HI - What a mother will do for her son!!!!

[manningjones]

Hi All,

I am 'new to all of this' and only ever kept a gold fish from a fair ground as a child. My four year old son has a facination in fish and I have decided to set a fresh water tropical tank for my special boy!!!! - For a sense of responsibility and for future education purposes - with mum on hand close by of course ( well actually doing it!!!)
Luckily I have an ''A' level in chemistry and biology and studied microbiology in university - otherwise I would be stumped and baffled by all the technical stuff! - good on you for those who did not study science to becoming proficient in the understanding of these fishy friends!

I am currently on my fishless cycle and aim to put some fish in on the weekend!

My son is really fascinated in pleco's and panaques - any suggestion on what type! - My tank has live plants and a dense piece of drift wood in it - ready for fish.

He also wants a 'blue colourd fish - any suggestions ? (His favourite colour!)

My hubbie actually now thinks it is my tank as I am fascinated by the whole fishless cycle thing and I am more excited about introducing the fish than my son - I am now addicted to visiting my local supplier and gazing at the fish only wishing the weekend would come sooner to have some of 'my' very own!!!!
Any help greatly appreciated!!!!!

Laura

[Bully]

Welcome to the forums Laura. Before we would be able to give advice on what is best for your tank, it would be beneficial if you could provide us with some further information

At what stage are you with your fishless cycle? What are the actual readings for ammonia, nitrite & nitrate?

What are your local tap water parameters? Matching fish to local tap water is usually much easier than matching water to fish requirements We would need to know the pH of both your tap water and tank water, and if at all possible, the GH & KH of your water.

What are the dimensions of your tank, what substrate do you have and, what type of filtration are you using?

If you could provide answers for the above questions it will help forum members to give you the most suitable advice

[manningjones]

Thanks for the tip - I'll do some testing tomorrow and get back with my results.

I should have realised that you would need more information.

I was advised (by my local supplier) to use the nutrifin cycle fishless cycle - and I have completed the three day bio - loading additions and I was told to then leave the tank for one week before adding fish.

I have purchased a testing kit for the main chemical indicators but not for hardness etc - Wales is a soft water area. - if that helps.

My tank is 100 litre - approx 36x12x18 inches.

Before I kill any fish, am I doing the right thing?????

Laura

[adodds1072]

dwarf gouramies are a nice blue colour as a bigger fish, as a small fish - neon's of course, and some guppies.

once you've got a little more experince under your belt and have purchased all the right equipment, discus are a lovely blue and they are peaceful fish but you'll have to get the water chemistry right. which might appeal to someone with your back ground.

bully is right of course once your water parameter are known the poeple here will be able toadvise more.

a good set of test kits (not to confuse with cheap test kits) will let you know whats going on in the tank, and will show if the water changes need to be increased etc.

you'll find fish keep can be as expensive a hobby as you want to make.

[Bully]

Using Nutrafin Cycle alone, has rarely given consistent results when it comes to cycling a tank fishlessly. Basically, a period of just over a week will be insufficient time to adequately cycle a tank. My suggestion would be that you read through the articles on the following link:

Useful Resources for New Fishkeepers

There is a FAQ on Fishless Cycling available on that link. Once you've read through the articles then take some time to browse the Maturing/Cycling an Aquarium board of the forum. You will soon discover that a "proper" cycle will take several weeks. Try not to despair though, this gives you plenty of time to learn more about the hobby and an opportunity to thoroughly research the fish you wish to keep. One method of discovering which fish you wish to keep is to go to local fish stores and browse their stock, take notes of the fish you like and then research them when you get back home.

Please continue to post with your questions, there are so many helpful folks here who are willing to help you ensure you get the most from this hobby

[stinkyfisheggs]

Welcome to the forum!!

[manningjones]

Bully thanks for the advise - will readwith interest.

Thanks to everyone for your replies - dwarf gouramis sound good.....I like those and so does Xander !

I have completed some tests today re: my water quality and the following readings are indicating at this present time......
NOT SURE IF MY TEST KIT IS A CHEAP ONE - I PAID £30 and its the nutrafin mini master test kit enabling me to test for pH, ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite.

result are, anyway....for thurs 5th Nov - I am hoping to chart all of this - maybe it would help someone in the future to look at some figures for a similar tank set up??????? !!!

ph tap - 6.0 - 6.5 - sorry test kit not accurate by the decimal!
ph tank - same
nitrate 5mg/l
nitrite 0.1 mg/l
ammonia - 0 - 0.6 mg/l

I will get a kh tester sometime today.

Thanks for your interest in my tank!

Please let me know your thoughts on my water quality so far.....

Just an aside - some of my plants are browning - but I think they may have been slightly damaged at the supplier anyway - I need to be more choosey and picky as a purchaser!!!!!!

Laura

[adodds1072]

your water quality is good, i have heard good things about nutrafin test kits, imho api kits are too inaccurate and as i have found they can give low readings

you might have to use a buffering agent to increase the kh, will advise later when we know what they are.

thou nitrates are a bit low but as you add fish it will improve. need to be about 15-20ppm

brown algae is caused but insufficient plant ferts in the water and is also triggered by ammonia, there is range of plants ferts by easylife, easycarbon, profito and ferro. if you add these daily things will improve.
what i do is to add 1/7th of the maximum weekly dose every day. i also test for iron (fe) and dose that twice a day.

lights need to on for about 7-8 hours a day, you can have a 4-5 hour break in the middle of the day. a timer helps here.

i also test for phosphates PO4 ensuring that the levels dont drop too low. can advise more later. need to be about 2-3ppm

a co2 system will also help the plants they arent cheap so stick to easy carbon until you sure you want make the investment

[manningjones]

Hi, A big thanks!

I did think that things were okish - but its nice to get some expert opinion - I understand the nitrate thing - it gets better with age etc.
Do you think I am ready for some gouramis soon? I can't wait..... but I know that eagerness can spoil things - I will wait if you think that would be advisable?
Thanks for the plant tips - had not really thought about them - but of course they need food and water too!!!!

I have made a note of your suggestions and it will be off to Taffs Well for my weekly visit to see the fish - man!
I'll update you, if you don't mind (?) with my other readings later.

Best wishes,

Ps I nearly did marine engineering for a degree myself!!!!!

[adodds1072]

you could get some gouramis now, but add fish slowly over a few weeks.