Newbie With A Biorb

[ecro83]

I recently Purchased a Biorb 30L tropical tank.
Ive not put any fish in it yet and i wont be putting them in for another 4 weeks, (as i go on holiday in 2, therefor no point in purchasing fish while im away) this will give my tank time to adjust for me to put the fish in.

However i have a few questions and would like somebody to help.

Is it better to get real plants than plastic ones?

Also, what kind of fish am i able to get with this tank, (i really want pretty and colourful ones)and how many can i fit in it? I dont wanna be cruel and put fish in that i cant get. I know i could ask people in the fish shop the same quesiton, however sometimes fish owners have more information regarding this sort of stuff!

Do i need to be putting any chemicals in my tank each month, or is water conditioner (during the change) sufficient enough?

Would be greatful if someone could help.

Thanks

 

[Miss Wiggle]

hi there, welcome to the forum and to fishkeeping

first thing to do is to read up on how to prepare you're tank for fish, if you look in the 'new to the hobby' section and read the topics on fishless cycling this will explain it all to you.

real vs plastic plants is a matter of personal preference. real plants are not desperatley hard to look after (obviously some species are hardied than others) however some people feel they don't want the work so go for plastic. i think a lot of people will use plastic to start out so they can concentrate on learning to look after the fish, then move onto real when they have some more experience.

the bi-orb's are quite small tanks and the shape gives extra limitations, in the new to the hobby section there's a topic on fish sutable for a 10gal tanks, that will give you some options.

water conditioner should be all you need to add to the tank once it's set up and running healthily

 

[ecro83]

Do i need to use water conditioner everytime i change 1/3 of the water in the tank (which once i have fish i will be doing once a week, if i am correct?)

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Do i need to use water conditioner everytime i change 1/3 of the water in the tank (which once i have fish i will be doing once a week, if i am correct?)

yes, water condition removes the chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals from your tap water, these can kill off your filter bacteria (see other linked thread for explanation of filter bacteria) and harm your fish

 

[ecro83]

Do i need to use water conditioner everytime i change 1/3 of the water in the tank (which once i have fish i will be doing once a week, if i am correct?)

yes, water condition removes the chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals from your tap water, these can kill off your filter bacteria (see other linked thread for explanation of filter bacteria) and harm your fish

Ok well my tank is up and running at the moment, before i put fish in do i need to test the water? Or do i just assume everything is ok?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no you need to cycle the tank, as i said earlier read the pinned topics on fishless cycling which will tell you exactly what to do