking in water for a few hours followed by some scrubbing will clean up most muck. However, since you are using a secondhand tank, it might be a good idea to clean it with a mild bleach solution (pure chlorine bleach) followed by a good rinse. Leave anything cleaned with bleach out in the sun for a day or so to get rid of any lingering chlorine, alternatively you can use some dechlorinator on a sponge after bleaching.

Can't really say anything about question #2 as I'm not really familiar with the structure of the Juwel tanks.

Question Number three - My dad keeps a marine fish tank, and in the garage he has a reverse osmosis filter which is always making nice clean fish water for his marine tank (he adds the salt after). I wondered if this water would also be OK for me to use in my tank, as i think it removes chlorine from the tap water and also some other things.

RO water would be great for your tank if you have extremely hard tap water as you can adjust it to whatever pH your fish will prefer. The only trouble is that you'll need to remineralize it with a product formulated for freshwater (for example, Kent R/O Right). If you've got decent tap water and/or don't plan on keeping any finicky fish, I wouldn't bother with the RO water and just get yourself a good dechlorinator like Seachem's Prime.

Question Number four - I'm going to be doing a fishless cycle using the 'add and wait' method. I add the gravel, ornaments, then add the water. Then follow the sticky post at the top of the Beginner section. Just a couple of other things i need to clear up on this topic though. 1) Should i keep the light on during the cycle? (if not, what sort of lighting should i do - if any at all) 2) Is it a good idea to add live plants at the start of a cycle? or is this likely to kill them off? 3) Should the heater be on in the tank during the cycle? If so at what temerature?

I wouldn't add live plants to your tank until it has cycled, not because the plants will die but because they will slow down your cycle by using up some of the ammonia and nitrites. Warmer temperatures will encourage bacteria growth, so by all means bring your tank up to your desired temperature during cycling. Lighting won't be necessary during your cycle, your lighting once you start stocking the tank will depend on what sort of live plants you plan to keep, if any. If you're interested in only a few low light plants, stock lighting will be enough. Some plants will require higher light levels, check out the planted forum if you're planning on doing a heavily planted tank.

Question Number five - Is this shopping list OK for tomorrow - baring in mind, i just have an empty tank at the moment with a filter, pump, heater and light in it.
> Polyesterene for base of tank?
> Gravel
> Picture for back of tank
> Thermometer
> Water testing kit
> Amonia solution
> Ornaments?
> Plants?

As I mentioned above, I wouldn't bother with getting plants just yet.

Ammonia solution you probably won't find at the fish store, it is usually carried in the cleaning section of grocery and drug stores, just make sure that you get pure ammonia.

Gravel - you may not want to get gravel. If you've got your eye on any bottom feeders, most of them will appreciate a sandy substrate, I also find sand to be easier to clean. If you're going for a heavily planted tank, you may also want to look into specialty substrates for planted tanks, as the substrate will be extremely difficult to change later. If you do go for gravel or sand, a much cheaper option is to go to a hardware store and pick up a bag of gravel or play sand. These will have to be washed well before put in your tank, and gravel should be tested with vinegar to see if it reacts.

One thing to think about if you're going to buy ornaments right away is what sort of look you're going for, if you want more time to plan out your tank I'd wait on them.

For the water test kit, I suggest API's freshwater master kit as well. Make sure that you get a liquid kit that can test for pH, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Since your dad has a marine tank, you may want to look for a kit that works in marine and fresh water as you need to test for a lot of the same things.

One thing you didn't list is a cleaning syphon, I find these to be extremely helpful for maintainence. You may also want to pick up some nets of various sizes and sponges for cleaning.

Hopefully that helps you out, good luck with your new tank!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

1 - try to just scrub it with a washing up sponge (new one obviously!) on the inside of the tank, if that won't work soak in a mild bleach solution (1 part bleach to 20 parts water) then rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse

2 - no, juwel tanks are built with a floating base, you don't need the plystyrene

3 - no, RO unit's take everything out of the water leaving pure H2O. Your dad then adds salt to the water which puts all the correct minerals etc into it for marine fish. You;d have to buffer the water and remineralize it which is really a hell of a lot of work for no benefit really, just get a bottle of dechlorinator and add this to your tap waterand that's best for tropicals. Unless of course there is some specific problem with water in your area.

4 - 1, lighting as you like basically, not essential to have it on but won't do any harm. 2, live plants can inhibit cycling as they use up ammonia which can stop the bacteria developing, however you'd need to have shed loads of them in there for it to have any real effect. so go for it if you want but don't add too many, 3, yes heater should be on, thermostat set fairly high, around 30oC I believe, think this speeds up the life cycle of the bacteria thus making the cycle go quicker, remember to turn it back down before adding fish!!

5 - > Polyesterene for base of tank - no
> Gravel - yes
> Picture for back of tank - yes (i prefer plain backgrounds actually, but that's personal preference
> Thermometer - yes
> Water testing kit - yes
> Amonia solution - yes
> Ornaments? - if you like
> Plants? - if you like

think you've got it all covered

 

[Frost]

Excellect advice folks.

I really appreciate it. I wont be getting plants and ornaments today.

But from what you guys have advised i',m gathering i'll be needing some Aquasafe or Seachem's Prime - and to NOT use the Reverso Osmosis filter thing my dads got, but just add out tap water along with the Aquasafe and seachem's Prime?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

there are many brands of tap water conditioner/dechlorinator, down to you to pick which one to use, just make sure it neutralises chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals and you should be fine

 

[loachman]

The RO unit is probably going to be unnecessary and just add cost to running the freshwater tank. Unless you have incredibly hard water or want very sensitive fish dont' bother with it.

Any idea what the hardness of your water is? Or what type of fish you're interested in?

 

[Dutchie]

Agree with Loachman..........whats the hardness?

 

[karmagl]

I'm not a big fan of aqua safe I use prime it's in a red and white bottle. Since you are starting a new tank you might also want to buy some bacteria and flake food. Just feed the empty tank every now and then to get some bacteria going, not alot. You should have your heater on I would do about 74 depending on what kind of fish you want to get later.

 

[Frost]

Any idea what the hardness of your water is? Or what type of fish you're interested in?

Sorry for the slow reply. I brought a test kit but it doesnt have a water hardness testing bottle. Im not sure how to test it for hardness, but i think ive heard the water round here is fairly hard.

Im thinking of keeping guppies as a first attempt.

 

[Frost]

Hmm i did an internet search and found this map. It turns out my water is very hard. Im in norfolk, so well in the hard water region as shown on the map. The map also shows the minimum amound of calcium cabonate in the water, if thats any help?