Want to start 40gallon tank but *clueless

[francis]

Hi, I recently bought a 40 gallon tank that came with its own lighting and filter. The model is JEBO - R375KG if that helps.

I am basically trying to finally have a great looking tank that I always wanted. I have only had experiences with goldfish which is what I would like to stay away from.

I was just wondering if I could get some help on what steps I need to take to begin my tank setup. The things I have become aware of are the fishless cycle and such, however there is so much information that I am overwhelmed and I do not know which step comes before/after what.

If someone could be so kind as to start me off from the beginning and simply list which steps to a new tank set up exists, I will gladly go ahead and research them myself. (and I am hoping to have real plants as well) I am a complete noobie when it comes to proper lightbulbs/filters etc but I am willing to learn.

Any and all help is appreciated!

 

[francis]

:/

 

[mommytron]

first things first, familiarize yourself with the nitrogen cycle. do some googling until you understand the basics of the cycle.

then, read this-- http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html

if your tank kit did not come with a heater, you will need to buy one.
things you will also need:
liquid test kit (API Freshwater Master Test Kit can be found for ~$20)
Prime
thermometer
a siphon/gravel vac
pure ammonia (no scents, dyes, or surfactants)
patience!

look around on the site and other sites, and look at pictures of people's tanks. read people's build threads. decide what kind of maintenance you are willing to do, and what kind of tank you would like to have. think about whether you want fake plants or real plants (this is where lighting will come in--unless you have real plants lighting does not really matter). decide what kind of decorations you want--natural wood, fake sculptures, fake rocks, real rocks, etc. think about what kind of substrate you want--sand, gravel, pebbles, etc. think about the kind of fish you want--do you want a peaceful community tank? an active tank? a mellow tank? (there are so many options for a 40g tank)

setting up a new tank is pretty much as follows:

rinse substrate thoroughly, then fill bottom of tank about 2 inches.
fill with water, about two inches or so above substrate.
place heater, filter, thermometer, and any other equipment and decorations you want in your tank.
finish filling the tank with water. turn everything on and let run for half an hour or so, then use your water conditioner (Prime).
add enough pure ammonia to reach 4ppm.
you have now started a fishless cycle, directions are in link posted above.

HTH! welcome to AA

 

[francis]

thank you so much for the detailed help and taking time to write it all

im wondering do I place the live plants (im hoping to get) at the same time when im filling the tank ? and I will be sure to take pictures when my dream tank is complete ^_^

 

[mommytron]

i would say that would be fine. just make sure to start adding ammonia promptly.

if you are planning on a planted tank, make sure to read up on lighting, CO2, and fertilizers. there are different levels of light, and the more light you have, the more of a need for CO2 and ferts there is to balance all the nutrients out. any lighting that you get will have to be in the 6500k-10000k color spectrum in order for it to be usuable by plants. for a 40g tank you will need at the very minimum 36W of light to support low-light plants (which would be my suggestion as you are just starting out.) with low light set ups there really isn't a need for CO2 or fertilizers of any type, and most low-light plants will do great with that amount of light.

 

[James_in_MN]

I recently bought and started an aquarium as well, and had looked into different aquarium kits in the chain pet stores (PetCo, PetSmart, Pet Supplies Plus). As far as I can remember, those kits usually come with a filter that says it filters up to the tank size it comes with (ex: I saw a 55 gal with a 55 gal filter). If that's the case, everyone on this site will tell you that your filter won't be large enough for your tank. You should take the maximum amount the filter claims to work for and assume it will only filter 50-65% of that amount. Hopefully, your filter is good for up to 60+ gallons?

 

[francis]

thank you for the help mommytron i will definitely look into starting out with low light plants.

in general can i just change out the lightbulb that came with my tank for the correct one? or would I need to change the entire fixture itself. Also to James I am not sure the gallon amount my filter is as it is somewhat built into the tank hood but I will be sure to pick up an extra filter to pick up the slack

 

[mommytron]

does the fixture come with a fluorescent light bulb? try to find the wattage and color spectrum (should be something like 8000k) on the bulb. generally, for low light plants, you need 1-2wpg (watts per gallon). if your light bulb is anywhere from 30-80w you should have enough light to grow low light plants. you also want to make sure the bulb is in the right color spectrum (between 6500k and 10000k). if it's not, it's pretty easy to find replacement fluorescent bulbs in the correct spectrum.

if you don't have enough watts of light, however, you may need to get a new fixture. there are ways to retrofit existing fixtures as well, but if you are not electrically handy, i would avoid taking on a project like that.

