Got it !

[gkbe]

Hi all,

Well picked up the tank setup for wife on friday, she's wrapped about it ! Got it less then was I was expecting. Tis a 125 litre 3' x 14 x 18" with stand, hood, lights, pump, filter, gravel, heater, temp guage the works !

Stained the frame and clear coated it today, gave the gravel a good wash worked out where we will put it, though may change, has 4 times already

Once we set it up the guy at the shop said to bring in 150mls after7 days and he will test it for us.

So hopefully will have it all hooked up and sitting there tomorrow night !

Just a couple of questions I'm hoping somebody out there may be able to help us with.

I got 3 containers of stuff to put in water, General conditioner, 5mls to 20ltrs of water to nutrelise chlorine. Tropical conditioner 1 teaspoon to 8 litres of water to raise general hardness by 8GH or 140ppm whatever that means ! and stress zyme which says days 1, 7 and 14 add 10 mils for 40litres and 5mls each week after.

SO would we just ad all the conditioners when we fill it in one shot or ?

Also me being me played round with the heater then read the box, heater temp is factory set only adjust if necessary

What would be the recommended temp or is it fish specific ?

These are all the things I never thoughtto ask at the shop !!!!!

And last but not least, man this post is getting long ! Plants, Didn;t come with them and just wanted to find out when to ad them. Do we get some tomorrow and put them in or do we have to wait till the water levels are right.

I think that about does it for now

If anyone would be able to steer is in the general right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

Will post pics of the setup when we're done

Thanks alot.

[y2jdaze]

for tropicals i wouldn't have the temperature at anything below 25, the rest i have no Idea, I'm just a betta person :whistling:

[Avalon_Princess]

That's actually a 141 litre tank... It's easy to work out from the measurments you gave, times the numbers(in cm) together and divide by 1000.

You don't have to add the stress zyme, the two conditioners should be added though. Temp is pretty species specific but if your planning a tropical community 26 degrees is good.

Wait until you've got it heated and the conditioners in then your a ok to add plants, I take it your doing a fishy cycle?

[Bettarazzi]

I usually add plants as I'm setting the tank up. I find it easier to plant out the tank when it isn't completely full of water.

[gkbe]

Thanks so much guys

We ended stopping into the shop yesterday and spoke to them about plants, they said give it a couple of days so we'll get some then. We're just cycling the tank now and we'll get the water tested next sunday.

Here is a quick snap

Once again thankyou all for your help it's very much appreciated !!

[y2jdaze]

nice setup should look great when it's done!

[malignau]

nice tank! looks like something i saw at aquaforce in hallam. be wary if u go there... they tried to sell my friend useless products while he was getting his water tested.

You can plant your tank out whenever you like. The plant people like planting before filling with water so they can can position and plant easier. Also easier to view the plants during planting and positioning without being wet lol. anyway be careful of snails, unless your getting loaches you should try keeping snails and snail eggs out of your tank, once you get em its annoying to get rid of them.

How are you cycling your tank? unless your using old filter media then it'll take much longer than a week to cycle your tank =S if your ammonia cycling you shouldnt plant the tank out yet (plants dont like high ammonia) and wait at least a month before checking your water, it usually takes at least that long to cycle.

[Bettarazzi]

Just use one of the filter bacteria products like Nutrafin's Cycle. So much easier to cycle a tank that way.

[Bren MacFish]

Go to this site to learn all you ever needed to get started:

http://www.firsttankguide.net/

If I were cycling a tank quickly I would use lots of fast-growing plants like hygrophillia, duckweed etc etc to suck up the nasties and bring in good bacteria and snails (I like snails for algae control), and get the hardiest of your planned fish in there right away. The stress relief is only to provide a nice slime coat to the fishies when the water isn't perfect.

Normally you add the chlorine and chloramine neutraliser to the water 24 hrs before you add it to the tank. The chloramine has a bond which only breaks down over time. The tropical conditioners are really good in Melbourne water, adding minerals not usually present in our 'empty' water. You can add those to the water at the same time as the neutraliser if that's easiest. You'll need a couple of aquarium-only buckets for water change water to sit around in.

If you're in Melbourne, don't go all techie and try to control the water hardness. Just let it find its natural level, it won't be too bad, or control it with natural things like driftwood etc.

When you get the first algae bloom, you'll know you're on the right track. Good luck.