Confessions of a Newbie

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AndyN

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Dec 4, 2012
Messages
45
Morning People,

I'm about to start a new Freshwater Tank, but feel I need to get something off my chest first!

My Confession:

When I finished Uni (10 years ago now) I got a really small fish tank - it was tiny and as a result incredibly hard to manage - I didnt cycle prior to putting fish in (I didnt know what cycling was), I clearly overstocked with inappropriate fish (I didnt know there was a limit), I put fish in that didnt get on (I thought all fish were friends), I didnt introduce fish to the tank properly (I thought you could just pour them in) and over the course of 6 months ended the lives of many innocent fish - clearly this was down to a desire to do something I had not taken the time to research or understand - I was young / naive and foolish! Looking back - i feel pretty terrible about it all.

There you go - its out there - you know - im a changed man these days (Promise).

(I also think the store that sold me everything should have a duty of care for the fish they sell and properly educate people who clearly have never done this before - but thats another issue).

Anyhoo - As previously stated, I am about to start my second tank. My chosen tank is an Askoll 'Pure' XL - I believe it is about 96 Litres. I think it is fairly exclusive to maidenhead Aquatics in UK - If anyone has any feedback or has used one, I would love to hear from you.

I have decided to do a 'fishless' cycle and have spent many hours reading up on how to conduct it - never been so excited about growing some bacteria in my life! I am fortunate enough to know a lady with two huge tanks (biggest clown loaches I have ever seen in my life) she has agreed to give me some seeded materials from her long established tanks, so hopefully that will help with the bacteria growth.

My aim is to have a well planted community tank - quite like the idea of breeding fish so will be getting livebearers when im finally ready to start adding fish. If anyone can suggest some fish and plants that will work well together then I would be very grateful. I would love to have a pleco in my tank - I'm fairly sure they are ok with most livebearers, but if anyone can suggest a suitable pleco that would be really helpful.

Thanks for reading - hope you all can forgive my previous sins :hide:
Look forward to hearing from you.
Andy :thanks:
 
Hell I did the same thing many years ago. I still remember my five gallon tank full of goldfish, oblivious to their peril.
 
AndyN said:
Morning People,

I'm about to start a new Freshwater Tank, but feel I need to get something off my chest first!

My Confession:

When I finished Uni (10 years ago now) I got a really small fish tank - it was tiny and as a result incredibly hard to manage - I didnt cycle prior to putting fish in (I didnt know what cycling was), I clearly overstocked with inappropriate fish (I didnt know there was a limit), I put fish in that didnt get on (I thought all fish were friends), I didnt introduce fish to the tank properly (I thought you could just pour them in) and over the course of 6 months ended the lives of many innocent fish - clearly this was down to a desire to do something I had not taken the time to research or understand - I was young / naive and foolish! Looking back - i feel pretty terrible about it all.

There you go - its out there - you know - im a changed man these days (Promise).

(I also think the store that sold me everything should have a duty of care for the fish they sell and properly educate people who clearly have never done this before - but thats another issue).

Anyhoo - As previously stated, I am about to start my second tank. My chosen tank is an Askoll 'Pure' XL - I believe it is about 96 Litres. I think it is fairly exclusive to maidenhead Aquatics in UK - If anyone has any feedback or has used one, I would love to hear from you.

I have decided to do a 'fishless' cycle and have spent many hours reading up on how to conduct it - never been so excited about growing some bacteria in my life! I am fortunate enough to know a lady with two huge tanks (biggest clown loaches I have ever seen in my life) she has agreed to give me some seeded materials from her long established tanks, so hopefully that will help with the bacteria growth.

My aim is to have a well planted community tank - quite like the idea of breeding fish so will be getting livebearers when im finally ready to start adding fish. If anyone can suggest some fish and plants that will work well together then I would be very grateful. I would love to have a pleco in my tank - I'm fairly sure they are ok with most livebearers, but if anyone can suggest a suitable pleco that would be really helpful.

