First Aquarium: Supplies in Dublin?

skikes

I wonder if someone on here can give me a little advice on seting up my first aquarium.
I was givin a 100litre tank for christmas. At the moment I've got it up and running with a filter, heater and thermometer. It has one bulb(not sure about the specifics of it) and it's set to 22C.
Apart from that, it's empty. I'm planning on keeping 2 orandas and about 10 tetras. I know orandas are cold water and neon tetra are tropical but from what I've read orandas prefer temps of 19-23C and tetra prefer 20-25C with roughly the same preference for ph so there shouldn't be a problem. I can get a larger tank if the oranda grow out of it.

My queastion is how I can turn an empty tank into this


...and where I can get the supplies in Dublin to do it. Escpecially where I can get the live plants.
I need Hemianthus Callitrichoides for the carpeting and Eleocharis Vivipara at the back to cover the filter. Any advice is much appreciated.

Nozebleed

Ok first. Do not plug the heater in!! it must be fully submerged in water. if you plug it in now it will will blow and you'll have to fork out €30 on a new one.. so dont forget!

www.seahorseaquariums.com/store/

this is the place to go. you can pick up eveything you need..its the best shop around. they will answer all your questions and they'll give you plenty of literature to take home free of charge.

Nozebleed

and they're open tomorrow 11-5pm.

breadandjam

I wouldn't keep Orandas with neon tetras because the Orandas will eventually eat the tetras. Also any strain of goldfish is not suitable for a planted tank they will continually graze on plants.

I can get a larger tank if the oranda grow out of it.

Not if- when- Orandas will grow very big-especially on a diet of neons

I would ask the guys inn Seahorse aquariums to recommend compatible fish.

Maxi Zoo at Clearwater Retail Park Finglas Dublin also have a very good plant section and the guys there seem to know what they're at.

For great online advice on planted tanks take a look at this site
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/index.php

skikes

Nozebleed I'm just about to leave for SHQ now. Had a look at their site, exactly what I was looking for. Thanks.

Breadandjam thanks for the warning, decided against keeping tetras with them now but I really have my heart set on keeping Oranda's. Found a useful guide with plants that goldfish aren't fond of. So I'll be carpeting with Java moss now. Thanks.

I'll update with how I get on.:pac:

Fishyfreak

Unless your name is Takashi Amano, you won't be able to achieve a tank like that for many years.

Learn about good fish husbandry (Orandas & Tetras :eek:), the nitrogen cycle and general aquarium care/maintenance first.

Remember the tank above was probably made specifically for the photo and then quickly broken down. Those nano tanks look pretty but are unachievable long term due to the delicate balance of c02, feltilisers & proper light.

Best of luck, it is a rewarding and addictive hobby. Also Seahorse is a great place where you'll get excellent advice.

skikes

Well went to SHQ today and it was a great looking shop, very busy and very helpful staff.
They didn't have the plants I was after but they took my number and will be getting them in on tuesday.
I ended up getting 2 little redcap oranda. One of them, stanly (yes I've named them:cool:) is very healthy looking, round and already getting it's hood. The other, stella I think is dieing, it's thin, has a few splits in it's fins and doesn't seem to swim much, just floats around. There was other healthier looking larger one's there for the same price but I choose them both myself for their small size so I'm not complaining.
I wanted small one's because I was advised if I buy small ones and pair them with larger tetra they should be fine together as they grow. To be honest I really don't want the tetra but my partner is quite adamant. Still attempting to talk him out of it lol
Also got some nice looking rocks and gravel. I'll post a picture once I get it all planted.

FishyFreak I've been reading about it practically non-stop since christmas, but you are right, I need to be realistic. I'm glad I have a place to shop now that deals solely with fish. I suspect regular pet shops don't have a clue what they are talking about since they have so much to look after and the merchandise suffers.

Thanks for the advice folks, really helped out.

Sofiztikated

Don't just attempt to talk him out of it, just say no. The 2 types of fish are not meant to go together. End of story. Just because they don't have fur or purr doesn't mean they should be treated any differently.

Have a saunter out to Fins Fur Feathers out in Swords as well, great set up and very helpful. Their quarantine tanks are one of a kind in Ireland, meaning all fish are properly quarantined before hitting the shop floor.

By my counting, you have the tank set up for approx a week? Be careful adding fish so soon, it won't have cycled properly for at least another 2/3 weeks, unless you are adding a quick start additive. (Personally, I never used them, I fishlessly cycle.)

Make sure you have the gravel and stones washed properly, in fact gravel cannot be washed enough, enen if it comes pre washed.

skikes

Yes about a week now. I didn't add any additives except for a dechlorinator. But when I set it up I added water from my sister's tank that she keeps 2 goldfish in, in hopes of speeding up the bacterial growth. I purchased a pretty good testing kit that can test for ph, ammonia, nitrates and nitrite levels and everything seems perfect... for now :S

I did wash the gravel and stones quite thoroughly but maybe not enough because when I added them the water did go a little cloudy but it's already clearing up nicely..

Sofiztikated

skikes wrote: »

Yes about a week now. I didn't add any additives except for a dechlorinator. But when I set it up I added water from my sister's tank that she keeps 2 goldfish in, in hopes of speeding up the bacterial growth. I purchased a pretty good testing kit that can test for ph, ammonia, nitrates and nitrite levels and everything seems perfect... for now :S

I did wash the gravel and stones quite thoroughly but maybe not enough because when I added them the water did go a little cloudy but it's already clearing up nicely..

You should be ok for washing it, it will nearly always go cloudy. You can't wash it enough, really.

I'd be wary of adding water from her tank, you don't know what nasty little diseases you could be transferring from hers to yours. You are trying to get the bacteria in your filtration started, so if she has a filter, try squeezing that into your own filter.

Keep an eye on the ammonia, nitrates and nitrites, these can spike rapidly in new tanks, and I mean really really rapidly. Especially with fish added to it so quickly.

Best of luck with the tank.

Fishyfreak

You need to get filter squeezings or a slab of dirty sponge off the other tank asap.

You readings are fine purely because you have had no source of Ammonia in the tank until now. Your fish (goldfish especially) will excrete ammonia at a rapid rate. Your filter has no bacteria to cope with this, you need a colony of bacteria to complete the cycle to Nitrite and then to Nitrate and then you the fishkeeper dilute this with regular partial water changes.

Also, say NO to the tetras, they will just end up as expensive food.