Need help with setting up a fish tank

[Kishore]

Hi
I have had an interest in this hobby from my childhood. My parents have finally allowed me to have a tank in my room. I really wish to start with a planted aquarium. But they have strictly fixed a budget. I need to cut down costs as much as possible. So, I would like your opinion on this.

1. Is an aquarium substrate necessary? We have a river nearby. Can I use silt from the river?(I know it sounds LOL)
2. The API freshwater master test kit costs about Rs. 2800(about $40). Can I cut down costs on this? I mean, is there any way to do a fishless cycle without this using some signs?
3. Which type of filter is good for my 140 litres tank? I don't find spending on the filter, but it shouldn't be too expensive too.

Also, give out your general opinions on what newbies generally spend higher, that can be cut down.

 

[lewis.r]

1. I would say buy aquarium gravel brand new as you don't know what kind of bugs could be in your river that could end up in your tank (other members of the forum may have a different opinion on this though) as you would probably need to boil anything you take from a river to kill all bacteria on it. That's just my opinion

2. You have to have an API master test kit, the strips are to inaccurate and the test kit will last a long time so well worth investing in

3. In regards to a filter the only experience I have is internal filters which you can get some decent ones at good prices. If you are looking into canister filters you probs have to buy a better one to avoid leaks.
Internal filters however have worked well for me over the past 2 years. I have a superfish 100 and also run mainly for mechanical filtration a marina i20. The only problem with internal is they take up tank space.

Another thing to consider as well is getting a heater depending on what fish you would like to keep, I think however this is key to keep the temp consistent.

You will need water conditioner to remove heavy metals and chloramine etc.

I would also recommend reading up on the fishless cycle as that is far less stressful to you and the fish to build your beneficial bacteria up.

With a planted tank, read up on low tech as they don't really require much upkeep and cost and you only may need some liquid fertz, so choosing easy plants are key otherwise you will spend more money giving the plants what they need and may need to replace often if you arnt getting it right. Easy plants are a lot more forgiving

 

[Kishore]

1. I would say buy aquarium gravel brand new as you don't know what kind of bugs could be in your river that could end up in your tank (other members of the forum may have a different opinion on this though) as you would probably need to boil anything you take from a river to kill all bacteria on it. That's just my opinion

2. You have to have an API master test kit, the strips are to inaccurate and the test kit will last a long time so well worth investing in

3. In regards to a filter the only experience I have is internal filters which you can get some decent ones at good prices. If you are looking into canister filters you probs have to buy a better one to avoid leaks.
Internal filters however have worked well for me over the past 2 years. I have a superfish 100 and also run mainly for mechanical filtration a marina i20. The only problem with internal is they take up tank space.

Another thing to consider as well is getting a heater depending on what fish you would like to keep, I think however this is key to keep the temp consistent.

You will need water conditioner to remove heavy metals and chloramine etc.

I would also recommend reading up on the fishless cycle as that is far less stressful to you and the fish to build your beneficial bacteria up.

With a planted tank, read up on low tech as they don't really require much upkeep and cost and you only may need some liquid fertz, so choosing easy plants are key otherwise you will spend more money giving the plants what they need and may need to replace often if you arnt getting it right. Easy plants are a lot more forgiving

The water for our house comes from a borewell. We don't add chlorine to it. Should I use a dechlorinator still?

By substrate I didn't mean gravel, I meant the soil-like thing that we use for the plants to grow in an aquarium. Can silt from a river be used as a substitute for that?

 

[Somethinsfishy]

I'm just starting a tank myself so I've been doing a lot of research lately on substrates and plants for newbies. I found a guy on YouTube that made a "ghetto planted aquarium" (dustins fishtanks) he literally spent nothing on this set up. He used dirt from his yard, pea gravel he already had and plants he found at the local lake, he even used a cracked aquarium which he repaired to b able to use. If u use silt from the local river you will need to bake or boil it for sure (375 degrees for about 20-25 mins). You don't want any parasites harming your tank. You could also use pool filter sand it comes in large bags and is reasonably priced.

 

[flchamp89]

Dirt only sounds attractive. A cap would be wise. Many like to change things around in their tank. Without a cap it can be messy.