Thanks for reading - hope you all can forgive my previous sins :hide:
Look forward to hearing from you.
Andy :thanks:

It's an awful feeling I know, I did the same thing a few years ago, we all have! I had a 40 gallon high tank, and I had probably about 15 fish in it,
Including a common pleco that enormous, along with a catfish that was probably about 5 inches long, my pleco was about the same size maybe bigger. I had no idea about cycling either, and I was changing out my filter cartridges (not as often as I thought I was supposed to) but now I know that's a big no no! The point is you learned from your mistakes :)
 
As far as fish go, livebearer wise you can go with platies, mollies, or guppies and they will breed without you having to do hardly any work at all. If your planning on keeping the fry in the community tank, be sure and provide areas of densely planted areas or some caves that are mostly hidden by plants as an area for them to hide. I'm not the one to ask about plants because I have no idea about that aspect of the hobby, but you want to look for bushy dense plants, floating plants that are dense and bushy also serve as a good hiding spot. And pleco wise, try and find a bristlenose pleco, they only get 4 inches. A common pleco needs a huge tank, like I think bigger than even a 55g because their max size is around 20'' I believe. Also for a cool looking and all around interesting fish to watch... Check rams! I'm partial to bolivian rams (I've read they are Hardier than most breeds). I have two now hoping they pair up and breed! Here's a picture of my two Bolivian rams.
 

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And being able to get seeded filter media from your friend will speed up your cycle too!
 
Welcom to Aquarium Addicts, LOL. We have all killed our fair share of fish with our inexperience so you're not alone. The seeded filter media will help GREATLY with your tank cycle.
 
As far as fish go, livebearer wise you can go with platies, mollies, or guppies and they will breed without you having to do hardly any work at all. If your planning on keeping the fry in the community tank, be sure and provide areas of densely planted areas or some caves that are mostly hidden by plants as an area for them to hide. I'm not the one to ask about plants because I have no idea about that aspect of the hobby, but you want to look for bushy dense plants, floating plants that are dense and bushy also serve as a good hiding spot. And pleco wise, try and find a bristlenose pleco, they only get 4 inches. A common pleco needs a huge tank, like I think bigger than even a 55g because their max size is around 20'' I believe. Also for a cool looking and all around interesting fish to watch... Check rams! I'm partial to bolivian rams (I've read they are Hardier than most breeds). I have two now hoping they pair up and breed! Here's a picture of my two Bolivian rams.

Thanks for the response Mrs H - love the rams by the way - TBH there were already on my 'want' list - hopefully yours will get there freak on soon! :kiss:

I'm thinking Guppies might be the way forward - they might be common, but they look cute as anything!

As for the planting - i'm researching now as we speak - I'm determined to go to town on Aquascaping - really want to create something awesome - I guess while im doing my fishless cycle I can really focus on making a cool tank. Currently getting some inspiration online - some people have created some works of art. Obviously mine wont be quite up to there standard, but there is no harm in aiming high!
 
AndyN said:
Thanks for the response Mrs H - love the rams by the way - TBH there were already on my 'want' list - hopefully yours will get there freak on soon! :kiss:

I'm thinking Guppies might be the way forward - they might be common, but they look cute as anything!

As for the planting - i'm researching now as we speak - I'm determined to go to town on Aquascaping - really want to create something awesome - I guess while im doing my fishless cycle I can really focus on making a cool tank. Currently getting some inspiration online - some people have created some works of art. Obviously mine wont be quite up to there standard, but there is no harm in aiming high!

I'm not sure on the m:f ratio for guppies but I know it's more females than makes, I want to say its 3f:1m? Hopefully someone else will chime in on that. Oh and if you could work on actually getting some plants planted in your tank while cycling that will help your cycle along as well. And if you do decide to go with Bolivian rams, they are so peaceful! I haven't had any problems with them at all. I have them in a 30 with 6 serpae tetras, 2 adult & 3 fry platy, a balloon Molly, 3 bronze and 2 peppered cories and an albino pleco. The rams have only been bothering each other and leave everyone else alone. The ram I got yesterday is still working on coloring up, but the one I got last Friday is coloring up very nicely, im sure you could see the color difference in the 2 lol :)
 
If your wanting to do a planted tank definitely do your research before getting started. First choose your substrate. You can use common aquarium gravel or sand but I would suggest looking into some of the commercial substrates as they have a high CED (cation exchange capacity) meaning they can absorb nutrients from detris and water column. Then decide on what type of plants you like which will in turn determine the type lighting you need. That is the best way to start planning. Then also working on the type of fish you would like. If you wanting a community tank you could do a top schooling fish like Hatchets or Threadfin Rainbowfish. A centerpiece fish like a Honey Gourami, Pearl Gourami, or Dwarf Gourami. Bottom swimmers such as a school of cory cats or Kuhli loaches. The Julii and Pandas are smaller and would be good for your sized tank. Then you could finish it off with a nice school of Cardinal, Rummynose, or other smaller Tetras or Rasboras. I have a large variety of plants and fish which you can view on the links at the bottom of the post.
 