 

[francis]

there are two lightbulbs in the fixture with watts of 20 each, with one lightbulb saying T8 10000k while the other simply says T8 blue. I would really like to try and keep this light fixture as it seems rather nice :3 , is it not possible to simply swap the lightbulbs out for say 30 watt? or maybe turn both lights on at the same time? (might be ugly because one is a purple-ish light while the other is just white) but I am willing to do that if it'll work.

im sorry but one more question as well >< i have done lots of reading on the fishless cycle and I "think" I have it broken down. my question was though about the partial water changes. Do i perform a partial water change every day no matter what my readings are? and also about the de-chlorintor (?) for tap water, do I put this in every time and it does not affect my readings?

Thank you very much for your time in helping me

 

[mommytron]

you won't be able to put 30w bulbs in your fixture because they will be too big. with fluorescent bulbs, the length pretty much determines the wattage. two bulbs at 20w each will be perfect though. just pick up two bulbs in the 6500-10,000k range. sounds like you already have one, just pick up a "daylight" bulb for the other. if you are unsure of what bulb to buy, you can buy one that is specifically for aquariums. again, just make sure it is in the right spectrum (as low as 5500k would even be OK)

 

[francis]

i have done lots of reading on the fishless cycle and I "think" I have it broken down. my question was though about the partial water changes. Do i perform a partial water change every day no matter what my readings are? and also about the de-chlorintor (?) for tap water, do I put this in every time and it does not affect my readings?

also, what are these little ceramic pipes? that came with my filter :T theres probably over 50 of them in a bag but I am not sure what they are for. ty mommytron im getting excited to set up my tank mah dream tankk

 

[mommytron]

the only reason you would need to do daily PWCs during your cycle is if you had fish in the tank. PWCs are used to control levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. so during a cycle withOUT fish, you will want to do a PWC if ammonia is accidentally dosed above 5ppm, or if nitrates reach above 40ppm (some say you can let nitrates get higher, but i have stalled a cycle due to high nitrates, so i say better safe than sorry.)

yes, you want to de-chlorinate any water that you add to your tank. it should not affect your readings.

the little ceramic pipes are filter media. what kind of filter do you have? they are normally used as biological filtration in canister filters. which means it's the stage of the filter that holds all of your beneficial bacteria (the bacteria you are waiting for to grow that convert ammonia to nitrite to nitrate)

 

[francis]

I am now looking to begin the fishless cycle but I am wondering, am I supposed to have my substrate and decorations (driftwood) before adding water?

I was going to just add water and ammonia etc to fishless cycle, however when I finish cycling the tank and then add plants, driftwood, and substrates will it change the waters quality? Please let me know

 

[OhNeil1969]

Hello francis;
In response to your last question I would definitely add all the substrate, etc that you plan to use while doing your fishless cycle. The bacteria that you are trying to grow will live in and on those items in the tank. The more places (i.e: surface area) you give your bacteria to live in the better. Very little of your bacteria actually lives in the water. The bacteria will live in the filter, the substrate and on the surface of other items in your tank.

 

[PzIkHo]

Once your ammonia stops peaking, and starts to decrease, you'll want to do your PWC's. It will still work if you do them before then, it may just take longer, as the PWC's hinder the ability of the ammonia-consuming bacteria to colonize. (all of that is pretty debatable, I've just found from my experience that doing PWC's after the ammonia spike helps cycle things the fastest.)

And about dechlorinator...
You want to put it in each time you put in new water. Especially if using plain old tap water. It helps break down all the chlorine (hence the name) and other chemicals put in by water treatment plants to keep humans from getting sick. Those things make our underwater friends sick =[ so if you don't put it in with your new water it won't be very good. It won't affect your readings, it will actually help them. Chlorine and things like that cause ammonia spikes, pH changes, and other things like that, which can make for sporadic and difficult to maintain readings.

