[jeffk]

Hi All,

I did post in the "Introduce yourself" forum but here's a quick recap...

This is my first ever venture into the world of tanks and tropical fish so I figure I need all the help I can get - and this forum seems like just the friendly sort of place I might find some sensible advice.

I plan to use this thread as a sort of general diary of where I'm and and hope some kind souls will steer me in the right direction when I'm getting at all completely wrong...

The Tank:
I have have a second-hand 48"x13x17 (40 gallon/170 litre-ish) tank that came with bags of accessories that I'm slowly working my way through and figuring out what's what.

I've tested it for leaks, cleaned it based on advice in another thread, and I'm in the process of finding a place for it inside the house while trying to avoid my wife's wrath at moving too much furniture.

So that's it. Seven days into my adventure and I have a clean, watertight tank that's hopefully finding it's place in our house this weekend.

So far I'm planning this will be a tropical, unplanted tank with many smaller fish rather than any larger ones - but there's plenty of time for me to change my mind between now and when it's finally set up.

I'm looking forward to chatting with people here and all advice and comments will definitely be gratefully accepted.

Cheers,
Jeff Kirkland

 

[willow]

g'day
can't wait for pictures along the way…..you will share i hope :-D
how do you plan to cycle your aquarium ?
do you have any friends who have aquariums,if you do ask them if they
will donate you some of their filter media,then you are nearer to your goal
of a cycled tank.
is there any reason for non planted ?

 

[jeffk]

And now the first couple of specific questions...

If I read the ins and outs of aquarium placement there doesn't seem to be a square inch of the house that I should put a tank in.

My #1 spot would be under some stairs in our kitchen/dining room as this pretty much the hub of the house so the tank would be seen all day everyday. Even with a cover I'm a little concerned that using the stairs could cause lots of fluff and dirt to fall though on top of the tank (they're open backed steps).

I read that tanks should be kept out of direct sunlight but is that a hard and fast rule? My #2 perfect spot would be in our lounge room and while it would be acting as a sort-of dividing wall in the centre of our room would get sun from two floor to ceiling windows for the latter half of the afternoon.

I guess I'm trying to differentiate the absolute "you should never do it" rules from the "it be better if you didn't" things.

all advice very welcome...

 

[jeffk]

do you have any friends who have aquariums,if you do ask them if they
will donate you some of their filter media,then you are nearer to your goal
of a cycled tank.

I do have a couple of friends who have existing tanks although the more I read, the more I'm dismayed at the way the keep them... how much of their filter media would I need to get it started?

is there any reason for non planted ?

Only that I have a garbage bag full of artificial plants right now and want to keep things simple and concentrate on just keeping one thing alive at a time. I'm hoping i can transition to a planted tank later.

 

[willow]

in answer to tank placement,they are mainly…its not great next to a window
as the light you would be unable to control,causing algae however ottos
as mentioned as good for this….yet again you could face uneven temps
due to summer heat.
not next to a direct heat source like a radiator.
lots of people use their tanks as room dividers have a peek in the freshwater
journals section.
if you feel strongly about not using friends media you can go fish less cycle
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/beginner-freshwater-aquarium/aquarium-cycle-252/

 

[crzy2u]

Well with the stairs you should have a cover on your tank for the lights and to keep fish from jumping out so I don't see how dust would be a problem.
As for light, it depends. The only reason you shouldn't put your tank next to a window is because you will get a lot of algae growth (which is fine if you don't mind cleaning your decorations often, or if you plan to get an algae eater in the tank.) and because the sun would raise the temperature in the tank. Depending on where you live the temperature might not be a problem for you but for me, little hot and sunny California girl, I've chosen to keep my tank at the opposite end of the room from the window. Because it's far back enough, and because there is a tree limiting the amount of light that comes through, my tank stays just great

So I would just make sure your tank wouldn't be right next to a window.

 

[jeffk]

Depending on where you live the temperature might not be a problem for you but for me, little hot and sunny California girl, I've chosen to keep my tank at the opposite end of the room from the window.

Living in Melbourne, Australia heat is definitely an issue... we just finished a run of temperatures in the high 30's with my area peaking at about 38 degrees (about 102F).

The tank would be about five feet from the nearest window but I'll not take the risk...

My wife has just suggested another spot - the passageway just inside our front door. It's a big double entranceway but only one side ever gets used. The tank would be about four feet from the door and about the same distance from people as they walk through.

It's shady with no direct sunlight, visible from all the main rooms in the house and doesn't get huge amounts of foot traffic. No power there yet but she says she has a plan.

Hopefully that'll tick all the boxes and I can move on to actually setting the tank up.

~jeff K

 

[avraptorhal]

Hi jeffk, Welcome to the forum.

I really don't know how to say this, but it does my heart good when somebody does what you are doing. That is learning what needs/should be done before killing fish by not doing what needs to be done to keep them healthy.

Don't be surprised if some do die, sad as that seems most of us have had that happen. Sometimes we don't understand why they do die, but later on we may get an inkling as what happened so we can prevent it from happening again. That is one of the things that makes this addiction so addicting.

But most of all enjoy!!!!

 

[carlos puron]

Hi jeffk well I would go for the spot that your wife suggested it's better to keep it where it can be seen but you don't have to pass through like thousands of times

It's good to see that you're looking for all the advice you can get let me tell you something you're in the right place people here is always kind and willing to help that's my own experience

 

[JonandJo]

Hi Jeffk like you I recently started an aquarium. The first was sort of forced on me as a gift for my sons birthday. It was small and no good. I have since moved up a tank size and have been posting a journal http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/aquarium-photography/60ltr-new-tank-322162/. The guys on here have been amazing in helping me.

