Completely new tank, what to do

[Fish Dude]

Hi, im getting back into the fish hobby, but unfortuanatley I remember almost nothing about it, so could you help please? I have a 20g tank that has just been cleaned. I am hoping to get some tetras (freshwater), and thats about it. Basically, how do i do the fish thing. I only have assorted equipment, a filter with ammonia, sponge and charcol (should i use other filter inserts?). I have chlorine remover, and some cycle. I also have some aquarium salt and some fake plants (should i use real ones?). And food, what kind should I use? I have some algea flake, flake food for tropical fish, pellet food for tropical fish, micro granules for small tropical fish, and some freeze dreid blood worms. Lastly, how do you cycle a tank? I really have no idea how to start this, so could you guys please help me?

Thanks

[geleen]

Hi, im getting back into the fish hobby, but unfortuanatley I remember almost nothing about it, so could you help please? I have a 20g tank that has just been cleaned. I am hoping to get some tetras (freshwater), and thats about it. Basically, how do i do the fish thing. I only have assorted equipment, a filter with ammonia, sponge and charcol (should i use other filter inserts?). I have chlorine remover, and some cycle. I also have some aquarium salt and some fake plants (should i use real ones?). And food, what kind should I use? I have some algea flake, flake food for tropical fish, pellet food for tropical fish, micro granules for small tropical fish, and some freeze dreid blood worms. Lastly, how do you cycle a tank? I really have no idea how to start this, so could you guys please help me?

Thanks

A good place to start would be to google "fishles cycling" Takes about 4-6 weeks. If you have access to a established tank you could squeeze a sponge from that filter into your tank and speed things up.

Some people use a product called stability and add fish ....I am skeptical of this method.

I would not use any other media than some pot-scrubbers or ceramic rings and a sponge on top for polishing the water.

Once cycled get some fish and some fresh food, any food older than 1 year should be discarded.

Plants are a personal item. They make things look very nice. Lots of info on planted tanks on the net.....enough to keep you reading for a few day's.

John

[byte]

I also have some aquarium salt and some fake plants (should i use real ones?).

Thanks

Fake plants look good with fake fish... so if you plan to use real fish, live plants look better and help maintain water quality. Most fish stores or local members can help you get your tank cycled quicker with some used filter media (or the goo squeezed out of them).

[Malawi Maniac]

Personally, I would take a part of someone's canister filter and squeeze it out in your own, that should jump start the whole cycling process.

JMO

Stacey

[firestorm]

Here is a good link on cycling your tank http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php. If you can get your hands on some seeded filter media from someone else's running tank, I would do it that way.

For food some good brands are new life spectrum (my favorite) and hikari. You can use fake plants, they are easier to maintain, but live plants certainly do make the aquarium look better, and even some of them can be pretty easy to care for. If you have any questions on plants, just ask in the planted section and many people are there to help you out.

In my filters I just use course sponges (either made for that filter or from DIY scrubby household pads), bio media like the ceramics, and I use filter floss in many of mine. I only use the carbon (charcoal) when I am trying to get rid of a bad smell from a tank or after I have finished medicating a tank. You will also want to buy a heater for your tank to allow your fish to live healthy lives.

For tetras, depending on the type, you could fit around 10-15 smaller species like neons, or maybe around 8-10 larger species like black skirts etc. Just to give you an idea of how many to stock with. Let us know what kind you were interested in, and we can better help you to stock it. With the tetras you can also go for some bottom feeders, shrimp make a good companion with smaller tetra species (my black skirts ate my cherry shrimp), or you can get other bottom feeders like corydoras or other small catfish species.