slow5oh
01-20-2010, 04:25 PM
Just thought id post up, been doing some reading and seems like a good forum. My fiancée and I (yes I clicked married in my profile, will be in may) just got our first aquarium as it seems to be a fun hobby. I have had a small 20g aquarium when i was younger, but i was not old enough to appreciate it nor to care for it (my mom took care of that at the time) and never really gained interest through high school. My fiancée had never had an aquarium and after some discussion, we decided to get one. We started out planning to get a 10-20g freshwater and move up as we outgrow it, however, after some discussion, and some good sales, we ended up picking up a marineland 60g tank with light hoods and stand with storage underneath. its got a penguin 350gph filter system with 4 filters. im planning to change out 2 every 2 months and cycle them out so that there are always 2 fresh filters and 2 that are a bit gooey for the biological filter effect. Ive got a dual outlet air pump plumbed to a 4 way gang valve, with 3 outputs currently utilized for bubble stones in various places. lights are on a 12 hour light cycle from 9am to 9pm, a 200watt heater that keeps it at 76 degrees exactly (verified by 2 thermometers, one on each side of the tank) and tank has various decorations. currently its inhabited by 5 tiger barbs and two kissing gouramis (spelling?) which should be sufficient as far as im aware to start the tank cycling. i treated the new water with API stress coat and stress zyme (water treatment and bacterial supplement) and plan to continue with the stress coat every water change, and stress zyme once a week. im looking forward to getting the tank going and full of life, and look forward to any tips or advice any of the pros on here can provide, as im new to this. im experienced with reptiles, although not relevant, it IS animal experience, so im hoping i havent bitten off more than i can choose. I checked the water today before work, and the ph is just under 7.0 (up from 6.5 yesterday morning) and ammonia is coming up slightly since the addition of the fish, which i understand is normal.
Here is a picture of the tank as it sits, this was just before adding the barbs.
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the barbs were added yesterday morning, the gouramis yesterday afternoon. We have no plans to add anymore fish until the beginning of next week, IF the ammonia and nitrates have spiked and stabilized by then. The plan is to steadily add a fish or two every couple weeks leading up to adding an eel in the empty spot on the bottom 3-5 months from now. Please let me know if that is an unreasonable timeframe as i care more about the health of the fish than getting the tank filled up. patience is something i can handle if it will be more beneficial to the fish.
Justin
Here is a picture of the tank as it sits, this was just before adding the barbs.
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
the barbs were added yesterday morning, the gouramis yesterday afternoon. We have no plans to add anymore fish until the beginning of next week, IF the ammonia and nitrates have spiked and stabilized by then. The plan is to steadily add a fish or two every couple weeks leading up to adding an eel in the empty spot on the bottom 3-5 months from now. Please let me know if that is an unreasonable timeframe as i care more about the health of the fish than getting the tank filled up. patience is something i can handle if it will be more beneficial to the fish.
Justin