I got a fish tank!

[Egon]

Cooool...bloke i work with was going to throw it away, so i said i'd have it.
Fancied a fishtank since seeing Jem and bahnstormers tank stuff, (marine=hard work so not going there yet!!) so couldnt say no.

I have no idea whats what with fish/tanks/filters and any help or comments would be appreciated.

Pics:
The tank in general:


Timer for the lights:




It lives in the corner...


Its about 160 litres.
had it on test in the garage for two weeks making sure it dont leak (i live on the first floor, dont wanna fill my neighbours plasma up with a real fishtank screensaver... )

[Jem]

Nice tank that, would work well with an Eheim external Get down to your local aquatics shop and see what fish you like and what they recommend is the best way of deciding what fish to go for, most people go for a community tank.

This is my tank, only a little torpical but it take A LOT less looking after than marine.

[Quail]

Jem, that looks fantastic.

[kam]

As above, thats well nice!
I want a fish tank, but got no where to put one

[Egon]

Cheers jem, the guy built it all by hand (was being made redundant and his boss let him do whatever he wanted, so he built 5 of these! this was his last one!!) too.
It has a sump filter that i'm not gonna use as it involves drilling the glass and i dont want to risk blowing it all up!
Eheim ecco has been recommended to me, but i'm all out of knowledge already!

your tank is stunning. really really nice that!

[Jem]

One of these or one of these would do the job fine. The Professional filter doesn't come with media but they are better built and you don't have to use the Eheim media and it's bloody expensive!

Feel free to PM me with any questions

[Egon]

Thanks for that mate, is that where you get your stuff from?
Whats the name of the stunning fish you pictured?
filter-wise, whats the tank floor filter all about?
Is ebay gravel ok?

[Jem]

Whats the name of the stunning fish you pictured?

The two with the redish orange tails are male guppies, the blue one is a male Siamese Fighting Fish

filter-wise, whats the tank floor filter all about?

Very old school and generally crap, go external

Is ebay gravel ok?

Should be, provided it is listed as for aquarium use. Buying it from your local aquarium shop is a good idea though as you can see exactly what you're getting. Personally I prefer coarse sand rather than gravel.

[Egon]

Cheers for the help matey, appreciate it. Hate feeling like a noobie!!

that charterhouse gravelly sandy stuff looks good too. not too expensive too.

[Jem]

that charterhouse gravelly sandy stuff looks good too. not too expensive too.

Just be sure the sand you get is ok for freshwater. 'Coral sand' is best avoided in freshwater as it raises the pH and makes the water very hard.

[Egon]

thats a result, i was just looking at that!!

[Jem]

What ever you get, make sure you wash it well first, otherwise the water will go cloudy.

[Egon]

Cool, ta.
Adds up fast doesnt it? pump/filter,heater,tubes,gravel,treatment all that and i havent got a fish anywhere near it yet!!
although my brother has got a couple of plants in his tank saved for me!
Do siamese get on alright with other fish, just not other siamese?

[Easy007]

Yeah i didn't think they liked guppies?

I would definately let the tank filter itself for a week or two before you put fish in.

I really need to redo my tank as it's gone very bleak after the last mysterious culling.

[Egon]

oh yeah, deffo leaving it a while to get itself sorted out. gotta do the techy bit with the testing kit. Dont want a load of topfloaters in the first try!!

[Jem]

Yeah i didn't think they liked guppies?

I've heard the same, but I've kept siamese fighters with guppies and not had a problem.

I would definately let the tank filter itself for a week or two before you put fish in.

I have to disagree here, the filter will be doing nothing until you have the bioload of the fish. I would fill the tank, get everything running, add some 'tapsafe' and leave overnight then add a few fish. You can fill the tank and provided you treat the water with 'tapsafe' and it's at the correct temperature, add the fish straight away.

[simonas]

happy days I love fish
The tank is a decent size as well and quite tall
why not try some angelfish and general community fish as long as they an;t too small to be eaten by the angels. I only suggest angels because they are attractive andinteresting characters in tanks

or you could look at kinds of cichlids and have a species tank and watch them display interesting behaviour and potentially breed... kribs, firemouths and convicts are easy to keep and as reasonbly large make nice characters rather than the smaller fish

Best advice is always take things slowlyand add fish slowly as rushing in only ends up in dead fish

good luck

[simonas]

I've heard the same, but I've kept siamese fighters with guppies and not had a problem.



I have to disagree here, the filter will be doing nothing until you have the bioload of the fish. I would fill the tank, get everything running, add some 'tapsafe' and leave overnight then add a few fish. You can fill the tank and provided you treat the water with 'tapsafe' and it's at the correct temperature, add the fish straight away.

I agree I;ve always cycled tanks with a couple of danios and then waited a while to add more

[Bahnstormer]

Awesome! Another fishkeeper on SXOC The tank looks really nice and actually suits that position in the corner. I think you've made the right decision about going with a freshwater setup, my 280ltr marine tank keeps me very busy! lol. I've just got a new addition today actually



He's a Green Wolf Eel and is only about 8 inches long at the moment. He's a fiesty bugger, but seems to be getting on well with the Snowflake Moray.

I'm thinking about moving my tank, the room it's in at the moment is a bit small which makes it really hard to get any decent pics of it.

BTW, what's the make/model of that light timer?

[Egon]

Well, you and jem can take some credit, cos it was the pics you two put up a while ago that got me thinking!!
Might have to wait till next month to get bits, i need two new rear tyres..
i'm itching to get going though!!
What do you guys do about back grounds? i dont want it looking cheesy but dont want it looking austentatious...