Tropical Fish Forum
Think Fish Tropical Fish Forum => Welcome to our Tropical Fishkeeping Forum - Please Read => Topic started by: corky mills on August 14, 2013, 08:26:05 PM
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Hi folks ;) Just joined so I thought I would say a quick hello. Its been about 30 years since I last kept Tropical fish and I cant believe how much it has changed! My dad was a keen fish keeper, both Tropical and Marine. I have been given a tank by a mate of mine and I have got the bug again! When I say so much has changed I mean with regard to the health and welfare of the fish. Years ago you would set up your tank and leave it for a few days to settle then fill it with fish. But now its important to get the chemistry right by building stock slowly and testing water to make sure the balance is right. I am looking forward to setting up nice aquarium so I dare say I will be requesting some help from you guys who have a lot more modern experience than me. I am just at the cabinet stage at the moment so stand by. Hope to chat soon.
Regards..........corky
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Hi Corky...and welcome :)
Look forward to following your new tank with you...best of luck with it!
Resa
:)
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Hi Corky,
Things have changed enormously in the last 30 years. We understand the nitrogen cycle now, filter technology has improved vastly, and fish farming is now big business. The last one is a major problem. The conditions at the farms and breeding practices have led to weaker fish. You can no longer just put fish in a tank and expect them to live without massive water changes.
And the best way to start a tank is not by getting a few fish and building slowly, it is by doing a fishless cycle before getting any fish at all. This technique is less than 20 years old, so you might not have come across the concept.
While you are building your stand, can I suggest you read these two threads. this (http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,16.0.html) is the older way of fishless cycling, the method I used earlier this year, and this (http://www.thinkfish.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,483.0.html) is a newer method which has only recently been worked out.
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Thanks for the welcome :D Thanks for that info sue. There is a lot to digest on this topic. I had been browsing the main site prior to joining the forum. I thought it would be a good idea to join and "pick" the brains of you guys who are well tooled up in the art of fish keeping. I was talking to my mate who gave me the tank and told him that we had been to an aquatic place that I used to visit years ago. I said it looked like the place had gone downhill a little as the tanks were not as clean as I remembered them. He told me that the days of the "spotless" aquarium is a thing of the past and its more of a natural environment you try to achieve now. I can see I have a lot to learn. There`s no rush, as I said I am just building the cabinet and want to make a nice job as an aquarium is a piece of furniture as well as a living thing. With the rubbish on TV these days it will be nice to sit and watch the fish! Thanks again for the kind welcome and I dare say I will post a question or to soon.
Regards............. corky