Aquarium: freshwater tropical fish, Tips/Advice

[Rat]

Hey Guys

Im about to invest in a new hobby of keeping fish along with my many other animals we own here lol

Mickie has given me some great advice (thanks for that mate) but Im open for any help you guys can advise

decided to go for a 98litre tank 70cm x 35cm x 40cm and I know I have to let the tank cycle for around 3 weeks then slowly introduce the fish, probably a couple of fancy guppies at first



One thing if someone can hel me with as Im having trouble finding a stand/cabinet 70 X 35 that can hold the weight

like I said any help greatly received

 

[Him Her]

Personally, I'd buy summat that looked good in the room then hide extra timbers inside it...glue and screw.

 

[Rat]

think Ive found a couple that fit the bill
jeez they cost as much/more than the aquarium

 

[Mick]

I had mine built by a friend who is a Chippie

My tank is also over 200 gallons so its a biggun lol.

I agree though its nice to have a stand that looks nice in the room.

Lots of choices John, you could go down your LFS (Local Fish Shop/Store ) I always find that abbreviation funny lol.

Your local shop will have allot of the things you are after even if you don't buy it will give you an idea.

You have to keep us posted mate

Mick

 

[Rat]

went down to my local tropical shop today they were really nice and helpful
and to my surprise there prices wasn't much dearer than the net tbh, so the the extra few pounds Id rather keep the small business alive and they will cut me a deal so all good
although seeing some of the tanks and stands in there I have raised my budget a bit lol but seeing some pretty coloured fish in the corner Im sure is worth the extra

I can see me going back there tomorrow with some cash in pocket :Hit:
thanks all
Mickie you been a great help thanks

 

[Tamarc]

Hey Rat,im well chuffed you have gone further than the wish,hope it all goes well,and some nice photos would be nice mate,i just aint got the room myself,but my dad (god rest his soul)was an expert tropical fish breeder
im just not in the market to follow,so like looking at what other peeps,have /do

 

[earwig999]

Have you got all of your other stuff too - Filter, Heater, thermometer, airpump / stone and plants?

Are you going for gravel or sand on the bed?

This is my tank not huge but manageable, at least once I got it to cycle correctly. - Interpet Fish Pod Glass Aquarium - Fish Pod 48 Litre: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

I currently have 1 pearl danio, 1 zebra danio, 3 glo-light tetra and 1 dwarf pleco. I had 3 red cherry shrimp, but they seem to have bred so now have about 8, but they don't add to the bio-load so no trouble.

 

[miggy]

Rat I noticed from your profile page that you may/could be in Essex if so have a look here it looks pretty cool and who knows you could get a stand from here. Good luck what ever you decide mate.

Fish Tanks For Sale - Benfleet, Essex | Creation Aquatics

 

[earwig999]

Oh, don't forget your de-chlorinator too. Do you have a testing kit yet, to monitor the cycle?

 

[Firemouth]

Oh, don't forget your de-chlorinator too. Do you have a testing kit yet, to monitor the cycle?

get a good one. one which bind heavy metals too. (thats most good quality ones) it aint always expensive, either. Seachem Prime costs, roughly, a penny to treat 200l of water.

 

[Rat]

cheers fellas that aint too far from me miggy I do have a few closer though
Im off work tomorrow (unless things change) so Im going to pop to a few and have a good look around

Ive dont quite a bit of reading Craig and will be cycling the tank before use and getting ph levels correct
thanks for all the tips

 

[Rat]

Been out this morning with the boss (wife) and placed an order for a Juwel Rio 125 + Cabinet that will look very nice in the corner of my room

125 Litre tank with T5 lighting, hidden filtration-temp-pump

pick it up on Tuesday

 

[miggy]

It will look fantastic in your room Rat, good man. Problem now is you tend to watch the fish instead of the TV . Its Very relaxing to watch though mate. Well done.

 

[Rat]

Ill be filling the tank tomorrow is there a preference with Water Conditioners?

there are 2 main sellers it would seem Aqua Plus Water Conditioner by Nutrafin and Aqua Safe Aquarium Water Conditioner by Tetra

either ? or is one better than the other

 

[Mick]

Both are well known brands in the aquarium, I used to use "tetra" test kits for nitrate.

I would guess they would both do the same thing really mate.

Can't say for sure but I think you will be fine with both mate.