One other thing: Once you've got your lightbulb situation figured out, and you're familiar with the type of bulb you will be using, search around your local indoor gardening shops, I've found that bulbs are generally much cheaper there. Just make sure it's withing the same spectrum range and everything, otherwise you may end up hurting the fishies.

 

[mommytron]

Hello francis;
In response to your last question I would definitely add all the substrate, etc that you plan to use while doing your fishless cycle. The bacteria that you are trying to grow will live in and on those items in the tank. The more places (i.e: surface area) you give your bacteria to live in the better. Very little of your bacteria actually lives in the water. The bacteria will live in the filter, the substrate and on the surface of other items in your tank.

+1

also, it will be easier to place everything when initially setting up the tank

 

[OhNeil1969]

And about dechlorinator...
You want to put it in each time you put in new water. Especially if using plain old tap water.

+1

Also, I like to have my water ready and pre-treated in some sort of container that I can reuse (got the idea on this site from some helpful aquarists). I don't like to put chlorine into my tank at all even for just the amount of time it takes the dechlorinator to work. I keep jugs filled with tap water that I treat. This way I always have a supply of treated water ready for any use (i.e: topoffs, quarantine tank, PWC's) and it's already at room temp. If you're planning on 20% water changes then keeping 8 gallons for your 40 gallon tank should be enough. I prefer to keep them in gallon jugs for the ease of use and storage. I wouldn't want to lug around a heavy container of water and then try to figure out how I'm going to get it in the tank.

 

[mommytron]

+1

Also, I like to have my water ready and pre-treated in some sort of container that I can reuse (got the idea on this site from some helpful aquarists). I don't like to put chlorine into my tank at all even for just the amount of time it takes the dechlorinator to work. I keep jugs filled with tap water that I treat. This way I always have a supply of treated water ready for any use (i.e: topoffs, quarantine tank, PWC's) and it's already at room temp. If you're planning on 20% water changes then keeping 8 gallons for your 40 gallon tank should be enough. I prefer to keep them in gallon jugs for the ease of use and storage. I wouldn't want to lug around a heavy container of water and then try to figure out how I'm going to get it in the tank.

isn't it annoying having gallon jugs of water all over the place? lol

i don't do top-offs so i have no need to have pre-treated water. the only time i add water to the tank is for a PWC (i do weekly 50% PWC's [which is what i recommend] so there is never a need to top-off). when it's time, i fill a bucket in the shower, make sure the temp matches (by feel) then add my Prime and Excel (i have live plants) right into the bucket, then dump it in. this is for my 20g tank.

for my 27g hex tank (which is right next to the kitchen sink pretty much), after pulling out 50% of the water, i get the temp of the water from the faucet to match, then grab the sprayer (after taking the nozzle off) and start filling the tank. before i start filling i get my cap of Prime ready to dump in as soon as i start filling it.

 

[OhNeil1969]

Fortunately I can store the water in my laundry room where it's out of the way. My tank isn't near any water sources in my house so carrying large containers filled with water can become problematic. I don't regularly do top-offs, just on those occasions where I know I won't be doing weekly PWC's (cycling a new tank or dosing the tank with meds for an extended period of time). I may be overcautious but I really try to not introduce chlorine into my tank at all. After all, the chlorine is in our drinking water to kill the types of bacteria we want in our tank.

 

[francis]

... then add my Prime and Excel (i have live plants) right into the bucket, then dump it in. this is for my 20g tank.

I wanted to get live plants too :T , does this mean I should ...in this order

1. buy substrate / driftwood (clean and place in tank)
2. add a few inches of dechlorinated tap water
3. add plants
4. finish filling tank with water
5. turn on heater/filter/air pump
6. begin adding ammonia for fishless cycle
7. pwc? *can someone explain how often I need to do this and what purpose it serves as well?*

this is my general understanding so far, can anyone confirm if this is the proper route?