Author Topic: Introduce yourself! (Read 265726 times) 715 replies

chris213 · « **Reply #220 on:** March 31, 2014, 09:44:57 AM »

yes i have had the floor boards up and checked the beams they very good and strong the tank will be postioned next to the wall and will run across the beams so should be more than up to the job.

Sue · « **Reply #221 on:** March 31, 2014, 10:17:12 AM »

That never occurs to me

- all my tanks are on a concrete floor except my 25 litre which is on a kitchen worktop.

jesnon · « **Reply #222 on:** March 31, 2014, 03:59:25 PM »

Quote from: Sue on March 30, 2014, 06:42:40 PM

Oooh, starting big Much better than a 25 litre tank then discovering how limited they are My biggest is 3.5 ft.

This is very true and unfortunately the situation I find myself in now! I so wish I'd bought a bigger tank to start with and researched more before buying the tank. Still you live and learn! Welcome to the forum and fish keeping! This place is a life line!

Richard W · « **Reply #223 on:** March 31, 2014, 04:27:31 PM »

I assume also that you have considered that when buying on EBay you'll need two reasonably strong people to load and unload it at each end. It sounds like you might be taking it upstairs, a pretty hefty job if so. If it doesn't come with a stand, you'll need a very strong piece of furniture to support it.I've bought all my tanks (11)) off EBay but I've restricted myself to 30 inch/80 cms max because I'm on my own and that's the biggest I can lift (just!) without help. There's something to be said for getting two or more smaller tanks rather than one big one, since you can make conditions on each different if you like and also if there are compatibility problems you can move fish around.
If you like plecs, I'd still advise you to look at the bristlenose or clown plec as they do stay a good deal smaller, the normal plec will get to over a foot long and can create quite a mess in a tank. You may not see much of shrimps if they are in with boisterous fish, they like a quiet life. Look at the fish profiles here before you buy any fish, read up on fishless cycling and don't always (ever?) believe what your local fish shop tells you, especially if they want to sell you something. These seem to be the main lessons which have been learned, sometimes the hard way and too late, by many people using this site ............................

chris213 · « **Reply #224 on:** March 31, 2014, 06:24:12 PM »

yes i had considered the loading and unloading problem and i have a mini army of people that will help to lift and carry ( they just need a little bribe coffee and a bacon sandwhich tends to work well or a cold can of carling if the day drags on

).
iam also lucky enough to have a van at my disposal so that side of it is fairly well sorted althow yes the stairs are a bit of a worry as it is going upstairs will give my helpers there weatabix that day

.
the tanks that i mostly have been looking at are comeing with there own stands as have been mostly looking at the complete setups as i felt this would give me a better starting point to work from.
well i must admit that i would already like more tanks in a variety of sizes.(lol i havent even got my first tank yet and already dreaming of more

)
the bristlenose is deafantly one of the plecs i have been looking at alot.
i have been looking threw at various fish profiles and iam yet to make a final choice as to what to get but i seems to be drawn more to less agressive types of fish(for now at least ).
yes i have been reading the fishless cycle information and have found that very useful as its something i hadnt really thort to much about.
iam extremly glad to have found this forum and have spent the last 24 hours trying to read all the posts and trying to gather as much information as i can

and find myself more and more excited about what lies ahead for me and my fishy adventures.
iam sure as i get started i will be asking alot of questions and advice (sorry in advance for any stupidly asked questions with obvious answers feel free for a smack :to the head

.
thank you to everyone for a freindly welcome.

Sue · « **Reply #225 on:** March 31, 2014, 06:51:34 PM »

When you do finally win a tank, if it still has fish in it, ask the seller to keep the filter wet. A tank the size you are looking at will normally have an external, so they just need to close the taps to keep it full of water. Then when you set it back up you will find a lot of bacteria will still be alive. Adding a dose of ammonia will tell you this - if both ammonia and nitrite are both zero the day after adding ammonia you will be safe to add fish straight away.
But if the tank has been emptied and the filter media dry, you will need to cycle it first.

dbaggie · « **Reply #226 on:** March 31, 2014, 11:12:10 PM »

If you haven't already done so you could also try other selling sites such as Gumtree or more specialist sites such as aquarists classified if you're looking at picking up a second hand tank. I got mine off Gumtree and it was a bargain. Daft as it sounds you may be able to get a better deal on the larger tanks as the demand can be lower owing to them needing so much room! Getting some established filter medium like Sue says is a good tip - if you can't get any off the seller perhaps you may have friends or family with an established tank which you could borrow some filter medium from? And Hi!

chris213 · « **Reply #227 on:** April 01, 2014, 11:35:37 AM »

just a quick little update tank was won this morning and hope to collect this weekend

.
unfortuantly the tank has been emptied for somewhile so any chances of the filter media being ok are none

.
dont really know anyone that is willing to donate some of theres but as iam new to all this would be good for me to start it from scratch anyway and build my skills

