New to hobby and have a few questions....

[Fishboy856]

Hello to all my fellow fish lovers. First, my name is Joe and I am from NJ. The reason I am sending this post is that I have a few questions. First, I am fairly new to the hobby other than having a few "goldfish" that I have won at the carnivals when Iwas younger and a Betta or 2 throughout my life. I am looking to starting a freshwater tropical set-up. Do not have the tank as of yet; but looking to purchase a 20 - 30 gallon within the next few weeks, and I do understand thhat the water has to be cycled prior to adding fish, or can do it with fish. I saw online somewhere about fishless cycling; but not sure that I fully understand this process (don't want to sacrifice any of our little finned friends if don't need to). Is there anyone here that can better describe this process to me??? Also.....I understand that you don't want to overload your tank with fish (by bio-load as well as overcrowding), so is there anyone who could help give me any suggestions on stocking the tank (20 gal & 30 Gal set-ups) so that it can have a variety of fish; and also looking for variety in color as well. Any assistance with these matters would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JPKeenan]

Look at the top menu bar and there are articles about cycling.

Also way smart move looking into things before setting up the tank. I think most of us just jumped in with our first tanks.

You're in Jersey so you are not as out in the wilds as I am.... Find an ace hardware or true value. They have been the only place I could find real ammonia. It can't have surfactants in it, shake the bottle, if it has tiny bubbles it is not good for the tank (cycling).

As for the fish after the cycle completes. Only add two or three fish at first. It depends on the size of the fish and their bio-load. You should be able to get maybe 4 or 5 small neon tetras.

I know it's a bear to wait to add fish, and then only add a few at a time.

If you have any friends with tanks try to get some used filter media from them. It will help speed up your cycle.

 

[BigJim]

The fishless cycle is the same as a cycle with fish, but you're getting your ammonia source elsewhere. Ammonia comes from fish waste. Bacteria break the ammonia down into nitrites which other bacteria break down into nitrates. Ammonia and nitrites are highly toxic to fish, while nitrates are ok in low concentrations. I assume the bateria are airborn and that's how they get in the tank, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

Aim for the 30g if possible. Larger tanks are a more stable environment and you can put more fish in them. For a first tank with a lot of color, look at platies. They're easy to keep and come in colors from blue to orange. Tetras and rasboras are also good. A good rule of thumb to stock a tank is the one inch of fish per gallon of water with no one fish making up more than 20% of the inches i.e. for a 20g tank, no fish should added that will reach more than 4" fully grown. Most people disagree with the inch per gallon idea, but it's a good place to start. Bigger filters and live plants will let you add more fish too. Start slow and you'll be fine.

 

[JPKeenan]

I like my platies If you have kids in the house the Mickey Mouse Platies are cool .

Oh watch out for the "cycle your tank" stuff in the bottle. most of it is snake oil.... Buy just a small bottle (the $3 or $4 if you want). It may help take a few days off your cycle but it won;t do it in a few days like most of the products claim.

 

[mermaid8]

weird when i first started out i did not recycle my tank. i just thru it alltogether and off it went. my fish have been doing good... i have changed my filter system once because when i was in the process of cleaning my tank and filter system the botttom got steped on. ooops... they are just growing like weeds and happy to be swimming in their 45 gallon fish tank..

25 guppies
2 red tail sharks
2 black skirted tetras
1 unknowed

 

[fishmonkey]

do you know what equipment you need?

 

[Fishboy856]

Honestly; not sure what equipment I may need as of yet. Will be purchasing a used set-up within the next week or so. 30 Gallon w/ stand; hood, lights, filter, heater, gravel, and fake plants.....all for 50$. Found it when I placed a post on Craig's List. Just trying to scrape up the extra change for it.....lady is holding it for me.

 

[fishmonkey]

lol thats pretty much what you need at this point

 

[fort384]

You may want to water check the tank before you buy it. If it has been sitting empty for long (years), the sealant can dry up and crack, which would leave an awful mess if indoors. Best to set it up in the back yard and fill it with a garden hose and let it sit for a few hours or a day.

Also to determine what fish you can get, try this post. A member here has been working on a pretty nifty tool to plan the stock of a tank.

 

[Fishboy856]

yup......already thought of the water check. She said that the tank has only been in her shed for a few months.....moved up to a bigger tank and had no use for this one. I think I might still reseal it anyways...just to be safe. Also; I think the only thing I may have to purchase off the bat is a water test kit. can anyone recommend a good economical one???