Mick

 

[dibbers]

only thing that I'd be careful from with plants is snails, you might suddenly find that your tank is infested with the blighter's.

And as others have said then algae can be a problem. make sure that it's not going to be in direct sunlight or you'll come in and it'll be growing over the side of your tank.

Start out with a small set of fish, this will allow the nitrates and the nitrites and the like to take affect and settle in the tank. keep an eye on your PH etc.

When you clean the tank and the filter, depending on what one you go for then clean it in the water that you have drained from your tank, never clean it under the tap. or the medium that comes with it. (it'll kill the good bacteria)

Go for a good filter, If you haven't all ready and that way the better the filter the more surface mass that the medium has that is inside it the better the tank will bloom and look.


I miss not having a tank, had a 6 x 4 x 2 salt water and it was amazing, one of the hardest things that I've ever had and not to mention the cost. I settled for 2 x goldfish in a small tank now (and even them give me a hard time...lol) I spent a fortune on a marine tank and the like, probably just under £1500 quid back in the day and it was empty believe it our not....... with all the parts and the price and the like of the sand and kits/rocks etc. it can easily shoot through the roof.

Tropical are easier to keep, don't go straight in there and buy loads of fish for them, let it settle down way before you start to fill it.

The marine tank took about a year to settle down, that's marine like and they are a lot harder to keep, apart from having to buy the right kit (which I wasn't told about at the time I missed and important part of it, the skimmer, it takes the metals and poisonous nasty s out the water, not that you'll need one for the tropical/freshwater ones)

Good luck and have fun....remember don't go steaming in, one step at a time.

Dibbs.

 

[chrispeters]

i have kept both marine and tropical..marines are hard work and require LOADS of attention and perfect water .
Tropical...not so much , pretty much runs itself , i never even test it.
Plants are a must , the algae can be annoying and plants are great to combat it i also have 2 fair sized loaches .
For water conditioner i use ADP stress coat which is pretty good.
i do half tank water changes every 3 weeks or so , i also clean the filter when i do this.
my lights are on a timer , pump and stones are helpfull too .
To do a water change i diy a little hose with a tennis ball kinda pump on one end makes it so much easier.
When u feed , do not overfeed , little is better. overfeeding of the tank is the worst and easiest mistake to make .
have fun , at the end of the day u will run the tank how U like it .and wot works in your schedule.
The only way you will become good at it is by learning by your own failures/mistakes.
Start off with el cheapo HARD fish first , like platies or mollies , tetras . easy to get going with

 

[dibbers]

I hated the "mollies" one was mad and used to swim up and down the height of the tank constantly and then it didn't make it, started to be sick and the others ate/chased it, so they all went down the pan. (yes I know it's not good for human health flushing them, sorry about that)

Tetras are great, you can get barbed ones, but they might be "fin nippers"

how ever, as Chrispeters has said then you'll find what is right, but as said don't go over board and you'll be fine, see what gets on with another, also make sure you research your fish and see what's good at living in harmony with each other, nothing worse than finding a few that start bickering and trying to eat each other. (lol...sounds like a horror film) I bought a "plec" ancistrus pleco, thinking that it was going to be a great algae tank cleaner and it was, but it was a stubborn fish and a few years later it was like having a mule or a wild horse in the tank, and it would writhe about and go wild at times, very nocturnal feeder though....

ended up having to give it to the local fish shop, not as in the "fish and chip" shop but the local pet store as it had grew massive, like huge I mean!



Looks cute though don't they, (until they grow in to a 3 foot monster!..lol)


cleaning, I like the syphon and gravel vacuums that you can get, You could get ones that would attach your air feed to and the circulation when going through the gravel would then suck up any poo and the like.

Same cleaning syphon that I have, works well.. (all though I did leave it in the bath room the other week and I'm sure me mate thought it was one of them willie extenders/sex toys....sorry to drag the thread down...) :tongue:

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Most of all you'll have fun with them, I've spent hours and hours just sat in front of fishtanks.........great they are when they are all going.

 

[dibbers]

That video above isn't really showing you a mucky tank, here's one, not the best of vids but you'll get the jest of it.

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[Rat]

how sad am I
Ive started to get a little excited coz Im getting the tank tomorrow to put water in lol
guys thanks for the tips it will help me on my way im sure
Im sure my daughter and me will enjoy these little fish (when we get them lol)