AusBloke

G'day all, I am a complete newbie to the fish keeping scene, and have just purchased my first ever (second hand) fish tank. I actually got 2 for a good price a big one and a small one.. so here comes the questions

First off i am going to build my own stand for it the big tank, the tank measures, in your American measurements 36.8" (920mm)long, 14.4" (360mm)wide and 20" (500mm) high.

I won't go into details on the stand, I have been working on the plans for it for 2 days, so it should be good enough to hold 165 litres or 36.3g of water, but because of the height of the tank, I am going to anchor to the wall, so the kids don't tip it over.

Anyway, once I have the stand built (in a day or 2) where do I go from there? basically i have no idea, what filter, heater, lighting, aeration to buy.

I also need advice on what to put in the tank to get it started, is sand harder to look after than gravel? can I use tank water (rainwater) to fill it, or should I use tap water. Also what is the purpose of Styrofoam under the tank? do I have to put it under it, or is ply wood ok.

That's enough to start with I guess

Look forward to your great advice.

Charmaine

Hi and welcome to the forum.

The purpose for the styrofoam under the tank is to balance your tank out and it also prevents your tank from cracking or the glass chipping, so i would suggest the styrofoam rather than the wood.

The fist thing you need to do is decide what kind of fish you want to keep and then set up your decor as best you can to what it would be like for them in their natural habitat. Also then you can choosewhether to go for sand or gravel.

Add treated tap water and cycle your tank before adding any fish. You can us TETRA SAFE START for that, you will also need to purchase a test kit.

Speak to your LFS about what filtration system will benifit your tank best, also check out freshwater tank equipment..

Lucy

Hi AusBloke Welcome to Fish Lore

What size tanks did you get? Did they come with filters, heaters, lids? You'll need all 3.

I don't know about using rain water. If you use tap water, you'll want to treat it with a dechlorinater, it should remove chlorine and other bad stuff found in tap water. Chlorine is deadly to fish.

You'll have plenty of time to think about a stock list while you're cycling your tanks. Please read this information about cycling and consider cycling fish less, it will be less stressful to you and your fish. Many fish can be lost during the cycling process. Here's the link:
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

The substrate you use will depend on the fish you want. Take a look at the fish profiles, read about their needs and possible tank mates.

It makes me really happy that you're looking for help before just dumping fish into a tank. Take your time, learn all you can and have fun.

joy613

The main reason not to use rain water it pollution. The rain water actually absorbs things on the way down. There are places to cut costs/quality but there are places you want quality and have to look for the best deal. Places you want quality is lights, filter, and the heater. Pretty much anything else you can cut down on. I have sand in some of my tanks I like the black sand over the white sand because I have poop machines in them called snails. The white sand shows the waste more. If you want to use white sand pick up play sand if you want fine grain. I haven't used pool sand but it is aquarium safe.

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

AusBloke

Thanks, well I guess I wont use tank water then.. pity as we are on water restrictions, but I guess its ok for a fish tank.

Anyway, tank stand is built, just needs some varnish now, and I will be buying filters etc on in the next day or 2.

Will keep you posted on how it all goes.

yamon100

Hi. I am new too. If you are worried about algae then a Tiger Plec is good idea. When all the algae is gone be sure to feed him/her algae wafers or some lettuce. Plecs like greens.

shellbell4ever

Welcome to Fishlore Ausbloke!!
Your heading in the right direction Knowledge is the fish keepers best friend and here is where you'll find it Please do not hesitate to ask questions...it is what were here for!To help each other,by asking and answering each others questions I think I learn something new here everyday!!
Please keep us posted on your progress and by the way we just LOVE Pic's So please share when you can

Suave

pics of the stand?

AusBloke

Pics of stand as requested..

Attached Images

	stand9.jpg (47.5 KB, 3 views)
	stand7.jpg (39.9 KB, 5 views)
	stand10.jpg (55.8 KB, 5 views)
	stand11.jpg (54.5 KB, 5 views)

Suave

I love it. insanely simple, but looks great. I love the hood too.

Charmaine

Your stand and hood looks great. If I lived in Australia, I would have you build me one too!!

AusBloke

Thanks, I really enjoyed building it too. Now I am gunna make a small stand for my quarantine/breeding tank.

Charmaine

Don't forget to post your pics. Have you decided what fish you want??

Blub

Why not put the QT underneath the big tank? There is that big space for it to go!

AusBloke

Will post pics..

On the fish side, no have not decided, I was hoping to get some advice on that actually. I reckon the kids would love a community tank with a couple of small schools and then 1 or 2 bigger fish.. but I really have no idea yet on what fish to get. The neon tetras(?) looked good in the shop, but they are very small. I really just don't know enough about the varieties etc.

On another topic, I was looking at the basic setup today (filter, heater, gravel etc) and the place where i went had a brand called "Aquarworld". Anyone heard of these, and are they any good? I am planning on getting a canister filter and just a basic heater. Is this the right move?

Cheers.

AusBloke

Because of the kids I have 4 kids aged 9 to 1, and the 1 and 3 year old would be putting all sorts of stuff in my qt tank...hehe

Charmaine

Put a tight fitting hood on your Q tank so they can't open it, with a latch or something like that.