Few Questions on new tank

[Pinepages]

:18: Well I have finaly positioned my first new tank.
It is an Aquah2o 100. 100cm x 46cm x 50cm(h).
This should be around 230L if I am correct.
At this point I have only added water and the gravel/silica base.
The unit is heated by a single 300W glass heater.
The pump is a submersable and I am told it will deliver 1000L per hour.
The filter is situated at the top of the tank and it has two chambers.
One contails ceramic rings and the other a carbon filter with gauze (or something like that.
The lighting consists of 3 x 30W 1500k tri-power tubes. (around 90cm)
I am told that the glass, with curved corners, is of 6mm automotive type.

Questions?
1) The tank is on a solid, flat (no wobble when empty) base but I find that the water is 5mm higher on one side. Is this a problem on a tank that is 500mm high? (Around 1%?)
2) Are the above combination of components ok?
3) Is it a good idea to let the unit run for a day or two before adding plants?
4) When would be the best time to add fish?

many thanx in anticipation.

Edited to add pic of tank:

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[holbritter]

Congats on your new tank! My tank also has a small difference in water level. Since my tank and stand are pretty solid, I chalked it up to the floor not being level. We have ceramic tile, so it's a distinct possibility.

The best advice I have is to read the Fishless Cycle sticky at the top of this forum. I found out patience is the key on getting the water ready for the fish. If you rush it, your fish will suffer.

Do you have a good water testing kit? That's a must, and from reading different threads, the strip type is not as accurate. I suggest the Freshwater Master Test Kit.

I don't know anything about plants, but there are lots of great people here that will be along shortly with more help.
Good luck on your new tank!

[Tails]

The only thing with suggesting brand names, etc, is that we might not have some in South Africa....:)

What's the difference between the strip kind and the Freshwater Master Test Kit?

I took a pic of my dad's tank and helped him post it in his thread (he's new to all this :P) - obv its a bit empty at the moment haha!

[kimmers318]

Definitely read up on cycling to understand why you can't just add fish after a day or 2 unless you plan on adding a small group of very hardy fish. The problem with that though is that you create the amount of bacteria needed to sustain that small group of fish and every time you add a new fish you will strain the bioload and it will have to play catch up which can cause small spikes in ammonia and nitrites and can be harmful to fish.
Also, while you are learning and cycling your tank you can begin to think about what fish you want to stock with and make sure the amount and types will be compatible with each other.

[Tails]

Definitely read up on cycling to understand why you can't just add fish after a day or 2 unless you plan on adding a small group of very hardy fish. The problem with that though is that you create the amount of bacteria needed to sustain that small group of fish and every time you add a new fish you will strain the bioload and it will have to play catch up which can cause small spikes in ammonia and nitrites and can be harmful to fish.
Also, while you are learning and cycling your tank you can begin to think about what fish you want to stock with and make sure the amount and types will be compatible with each other.
My dad will be able to confirm this, but I'm pretty certain we're going to be cycling for a week or two :) My dad has been reading up non-stop haha :)

I've been trying to find the best place to ask (in these forums) which fish are compatible with which (and also which fish are plant destroyers lol), any suggestions or links to compatablility lists? Remember, some fish may or may not be available in South Africa (or may cost us the price of a house hahaha)

I know my dad is looking for lots of colourful fish. I think he's been reading up on Tetras amongst others.

[Swayde]

My dad will be able to confirm this, but I'm pretty certain we're going to be cycling for a week or two :) My dad has been reading up non-stop haha :)

I've been trying to find the best place to ask (in these forums) which fish are compatible with which (and also which fish are plant destroyers lol), any suggestions or links to compatablility lists? Remember, some fish may or may not be available in South Africa (or may cost us the price of a house hahaha)

I know my dad is looking for lots of colourful fish. I think he's been reading up on Tetras amongst others.

I use this and then do more research.... [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Tails]

Thanks!! (sorry, dad, seemed to have hijacked your thread :P Stop working and come and post :P)

[Chrona]

Wow, nice looking tank man :)

[holbritter]

The only thing with suggesting brand names, etc, is that we might not have some in South Africa....:)



oops! Didn't think of that! I don't know the detailed difference between the strips and the liquid, just that they are not as accurate. Maybe someone else knows the specifics.

Nice tank!

[Glasstapper]

Well, let me first give you a big ole' pat on the back for doing the right thing and researching before you dump a bunch of fish in.

I'm no expert on plants, but I know a few basics. It's ok to add some hardy plants (ones that are hard to kill) while your tank is cycling, so go ahead with that if you want. Some that I like are java fern and anubias nana. You can either attach them to decoration or just let them float around if you want and you don't really need any special lighting or vitamins for them. A notorious plant eater is silver dollars, for sure. Now I don't know if they eat ALL plants or just some, but that may be something to consider if you were looking at getting some silver dollars.

As for compatibility and availability of fish, I'm not sure what's available in South Africa, but there are lots of fish that seem to be common most anywhere on the globe. Small, peaceful fishes like guppies, tetras (most), platys, swordtails are all excellent for the beginner, commonly available, very hardy, and provide lots of color.

Tank equipment and setup all seems to be fine to me. As for when to add fish, if you do fishless cycling, you can have your fish ready to add (most of them all at once, too, if done right) in about 2 weeks. If you decide to go for a fish cycle using hardy fish, then be prepared for your cycle to take at least a month to 6 weeks, you may lose some fish along the way or shorten their life span, and you will only be able to add a couple of fish at a time after that every couple of weeks (very slow additions so as not to strain your bio-load).

Anyway, welcome to AC. Trust me, you have definitely found the friendliest and most helpful fish forum on the net. I hope I didn't bog you down with too much info and helped you.

This is the funnest hobby ever, and I hope you enjoy it! :)

[Chrona]

I'll throw in my 2 cents:

- Plants are fine during the cycling process. In fact, they love it, because of all of the excess ammonia that they can take in. The downside of this is that, unless you add more ammonia to compensate for the plants intake, your cycle will take longer. Unfortunately, it's tough to say just how much more ammonia you need to add, and can vary from day to day, so I would just suggest waiting it out until the cycle is complete. An additional benefit is that you won't have to leave your tank lights on for 10-12 hours during the cycling phase this way, reducing algae blooms and other headaches.

- If you are going to go the plants route, I would suggest replacing the bulbs with 3x 30 watt 6700K full spectrum bulbs, which will grow and make plants look better. Not sure exactly what a tri-tube is, but if it's just 3x regular t-8 tubes, then you can replace all three for like 15 bucks.