Hello, I'm a noob looking for advice

[Dwane]

Hello,

I am new to this site and to the hobby all together. I am picking up a Fluval Vicenza 180 Bowfront Aquarium Sytem this weekend and am very excited to get started. This site seems wonderful so far and is packed full of information. I now understand that I can't just put fish right into my tank and will be patient and try to work my way through cycling my tank which I am going to read up more on now.

I would like to do a fishless cycle if possible. I am wondering if anyone can honestly tell me how hard it is to set up and maintain a planted tank and if the setup I am buying will support a planted tank, it does have two bulbs in it now, whatever comes stock. Is a planted tank expensive to set up and is there any extra maintenance costs?
Also if this is something a noob can handle is it something that I can do while the tank is cycling? I am wondering about this because it would give me something to do and watch the plants grow while I wait if so.

One more question I have is about the canister filter that comes with the Fluval Vicenza setup, the tank is plumbed so that the canister filter can be hooked up through the bottom and remain hidden under the tank, are there any advantages or disadvantages to hooking it up that way? The other issue with that is that it apparently is missing the parts to hook the filter into the bottom of the tank and I am wondering if anyone can direct me to a site where I can find the parts or tell me what I would be looking for? I am in Canada.


I really appreciate any help I get from you and am glad to be part of this community.

Regards,

Dwane

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!

Hello,

I am new to this site and to the hobby all together. I am picking up a Fluval Vicenza 180 Bowfront Aquarium Sytem this weekend and am very excited to get started. This site seems wonderful so far and is packed full of information. I now understand that I can't just put fish right into my tank and will be patient and try to work my way through cycling my tank which I am going to read up more on now.
This is one of the best sites out there IMO. Best place to get information Good for you! And good job on researching. As one member's sig on here says, "Do you research prior to purchase" or something of the sort.
I would like to do a fishless cycle if possible. I am wondering if anyone can honestly tell me how hard it is to set up and maintain a planted tank and if the setup I am buying will support a planted tank, it does have two bulbs in it now, whatever comes stock. Is a planted tank expensive to set up and is there any extra maintenance costs?
Read this:The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling
That guide will walk you through fishless cycling and help you a lot.
Having a planted tank depends on the lights you have. Are they T12s, T8s, T5NOs or HOs, antics, LED, CFLS, etc? How many watts are they and what kind of fixture do you have? That'll determine quite a bit.
In general some good beginner starter plants are crypts, java fern, java moss, anubias, hornwort, and anacharis. Also, look around to see if you can find a lighting chart. I don't have it on me right now, but quite a few members have posted it in the Planted Tank forums.
Also if this is something a noob can handle is it something that I can do while the tank is cycling? I am wondering about this because it would give me something to do and watch the plants grow while I wait if so.
Sure! Plants will live, somewhat thrive, during cycling.
One more question I have is about the canister filter that comes with the Fluval Vicenza setup, the tank is plumbed so that the canister filter can be hooked up through the bottom and remain hidden under the tank, are there any advantages or disadvantages to hooking it up that way? The other issue with that is that it apparently is missing the parts to hook the filter into the bottom of the tank and I am wondering if anyone can direct me to a site where I can find the parts or tell me what I would be looking for? I am in Canada.


I really appreciate any help I get from you and am glad to be part of this community.
Glad you joined
Regards,

Dwane

All my responses are in bold red. Good luck!

 

[Dwane]

Thanks a lot for the prompt response. My tank comes with a canopy that has a built in timer and says it has a powerful GLO T5 high output lighting system. It has 2 x 22" 24W GLO T5 bulbs. Not sure how good this is but I heard T5's are good so hopefully it will do the trick, if somebody could give me an idea of how good a setup this is that would be great.
My filter is a Fluval 205 External filter I think and I hope this is a good one as well, like I said I am a noob and trying to do some research and get a good setup but I'm not great at this yet.

That fishless cycling guide looks great, lots of reading to keep me busy.

Thanks.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

T5s are good. I'm very iffy when it comes to giving advice on lighting for plants and such. You could post another thread in the Planted Tanks forum or shoot mfdrookie, fort, aqua chem, jetajockey, Coleallensmom or someone else who is a plant expert a private message and ask them or wait for them to respond to this thread.

Fluvals make nice filters. Just remember that you will have to clean it To do that, when you have your bucket of water full during your PWCs, take your filter cartridges, swish all the gunk/muck out, and that's all there is to it Neve replace them unelss they're literally falling apart.

Look around here to see if you find anything you can't find online. Lots of great info on here IMO

Also,
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...started-check-out-these-resources-154837.html

 

[Dwane]

Thanks a lot for the info and links I really appreciate it.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Your always welcome to ask any more questions if you want.

 

[redsea]

Welcome, thanks for joining us here at AA!