Hope everything goes great with your tank.

 

[jeffk]

A busy weekend but the tank is now in it's new home. I've replaced the broken top cover, and managed to find a second-hand light.

Next up, I plan to clean the gravel (hot water and lots of rinsing through a colander, or similar) and get some water and decorations in there...

Which leads to the next big question. I've asked this before in the hardware section but it's probably worth asking again here.

The tank came with an Aqua One 103F which, according the the manufacturer, is suitable for tanks up to 100 litres. But it's also supposed to have a flow rate of 960 litres per hour. I read elsewhere in this forum that a flow rate of 4-6 times the volume of the tank should be fine. 960 litres is just over 5x in this tank so, in theory, the filter should be ok...?

My hope would be to use it to kick everything off and maybe replace it in a few months time when I have more fish and have decided if keeping fish is actually my idea of a good time...

All thoughts welcome...

~ Jeff K

 

[willow]

sounds a good idea to me,then you just pop all old media
into the new filter..
one thing i may add is this…always have plenty of media in the filter,
then if by chance you get another tank,you'll have media to share.
i placed some filter floss in a cut of leg from pantyhose and stuck it
at the back of the tank,and it have proven very helpful in times of need,
as i took some out of the filter its self once and i think this caused me problems.

 

[Hallyx]

That filter is more than adequate. I'm assuming that the old filter media (sponge/cartridge/insert/pad whatever) is dried out. So, I suggest buying new filter media. Filter floss and filter sponge are the best bets. Whatever fits. And you can cut to fit, if it comes to that.

Carbon is not necessary. You can decide later if you want to go that route.

 

[jeffk]

Yeah, the filter has two sponges, both well and truly dried out.

@willow: love the extra filter media idea. I assume that'd also be a simple way to transition to a new filter later? Put the new filter's media in the tank for a while so it's primed and ready to go.

Now the tank is in place, it's starting to get exciting. Should have everything ready to start cycling the tank (fishless) in the next day or two.

I've read, re-read, and think I pretty much understand the cycling process but the real world is never quite the same as the theory so any tips on making it go smoothly are appreciated.

Meanwhile, time to research tank decoration. Because I'm planning on a community tank with lots of schooling fish, I'm hoping I can come up with a design that looks good, provides shelter and still gives the fish room to school.

Something to do while I'm washing gravel today.

Cheers,
Jeff K
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Hallyx]

Use "pure" ammonia that does NOT foam when shaken, available at ACE hardware, their "Janitorial Strength" brand.

Many members here have had success using Tetra Safestart, API Quickstart or other bottled-bacteria. This stuff works..... as long as it has never been frozen or overheated or left too long (>6mo.) on the shelf. And it's the right brand.

Amazon.com: API Freshwater Master Test Kit: Pet Supplies

 

[timfdugas910]

After putting fish in the tank how long after that should it be before I do my first water change. How much of it should I change and how should I go about adding in my safe start and bacteria. Thank you for your help everyone you have been a huge help.
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[Poleren]

Hi All,

I did post in the "Introduce yourself" forum but here's a quick recap...

This is my first ever venture into the world of tanks and tropical fish so I figure I need all the help I can get - and this forum seems like just the friendly sort of place I might find some sensible advice.

I plan to use this thread as a sort of general diary of where I'm and and hope some kind souls will steer me in the right direction when I'm getting at all completely wrong...

The Tank:
I have have a second-hand 48"x13x17 (40 gallon/170 litre-ish) tank that came with bags of accessories that I'm slowly working my way through and figuring out what's what.

I've tested it for leaks, cleaned it based on advice in another thread, and I'm in the process of finding a place for it inside the house while trying to avoid my wife's wrath at moving too much furniture.

So that's it. Seven days into my adventure and I have a clean, watertight tank that's hopefully finding it's place in our house this weekend.

So far I'm planning this will be a tropical, unplanted tank with many smaller fish rather than any larger ones - but there's plenty of time for me to change my mind between now and when it's finally set up.

I'm looking forward to chatting with people here and all advice and comments will definitely be gratefully accepted.

Cheers,
Jeff Kirkland

Bettas are pretty good, watch this informational video I have about betta care, remember that you can't put other male bettas together. 40 gallons is a little big for bettas, so I recommend putting platies or tetras in there.

More instructional videos will be available soon.

 

[Hallyx]

Tim, if you are going to use Tetra Safestart (that is the bacteria), here's what I'd do (assuming you're building a >10g community:

---ignore anything Tetra says about using their product
---put at least one school of fish in the tank. No shrimp or sensitive species
---wait a day to get the fish comfortable and to generate some ammonia
---test your parameters and record
---shake the shake out of the TSS. Then shake it some more
---pour a lot of it into your filter (turn it off--pour--turn it on)
---pour the rest around the tank. Use it all (it doesn't keep well once opened)
---take another reading after a few hours
---perform a 50% water change whenever ammonia rises >0.25ppm. Same for nitrite when or if it appears. Don't worry about nitrate.
---use Prime water conditioner @ 2-drops/gal tank size with water changes. and 1-drop/gal daily while cycling
---once a week, do a 50% water change (less if >15g), forever.

This is the protocol for fish-in cycling, Do not confuse it with fishless cycling procedures.

 

[willow]

how's it going ?