First time aquarium

Craigmc06

Hi I'm just looking for a bit of advice on setting up a fresh water aquarium. I got a 60 litre aquarium with the water heater and filter as a gift. I'm just wondering is it necessary to have a water pump, I read that once the filter is causing the water to ripple you don't need one is this correct?

I live in a hard water area so I'm also wondering what test kits would be best. Would one such as the API Liquid Freshwater Test Kit Master be ok? It tests for pH, High Range pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.

Is there anything else I'm missing? Thanks

Jeff2

Craigmc06 wrote: »

Hi I'm just looking for a bit of advice on setting up a fresh water aquarium. I got a 60 litre aquarium with the water heater and filter as a gift. I'm just wondering is it necessary to have a water pump, I read that once the filter is causing the water to ripple you don't need one is this correct?

I live in a hard water area so I'm also wondering what test kits would be best. Would one such as the API Liquid Freshwater Test Kit Master be ok? It tests for pH, High Range pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate.

Is there anything else I'm missing? Thanks

I heve this tap water condishener that sorts the water out but I'm new to this and getting a 125 liter tank soon.

I better research like you.

Sleepy

The API testkit will be fine.

Seachem PRIME is the best water conditioner on the market (or, it was when I still used water conditioners - I buy readymixed saltwater for my aquarium from a LFS these days).

Read the sticky about cycling a tank - getting an understanding of the water chemistry is the biggest contributor to managing to keep fish alive.

Craigmc06

Sleepy wrote: »

The API testkit will be fine.

Seachem PRIME is the best water conditioner on the market (or, it was when I still used water conditioners - I buy readymixed saltwater for my aquarium from a LFS these days).

Read the sticky about cycling a tank - getting an understanding of the water chemistry is the biggest contributor to managing to keep fish alive.

Thanks for the advice. Is there anything else I should know or that I'm missing?

I was in the same boat as the OP 4/5 months ago.inc getting the tank as a gift!

by water pump do you mean air pump?I added an air pump anyway.got a "silent" one that was far from it.
Replaced it with a proper silent one from a company called aPump.bought on ebay took months to come but it is great and tiny.

I had the API test kit from my koi pond but was new to tropical fish.
I did a 7 week fishless cycle and all has been fine since I added the fish,
added 5 harlequin rasboras,8 neon tetra and 3 cherry red shrimp.

I now have 30+ cherry red shrimp!

Craigmc06

BrownFinger wrote: »

I was in the same boat as the OP 4/5 months ago.inc getting the tank as a gift!

by water pump do you mean air pump?I added an air pump anyway.got a "silent" one that was far from it.
Replaced it with a proper silent one from a company called aPump.bought on ebay took months to come but it is great and tiny.

I had the API test kit from my koi pond but was new to tropical fish.
I did a 7 week fishless cycle and all has been fine since I added the fish,
added 5 harlequin rasboras,8 neon tetra and 3 cherry red shrimp.

I now have 30+ cherry red shrimp!

Yes sorry I mean air pump. Is it necessary to have one if I place the filter high enough to cause movement in the water?

lynchie

Craigmc06 wrote: »

Yes sorry I mean air pump. Is it necessary to have one if I place the filter high enough to cause movement in the water?

Once the filter is causing the water to ripple, sufficient oxygen exchange can occur. The air pump would not be required in this case.

Sleepy

Yeah, no need for an air pump if you have surface movement from the filter output.

Craigmc06

Thanks everyone. I think I'm sorted now. If anyone has anymore advice or anything don't hesitate to let me know I'd be very grateful as this will be my first time setting up an aquarium and want to do it right.

Craigmc06

Craigmc06 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. I think I'm sorted now. If anyone has anymore advice or anything don't hesitate to let me know I'd be very grateful as this will be my first time setting up an aquarium and want to do it right.

Does anyone actually know where is the best and cheapest place where you can purchase the API Liquid Freshwater Test Kit Master? In my local pet shop it's €55.

Craigmc06

Craigmc06 wrote: »

Does anyone actually know where is the best and cheapest place where you can purchase the API Liquid Freshwater Test Kit Master? In my local pet shop it's €55.

amazon with parcel motel

https://www.amazon.co.uk/API-Freshwater-Master-Test-Kit-x/dp/B000255NCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496847607&sr=8-1&keywords=api+freshwater+master+test+kit

Jeff2

You want the filter high enough above the water to cause small bubbles and not big ones.

Also the amazon posted above if you have addresspal it's dropped to your local post office for €3.50 I think.

Craigmc06

This is probably a stupid question but with the API Liquid Freshwater Test Kit Master. Do you get the relevant items with the test kit to fix the water quality i.e if the pH is wrong etc or do you need to buy them separate? Thanks

Jeff2

I don't have the answer but no question on this is a stupid question when you want to get it right.
Hopefully someone will answer you question but i wouldn't think the kit comes with a sort out for PH.

Sleepy

Honestly, you don't want to change the PH. There are chemicals available to do that but they're a nightmare.

