Show Me Your Tank...
Discussion
Hello fish people.
I have just put an ad on the PH classifieds for a large tank, filter and lots of fishy accessories. If anyone is interested.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2549353.htm
I have just put an ad on the PH classifieds for a large tank, filter and lots of fishy accessories. If anyone is interested.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2549353.htm
parakitaMol. said:
Hello fish people.
I have just put an ad on the PH classifieds for a large tank, filter and lots of fishy accessories. If anyone is interested.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2549353.htm
I'll take that if its still available Anna.I have just put an ad on the PH classifieds for a large tank, filter and lots of fishy accessories. If anyone is interested.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2549353.htm
YHM
Vixpy1 said:
parakitaMol. said:
Hello fish people.
I have just put an ad on the PH classifieds for a large tank, filter and lots of fishy accessories. If anyone is interested.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2549353.htm
I'll take that if its still available Anna.I have just put an ad on the PH classifieds for a large tank, filter and lots of fishy accessories. If anyone is interested.
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/2549353.htm
YHM
Recently I've been thinking of getting a small tank and starting to get into building my own aquarium. Some of the tanks you guys have here look outstanding. I guess i was coming here for a bit of advice.
I was thinking of starting around 60-100L capacity and getting some community tropicals. I know i will need a decent tank, filter and heating unit etc. I was wondering if anybody had some more detailed startup info they could give?
Cheers,
-Allan
I was thinking of starting around 60-100L capacity and getting some community tropicals. I know i will need a decent tank, filter and heating unit etc. I was wondering if anybody had some more detailed startup info they could give?
Cheers,
-Allan
Comacchio said:
Recently I've been thinking of getting a small tank and starting to get into building my own aquarium. Some of the tanks you guys have here look outstanding. I guess i was coming here for a bit of advice.
I was thinking of starting around 60-100L capacity and getting some community tropicals. I know i will need a decent tank, filter and heating unit etc. I was wondering if anybody had some more detailed startup info they could give?
Cheers,
-Allan
Read up on cycling. When starting up a new tank not knowing about (or knowing about and choosing to ignore) cycling is the biggest killer of fish IMO:I was thinking of starting around 60-100L capacity and getting some community tropicals. I know i will need a decent tank, filter and heating unit etc. I was wondering if anybody had some more detailed startup info they could give?
Cheers,
-Allan
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/175355-...
And buy a liquid drop based water testing kit that tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH - the API one lasts forever and is very accurate, and is probably the most commonly recommended one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/API-FRESHWATER-FISH-MASTER-T...
Oh, and buy dechlorinator. There is some debate as to whether it is still needed, but given how cheap it is I'm happy to stay out of the argument and carry on using it.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HAGEN-NUTRAFIN-AQUA-PLUS-AQU...
Next, tank selection. The bigger the better is the short answer. The bigger the tank, the more stocking options and the longer it will take for any water chemistry changes to harm your fish. Go for the biggest tank you can fit/afford. At the very least I'd say 65L but if you can get away with a 180-200L tank they aren't silly money. In either case it's worth checking out ebay - set up a saved search for fish tanks locally, you can usually pick up a bargain. Just make sure the tank is water tight, any lights that come with it work and there aren't any scratches visible when the tank is full.
Tank setup.
The filter and heater you get will depend on the size of the tank, but as a guide to filtration it's recommended that the output of your filter(s) is 6 times the tanks capacity, so for a 100L tank you'll want a filter that outputs 600LPH. There are a few different types of filter - undergravel (works, but it's pretty outdated now), internal (very common - the Fluval U and Plus series are very good) and external filters to mention the most common. External filters sit in a cabinet under the tank, so they don't take up any space inside the tank. Internals sit inside the tank, and can be unsightly but personally I don't notice them. I run a mix of internal and external filters on most of my tanks.
Heater wise I'd go with a decent brand like Fluval, Interpet or Hydor - if a heater breaks and stays on it can cook your fish in the tank, so I wouldn't trust an ebay HK special. As with filters, the size of the tank will dictate what wattage of heater you need and there are plenty of guides on Google (and on the heater manufacturers website.) Try to place the heater in the path of your filters outlet for good circulation of heat.
Decoration.
Substrate is the stuff on the bottom - you've got the choice of various colours of gravel and a few choices sand wise. Personally I use Argos play sand in all my tank (currently 4) as all play sand is cheap, non toxic, and I think it looks very good. Oh, and a good number of fish prefer sand to gravel. Ultimately the choice is down to what you think looks better though. Whichever option you go for give it good rinse in tap water before hand. I aim to put about an inch of substrate down.
In terms of tank decoration, some people go for shipwrecks and bridges etc but personally I detest that look - it's far too artificial looking. Most of my tanks have a mixture of bog wood and a few rock caves. Bog wood can be bought just about anywhere, and is widely used in aquariums - it's not the same as just wood picked up from local tree's. If you get some leave it soaking for a few days to get some of the tannins out (not harmful, they just make the water look tea coloured. The longer the wood is kept in water the more they'll stop leaching tannins.)
