I'm so confused

AquaDummy

AquaDummy

AC Members
Sep 26, 2004
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Kamloops, BC
Hello all...I've been lurking around for a few days now and I am certainly a bit depressed. I thought fishkeeping was going to be a fun, relaxing and easy hobby. There just seems like so much info to digest and many varing opinions on types of fish to how to cycle the tank. So I just wanted to get some advice on my first tank setup which I started about 4 days ago.

I have a 77 gal tank with an AC 500 and a 200 watt heater. I wanted to get 2 heaters but this one came free when I bought the tank. My water is nice and clear and I am very happy with the AC 500 as it seems to be doing a good job (but what do I know). Now I'm hearing maybe I should have 2 filter systems, sponges, something called cellpore, etc, etc...?

I went with silk plants because I thought I would have enough to do with keeping my fish alive let alone plants too. I also have a mini master test kit and not sure if it's good or not? I have no nitrate test that I can see and if it matters?

I started things up with the fishless cycle (after reading some of the posts from this site) and have 5ppm ammonia right now but no nitrites at the moment (I'm hoping that sounds okay?). I got a piece of driftwood from my LFS but not sure I got it home in time - I had to get it a lunch time and didn't get it home till after work.

Eventually this is what I want to stock the tank with
5 or so Platies/Swordtails
15 Harlequins
10 Cherry barbs (or Checker)
8-10 Corys
1 Bristlenose cat
2 Blue Rams

and not sure if that is all I should do or not?

Anyway, can someone please, please tell me that fishkeeping is not as hard and complicated as it seems from reading many of the posts out here. I love the prospect of taking care of my new fish friends and have been waiting for three years to get my first tank. I'm so exited that I finally have it home but my excitement has turned to fear. Please let me know if I'm on the right track and what else I should be doing/getting to make my tanks and keeping fish and enjoyable experience. Thanks...
 
I'm a relative newbie to this hobby and can tell you that although at times it may be a tiddly bit stressful (but then so is crossing a road but we do that daily! ;) ) it is a seriously rewarding hobby!
I've been fish keeping for exactly two weeks now (to the day!) and i am loving it! I love watching my zebra danios swim about.
I cant really help you with your questions but there are sooooooooooooo many experienced people on this site, I know you will get your answers.
Dont give in before you start, you'll love it!
xxx
 
Fish keeping is not as hard as it seems. It is not as easy as many pet stores would have you believe, but neither is keeping a cat, a dog, or anything else.

If you could describe the test kit you have that might help a little. What tests does it contain? If it is the one I am thinking of it has most everything you need, save for the nitrAte test. I bought some nitrAte test strips, basically because I'm not overly concerned with knowing *exactly* how much nitrAte is in the tank, I just use it as a general guide to let me know how well my water change schedule works.

Silk plants are fine! They are very easy to keep alive. :p Live plants are an added challenge, but are added fun also. The reason people recommend two (or more) filters and heaters is for redundancy. Say your filter breaks down and stops pumping. With two, you have another one that is still filtering or heating. Not required, but nice to have. don't worry about it overly for now. Another reason people like massive filtration is so they can (somewhat)overstock their tank. Not a bad thing, to a point, as long as they keep a careful eye on their tanks health.

As for fishless cycling, your fish will be happier that way! It takes about as long as a fishy cycle, (4-6 weeks usually) but it you don't have your fish swimming in stuff that harms them. How long have you had it at the 5ppm ammonia?

I'm not sure what you mean about getting your driftwood home in time.. was it in a fish tank when you bought it? If you are looking to use it to seed some bacteria in your tank, as long as it stayed wet/damp you should be fine. If it was dry, you can take as long as you like to put it in. (days, weeks, months, ect..)

As with anything else, some people like to micromanage their fish tanks.. IE, exactly the right level of this and that ect.. Thats what they enjoy doing. I'm thinking of getting a 75gal tank myself, and half the reason I'm wanting to get it is to experiment with different kinds of wet/dry sump filters, a refugium, reversed daylight cycle plants in it and more. Others just buy a tank and filter ect, plop fish in it, and let it be. That is fine, as long as you do routine water changes, and keep track of some basic things in your fish tank.