If your wanting to do a planted tank definitely do your research before getting started. First choose your substrate. You can use common aquarium gravel or sand but I would suggest looking into some of the commercial substrates as they have a high CED (cation exchange capacity) meaning they can absorb nutrients from detris and water column. Then decide on what type of plants you like which will in turn determine the type lighting you need. That is the best way to start planning. Then also working on the type of fish you would like. If you wanting a community tank you could do a top schooling fish like Hatchets or Threadfin Rainbowfish. A centerpiece fish like a Honey Gourami, Pearl Gourami, or Dwarf Gourami. Bottom swimmers such as a school of cory cats or Kuhli loaches. The Julii and Pandas are smaller and would be good for your sized tank. Then you could finish it off with a nice school of Cardinal, Rummynose, or other smaller Tetras or Rasboras. I have a large variety of plants and fish which you can view on the links at the bottom of the post.

Thanks for the advice Rivercats - I like the idea of sand, but am wondering whether I would need some additional 'plant food' to help with growth as I cant imagine sand containing too many nutrients. Also, do you know of a place on the web where plants are split by there lighting requirements? I am keen to find out which plants work well together.

Nice tank BTW - that is certainly the kind of look im going for (y)
 
Sand and gravel are both inert so you would have to use root tabs in the substrate and depending on the type of plants and how many you plant along with the type of light you get will determine if you need a liquid plant fert of an all inclusive dosing of macro and micro ferts like I use in dry form.

As for plants there is no site that I know of but if you go to AquariumPlants.com or ExtraPlants.com you can go through each section and read up on various plants offered for sale.
 
Soooo - I got my tank yesterday! Whoop - it's up and running (well it has water substrate and sand in!). Decided to get a Juwel Lido 120 instead - now have 120 litres instead of the original 96! Winner! Started my cycle yesterday - going to get some seeded items tomorrow! Fingers crossed it will cycle before my Birthday in Jan! :)))
 
Gratz on getting a bigger tank!!!

If you decide to go guppies. Couple tips. Remember the female to male ratio is 3 to 1. A lot of people don't follow this and it a shame. because a male guppy will literally harass a single female to death. Also pick your stock of them carefully be attributes you would like the fry to have. I mean color, fins etc. I started a 20g guppy factory for my daughter a few months ago. We now have some very interesting colored fry because we choose stock from different lines of guppies. I know I probably just make guppy breeder fall out of their chair but its become very fun to see what color and attributes the fry get. Plus it easier to re-home pretty fish that you don't find in. Fish stores! If friends don't take them. I'v never had a Lfs refuse any that I offer. Good luck!
 
I am quite good at killing fish. Actually, right now I am working on starting up a ten gallon tank. If you are looking for plecos, than i recommend bristlenose. They are supposed to not get as big as most plecos, and seem to be pretty hardy. Are you going to put any large fish like cichlids or gourami? You have enough room to.
 
To be honest I have decided against guppys - I'm now thinking a couple of electric blue rams and maybe 4 honey gouramis (1:3 m:f). What do u guys think!?
 
AndyN said:
To be honest I have decided against guppys - I'm now thinking a couple of electric blue rams and maybe 4 honey gouramis (1:3 m:f). What do u guys think!?

Rams need a Mature tank because they are sensitive to nitrates and they need stability. I've your set on rams Bolivians are hardier than most other rams. I would start out with the gouramis and any other your stock you want and add rams last. Just remember since rams are sensitive to nitrates, ideally you want to keep the level 10 or under, 10 being the highest.
 
Most rams need higher temps (low 80's) than most tropical fish like. Bolivian Rams though can live in mid-high 70s and they are more hardy than other rams. I'd try those instead. If you want to try multiple gouramis be sure you know how to sex them; don't count on the store employees knowing how to do it; if you get more than one male they'll likely fight. A singe Gourami or a pair might be a safer option. You'd have room for a mid-level schooling fish too, something like rummynose tetra or harlequin rasbora; 8-10 of a schooling fish would look nice.
 
Thanks for the advice on Rams! Maybe need to think about thinks a bit more!! (Oh well - plenty of time while I cycle) - adding a couple of pics of tank as it is - not very exiting I'm afraid!
 

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AndyN said:
Thanks for the advice on Rams! Maybe need to think about thinks a bit more!! (Oh well - plenty of time while I cycle) - adding a couple of pics of tank as it is - not very exiting I'm afraid!

Looks awesome! Their really not that difficult, like I said you just need to keep an eye on your nitrates if you do decide to go with rams, also add them last, I had my tank cycled and got consistent cycled readings for a few months even after adding fish along the way. If you go with them, you definitely won't regret it!
 
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