Setting Up Tropical Tank

[dan the man]

hi guys

now please forgive me for my 'newbie' status , but i was wondering if you guys can give me some pointers in setting up my tank? i have kept goldfish as a young kid, but i have grown fond of the beautiful tropical varieties and have decided to give it a crack!

its dimensions are probably about 4ft x 2ft x 1ft, and i was hoping to set it up with some freshwater topicals

now ive done some reasearch from various sources, but have ended up rather confused in terms of what is needed to keep the fish happy and what is an ovrkill

1) FILTER - some people have told me that one internal filter would be adequate, and then i have heard from other sources that anything less than an external canister filter would led to some serious problems with the health of the fish? whats the go here? also, is it worth buying something like an eheim or would a cheaper brand like aqua one suffice?

2) PLANTS - i realise that a planted aquarium is harder to maintain, but i just think that they look great, so i dont mind committing myself to a bit more work. question is in terms of fertilisers, have heard that these can lead to problems with water chemistry and theerfore fish health. have also read that fertilisers can lead to rapid algae growth etc. is there a way to get around this? or is it just a matter of carefully measuring dosages and water quality?

3) CYCLING - is this had to do? heard of two ways i can do this, either by throwing some 'cheap fish' in to begin the amonia cycle, using a piece of fish from the supermarket, or as teh local pet store suggests, simply adding a treatment to the water and waiting a day or so? whats the best way to go about this?

4) DISCUS - yes i know people recommend that only more experienced aquarists should keep these, and thats what im planning to do. however just wondering how hard these things are to keep? have heard that they are much more fussy in terms of water temp, chemisty, water filtration and living with other fish. have heard that they also may develop growth abnormalities if no kept right. are they really that hard? or is it fairly easy to do providing a careful maintenance routine is kept?

5) FISH COMPATIBILITY - as stated above i would like to keep a couple of discus later down the track. however i would like to start off my aquarium with some fish which will live well with the discus when i get them. just wondering if people can suggest some species which would be suitable? i take it that they would have to be less active fish due to the more gentle nature of discus and that i dont want my plants dug up!

any help much appreciated - sorry about the long post, but think itmight serve well for future reference for newbies like myself

dan :)

[mac_man_luke]

I would look at getting a quality external canister filter.

Can get some bargain Eheim and Fluvals on ebay.

[matt_Frontosa]

Hi mate if you are looking at setting up a nice tank I would recommend a external cannister for you as this is the best choice of filter to use for that size tank.
Cycling the tank is very straight forward mate you can either put some cheap goldfish in to cycle the tank or use some chemical product like amtrite down or cycle which already contains some bacteria in it to help you cycle the tank and get the ammonia nitrite down also while you are cycling your tank you may need to do some water changes even though your there are no fishes in the tank this just helps to get the bacteria system right before any fish is added to the tank and you also want to go to your regular aquarium store which can help you test your water to check the ammonia nitrite and set you up as they will be your greatest resource.
Other fish that will live together with your discus are different types of tetras and angels which do great with discus just be careful hen your keeping discus as they need very clean water which means frequent water changes and make sure your tank is set before you get any.
Plant are easy to look after mate, a good substrate for plants is either laterite which is some kind of red dirt which sits underneath the gravel or use a iron ore gravel which is also a good substrate for the plants but if you cannot find either just look for some 2mm gravel as it is good for root development for the plants. with plants all you need to do is have sufficient light and food for them and they should grow like crazy in your tank but if the light causes too much algae you should also add a UV Sterilizer in there to control the algae and keep the water clean. The UV sterilizer is also something very useful to have if you plan to keep discus .
Some good lights for plant are;
-Halogens
-T5's
-or any twin reflector with a aqua glo tube or power glo

If you have any problems just post a thread and we should all be able to help you!!

The more threads the better :D

Sorry for the length of writing.

Good Luck with setting up

[mac_man_luke]

that i dont want my plants dug up![/b]

Dont ever get a turtle then, they pull heaters off walls, move gravel from one side of the tank to the other. pull plants out and rip filters off walls :p

[Marc]

LOL, sounds just like half my cichlids mac_man :)

[Sloory]

G'day Dan,

Something i might add if your new to aquariums is make sure you do not set the tank up near a window. the sun light will let you know what algae problems are REALLY about :p .