I think you are on the right track: You've done some good research (A whole heck of a lot more than lots of people do!) You have some concerns but I wouldn't let them worry you too much.
 
Tx Shaz and Onyxfishies..

The test kit I have measures PH - low/high range, KH/GH, NH3 and NO2. I put a certain amount of drops in test tubes of tank water to do the tests.

My ammonia level in the tank has been at around 5ppm for 2 days now and one of the peices of driftwood I got was from a LFS tank. It was still wet when I got it home - they had it in plastic for me so it stayed pretty wet.

At some point I do want to add real plants and replace the silk. I'm looking forward to the day when I can spend most of my time taking care of the fish and plants but right now I guess it's just a bit overwhelming plus I'm just dying to finally get some fish. Impatients is getting to me..

Thanks so much for
 
Lol.. impatience is a biggie, especially with your first tank. Live plants need more lighting than most tanks have, but a couple will do ok in low light. Look around on the Aquatic plants forum, there is tons and tons of info there. Don't worry about the fert dosing, CO2 injection and all that for now, if you decide you want to go that route than by all means go for it. There is no reason not to keep fake plants now and add live plants later, either.

The driftwood might help your cycle along a little bit, because it should have a little bit of the good bacteria on it. However, I wouldn't count on it speeding things up much.

A good thing to do is to get a nitrAte test kit or test strips. (don't worry so much about it now, but it a few weeks it would be nice to have.) The nitrAte test results will help you determine when the cycle is done.

The test kit you have has most everything you need, IMO. (aside from a nitrAte test) most GH/KH test are a pain to read, and not too terribly important. The tank's pH isn't a big deal either, as long as it stays fairly stable. (IE don't worry if it is 6.4 or 8.4 or between, as long as it doesnt change alot.. and it won't, unless you add some other chemicals or something else weird happens.)
 
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AD, you're doing pretty darn good for a newcomer to the hobby. By this point, most of us had netted out a few dead fish and had several others that were suffering thru the cycle. The fact that you've thought this out is great, and you're doing just fine. The equipment you have sounds appropriate for a new tank. The filter should be sufficient for the stocking level you list. Some of us like more than one filter for redundancy, but it's not essential. Your heater is also OK; you can add another one for insurance or extra heat down road, if necessary.

Fishkeeping can be really simple or really technical, depending on your approach. You are already more sophisticated than the average newbie, so just keep reading while your tank cycles. It will eventually, and you can rest easy knowing you spared your fish from ammonia burns and nitrite poisoning.

Hang in there and let us know if you have any questions,
Jim
 
Thanks for the boost everyone - I feel much better already..

I'll be hanging around the forum a lot and will ask questions as I go and let everyone know how things are going.
 
Sound slike you will have a decent setup. I assuem your tank came with lighting? If so it will probably be on the low side of what many plants require. Since you are doing a fishless cycle then there is no need to worry about plants just yet.

But when you do remember to figure out how much light your tank has and buy appropriate plants or else more lighting. When you fish do come I would highly suggest adding some java fern. It is a low light plant and requires very little effort on your part. Super easy beginner plant. Tie it with some thread to the drift wood and eventually it will grab hold and start to grow. Mix in silk plants for a fuller look.
 
Most people here have thier own opinions, why? From trail and error. This is a good thing, but also means you will have the opportunity to try and err yourself. If you happen to err, don't throw your tank away. You will soon have your oppinion/advice which will be quite useful to some newbie in the future. It seems your not trying to keep $5,000 fish, and most of your choiches are pretty easy to keep, so if you loose one, chalk it up to experience and help keep the forrum in debate.
 
With the java fern... I don't know if this is just my tank or if it's a common thing, but I have my java fern for about 3 weeks and just kind of looked at it, wondering if anything was gonna happen then BLAMMO one weekend it went poof and started growing rather quickly. (it is in the 55 gal in my sig)
 
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