Hi, my name is michelle and i'm new to this hobby. I want to start a guppy tank. I've got a 1.2m tank (which used to be my husband's marine tank, but he went bigger). I want to know how i must start. The tank has a sump, but i've also got a canister filter. Which one will work best. Can anyone tell me more about setting up a guppy tank and the do's and don'ts about guppies? Thanx
:wavey: Welcome to TASA I currently don't have too much time on my hands but I'm sure others will give you a more detailed answer with regards to your question. Guppies are extremely easy - just make sure you have loads of floating plants for any fry to hide in....I'll come back to this thread a little later when I am not between meetings
Hi Welcome to TASA. Assuming the tank is cleaned out, you can start by adding some gravel, dechlorinated water and a filter. If the cannister is an external one, then go with that. Much easier to manage than a sump. Internal cannisters are a mission to clean properly. Guppies used be be known as great, hardy starter fish, but this is no longer the case. It seems they have weakened considerably over the last maybe 10 years or so. But they are a good choice and are pretty easy to keep and breed. There are quite a lot of guides on the web for setting up a freshwater aquarium, just do some searching around... For a guppy tank you'd need gravel, dechlorinated tap water, filter, heater (some people keep them in unheated tanks), lights for viewing, a few floating plants for fry to hide in, and then some fish from a good source.
Hi Michelle... Welcome to TASA... Laure covered a lot of the basics. I would suggest you search through the formums. (Beginner discussions are good place to start) and read through all the material. 99% of the start up stuff has been covered already. Regards
Hi, i want to know what substrate i must use in my guppy tank. We've got some arragonite we used in the marine tank. Will that be suitable if i rinse it well? We are using ro water for the marine tank. Can you use ro water for the tropic tank as well or is there a supplement that you should add to ro water when using it, or is it best to use tap water? The canister filter i've got is external (tetratec ex600). The box says it is rated for 60 -120 liters of water. My concern is that the aquarium is probably about 200lt. Will this canister filter be enough? Do you guys still use under gravel filters or what other type of filtration can i add with the canister filter? What lightning can i use in the aquarium? What must the water's ph be? Sorry for all the questions, but i'm really new in this hobby and need some info.
hello Michelle, welcome to TASA pH when using the ro water should be around 7 right, which is a good ph to be at. Lights, will depend on how intense you wish to plant the tank, for a normal plant here and there, normal 4ft fluorescents will be fine, try to get about two or three tubes if possible, if you are going the intense -i.wanna.planted.tank- route, rather read up on the lighting topics on this forum, there are quite a few check this linky for ideas on what the different tube types will offer you light and colourwise http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/lighting.htm not sure whatthe dimensions are accompanying your 1.2m front, but its definately gonna have a higher volume than 60-120... so that filter will not be sufficient on its own, is the sump still attached and rigged up? if you could use it, it will actually give you a very good filtration system substrate will depend on preference, but you can go anything from a rich layered substrate for plants, funky kat-kots coloured pink and green gravel, to round river pebbles, etc etc, so one again the goal you have for the tank, and possible plant content will play a part have you any foties of the current setup as is?
Oooh.. Michelle... you leave us ALL very jealous... Why you ask? Well... you are at the very beginning of a set up... and I think MOST of us will agree with one another that setting up a new tank is one of the most rewarding things to do! The best thing for you to do is do a lot of reading on TASA... and also decide what TYPE of set up do you want. Decide on: Plants (heave set up/ scattered/ lfew plants) Fish (what requirements do the fish need. Can they go with the plant set up you want?) {And yes, I put plants first because i believe ina PLANTED tank first, then add the fish for decor... heehee.} Based on this, you will then know what type of water you need. I believe RO water would be good. Otherwise Tap water that has been dechloronised would work too. Ph is also dependand on what type of fish you keep... but 7 is generally good for most tropicals. If the sump is still attached to the tank... use that rather. Read up on material to put into sump. That canister filter isn't enough. The sump is the best. Substrate is also widely varied, but also dependant on how much plants you want, and type of fish. I'm glad you doing research first before buying all the wrong stuff. You've come to the right place!
The sump is still attached to the tank. Seems i'm going to use the sump for filter system. What kind of plants would you suggest for a guppy tank?
most "important" would be some floating plants for the fry to hide in while small like pennywort and hornwort also guppy grass i think is usually recommended for the fry to hide other than that there isn't much to "recommend" for guppies, so from there you need to pick a type of tank, what goal do you want with the tank in the end...
I was thinking of getting another cannister filter and run both the cannister filters on the tank. Think the sump is to much work. It works with an overflow box. One day when i got home, there was a airlock and the tank overflown, that's why i don't really want to go for the sump. Is it possible to keep guppies & discusses in one tank?
Nope. They prefer different water perameters... and the discus will eat the guppys. Discus is a DEFINATE NO NO for beginner fish keepers.
Welcome to fish heaven. All has been said already. Discuss are very fussy fish to keep even experienced fish keepers stay away from them. If your heart is set on discuss, research some more and give yourself a few more years in the hobby to learn all the mistakes and it will also help you understand the in's and out's of dietary and maintenance on a fish tank. In the long run you will become a MTS (MANY TANK SYNDROME) patient and love your hobby.
hi and welcome michelle. Sumps are much better than canisters in my opinion. Why have you decided to go for guppies ?
