newbie

Hi guys

Im another newbie to this interesting Hobby. I bought quite a large tank with a resun canister filter. I waited a week and added a few fishes waited another few days and added a few more. I test the water twice a day and all seems fine & fishes look happy.
Please can anyone tel me how to clean my canister filter and should i replace the charcoal & ceramic rings after a while?

 

Hi Wynie and welcome to TASA
If you're going the planted tank route, I would suggest removing the charcoal as it removes all those good minerals that we're after.
I don't think you need to replace the ceramic rings. The reason they're there is to create a home for the beneficial bacteria that we need to keep our tanks healthy.

I'd suggest reading the following articles as they're really helpful and will contain all the answers you might be looking for
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?3305-Zoom-s-Article-1-Starting-your-first-tank
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/s...ter-chemistry-amp-how-to-maintain-its-clarity.
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?7572-Bacteria-the-good-and-bad
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?7286-Nitrogen-Cycle-for-Aquariums

So, what fish have you bought so far?

 

Fish

Well two Angels, one Betta a few guppies and tetras although i just recently found out that some of these fish dont get along im still planning my next move and what to add and so on

 

Oh and thanks for the links this helps me alot

 

It's a pleasure Wynie.

Yeah don't know so much about those fish, but I think you'll have problems with the Betta and the Angels.
Do you know how many litres your tank holds? Those angels can grow to the size of side plates

 

I think its about 200 Litres

 

What setup are you running an what types of fish?

 

Cool, I think you might want to go bigger once they grow bigger. But then that also depends on whether you plan on keeping more than 2 angels.

Me, at the moment I have a 20l tank with just plants in it and a 70l with too many fish and too many plants. My 175l broke Had to make a plan.
I've got kuhli loaches, rummies, cardinals (only one left) and black tetras. I want to move the black tetras though as their water needs to be cooler than what I currently have it at.

 

Im thinking of getting kuhli loaches are they friendly? Also wanted to get some clown loaches but pet shop said they are are not to friendly towards tetras & danios

 

I'm not sure about clown loaches. They grow very big and some are known to be aggressive. I think these would be best in a species only tank, but I don't know for sure.

Kuhli loaches are awesome! They're very shy and don't often come out of their hidey holes. They're playful if they're in a big group, and generally fair better in a large group. I wouldn't recommend anything less that 6 kuhli loaches.

No offence, but take what you hear from the Petshop with a pinch of salt. Many times they will just tell you what you want to hear just to get the sale. I'm glad that they informed you of the aggressive behaviour of the clown loach though. Not many petshops would do this.

Your best bet would be to research the fish that you want before you buy them. I've made this mistake before... I bought a fish only to find out it was not compatible with another fish I already had.

I'm happy to see you asking questions, just a bit sad to see I'm the only one answering as I myself am still a bit of a noob.

 

haha thanks for all the help. Nice to see theres people out there that share the same interests and that we can all learn from each other.
I think im going to save up to get another species only tank and put a few bad boys in there like the guy said in the mantell thread a naughty tank.
Ive got a study where i can keep another tank but still recovering from all the spending on this one.
Anyway been nice chatting to you im gonna wait it out another month for the cycle to become stable and then ill look at purchasing a few more fish.

 

Welcome Wynie! I'm sure you will find lots of info and help on the forum. So keep on asking questions and we will help where we can.
Which area are you from?

 

It's only a pleasure I like helping where I can. I just get scared that sometimes my advice isn't the best
Oh yeah, a species only tank is awesome! I'd love that with an eel or sorts.

LOL wait till the plant bug gets to you as well

Cool, chat soon for sure! And good luck with your tank. We are here for you if you need any help with any thing.

 

Im from the east rand in Joburg and ive been getting my fish from exotic in Boksburg north