Brand new Tank

[Dasher]

I have bought a new 250 Lit tank,i scrached the idea of a 500 Lit tank.

so now i know what to do from start to finish staring with what pump,filter and heater i need,then how to cycle it and how long,then which fish would go good with the fish i allready have:2 catfish shark,guppy,silver dolar.will also need to know which plants to buy (will put silver dollar in another tank.

I will also need to know how to maintain a new tank:how often i will need to clean it,ect.


P.S i know i made a thread about starting over,but i want to do everything right from the start to the finish with the new tank..:rolleyes:

[Linxie]

Hey Dasher,

Tanks don't need to be cleaned thoroughly. They just need water changes once a week of about 25% or every second week of about 50%.

You can clean the excess algae off the glass with an algae scraper and do a gravel vacuum to get rid of excess food and poop.

What else is there you want to know?

[Dasher]

Hey Dasher,

Tanks don't need to be cleaned thoroughly. They just need water changes once a week of about 25% or every second week of about 50%.

You can clean the excess algae off the glass with an algae scraper and do a gravel vacuum to get rid of excess food and poop.

What else is there you want to know?


what kind of filter,pump and heater will do best for a tank of 250 Lt,and how much would it cost?

[Linxie]

I think your best bet would be to invest some money in those items.
Don't go for the cheapies as they won't last you a long time.

I'll let someone else help with these answer as I myself am still learning (lol busy reading up on the ammonia - nitrite - nitrate process now) and don't want to give you information that isn't good.

[JesseG]

for a 250l tank, you would be looking for a filter that does 1000l/h, some may say that the water should be cycled 10 times per hour, but 4 is fine...as for a heater( 5W per gallon, estimation : 1 gallon = 4 litres ) a 300W heater would do just fine...i purchased my 800l/h HOB filter for a reasonable price, heaters can be pricey though, i'm not sure if we are allowed to mention prices, as for lighting its 1,5W per gallon ( estimation : 1 gallon = 4 litres ), so 90W would be sufficient...

[Dasher]

thanks for the help,i usually buy my stuff from pet city in montana crossing.

[Zoom]

JesseG what you mention would be a little low if you going to land up overstocking the tank.

I would go for a minimum of 1200l/p/h filter system. Try get a canister if your budget allows. They are one of the best.

Lighting is a thing of many debates. Some people will say 1watt PER LITRE (NOT GALLON) of T5 6500k rated aquarium tubes. This might be a bit high if you not going to go very heavily planted.

300W Jager heater... NO OPTION! Nothing else.

[JesseG]

okay zoom, i can understand the rational behind your opinion, what i mentioned is the bare minimums, yes, you are correct, and if i'm not mistaken that would do the job as well...if Dasher feels that he wants to go above the minimums specified then so be it, its entirely up to him...i'm just supplying the rule of thumb from the research I've done...it has proved well to other people that have followed it...i myself am just a little bit over the minimums specified...as for lighting i'm using a 30W aquarium bulb, granted theres no major boom in growth but there is signs of growth happening...but i'm also saving for two T5 58W skywhites...which ever route you do choose Dasher, you will always end up upgrading...

[Zoom]

No Worries Jess,

My minimum that I always advise is always more than what other people would advise. Purely because I know from experience beginners almost ALWAYS overstock their tank, and the filter doesn't cope. The difference in price between a 1000l/p/h filter and a 1200 l/p/h is so minimal, that I would almost always recommend go higher.

Lighting is such a debatable topic, that it is almost impossible to advice here. My advice is always to go for more than less... basically go for as much as your budget can accomodate.

For the heating I would actually recommend going for 2 x 200watt heaters. So if the one packs up, at least the backup is still going. It's a very good philosophy to follow using 2 heaters, but I personally only have 1 heater in actually.

[Linxie]

I gave Dasher a nice link to a few articles which should help him in deciding the best stuff to get.

Thanks for the advice on the heater though Zoom. That's something I never would have thought of!

So true that Jesse. We never buy what we're supposed to buy first time round.

[JesseG]

okay, just a quick off topic question, with a 300watt heater in place, would there be any fluctuation of temperature with regards to lights both on and off??? i had debate about this with a friend...

[Zoom]

Depends on the ambient temperature and the type of lights.

Flourescent tubes don't really give off heat, so they will not effect the temperature at all. CFL's and other types of lights will obviously heat the tank. If the tank is at 26 degrees, and the lights are on, they will heat the water a few deg more.

I have a problem in summer in that my ambient temperature sometimes reaches 29 degrees outside, so the tank inside reaches 28degrees, even though the heater is only set at 26. Basically then the heater doesn't even turn on.

In winter tho, I am at a constant 26 degree.

[shakester]

wat you guys think of the tetratec range

[Zoom]

Never heard of it. Sorry

[Dasher]

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/picture.php?albumid=116&pictureid=617http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/picture.php?albumid=116&pictureid=616 i want to know what i must do with the filter box or how it works,i have 2 bags of cotton,charcoal,round tubes and a bottle of bacteria.i don't know in what order of where to put it in the filter box (see pic 2).

i also have a pump/motor