Picking the tank up tonight, the guy said he's throwing in some kind of extended gravel cleaner (assume it's a vacuum) and an extended net and one of those grabbers that old ladies use (said it's good for arranging rock at the bottom, also said he'd throw in some rock for free, am intrigued to see what he's going on about as the base is tiny really). So we'll see what happens. Probably set it up tomorrow and let it run for a bit. How long would you recommend? I was going to put some kind of safe guard in before adding fish. Could you recommend any???
Have had a bit of bad luck in the past with fish and am hoping this one will turn out better. Please don't think badly of me, but I may as well tell you.
I had a great tropical tank once, got it for my 17th Birthday (I'm nearly 27 now). Full of all sorts, guppies, mollies, all very nice. My best friend Ian had an uncle that bred some kind of large black and white Cichlids? He turned up at my house with 3 of these fish for my present and without thinking I put them in the tank. I then went to Ians house for the weekend. I returned home Sunday to find most of my fish gone, there were even tiny skulls layed on the gravel where these ruddy cichlids had fully digested my fish. I sold the tank after that and gave up.
Also, I tried a coldwater tank. I live in the UK and it never really gets hot here. My bedroom was a loft conversion at the time. Tank wasn't very big but had 4 large fish in, Blackmoores, Fantails etc. I went out for the afternoon and forgot to open my bedroom window. I got home and the room was like a sauna (freak heatwave), I looked into my tank and could see no fish (the water had turned milky white) except the ones floating on the top. I think 1 survived.
Lastly, my most recent idea was to breed guppies. I had a small hexagonal tank. I happened to move in with a 'friend' who was slightly off the rails (didn't realise until I moved in with him). Basically one night when I was asleep he got really drunk, took all his clothes off, urinated on my rug in the front room then poured beer into my guppy tank. There was a head on my tank in the morning where the filter had frothed the beer overnight. The guppies were swimming in circles, upside down, all sorts. I put them in clean heated water and they started swimming normally again but died shortly after. So I gave up on that tank too.
I can only imagine the kind of response I'm going to get from this post but honesty is the best policy! And I certainly do not want to make anymore mistakes (I guess not buying a 5ft column tank would have been a start!!).
I will make it work this time, honest! (sorry if those fish stories upset anyone, they were in all instances a pointless waste of fish / life and I will be more careful in future).