Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
I'm new to aquariums and haven't actually got one yet, but i was hoping to get plenty of advice before a get my first tank. 
hi everyone
- Thread starter Kondoe
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Welcome to AA where all your dreams come true! : D
Don't make the mistake of not cycling your tank before you get your fish. If you're not sure what that is, then have no fear! There are lots of people here that will help you! basically it's just building a large enough bacterial colony to allow fish to live. The bigger the tank the loner to cycle (it can even tank a month of cycling before even adding fish!)
If you're new to this hobby is definitely crucial that your purchase the API Freshwater test kits.
Since you said you don't even have an aquarium yet, then a saltwater tank is out of the question as those take older tanks.
Do you have any idea what kind of fish you want? : D
Don't make the mistake of not cycling your tank before you get your fish. If you're not sure what that is, then have no fear! There are lots of people here that will help you!
basically it's just building a large enough bacterial colony to allow fish to live. The bigger the tank the loner to cycle (it can even tank a month of cycling before even adding fish!)If you're new to this hobby is definitely crucial that your purchase the API Freshwater test kits.
Since you said you don't even have an aquarium yet, then a saltwater tank is out of the question as those take older tanks.
Do you have any idea what kind of fish you want? : D
OP
OP
Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
at the top of my list is a rainbow shark, i have just done some research on cycling the tank, and i will be getting a 150cmx50cmx50cm tank about 375 litres or 80gallons. and now that you say a larger tank takes longer to cycle i assume my tank will take a long time
thincat
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2008
- Messages
- 5,330
I don't believe that a larger tank will take longer to cycle. In a bigger tank you may have to add more to start the cycle but the time frame should be about the same. The whole thing is not to rush. And test your water before adding any life to the tank in the way of fishes.
OP
OP
Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
well before i start choosing more fish i wanted to find out what type of fish would be compatible with a rainbow shark. ive done research on the rainbow shark and apparently he can be aggressive. All advice i have read tells me not to have a pair of rainbow sharks or to mix them with other shark.
ChelseaLake
Aquarium Advice Activist
Hey!
Good for you for doing some research before committing to an aquarium.
As far as cycling a big tank: It only took me about 2.5 weeks to cycle my 55g. I had used LOTS of material to "seed" my tank with from my other tanks, and turned the heater on, as well as turned the lights off, which really sped things along.
See if you can get some filter material, decorations, and substrate from someone, even just to borrow.
Good luck, and can't wait to see pics when you get your aquarium set up!
Good for you for doing some research before committing to an aquarium.
As far as cycling a big tank: It only took me about 2.5 weeks to cycle my 55g. I had used LOTS of material to "seed" my tank with from my other tanks, and turned the heater on, as well as turned the lights off, which really sped things along.
See if you can get some filter material, decorations, and substrate from someone, even just to borrow.
Good luck, and can't wait to see pics when you get your aquarium set up!
OP
OP
Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
it wont be for atleast a month and a half till i get my tank up and running with the fish. I live in turkey, there is only 2 pet stores in the area and in one of them the tanks are filthy, does not look nice at all. but the other pet shop has a clean aquarium with a few fish. but unfortunatly i don't have any friends with aquariums so no stuff to borrow as soon as its all ready i will post pics
as soon as its all ready i will post pics 
JoeD
Aquarium Advice Regular
Welcome to AA where all your dreams come true! : D
Don't make the mistake of not cycling your tank before you get your fish. If you're not sure what that is, then have no fear! There are lots of people here that will help you!
If you're new to this hobby is definitely crucial that your purchase the API Freshwater test kits.
Since you said you don't even have an aquarium yet, then a saltwater tank is out of the question as those take older tanks.
Do you have any idea what kind of fish you want? : D
Welcome to AA!
This is sound advice!!! I'm a noob who made the mistake of listening to my local large pet store (LPS) and didn't cycle my tank first and suffered so losses and am doing partial water changes (PWC's) almost daily! The API test kit is a MUST! You will be doing constant test's and will save you big bucks in the long run.
Also this link was shared with me and I found to be quite helpful. Happy Fishkeeping!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ady-have-fish-what-now-116287.html#post983258
I just posted on another topic about compatibility.
Really there are almost no limits. I mean there are such things as snakes and mongoose in the fish-world, but it all comes down to the personality of the fish, and the tank itself. 55G gives your fish quite some breathing room if you don't overstock. Giving a fair amount of hiding places really help out a lot.
Some things to consider after you now which fish to buy is the landscape:
Gravel/sand
Fake plants/real plants
Live rock/plastic rocks
Caves
Lighting/color
3-D background/picture background
Filtration
Picking the fish(es) first really helps you decided on what to get and there TONS of options!
Really there are almost no limits. I mean there are such things as snakes and mongoose in the fish-world, but it all comes down to the personality of the fish, and the tank itself. 55G gives your fish quite some breathing room if you don't overstock. Giving a fair amount of hiding places really help out a lot.
Some things to consider after you now which fish to buy is the landscape:
Gravel/sand
Fake plants/real plants
Live rock/plastic rocks
Caves
Lighting/color
3-D background/picture background
Filtration
Picking the fish(es) first really helps you decided on what to get
and there TONS of options!
OP
OP
Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
I just posted on another topic about compatibility.
Really there are almost no limits. I mean there are such things as snakes and mongoose in the fish-world, but it all comes down to the personality of the fish, and the tank itself. 55G gives your fish quite some breathing room if you don't overstock. Giving a fair amount of hiding places really help out a lot.
Some things to consider after you now which fish to buy is the landscape:
Gravel/sand
Fake plants/real plants
Live rock/plastic rocks
Caves
Lighting/color
3-D background/picture background
Filtration
Picking the fish(es) first really helps you decided on what to get
i will be getting a rather large tank so it should be easy making sure the fish have plenty of space and i wiil be able to fit in plenty of hiding places. i haven't decided betwwen real or fake plants and rocks yet. i assume real would be better.
har-2109
Aquarium Advice Regular
Kondoe said:I'm new to aquariums and haven't actually got one yet, but i was hoping to get plenty of advice before a get my first tank.
A tip from me, your display pic, dont do that to the fish in your tank hehe.
Well done on the catch anyway, that things massive.
Kondoe said:
Not necessarily!
if you're gonna get a real plant make sure you know what it looks like so the people don't give you a plant that DOESN'T go in an aquarium. Also real plants need a certain amount of lighting to thrive, so that adds to the cost. Some fish tear up real plants which makes it an extra duty to clean. Some plants grow very fast and you have to trim them. Don't get me wrong though, cause real plants really make your tank look awesome! They also provide some food and very natural hiding ares for your fish.
OP
OP
Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
don't worry i will be taking very good care of my aquarium no hooks in thier mouths and the places i go fishing the lake owners take realy good care of thier fish, once a fish is caught you have about 1min to take your photos and then the lake guide takes the fish into a recovary area and uses iodine in the fishes mouth to help recover, i think the size of the fish there shows the care they must be getting
OP
OP
Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
Not necessarily!
Don't get me wrong though, cause real plants really make your tank look awesome! They also provide some food and very natural hiding ares for your fish.
i will probably start with fake plants and if i feel i can handle the extra maintenance i will think about replacing fake with real
OP
OP
Kondoe
Aquarium Advice Activist
hi diana welcome to AA
