adam151082

Just got me first fish tank. 60 litres.


its coldwater (not tropical) as im new to this i've got some questions

How do i check the condition of the water?
If i change the gravel how long should i keep the fish out the tank?
How many fish can i put in the tank?


So far in the tanks theres.
2x goldfish (soon to go)
4x guppy
2x Hillstream Loaches
2x Weather Loach

Benni

Can't answer your questions, as I'm not a fish man. However, I can say what a nice tank.

Benni.

adam151082

Cheers bud , gona get more plants n bit tmora, i'll put the pics up.

bennyboy020

Sign up on practical fish keeping there good to ask questions,
Gold fish need a lot of space and grow fast aswell so what have you allready got?
I dont know much about the filter youve got but it looks a little small for a 60 l tank

fish99

I keep tropical fish so dont know if this advice really applies to cold water. Firstly if you change the gravel ideally you should place it in some netting (onion bags are best) and leave that in the tank for a few days. This assists the new gravel and keeps the bacteria levels in the tank.

for fish stocking you should allow 12 square inch of tank to every inch of fish
So, a tank with a 24” x 12” water surface area (288 sq inches) could hold 288 divided by 12 'inches' of fish, ie, 24.

You can buy water testing kits from any aquatics center. I suggest buying one for ammonia and then a multi kit that tests for various other elements, Nitrates, Nitrites, water hardness, ph etc

The above are the rules which I use for my tropical fish in a 60l tank.

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

I've got a 300 litre tropical tank at home. I have changed the sand before, and I have given it a good clean first then carefully put it straight in. Sign up to www.fishforums.net and read about cycling to get the tank up to speed. I can't see your pic as I'm at work, so dunno how big your filter is! And don't add fish too quickly, I would put no more than 5 small fish or 2 larger ones in at a time, then wait about 3 weeks before adding more.

Get one of the liquid test kits, they're about £20 from an aquatics shop, the paper test strips are not very accurate.

Rich

northernmonkey

you need to cycle the tank first ideally without fish, this get the nitrate levels up which in turn reduce the ammonia the fish produce. as said before, sign up to practicalfishkeeping, there's a really good link there.

by the way, your tankain't really big enough for 1 goldfish! they need loads of room!

jameswrx

Is a Guppy not a tropical fish anymore? they were in my day.. or can you keep them in cold too (I know they're quite hardy)

jameswrx

Oh, and my advice (to anyone without one) is to buy an external filter. They work so much better and your tank will look good for longer and you get more space in the tank.

999

i wouldnt put any more fish int here for a couple weeks atleast or they will start dying

pa_sjo

That's the #1 thing I recommend to anyone, on any tank (as long as it's not TOO small).

adam151082

was looking for somthing like that in pets at home, whats a good one to get and how much?

pa_sjo

Eheim and Fluval are probably the two biggest names..

999

yea but its only a cold water small tank why waste money on an external filter when the one he has works, do you know anyone already with a fish tank thats been well established? if you can get the filter insides from his and shake it into your tank will give youa big boost

pa_sjo

That just shows you don't really understand how canister filters work and what the various medias do..

999

indeed i dont but ive had various tanks over the years inc the one i have now all had internal never had any problems atall

northernmonkey

I run a aquaone external filter and have never looked back. 10% water changes every week and my levels are always spot on.

Let's hope your guppies are one sex or you'll soon be overrun by them!

TurboBlower

http://www.bestfish.com/newtank3.html

That should explain a typical break in cycle for you on a fresh tank set-up,

Like said above dont introduce too many fish at first as they'll be no bacteria build up in the tank to breakdown the waste and you'll just poisen the fish. introduce in stages of say 25% of full stock no. over a 60 day period.. thats what i did & didn't lose any.

Iv'e a 300L coldwater setup and never really have any problems, i first off bought all the test kits etc. and have only ever used them once, its a lot easier to find a good aquarium place locally to you (NOT pets at home etc.) and ask there advice and take water samples to them if you feel somethings wrong..

Hope that helps,

Regards,

Adi

adam151082

the one i bought was leaking so i bought a bigger one 125L, and ive gone tropical. gona keep a eye out for a external filter aswell

my Siamese fighting fish (he's camera shy)


and the tank



hope you like it.