I would be catious using soil from a body of water. MGO is widely used and cheap. My preference is soil capped with BDBS.

 

[Somethinsfishy]

Dirt only sounds attractive. A cap would be wise. Many like to change things around in their tank. Without a cap it can be messy.

I would be catious using soil from a body of water. MGO is widely used and cheap. My preference is soil capped with BDBS.

I agree lol I wouldn't use dirt either unless I was doing something that specifically called for it. I think the guy was just using it to show that it could b used, I totally agree that dirt would b a bigger mess than most would like to deal with. Substrate can get expensive tho and for someone that is trying to put together a nice set up on a budget they can find much cheaper ways to go. My locally owned pet store just uses small pea gravel as the substrate in all their planted tanks. I peronally used seachem fluorite for planted tanks because I have a small tank for now.

 

[flchamp89]

BDBS is super cheap. Comes in various grits and large bags.

 

[your bro joshi]

Water liquid aquarium water test kit comes for Rs. 535 at flipkart, gravel for one kg comes for Rs. 300, water conditioner at flipkart Rs.400, sobo aquarium filter comes at Rs 600 so in total you can do for Rs.1 835

 

[Kishore]

Dirt only sounds attractive. A cap would be wise. Many like to change things around in their tank. Without a cap it can be messy.

I would be catious using soil from a body of water. MGO is widely used and cheap. My preference is soil capped with BDBS.

Tell me if this one will work or not
A base layer of sand. Some pea gravel or any other gravel stones.

I notice that this one doesn't have any soil or a soil-like substrates. So my question is will plants grow properly? How will the plants get their nutrition?

 

[flchamp89]

If all the plants needs are met its possible to grow plants in different substrates with similar results. Some are inert some are not. Some are easier than others to plant in. Some are easier for the plants to grow in.

Sand with a gravel cap? Why not soil and a gravel cap. Or soil with a sand cap. The latter would be my preference.

 

[Kishore]

If all the plants needs are met its possible to grow plants in different substrates with similar results. Some are inert some are not. Some are easier than others to plant in. Some are easier for the plants to grow in.

Sand with a gravel cap? Why not soil and a gravel cap. Or soil with a sand cap. The latter would be my preference.

I can't understand what you mean by soil with a sand cap. Do you mean a layer of sand on a layer of soil??
Why do you prefer soil with a sand cap than gravel cap? What's good in it?

 

[flchamp89]

Plants grow in soil. Soil in bottom. An inch or so. Sand on top for aesthetics, keep soil in place, and for ease of you planting.

Gravel is fine. Harder to plant delicate cuttings in IMO.

 

[Caliban07]

I can't understand what you mean by soil with a sand cap. Do you mean a layer of sand on a layer of soil??
Why do you prefer soil with a sand cap than gravel cap? What's good in it?

That is correct yes. It's mainly for aesthetic reasons. Both can be successful provided the layers are not too deep.

 

[Kishore]

That is correct yes. It's mainly for aesthetic reasons. Both can be successful provided the layers are not too deep.

How much deep of sand/soil/gravel would you recommend?

 

[Caliban07]

How much deep of sand/soil/gravel would you recommend?

There's not set rule per se. About an inch soil and inch cap of your choice.

 

[Caliban07]

Maybe even less actually. Maybe half an inch each would be better.

 

[Kishore]

If you have something like that in your tank, can you share a pic?

 

[Caliban07]

If you have something like that in your tank, can you share a pic?

I did I while back now.



I was using additional carbon dioxide gas injected in to the water column here and dosing macro nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphates.
Light was medium intensity from what I could gather.

 

[Kishore]

I did I while back now.

View attachment 294909

I was using additional carbon dioxide gas injected in to the water column here and dosing macro nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium and phosphates.
Light was medium intensity from what I could gather.

Wow.. Nice. How many gallons was it?
I don't see any sand there?!

 

[Caliban07]

Wow.. Nice. How many gallons was it?

Thanks it was 46 gallons. Plants were easy to grow plants normally used in jungle type scapes.

Amazon swords,
Anubias barteri
Cryptocorynes
Lagenandra
And Pogostemon helferi as a carpet plant.