Test your water before choosing your stock. That way the fish will suit your water rather than trying to doctor the water to suit the fish.

Craigmc06

I was just using pH for example. The kit tests for pH, High Range pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Let's say one of these where to high does the kit include the relevant items to correct the water or do you need to buy them separate? Hope that's a bit clearer, thanks

fred funk }{

Most types of fish will live happily in different ranges of ph. What kills them is the sudden change of the ph due to poor water quality.

I haven't tested my water in years. I use RO water and add bread soda and Epsom salts to make it perfect for my Africans. Very cheap and easy to do and my water is perfect.

Sleepy

High Ammonia, Nitrite or Nitrate are treated with water changes or improvements in filtration rather than the addition of chemicals (most issues in an aquarium to do with water quality are tbh).

Craigmc06

Sleepy wrote: »

High Ammonia, Nitrite or Nitrate are treated with water changes or improvements in filtration rather than the addition of chemicals (most issues in an aquarium to do with water quality are tbh).

Thanks mate I appreciate the advice. I'm just a bit concerned that the filter I have won't be good enough for my thank due to the water in my area. The water is very hard and full of limescale.

fred funk }{

Craigmc06 wrote: »

Thanks mate I appreciate the advice. I'm just a bit concerned that the filter I have won't be good enough for my thank due to the water in my area. The water is very hard and full of limescale.

African cichlids wold love your water as it is. The best bit of advice I was given was that "it's not fish keeping, it's water keeping. Look after the water and the fish will look after themselves".

fred funk }{

Sleepy wrote: »

High Ammonia, Nitrite or Nitrate are treated with water changes or improvements in filtration rather than the addition of chemicals (most issues in an aquarium to do with water quality are tbh).

Just to note: some tap water is already high in nitrates even before it hits the tank. That was the main reason I switched to RO water as my rap water was really high.

Craigmc06

fred funk }{ wrote: »

African cichlids wold love your water as it is. The best bit of advice I was given was that "it's not fish keeping, it's water keeping. Look after the water and the fish will look after themselves".

Thanks mate

Sleepy

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Just to note: some tap water is already high in nitrates even before it hits the tank. That was the main reason I switched to RO water as my rap water was really high.

Yeah, I started out using tap water and conditioners but switched to RO for the last few years of my freshwater fish keeping.

A good conditioner should take care of nitrates though? Pretty sure I remember Seachem Prime listing Emergency Nitrate removal as one of it's possible uses?

fred funk }{

Sleepy wrote: »

Yeah, I started out using tap water and conditioners but switched to RO for the last few years of my freshwater fish keeping.

A good conditioner should take care of nitrates though? Pretty sure I remember Seachem Prime listing Emergency Nitrate removal as one of it's possible uses?

Don't think so. You can get pads for your filter alright but they're expensive and not really that effective.

If your tap water is relatively low in Nitrates then regular water changes will be fine. Most fish will tolerate different water parameters once it's stable, it's when there's a crash then the fish suffer.

Jeff2

How is it going for you now Craig.?

Craigmc06

Jeff2 wrote: »

How is it going for you now Craig.?

Sorry only getting back to you Jeff, I was away on holidays. I'm hoping to get it up and running in the next week or so. Just need to try find some suction cups to hold my water heater to the glass

Jeff2

Craigmc06 wrote: »

Sorry only getting back to you Jeff, I was away on holidays. I'm hoping to get it up and running in the next week or so. Just need to try find some suction cups to hold my water heater to the glass

Thanks.
Can you let me know how it goes.
My new tank is flying now and cleaned and cycling the small tank for baby fish that will be here.

Craigmc06

Jeff2 wrote: »

Thanks.
Can you let me know how it goes.
My new tank is flying now and cleaned and cycling the small tank for baby fish that will be here.

Hi Jeff sorry about the delay in getting back to you the tank is doing well it's cycled now so going to add a few fish in now in a day or two. Any tips

kylith

Add your stock in small groups, with a week or two between, so you don't overload your filter bacteria with the increased waste.

CruelCoin

Craigmc06 wrote: »

I was just using pH for example. The kit tests for pH, High Range pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. Let's say one of these where to high does the kit include the relevant items to correct the water or do you need to buy them separate? Hope that's a bit clearer, thanks

Ammonia, Nitrite are both cured by having a filter that's not overloaded and working correctly.
Nitrate is cured by doing regular water changes (or using special filter pads that are very expensive and fairly useless)

PH conditioners you can buy in bottle form.
If you want lower PH, you can use aquarium soil which can lower the PH, brown water extract, etc.
If you want to raise the PH, certain aqaurium gravel (not glass) can raise it, depending on what you are looking for.

CruelCoin

Craigmc06 wrote: »

Hi Jeff sorry about the delay in getting back to you the tank is doing well it's cycled now so going to add a few fish in now in a day or two. Any tips

Add a few fish at a time. Don't overload the filter.
Build up the fish say 5 at a time.