Need much advice on MANY things...HELP PLEASE!!! LOL

[bs6749]

Okay, I just purchased a 55 gallon aquarium and stand and I have LOTS of questions and things I need help with. Here is a list of questions. If you feel like you are able to answer one or more of them, simply put the number to the corresponding question before your answer to save yourselves some work.

1. The stand seems "cheap and flimsy" even thought it is for a 55 gallon tank, should I be worried? The bottom part of the stand (base) should stick out a little further than the top right?

2. (Note please see 3 also for this question) I would like to put silica sand or sand that is as white as I can find in the tank. I suppose regular pool filter sand will work, but isn't silica sand a special grade of pool filter sand? Can I safely use it in my tank (silica sand that is)? Any problems with using it and if I could use it how would I "rinse it"?

3. I would like to have live plants in the aquarium as well but will silica sand or pool sand be adequate for allowing the plants to grow well or will this substrate "choke" the plants? What should I do to help the plants grow as far as adding fertilizer and lighting? I would like a variety of plants in my tank but mainly amazon/brazilian swords and such, nothing that is "difficult" to take care of or expensive.

4. I am going to be adding tap water to my tank and I had an idea of filtering the water first with a Brita filter or something of that nature before I check and adjust the water once it is in my tank. I thought the fewer impurities in the tank to start with the better....any problems with doing this?

5. I was given some "free samples" of Tetra's AquaSafe with my purchase of the setup. Anyone use this stuff? it supposedly removes chlorine and heavy metals but should I be worried about keeping other stuff out? What are other common things that should be removed from tap water? I am going to check the pH and hardness once I have the water in the tank.

6. Since I am on the subject of testing the water, what is a good "all in one" sort of tester? Are specialized testers better? Should I have a test for pH, another for ammonia, another for hardness,... etc., etc. or would an all in one be best? What do you guys use?

7. How long should I wait to stock the aquarium? I was thinking about putting water in it tomorrow, properly adjusting it ( I will already have the proper substrate and plants in at this time or while I am adjusting it) and then putting in a few ghost shrimp, and maybe a pleco in the tank. I plan to add some German Blue Rams, tetras, angelfish, and others but I want to wait until the ammonia cycle is going. Will putting inexpensive ghost shrimp and a pleco in the tank be a good idea? I need to produce some ammonia before the ammonia consuming bacteria show up right, so why not help the cycle along? That is my thinking at least, and it is in a 55 gallon tank so they will do little if ANY to help the cycle along. Any suggestions?

Okay if you got this far I congratulate you and emphatically THANK YOU for bearing with me. Thank you for any input you give and I look forward to reading and learning about what you all think. You are more help than I think you realize and I APPRECIATE IT GREATLY! Thanks again! : )

 

[joannde]

Heloo ! And welcome to AA !!! Congratulations to YOU for asking questions and researching first And congratulations on your purchase ! You've come to the right place for your questions. I'm a relative newbie also and the people on this forum have helped me tremendously.

1. is the stand made out of wood or metal ? if its rated for a 55 G tank then it will hold it but you might want to google the type and manufacturer and see if there are any reviews on it that you can research

2. yes, you can use silica sand - that is the same as pool filter sand. One of the things you'll need to do if you have a sand subtrate is the move it around a bit every couple of weeks - otherwise anerobic (bad) bacteria can build up. Most people buy malaysian trumpet snails (aka MTS) for this purpose.
to rinse the sand you put it into a clean uncontaminated bucket and flush it with water until the water runs clear

3. I believe you can use it for a planted tank but you might want to wait for more responses.

4. no need to filter the water first, in fact you'll need some of those trace elements if you want to plant the tank. Will talk a bit more about this when we get to the "water conditioners" question

5. chlorine and chloridimides (sp ?) need to be removed. Most people on this forum use a product called "Prime" (made by Seachem) for that. Its SUPER concentrated so you might want to pick up a small bottle. It can smell AWFUL - but don't worry about that - it doesn't mean its bad. I've never used AquaSafe so I can't offer an opinion on it.

6. You definitely want the American Phamaceuticals Freshwater Master Kit. If you have a Petsmart near you go to their website and print out this page - they will often pricematch it (since they sell it for a higher price in the store)
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...1151981502066&itemNo=1&In=Fish&N=2030068&Ne=2

Since you want to plant your tank you should also get the GH / KH (general hardness / carbonate hardness) test kit also. You may also want a phosphate test kit - the one recommended to me is made by SeaChem. I got mine at BigAlsOnline.com

7. You should really consider a fishless cycle to build up your "good" bacteria. There are two types, the ammonia consumers (that convert ammonia to nitrite) and the nitrite consumers (that convert nitrite to nitrate) - this is called the "nitrogen cycle". Nitrates are the least toxic of the three - but you still will want to keep those below 20ppm. There is an article in the saltwater articles section that tells how to do a fishless cycle.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15

Its a real test of patience, as it takes 4~ish weeks, but it beats the heck out of doing multiple weekly water changes, especially on a large tank like a 55G. I personally started with the "pure ammonia" option but switched to the "rotting shrimp" method (you'll understand once you read the article). This is an area where you should spend some time researching right now as its the most important part of aquarium startup - if you do it right you'll be able to add more fish more quickly (once the cycle is done).