Also i would get a canaster filter cheap off of ebay and get some good lighting (as Matt F said) straight away.
Then once you have your plants in, see how they go with just good water quality and good lighting.
They may not need any extra firts.
Ive seen some awsome planted tanks that didn't need firts.
I guess it also depends on which plants you will pick.

[dan the man]

what would be a good price for a canister filter on ebay?

also, is it worth buying something like a fluval or eheim? ive heard that some of the cheaper brands such as aqua one need the filter material changed anyway and the cost of dong so brings the price of buying a cheaper brand the same as buying a better brand initially

is this true or just a clever sales pitch from the local fish store?

[joz]

Hi Dan,I'll throw in my 50 cents worth aswell.Sorry if I don't answer all your questions now as I'm short on time :(



SOME DISCUS TIPS




1.When ever possible go with a cannister,they are the easiest to maintain and clean.Though I feel the most efficient form of filtration is Trickle(wet and dry).Which are fine for main tanks but not suitable for breeding.Unfortunately the fry tend to find their way into these.
I maintain the concept of having two filters in case of failure ,it would be a safety measure.I also reccommed this for heating aswell.
Today you can purchase inline heaters that you can add to the filter line outside of the tank,these are super efficient.


2.Plants are easy,they need a supply of adequate light(daylight tubes are the easiest).But with fertilizer its better to under treat than over,this way there should not be any algea probs.
Also the addition of CO2 should not be underestimated.
If you get very fanatical with plants you can add substrate heating and CO2 monitoring and control..Lots of $$$
Also remember not all plants are happy at 30 degC,so choose carefully :(


3.I believe in letting the tank cycle naturally,I know this is slow and you'll run out of patience.But to me the best rule is to keep chemicals out of the tank,so adding fixes tends to create other probs somewhere.
To start just add some Cory cats and some cardinal tetras,these will
not create to much stress on a cycling tank.


4.Before I start on Discus and compatibility,I strongly suggest not mixing angels with discus.
Angels are to aggressive a feeder compared to discus and tend to carry discus prone deseases.


Discus require a temperature of about 28-30 degC.Water quality is of upmost importance,they do not like chemical additives.To the point that tap water contains way to much.
Planted tanks are fine to keep them in,but gravel harbours to many nasties which cause probs over a longer period of time.


Try triple washed sand from a garden supply is an interesting alternative,at about$5/25kg.This stuff is so fine that floating particles do not work their way down into the fine gravel.It all seems to settle on top and is easily siphoned/removed.It is very white in color and when added to a tank it clouds the water until it all settles,don't worry if this happens its harmless.


They are prone to intestinal and gill parasites aswell as other bacterial infections.Water changes need to be done more regularily than most other tropicals.Mine are housed in a tank in excess of 800litres and my tank auto changes about 20-30-ltrs/day.


Before venturing into discus read as much as possible about their care and health.
Though in a well balanced tank with plants and the right tankmates you can have the most stunning display.The true crowning of Discus keeping is successful breeding,though tank conditions are totally different for this.
After all,Discus around the world are known as the Kings of aquium keeping.


5.Tank mates for discus should be peaceful.House them with things like Corydoras catfish,cardinal tetras,Rams,small sailfin or albino plecos are also fine as are bristlenose cats.To be specific some people only house them with other fish from the same Amazon habitat therfore they all thrive in the same Ph levels,which is about 6-6.5ph.They don't mind a bit of hardness but the water should remain soft for breeding.


I have added a handful of guppies to my tank,because they are prolific breeders.So I thought it would be a good source of live food for the Discus,now I have a gazzillion guppies :(


6.Feeding Discus can also be trickier,as they prefer a larger variety of foods.
You'll need to feed live/frozen food on a regular basis.Prolonged feeding with dry food is not reccommended,your fish will deteriorate.
Feed live/frozen bine, frozen worm,also try some home made beef heart recipes for discus.
If feeding dry foods stick to Tetra Bits and try some algae discs or spirulina flake.



Stay tuned :)
Edited 27/5/07

[joz]

Just thought I'd add some info to the post above :)

[XhaLe]

800litres!? auto changing water? could i trouble you to post some pictures of this tank?
Tom