Newbie buying tank today- Help getting started!

[Closetcreep]

Hello! Like I said in my introduction post, I'm still unsure of what fish I'd like to keep but some that I am growing fond of are guppies, shrimp and telescope eye goldfish (I don't know their name in english, thats what we call them in Spain lol) So I thought that a tank of about 80-100 Litres should be fine for housing a pair of any of that species? I don't know if they are compatible with each other, if so it would be great to have them living together!


Today I am going out to purchase an 80 Litre tank that comes with a filter and a heater. But I don't know if the filter that will come with the tank will be a good quality one or that won't suck up my little guppies or something xD so I might have to buy a better one for them? The spanish forum members told me to install the aquarium and let it running all day for about 15 days before introducing the fish. Which to me sounds off, specially after reading up in various american forums that I should be messing with the water and ammonium to create good bacteria before introducing anything into the ecosystem. I know that since I'm in Spain I can't purchase the exact same products as you guys, but I guess I do have access to their european versions?

So... tonight I'll have my first aquarium at home. What should I be doing next?

 

[AquariumFish]

Check in your local fish store to see if they have start up bacteria.... If they don't just leave your tank running for 15-30 days for the bacteria to grow on their own... Read "The Nitrogen Cycle"

To see if the filter is good enough for the tank we need to know what type of filter it is... (Name). Also we need to know how many fish you are planning to put into the tank... How many of each????

Good Luck

 

[Closetcreep]

Thank you for the fast reply! As far as I know my local fish store doesn't sell bacteria. I was thinking of starting with 4 guppys and maybe put a shrimp or 2? I've also been trying to find java moss (which is impossible to find apparently now haha) and some plants.

The filter is not of a very well known brand: Ica. I don't know the model yet, I haven't seen it yet but its similar to this one but supposedly good enough for a 80L tank

 

[Caliban07]

The bacteria from the LFS is unnecessary in my opinion. There is a guide here in the 'getting started' forum in the 'stickies' section. This will help you grow the bacteria required to keep your fish safe.

The ammonia used in the EU or UK for me is called Kleen off. It shouldn't contain any other chemicals which are generalised as 'surfactants'. It should be ammonia and water only.

The filter is underpowered in my opinion. It should be at least 5x the turnover of your tank. So 400l/h minimum. It also doesn't look like it contains much bacteria media (the sponge the bacteria grow on) you may need to upgrade. Someone here may offer some internal filter brands for you or you can start another thread in the 'general hardware' forums and ask for opinions.

Hope this helps.


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[plantnoob]

Not a fan of store bought "bacteria". Not sure if it does anything. Also leaving your tank running for 15-30 days may do nothing. Ammonia is required for bacteria growth. Read sticky thread on getting started and fishless cycling.

Guppies and shrimp are suitable for a 50 liter tank, goldfish is not. First figure out what is the largest tank you can afford with all the necessary equipment. Larger tanks are easier to maintain in terms of water quality. Then decide what will fit in that tank + compatibility of fishes you plan to put together. Once you have a researched list, come back and sense check here.

Also aqadvisor.com provides good guidelines on fish for your tank size and filtration.


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[Closetcreep]

I was planning on starting small, hence why I decided to get a 80 litre tank to put guppies and shrimp in. I already read up on the stickies but I am confused because various people are coming up with all these different ways I should start my tank that I don't know who to listen to.

Anyways, Thank you guys for the info!

Thank you Caliban07, I will see if I can find Kleen off or something similar in Spain

 

[plantnoob]

Ok. Yeah, people definitely have several opinions on this. At the end of the day, all trying to help based on their own experience.

That said, the guide to fishless cycling in the sticky thread in this forum is a good one. Overall, that's a pretty standard process. Within that people may have slight differences on bacteria vs no bacteria, what to use for ammonia etc. but at a high level that's the process to follow. Makes it a lot easier initially without having to go constant water changes, struggling to keep fish alive etc.

Good luck.


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