Plants aren't something I'm great with but I do think that you need a few live plants in most tanks to add a splash of colour. Some plants are easier to keep than others - for a really dense planted setup you'll need CO2 and T5 lighting, stuff I know very little about. I'm quite happy just keeping a few hardy aquarium plants like Java Fern. If you do get plants though, don't buy them from your local fish shop (LFS.) Very few plants sold in LFS' will actually survive underwater, and will rot and die when kept in aquaria. I use this site to get my plants from - all their stock are plants that will be okay fully submerged.
http://www.plantsalive.co.uk/
Finally, the most interesting part: fish selection. The best advice I can give you is to go into a few local fish shops and take photo's of the fish you're keen on once you know how big the tank you're getting is. Post them on here and someone will be able to tell you what they are, whether they would work in your setup and whether they can be kept with other fish.
Which brings my nicely on to my penultimate point: don't trust advice given by staff in fish shops. Some give good advice but they are in a minority, so always verify any advice given and resist the urge to make impulse buys when it comes to fish.
And I'm probably breaking forum rules by endorsing another forum, but the one linked below has helped me out no end over the years, and in turn I try to advise others on there when I can.
http://www.fishforums.net/
Oh, and finally - don't be put off if it sounds complicated. It does seem it at first but once you get your tank setup and running it's easy to keep things stable.
tenohfive said:
Read up on cycling. When starting up a new tank not knowing about (or knowing about and choosing to ignore) cycling is the biggest killer of fish IMO:
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/175355-...
And buy a liquid drop based water testing kit that tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH - the API one lasts forever and is very accurate, and is probably the most commonly recommended one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/API-FRESHWATER-FISH-MASTER-T...
Oh, and buy dechlorinator. There is some debate as to whether it is still needed, but given how cheap it is I'm happy to stay out of the argument and carry on using it.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HAGEN-NUTRAFIN-AQUA-PLUS-AQU...
Next, tank selection. The bigger the better is the short answer. The bigger the tank, the more stocking options and the longer it will take for any water chemistry changes to harm your fish. Go for the biggest tank you can fit/afford. At the very least I'd say 65L but if you can get away with a 180-200L tank they aren't silly money. In either case it's worth checking out ebay - set up a saved search for fish tanks locally, you can usually pick up a bargain. Just make sure the tank is water tight, any lights that come with it work and there aren't any scratches visible when the tank is full.
Tank setup.
The filter and heater you get will depend on the size of the tank, but as a guide to filtration it's recommended that the output of your filter(s) is 6 times the tanks capacity, so for a 100L tank you'll want a filter that outputs 600LPH. There are a few different types of filter - undergravel (works, but it's pretty outdated now), internal (very common - the Fluval U and Plus series are very good) and external filters to mention the most common. External filters sit in a cabinet under the tank, so they don't take up any space inside the tank. Internals sit inside the tank, and can be unsightly but personally I don't notice them. I run a mix of internal and external filters on most of my tanks.
Heater wise I'd go with a decent brand like Fluval, Interpet or Hydor - if a heater breaks and stays on it can cook your fish in the tank, so I wouldn't trust an ebay HK special. As with filters, the size of the tank will dictate what wattage of heater you need and there are plenty of guides on Google (and on the heater manufacturers website.) Try to place the heater in the path of your filters outlet for good circulation of heat.
Decoration.
Substrate is the stuff on the bottom - you've got the choice of various colours of gravel and a few choices sand wise. Personally I use Argos play sand in all my tank (currently 4) as all play sand is cheap, non toxic, and I think it looks very good. Oh, and a good number of fish prefer sand to gravel. Ultimately the choice is down to what you think looks better though. Whichever option you go for give it good rinse in tap water before hand. I aim to put about an inch of substrate down.
In terms of tank decoration, some people go for shipwrecks and bridges etc but personally I detest that look - it's far too artificial looking. Most of my tanks have a mixture of bog wood and a few rock caves. Bog wood can be bought just about anywhere, and is widely used in aquariums - it's not the same as just wood picked up from local tree's. If you get some leave it soaking for a few days to get some of the tannins out (not harmful, they just make the water look tea coloured. The longer the wood is kept in water the more they'll stop leaching tannins.)
Plants aren't something I'm great with but I do think that you need a few live plants in most tanks to add a splash of colour. Some plants are easier to keep than others - for a really dense planted setup you'll need CO2 and T5 lighting, stuff I know very little about. I'm quite happy just keeping a few hardy aquarium plants like Java Fern. If you do get plants though, don't buy them from your local fish shop (LFS.) Very few plants sold in LFS' will actually survive underwater, and will rot and die when kept in aquaria. I use this site to get my plants from - all their stock are plants that will be okay fully submerged.
http://www.plantsalive.co.uk/
Finally, the most interesting part: fish selection. The best advice I can give you is to go into a few local fish shops and take photo's of the fish you're keen on once you know how big the tank you're getting is. Post them on here and someone will be able to tell you what they are, whether they would work in your setup and whether they can be kept with other fish.
