Purchasing soon

[rrpod]

Today or tomorrow I will be purchasing almost everything other than fish to start cycling my freshwater aquarium. This will be my first aquarium, so is there anything I need to know before I purchase??

 

[treemanone2003]

Today or tomorrow I will be purchasing almost everything other than fish to start cycling my freshwater aquarium. This will be my first aquarium, so is there anything I need to know before I purchase??

First thing that many, if not all of us here will agree upon is, come here first to discuss things before relying on your LFS. They're generally not the best source of information.

Here's a good read pertaining to getting started. Go thru this and don't be afraid to ask tons of questions.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html


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[rrpod]

Should I add the substrate and decorations before or after cycling?

 

[katiekelsey]

You can cycle the tank with substrate and decorations in it.
I just set up a 75 gal tank on 12/24. I have the substrate and a few plants in it. I added a bottle of Safe Start and a day later I added 6 black skirt tetra fish to help cycle the tank. They're a hardy fish. I check the ammonia level every day. Be sure to rinse the substrate before putting it in the tank.

 

[treemanone2003]

Put everything in the tank, sit back and look at it. You'll decide you don't like it as soon as you put water in and rearrange everything, lol. Make sure one of the things you get is a liquid test kit. The test strips are JUNK !!!!

You can use http://www.liveaquaria.com/?t=1&ref=4395&subref=AA&cmpid=PPC-G-B-4395 as a source for ideas and a compatibility guide (left side of page) and http://aqadvisor.com/ as reference for comparing stock levels and filtration.

Keep us posted and somebody is always around here to answer any questions.


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[rrpod]

thanks soo much!

 

[ppo8820]

Welcome! Its a great hobby.

Buy everything you need to get started. This includes heater, tank, filter (get higher than required, you wont be sorry), lighting, and gravel/sand. You can buy a few plants or rocks, but they arent needed for cycling. Put it all together, throw some Prime water conditioner in (best brand) and wait it out. It can take a LONG time to fishless cycle. My tank took 2 months and I dosed with pure ammonia. They also make Tetra Safestart which is the ONLY bacteria in a bottle that works and trust me, I tried most on the market.

 

[rrpod]

Do I need a bubble wand?

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Do I need a bubble wand?

No, they are unnecessary as long as you are getting surface agitation from your filter. You can get them if you like the way they look but I personally don't.

 

[treemanone2003]

No, they are unnecessary as long as you are getting surface agitation from your filter. You can get them if you like the way they look but I personally don't.

Dallas is correct in regards to surface agitation and personal preference. On the other side, it's one of those items that could be useful in the chance you have to treat for ich using the heat method. That would also bring up another point now that if you're making up a list of things and you're going to the big box store that's having the $1/gal sale, I would highly recommend getting a separate QT/hospital tank. Depending on the size fish you're wanting to keep, would dictate the size QT to have. Usually a 10 would be fair but if you can do a 20 I think it's much better.


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[rrpod]

I'm planning on buying everything from my lfs so is it necessary to get a quarantine tank??

 

[treemanone2003]

I'm planning on buying everything from my lfs so is it necessary to get a quarantine tank??

It was covered in the links I supplied but it's now obvious I supplied them for nothing.


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[rrpod]

I tried the link multiple times but for some reason it isn't working. I am using the mobile so maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[mikem691]

It was covered in the links I supplied but it's now obvious I supplied them for nothing.


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Chill Treemanone hes right the app on my phone don't allow me to open links

I tried the link multiple times but for some reason it isn't working. I am using the mobile so maybe that has something to do with it.

Yea the links don't open on android not sure about I phone

 

[rrpod]

Chill Treemanone hes right the app on my phone don't allow me to open links


Yea the links don't open on android not sure about I phone

Thanks!

 

[jetajockey]

It was covered in the links I supplied but it's now obvious I supplied them for nothing.


Sent from my iPhone that doesn't like me. Or you !!

Relax, not everyone is able to read through links. And those links have a huge pile of data in them, so people aren't going to retain everything immediately. Not that this is a bad thing, it's good to have questions to answer.


To answer the question, if you are getting all of your fish at once, no a QT is not necessary. However, if you have any inkling of getting new fish at some point, it's good to have one on standby.

 

[rrpod]

Thanks!

 

[treemanone2003]

Chill Treemanone hes right the app on my phone don't allow me to open links


Yea the links don't open on android not sure about I phone

Relax, not everyone is able to read through links. And those links have a huge pile of data in them, so people aren't going to retain everything immediately. Not that this is a bad thing, it's good to have questions to answer.





To answer the question, if you are getting all of your fish at once, no a QT is not necessary. However, if you have any inkling of getting new fish at some point, it's good to have one on standby.

I am chill and relaxed. The links I posted were in #2 and #5. I guess it was wrong on my part to presume that if by post #11 it wasn't read, it was because the op desired not to and not knowing there is an accessibility issue. Any indication that there is an existing issue would not have resulted in my statement. For that, I apologize.

I agree there is a ton of data in those links, however, i think there will be a larger split (75% for and 25% against) having an extra tank for QT/hospital as I outlined in post #10. Personally I really don't think it matters if all the fish come from the same store. With the numerous discussions about not adding too many fish at once so the bacteria can catch up and the countless others of adding new fish and now some have white spots, a QT is imperative. With that, the other bunch of threads that quite often show up about treating the whole tank or not. Well, we know this of course depends on the fish in the tank, the meds needed to treat, and sometimes it's not possible. Then there's always "What meds should I have in case" threads.

If to have and not need far outweighs to need and not have, and an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, what sense does it make not to invest in something easy, and why would so many recommend.


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[Patty1980]

Chill Treemanone hes right the app on my phone don't allow me to open links


Yea the links don't open on android not sure about I phone

Mine is android and I can access them all. Its gotta be their settings or actual phone.

 

[jetajockey]

If you get all the fish for a new tank at the same time I don't see the point in quarantining anything. Having a hospital tank is certainly good idea, although with most issues (ich and other external/internal parasites, bacterial infections, etc) I would be treating the entire tank system and not segregating affected stock to a hospital tank for treatment. Hospital tanks are invaluable when you need to take out a beat up fish, and tend to work better than breeder nets.