You'll probably have more questions on how to do a fishless cycle - just come back and ask - I'm sure you'll get the answers you need

8. (even tho you didn't ask ! LOL) http://fishprofiles.com is a good resource where you can look up the needs of fish you might be interested in. Remember that when deciding which fish to stock that you need to take into account the adult size of the fish. The "rule of thumb" is 1 inch of adult size fish per gallon of water, but it applies to what are called "slim bodied" fish like tetras. Plecos are messier and some species get very large so you might want to look at some of the smaller types like bristlenose or rubberlips. Just research the species you want and do a new post with your proposed stocking list - folks will help you figure out if its a good mix or not

9. (another question you didn't ask LOL) - plants. You might want to read the stickies in the planted tank forum - it will tell you about lighting requirements etc. Its another excellent place to ask questions about the specific types of plants you might want.

Well - that should start you off for now. I hope I didn't kill you with too much info. I'm just excited for you

 

[JustOneMore20]

4. I am going to be adding tap water to my tank and I had an idea of filtering the water first with a Brita filter or something of that nature before I check and adjust the water once it is in my tank. I thought the fewer impurities in the tank to start with the better....any problems with doing this?

As long as you don't have an excess of different minerals or just really bad tap water...filtering it isn't necessary. All you have to do in dechlorinate it.

5. I was given some "free samples" of Tetra's AquaSafe with my purchase of the setup. Anyone use this stuff? it supposedly removes chlorine and heavy metals but should I be worried about keeping other stuff out? What are other common things that should be removed from tap water? I am going to check the pH and hardness once I have the water in the tank.

I use Aquasafe. It takes out the things its supposed to (chlorine, heavy metals). It doesn't take out anything you need.

6. Since I am on the subject of testing the water, what is a good "all in one" sort of tester? Are specialized testers better? Should I have a test for pH, another for ammonia, another for hardness,... etc., etc. or would an all in one be best? What do you guys use?

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a good Master Kit that has tests for ammonia, pH, nitrAte, and nitrIte. You will have to buy the carbonate/general hardness test separately. I don't know of a master kit that contains all the basics plus the hardness tests. Whatever you get, make sure its a liquid kit. Liquid is much more accurate than the strips. I personally use the AP kit and have had no problems with it.

7. How long should I wait to stock the aquarium? I was thinking about putting water in it tomorrow, properly adjusting it ( I will already have the proper substrate and plants in at this time or while I am adjusting it) and then putting in a few ghost shrimp, and maybe a pleco in the tank. I plan to add some German Blue Rams, tetras, angelfish, and others but I want to wait until the ammonia cycle is going. Will putting inexpensive ghost shrimp and a pleco in the tank be a good idea? I need to produce some ammonia before the ammonia consuming bacteria show up right, so why not help the cycle along? That is my thinking at least, and it is in a 55 gallon tank so they will do little if ANY to help the cycle along. Any suggestions?

First, you should read up on the Nitrogen Cycle
Then, I'd read up on Fishless cycling
And again and see if fishless cycling is for you. Its alot easier on the fish, since you don't expose them to the rising ammonia and nitrites. You use household ammonia, with no added scents or surfactants.

Post your pH and hardness on here out of the tap, before you adjust anything. Your water may be ok. If you don't have to adjust the water, you shouldn't mess with it. Usually that only causes problems. Ghost shrimp aren't the hardiest inverts/fish to use during the cycle. The ammonia will get pretty high with any fish in the tank, so if you have to use fish, its best to use a hardy type, such as zebra danios or head and tailight tetras. If you don't have plans to use these fish in your stocking, then a fishless cycle may be better.

You have to put an ammonia source in the tank to build up the bacteria. Without food, the bacteria won't live.

Since you plan on planting the tank, I'd go ahead and add the plants right away if you can. Plants consume some of the ammonia during the cycle, making it less harmful to the fish (if you use any). I think the sand will work. I'd go with pool filter sand, which is a coarser grain, i think. I don't think its the whitest you'll find, but the larger grain is better for plants. If you chose to fine a grain, the sand will compact and can kill plant roots....especially heavy rooters like swords. I'd compromise if you really want plants and go with the pool filter sand.
If you are using the stock tank lighting, you will only be able to grow low light plants, such as anubias, java fern, and some cryptocorynes. Most swords are more medium light plants, so I'd upgrade the lighting if you want to go with them. Some people grow swords in low light, but with the stock lighting, you'll have less than one watt per gallon...which is very low light.
Check out the planted forum for more info.

edit: joannde beat me to it! My 55g stand didn't look so sturdy. It has held up for a year though...so I guess its alright. Mine is wooden...if your tank is made by AGA...its probably just like mine.

