My first tank

Hello everyone,

This is my first post, I just became a member. I recently bought a tank, an Interpet River-reef 48l. I have never kept fist before so this tank seemed to the ideal. All th equipment is included and hidden behind a blue screen.


I set up the tank on Sunday and im following the instructions. Tested the PH yesterday and got 7.5 which is ideal according to the booklet I got with the tank. I would like to have tropical fish and so the temperature of the tank is staying at 24 degrees C. I added the filter start last night, hope its all going fine.

So far the set up is simple, Pea gravel on the base of the tank, a few stones I got from the beach and some plastic plants from the pet shop. I decided not to go for real plants as it may be a bit difficult starting off.

So now what I think I need to do is get some ornaments to provide some height in the tank, and provide hiding places for the fish.

I will be buying fish on Sunday and so I would like to know what in your opinions I should go for starting off. Some thing Hardy and easy. (possibly Guppy's, neon tetra's, and a few black widows).

I am also unsure on the numbers of each to get?

What do you all think, am I on the right track any advice would be appreciated on anything. Oh and how come I dont have a pump, pumping air into the water for oxygen. How does oxygen get into the water??

Thanks for any replies.

This is a Photo of my tank.

hey jonny,

I'm only new here myself!

Nice looking tank, but getting fish this sunday after a week seems early.

Have you done test for ammonia, nitrite? did you add any product to to the tanks to start it cycling, because as the members have been telling me(set up my first tank nearly 2 weeks ago)ammonia and nitrite will kill your fish if the readings are to high.

So check those before addign fish, both should be 0.

thats about as much as I know unfortunatly

Regards

Hey ya Dolf,

So far I have added Fresh start and filter start. I haven't tested for either ammonia or nitrite. According to the booklet I add fish on the 7th day. Then test the nitrite on day 11 (4 days after adding fish). Is the ammonia in the water in aquariums not due to fish excretions. Therefore you would need to have fish living in the tank before you need to test for it. I could be completly wrong.

Have you any fish yet?

no fish here yet as my mitrate is still above 0

Hi Jonny and welcome to the forum.
Nice tank.
Couple of qusetions now for you.
Did you get a filter with the tank? I presume you did but cant see it clearly from your pick. Is it on the right hand side?
In terms of what fish to add,well you are limited by the size of the tank in terms of what fish you can keep. As a starter I would recommend you do a community type tank. As for what fish to add I would suggest you start with a hardy fish such as a molly or guppy. I think a guppy would be best as the molly's get bigger and prefer more room to swim. Neons arent always the best fish for a starter,however wait for a while before you add them,they are ideal fish for the tank you have and I would say that they will make the perfect fish in a tank that size as they prefer to swim in shoals and can do so in your tank (so get at least 5 and they are v peaceful). Those type of fish should take care of the middle area of your tank. Now for the substrate,you should look at adding some corys for the bottom of the tank. They are good cleaners also and predominenatly occupy the bottom of the tank. Id recommend the bronze corys or perhaps the panda cory (Which is v pretty in a black and white in colour). As for the decorations,I think you have enough judging by the picture,in fact perhaps too many even! Also Jonny I think you should boil the rocks you got on the beach,they can contain alot of things from the seaside and you should boil them in a saucepan to make sure you kill off anything that may be still attached!

You will also need to cycle the tank fully before you add any fish and from thispoint I would advise you to research the cycling process so as to better understand the way it works and hence it can save you alot of dead fish if you know what the tank parameters need to be at for a fish to make itself feel at home.

Finally as I always tell people,you are the fishes boss,you provide for there food,there air,there water,there living quaters and indeed you even clean up there mess after them,they have no choice but to stay inside the four panes of glass that you put them in. So treat them well,get to know as much as you can about beginning a tank and I can assure you the fish will repay your effort by looking fab in that tank!
Also ask as many questions as you can,we have all been at the point you are at now and its better to ask a question than to say nothing,no matter how silly the question may seem,I can bet you Ive asked it as well as some stage!
So welcome along again and look forward to your pics when you get the fish!

Gavin

Hi Gavin,

Yes I got a filter with the tank, I is all located behind the blue screen, I got filter balls, (plastic)there is a foam block, ceramic (bio-media) carbon and a fine pad, which keeps trying to float away. There all in place as per instructions though. The out flow nozzle from the filter is located to the right. I have it directed up towards the surface to try and encourage transfer of gases (read it in a book). Thanks for the advice on the fish, I will get a few guppy's and a few cory's.

I will go read up on cycling the tank now.
Thanks.

Good stuff Jonny,I wouldnt add the fish until you have all the tests done on the tank so as to ensure that the water quality is alright. The filter is fine,I actually take out the carbon as it can leech back into the water over time if not changed,I only use it when Im after using medication on the tank (never leave carbon in while using the meds as it removes them from the water). You are correct re the nozzle,the idea is to get as much surface agitation so that the gases will indeed mix !
Gavin

Hi Jonny,
I am new to this also, I have a 120L tank and it took me 5 weeks to get the water right. It also took many fatalities in that period too to finally get it right. I now have a fairly good community tank with 3 x Guppies, 3 x Silver Dollars, 4 x Neons and 4 x Rummy's. I put 5 x Mollies in on week 3 and they only lasted a few days, my ammonia levels were above norm, I have also had a number of fatalities amoung the Guppies, only 3 left out of 10 in total, 2 x females and 1 very active male.
My advice, for what it's worth would be to wait a while until the water is correct, and if you have kids, tell them that there could be some fatalities, or else they could get upset seeing dead fish in the tank.
Eddie

in my view you should add 2-4 fish maybe molly guppie platy cause every tank and is defferent so go for it and also the tank looks great
regards karlo