 

[fort384]

The best kit is the API Freshwater Master Kit. It is available at most stores that sell fish... petco and petsmart for sure.

 

[Fishboy856]

Hey fort.....checked out that link; thank's a million . I found it to be very helpful since I am trying to decide what I want to stock in the tank. The only problem is that just about every fish I entered, I got a message that they need a tank with more height

 

[fort384]

It is still in beta mode - you may want to post your findings in that thread so he can check it out and make sure it isn't a programming error.

With a tank of your size, height shouldn't be too much of an issue in a community tropical tank.

 

[Fishboy856]

Ok; thank you for the very helpful information

 

[Fishboy856]

Yayyyyyyy....got my tank tonight. 20 Gal high. Came with a Whisper Bio filter, heater, airpump, gravel, 2 decorative rocks, and a bunch of artificial plants, as well as a lot of other little fish tank accessories. Picked it up for 50 from some lady on CL. tomorrow, going to rinse off the gravel and rocks and get 'r filled to start the cycling process. Took a sample of my tap water to local Petsmart to get tested, and all was clear with exception of PH and water hardness being too high. Any suggestions; I picked up a bottle of API PH down; but will that help with the water hardness issue like the guy at Petsmart said. He told me that PH and water hardness work hand in hand with eachother, especially with well water.

 

[fort384]

You do not want to add pH altering chemicals to your tank. And, and that chemical is not going to effect GH. What did your pH and GH test at?

If you use pH altering chemicals then your pH is going to fluctuate between water changes. Most tropical fish can adjust to less than ideal pH but none of them can handle pH swings. It can also cause problems with algae. Let us know what your pH is. My guess is you should take the chemicals back and get a refund. If your pH is drastically high, there are natural ways to lower pH gradually. Nothing good in an aquarium happens quickly.

No offense to petsmart- I am sure there are so good knowledable people there. But in my experience, I would take anything they tell you with a grain of salt. If in doubt verify with the folks in here. Many people on this forum helped me reverse petsmart advice that I got early on for the betterment of my tanks.

 

[Fishboy856]

OK now; got the tank set up and filter and airpumps running...getting ready to do the cycle. My water testing at petsmart read PH: 8.5, Alk: 300ppm, GH: 150ppm, No2: 0, No3: 0. What could I possibly do to reduce the PH and hardness naturally? Also, I know that alot of you guys believe in the "fishless" cycle; but what would you recommend as a hardy fish that could run through the cycle. My 4 year old keeps going to the tank asking "where's the fish" and I'm trying to tell him we got to wait.....but I have no idea how long I am going to be able to deal with his inquisitiveness. I was told that Platys or Mollys would do well and adjust to the cycle well. Or I was thinking about getting a couple ghost shrimp to help the cycle and give him something to look at. What would you recommend. I know I'll have to wait a few days before adding anything at all. Finally; how can I go about uploading pictures to this site....would like to show off my new aquisition.

 

[mfdrookie516]

if you go with fish, the cycle will take alot longer meaning alot of water changes... check your ph after it has sat in the tank overnight, it will probably go down once its been in there for a while... dont do the chemicals, they work for a few hours, then end up causing ph swings, which will kill your fish, unlike a stable ph, even if it is "high"... to upload pics, just hit "go advanced", then hit the little paper clip icon, then browse, find your pic, hit upload, then do it again... then preview post to make sure you put the right pics on, then submit...

 

[Fishboy856]

Ok now; tank's been runngin for 24 - 26 hours; and PH and Alkalinity are still high......PH: 8.0 to 8.5; and Alk: still right around 300 ppm. Spoke to an owner of LFS (Whom my father, who has had many fish tanks in his younger days, referred to me; and she stated that I could try to use a little peat moss in with the filter; and that will help my Alkalinity levels to decrease a little allowing it a little easier to adjust PH. Any advice on this???

 

[cabezon]

I know it can be annoying for people to look at a cycling tank and ask where the fish are, but I think it is worse to kill fish as you try to get the tank running.

It really isnt hard to add some ammonia every day to a fishless tank to get it cycled. Can you get some used filter media from your friend at the LFS or your dad?

throw a towel over the glass and your 4 yo will stop asking.