First Post: Question

[MEng]

I'm new to the hobby and I got a beginners tank set a couple months back and quickly found this site and found a lot of good info....thanks for that

So today I finally set up the tank (20g). It came with the heater, lights, filter etc... It also came with an ornament that has a tube in it. At first I wasn't sure what it was for but after reading the site some more today I'm thinking its an air tube?

My question is do I need some sort of air pumping in the water? The ornament only came with a tube, nothing to connect it to.

 

[bmoraski]

you dont have to hook up air if you dont want to, but if you wanted nice bubbles coming out of the ornement then you will need to buy an air pump and some tubing. you can pick up at wallmart, petsmart, petco etc.

 

[MEng]

Thanks for the tip. I'm not going to bother with bubbles.
I went to the LFS today and the guy suggested waiting 5 days after setup before adding my first fish. I was planning to put them in on day 3, isn't that long enough?

 

[MEng]

they also do free water testing. should I go with this or just test myself at home?

 

[jingles]

Read up on cycling, there's some stickys in the beginner forum. You can go two routes fish or fishless.

If you buy the kits buy the liquid drops. It's your call but if you buy the test kit it will be easier and you will check the chemistry more often rather than going to the store every now and then.

 

[bmoraski]

Before you add fish read up on cycling , its very important to know about cycling a tank. otherwise your in for aggrevation.
the best place to start is MissFishys website.lots of great info
MissFishy's Guide to Fish
you dont want to learn about this hobby the way most of us did, The Hard Way!

 

[misterking]

I second what jingles and bmoraski have said already, if you read up on cycling you'll make sure that your fish aren't subjected to toxic substances like ammonia and nitrite. Many people new to this do what you planned to do, listening to the people in the fish store, and end up losing a couple of fish before posting on forums asking what's up - but you did the right thing in coming here first. As bmoraski said, "you don't want to learn about this hobby the hard way"!

God luck with your new tank, a 20 gallon is a good size to start with! One started my obsession years ago

 

[MEng]

thanks for the tips guys