Which brings my nicely on to my penultimate point: don't trust advice given by staff in fish shops. Some give good advice but they are in a minority, so always verify any advice given and resist the urge to make impulse buys when it comes to fish.
And I'm probably breaking forum rules by endorsing another forum, but the one linked below has helped me out no end over the years, and in turn I try to advise others on there when I can.
http://www.fishforums.net/
Oh, and finally - don't be put off if it sounds complicated. It does seem it at first but once you get your tank setup and running it's easy to keep things stable.
I couldn't have asked for a better reply. Thanks so much, I'll have a good research first before making any sort of move. I would be aiming towards the 65-100L scale I think. But this is all to happen in the near future (3 to 6 months), so I have plenty time to pester you some more http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/175355-...
And buy a liquid drop based water testing kit that tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH - the API one lasts forever and is very accurate, and is probably the most commonly recommended one:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/API-FRESHWATER-FISH-MASTER-T...
Oh, and buy dechlorinator. There is some debate as to whether it is still needed, but given how cheap it is I'm happy to stay out of the argument and carry on using it.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HAGEN-NUTRAFIN-AQUA-PLUS-AQU...
Next, tank selection. The bigger the better is the short answer. The bigger the tank, the more stocking options and the longer it will take for any water chemistry changes to harm your fish. Go for the biggest tank you can fit/afford. At the very least I'd say 65L but if you can get away with a 180-200L tank they aren't silly money. In either case it's worth checking out ebay - set up a saved search for fish tanks locally, you can usually pick up a bargain. Just make sure the tank is water tight, any lights that come with it work and there aren't any scratches visible when the tank is full.
Tank setup.
The filter and heater you get will depend on the size of the tank, but as a guide to filtration it's recommended that the output of your filter(s) is 6 times the tanks capacity, so for a 100L tank you'll want a filter that outputs 600LPH. There are a few different types of filter - undergravel (works, but it's pretty outdated now), internal (very common - the Fluval U and Plus series are very good) and external filters to mention the most common. External filters sit in a cabinet under the tank, so they don't take up any space inside the tank. Internals sit inside the tank, and can be unsightly but personally I don't notice them. I run a mix of internal and external filters on most of my tanks.
Heater wise I'd go with a decent brand like Fluval, Interpet or Hydor - if a heater breaks and stays on it can cook your fish in the tank, so I wouldn't trust an ebay HK special. As with filters, the size of the tank will dictate what wattage of heater you need and there are plenty of guides on Google (and on the heater manufacturers website.) Try to place the heater in the path of your filters outlet for good circulation of heat.
Decoration.
Substrate is the stuff on the bottom - you've got the choice of various colours of gravel and a few choices sand wise. Personally I use Argos play sand in all my tank (currently 4) as all play sand is cheap, non toxic, and I think it looks very good. Oh, and a good number of fish prefer sand to gravel. Ultimately the choice is down to what you think looks better though. Whichever option you go for give it good rinse in tap water before hand. I aim to put about an inch of substrate down.
In terms of tank decoration, some people go for shipwrecks and bridges etc but personally I detest that look - it's far too artificial looking. Most of my tanks have a mixture of bog wood and a few rock caves. Bog wood can be bought just about anywhere, and is widely used in aquariums - it's not the same as just wood picked up from local tree's. If you get some leave it soaking for a few days to get some of the tannins out (not harmful, they just make the water look tea coloured. The longer the wood is kept in water the more they'll stop leaching tannins.)
Plants aren't something I'm great with but I do think that you need a few live plants in most tanks to add a splash of colour. Some plants are easier to keep than others - for a really dense planted setup you'll need CO2 and T5 lighting, stuff I know very little about. I'm quite happy just keeping a few hardy aquarium plants like Java Fern. If you do get plants though, don't buy them from your local fish shop (LFS.) Very few plants sold in LFS' will actually survive underwater, and will rot and die when kept in aquaria. I use this site to get my plants from - all their stock are plants that will be okay fully submerged.
http://www.plantsalive.co.uk/
Finally, the most interesting part: fish selection. The best advice I can give you is to go into a few local fish shops and take photo's of the fish you're keen on once you know how big the tank you're getting is. Post them on here and someone will be able to tell you what they are, whether they would work in your setup and whether they can be kept with other fish.
Which brings my nicely on to my penultimate point: don't trust advice given by staff in fish shops. Some give good advice but they are in a minority, so always verify any advice given and resist the urge to make impulse buys when it comes to fish.
And I'm probably breaking forum rules by endorsing another forum, but the one linked below has helped me out no end over the years, and in turn I try to advise others on there when I can.
http://www.fishforums.net/
Oh, and finally - don't be put off if it sounds complicated. It does seem it at first but once you get your tank setup and running it's easy to keep things stable.
Thanks again,
-Allan
JFReturns said:
y2blade said:
thanks
I'd only just filled it with water and fired up the filter and heater...picking up bogwood and plants tomorrow after work
You will probably need a fair bit more substrate for your plants mate...I'd only just filled it with water and fired up the filter and heater...picking up bogwood and plants tomorrow after work
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