Hello From Middle Lincolnshire

Evening all.

I'm new to tropical fish keeping.  Many years ago I did an awful job with some fairground goldfish that seemed like a good idea at the time (the kids were interested for approximately eight minutes!) so I did a lot of research this time.

Unfortunately, most of it was after the initial impulse buy of a used 120L tank and stand from Gumtree.  "Everything you need to get started" might be one of the top 10 lies told to people on the Internet!

Too many pounds and internet hours later I have a moderateley planted and stocked tank and loads of questions about what happens next!

Looking forwards to learning the ropes and maybe helping others in the future.

Cheers,
Spence

Everything you need to get started

But it's a true statement.  They just don't give you everything you need to get finished!   Welcome to the forum Spence.  What kind of fish have you gone for?

I started out with goldfish too. My teenaged sons came home from the fair with 4 goldfish they'd won throwing darts. They spent their first night in a mixing bowl     [The fish, that is, not the sons  ]

That would have had to have been quite some mixing bowl if it had been your sons. 

Hi, welcome to the forum 

Besides a full list of what's in the tank, we are also waiting with bated breath for photos 

The list is in my signature and the previous post and a photo should be just below (I hope).


Not the best photographer and I was messing about with the manual settings on my phone!

Wow, you managed to get a pic with your bristlenose at the front. 
 Mine are very reluctant to stay visible when there is a possibility of pictures.

It was a bit of a fluke TBH!

He's been in for about 5 days now and after hiding behind the heater for the first couple, he (she?) is quite active now that he's settled in.

Thanks.

The rock came from Lincs Aquatics described as "Holey Rock".  Looked quite interesting so I grabbed a couple of bits.  Turns out that after a LOT of cleaning it's even more interesting than I first thought.  I've seen it on the internet also called Dragon Rock.

I was a little concerned about the gravel initially too, but it's quite small (1 to 2 mm) and smooth and the little guys seem happy enough.  Unfortunately, a lot of learning has been about what I should have done after the fact and the substrate is the part that I think needs to go.
I added the plant-friendly (and very brown)substrate while the tank was cycling and to avoid a real mess it is in plastic tubs that I filled with wet the wet clay, covered and then submerged before taking the lids off and adding a thin layer of black gravel.  It's all a bit Heath-Robinson beneath the surface but everything is growing nicely at the moment so sorting it can wait for a bit.

The substrate looks fine and sounds good from what you've described.  What's your reason for thinking it needs to be changed?

Well I'm slightly limited to where I can plant because the JBL Manado substrate is in tubs so I haven't got much flexibility on where I can plant.  Also, it has come through from below in places when I've been planting or adding the root tabs so it looks scruffy!  Hopefully the Marco Polo will settle in and spread to cover that though.

I might just keep this tank as it is for now and wait until I get somewhere bigger with room for more tanks 

The dragon stone was £5 per lump which seems reasonable.

And yes, I love the minnows too.  Always on the move, and they coloured up nicely, with the red on the fins coming through very strong after only a day or so.  It's fascinating watching the males showing off, racing each other up and down the tank flaring their fins to show off the white bands.

I'm very glad they are doing well as I still harbour some inner guilt for believing the shop (many years ago) when they told me they were good tank mates for goldfish 

You can always use plants that are grown attached to decor to create more flexibility. Besides the usual suggestions of java fern and anubias, I also have bolbitis growing on wood, a plant that is rarely mentioned as being suitable for this.
In fact all my plants are either attached to wood or floating 

Thanks to all for the welcome and kind comments.

No doubt over the next few days I'll be dropping questions all over the forum (hopefully in the right place).

TTFN