Newbie!

[robmol]

Just won my first tank on ebay! . I have a friend who knows quite a lot about keeping fish but im sure youll be hearing from me a lot more once i get it all set up

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...E:B:WNA:GB:1123

Now for lots of research into what i can put in it...

 

[chesterscot]

to tff youll find lots of helpfull info on the forum
regards scot

 

[waterdrop]

Welcome to TFF robmol,

Since you are one of the lucky ones who has stumbled across this beginner forum prior to fully starting your tank (presumably your first) I'd recommend you read the pinned articles at the top here and begin asking questions and mixing in the advice from the members here with your friend's advice. Also read other beginner's threads here and do searches on things all over these forums. Its easy to get advice that's a little off from what you need if you rely on any one person too much sometimes.

Understanding the "Nitrogen Cycle", fishless cycling, the use of good test kits, good water change techniques and good gravel cleaning techniques are core skills to learn as you work on doing a correct tank start-up. It can take up to two months to get a filter functional and ready for fish and during that time you get plenty of chances to explore whether the fish you think you'll want are right for your tank and for your other fish choices, so that work comes a little later than your initial work of learning about tank water chemistry and about the hardware tools of the trade. Good luck. Freshwater tropical fish keeping is a wonderful hobby.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[chainedfaith]

Congrats on the win, and welcome to the site

 

[flyhawk]

warm, or should i say 'wet' welcomes to tropical fish forums!

 

[B13]

Hi and welcome!!

 

[forby3]

 

[martinking]

Welcome!

 

[Jazzzz]

welcome

Please fishless cycle the tank it is so much safer for your fish and this does not mean leaving everything running for 3-7 days as his does nothing

 

[robmol]

Thanks for the welcome guys.

I now have the tank and have it filled etc but im not sure whats going on with the temperature. It was really really warm for a day or 2, like actually radiating heat. The heater has always been on lowest setting so it didnt blow up initially. Now it has definately cooled down slighty (to touch) but the thermometer on the tank still says 29c. Can those colored sticker thermometers be trusted?

 

[fca1963]

I believe that 29c is the most common temperature for most tropical fishes

 

[waterdrop]

29C/84F is an excellent temperature for growing beneficial bacteria in the filter (!), not for fish usually. Typical compromise community tank temperatures are 24-26C.

That said, temp, like many other parameters is something the aquarist figures out based on the fish population. People can choose many types of fish and environments, so its hard to generalize about this.

I'd recommend a cheap glass tube encased traditional thermometer as an additional cross-check against the strip thermomter you've already obtained. It never hurts to have more than one thermometer. Heaters often have instructions for "calibrating" the little numerical knob that adjusts the set-point. Until that is done, the numbers don't usually necessarily correspond to reality.

Have you started your searches for a good liquid test kit and for the right kind of ammonia? Those will normally be your main tools to work with for the next month or two before you can have fish, right?

~~waterdrop~~