 

[joannde]

Hi again - The AP FW Master Test kit does not contain the GH/KH kit - it has to be purchased separately.

 

[bs6749]

Thanks ALOT you two. You have given me a GREAT place to start from. I am sorry for not searching through all of the past forums and such to find answers, I just figured that since my taste in what I want is not the same as everyone that the solutions I am looking for would be different too. Right now I am really tired but I will post my pH and GH when I get up tomorrow. Thanks for the good recommendations on the master test kit, this is what I will be getting (the liquid one). : ) Thanks again, your help is MUCH appreciated!

 

[SCFatz]

Great advice in this thread...pay particular attention to the advice and links concerning the cycle.

Pool filter sand is fine for plants...its what I use in my 50g planted tank...works great.

 

[JustOneMore20]

If you are interested in upgrading the lighting, I have THIS FIXTURE over my 55g tank. It allows me to grow low, medium, and some high light plants and lets you have a good variety.

 

[bs6749]

Okay, I bought the AP test kit and also a GH/KH test too. These results show the water that is in my aquarium right now with NOTHING added.

pH ~ 7.4 (I want it around 6 or so for the rams/angelfish/tetras)

KH ~ 300 (upper level of "ideal" condition)

GH - 300 (very hard, I am assuming the AquaSafe that I have will take care of this)

Nitrate/nitrite/ammonia - these levels were at 0 as they should be.

I guess I know what to do, I need to add the AquaSafe and report back here. Should I turn my filter off when I add it and keep it turned off for a while (couple of hours) so that it can dissolve into the aquarium water? I am not going to add it until I know for sure. No critters in the aquarium as of yet.

 

[rich311k]

Do not start messing with your PH/KH steady is more important than perfect. Your fish will do fine in your water. Please do fishless cylce much less work for you and much easier on your fish.

Just add the dechlor no need to turn off the filter it will work instantly.

Good Luck.

 

[bs6749]

I want to breed the German Blue Rams so that is why I want a lower pH. They, along with angelfish, and tetras like more acidic conditions right? Maybe I would be okay if I were into African cichlids but I want the GBR's mainly. I understand that a wide range of pH levels can be tolerated by fish but for "optimal" conditions I would like it to be lower and more like their natural habitat.

Also on a side note... anyone know how to secure a rather large piece of driftwood to the aquarium? It has suction cups and screws but this is not enough. I was thinking about drilling through some slate and anchoring the wood to that and just burying the slate under my pool filter sand. Is slate easy to drill through or will it crack easily? What is a good thickness to look for?

 

[JustOneMore20]

I know you can attach the slate to the driftwood, but I'm not sure about what thickness you should look for.

If you want to breed GBRs, I'd set up a tank suited to their needs. A 10g would be fine.

For the main tank, you can add some malaysian driftwood to the tank to help lower the pH a little. It isn't good to mess with water chemistry because pH swings will kill your fish. The pH you have is fine for the other fish. A stable pH is best...not necessarily the pH listed as ideal in profiles. You could also try some peat in the filter to lower pH a little...but it won't make a huge difference. Alot of people have GBRs breed in higher pH's than 6.

 

[7Enigma]

Since you will be going planted a very nice way to decrease the pH closer to what you would like is to create a DIY CO2 system, or even better (but much more $$$) would be to get a pressurized system. While a 55gallon is near the point of needing to go pressurized, you can still do a DIY setup, even though the CO2 levels might not be as high as you would like. You do have a high KH, so the pH will not drop as much with CO2 as a tank with soft water, but it will still help, and it will be very good for the plants.

With swords, you would most likely want a coarse sand such as PFS (mentioned before) and will also want root tabs for placement in the sand since they are primarily root feeders.

I feel you are taking on a very ambitious tank, possibly too much at the beginning. I would focus first on getting your tank cycled (HIGHLY recommend fishless), then stocking your tank with fish, and then (and only then) try out a planted tank. I have found that dealing with plants and the subsequent nutrient dosing and algae problems take MUCH more time than just a fish-only tank. If you can successfully get everything to work up to this point, THEN think about adjusting the pH lower. There are just so many factors in an aquarium, it really is a small isolated world...

I would hate to see you get frustrated if things don't work out exactly as you would have hoped, and I'll be the first to tell you that unexpected things happen frequently in this hobby. Goodluck!