Sue · « **Reply #228 on:** April 01, 2014, 11:51:01 AM »

And it will give you time to decide what fish you want

It gets frustrating when you see a fish on-line but then discover that none of your local shops stock it. You can use the cycling time to visit all your local shops to see what is available. It is possible to buy fish on-line but the delivery charge is usually very high.

chris213 · « **Reply #229 on:** April 01, 2014, 12:56:21 PM »

trying to choose there,s so many

.yes i have seen many of the fish and have to admit iam a bit of a buy it online addict but seems alot to put the fish threw as we all know that most couriers seem to think the word fragile means unbreakable and please feel free to test it with lots of heavy handling and throwing around

.
have already planed a afternoon of visiting the local fish shops this weekend (must remember to leave credit card at home for that

)

ColinB · « **Reply #230 on:** April 01, 2014, 01:00:51 PM »

Quote from: chris213 on April 01, 2014, 12:56:21 PM

have already planed a afternoon of visiting the local fish shops this weekend (must remember to leave credit card at home for that )

However; do remember to take a pen and notebook with you to write down all the fish you like the look of so you can come back and research them.

On the other hand..... you're probably younger than me so you can remember them.

chris213 · « **Reply #231 on:** April 01, 2014, 01:05:43 PM »

'' pen and paper ''

iam young enough to have to ask what that is

, i have a smart phone can take pictures and add notes to , much more modern way to do it

Richard W · « **Reply #232 on:** April 01, 2014, 01:12:20 PM »

I wouldn't worry about delivery problems. Only specially licensed couriers can legally deliver live animals, including fish, which is probably why delivery is quite expensive, though the same for one fish or hundreds. Many thousands of fish are delivered every year, including those from wholesalers to retailers. If a courier caused problems, they'd soon lose the business. APC seems to be the usual one.

Richard W · « **Reply #233 on:** April 01, 2014, 01:16:56 PM »

Don't forget that many fish don't look their best in fish shops. They are often young and crowded in conditions where they don't show their best colours. This is particularly true of many tetras and barbs, which is why they are often overlooked. View the profiles here and also on other sites, particularly (if you haven't found it yet) http://www.seriouslyfish.com/ which has probably the best information of any site, and also many photos of most species of fish.

Sue · « **Reply #234 on:** April 01, 2014, 01:23:26 PM »

Yes, I got some dwarf rainbowfish last week - they were greyish in the shop and they are getting their light metallic blue nicely now.

Sue · « **Reply #235 on:** April 01, 2014, 01:29:23 PM »

Something I haven't mentioned - don't ask for ammonia at a fish shop. They either look blank as they've never heard of a fishless cycle or they look horrified and tell you that's so old fashioned, buy this miracle product which will cycle your tank instantly. Ammonia is getting more difficult to find as it can be used in certain illegal activities. I think Homebase still sell it in the household cleaning section. My local DIY shop also sold it a few years ago. Failing that, try ebay/amazon.

Those bacteria in a bottle products are a waste of money on the whole. Only one brand easily available in the UK has the correct species of nitrite eating bacteria and even that doesn't cycle instantly when it does work (if it's been mishandled it won't work at all).

chris213 · « **Reply #236 on:** April 01, 2014, 02:05:22 PM »

i have just found the ammonia on ebay and ordered a bottle its the kleen off brand that has been mentioned on here but will make sure when it arrives that it contains no other nasty products inside it.
thank you very much for link richard i hadnt found that one yet.
is good to know that the couriers are ok to use as iam sure i will end up trying the online purchase of fish at some point.

ColinB · « **Reply #237 on:** April 01, 2014, 02:09:45 PM »

Quote from: chris213 on April 01, 2014, 01:05:43 PM

'' pen and paper ''

iam young enough to have to ask what that is , i have a smart phone can take pictures and add notes to , much more modern way to do it

I use the Kleen Off ammonia - 'tis fine.

Sue · « **Reply #238 on:** April 01, 2014, 02:16:09 PM »

So do I. It doesn't say on the bottle so I emailed them and they said it was pure ammonia solution at 9.5%

Tommo · « **Reply #239 on:** April 04, 2014, 06:40:33 PM »

Hello all I'm justin, very new to fish keeping. Have recently purchased a 165 lit re tank and whilst waiting for delivery I read as much as possible, mostly on this site. I am currently 9 days into a fishless cycle and am enjoying the tank even without fish.

To start I have set the tank with a layer of fertilising substrate then natural pea gravel. We have a lovely big piece of bogwood and some immitation plants. We will also be adding live plants in the future. I have an external filter running at present with ceramic balls and various coarse filter foam.

I look forward to posting on this site and draining you all of knowledge

Justin

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Introduce Yourself!

Introduce Yourself!

Author Topic: Introduce yourself! (Read 265726 times) 715 replies

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