Greetings and the like

[sdivell]

Hey everyone,

Thought I'd introduce myself before I ask everybody to help me with my new tank.

I'm new to the whole fish keeping hobby but I'm excited to get it going. Last night I purchased a 21 gal tank and stand w/ a power filter and a heater.
put 25lbs of gravel in it. 4 plants, couple pieces of rock and a hunk of drift wood on a slab of slate.

filled it with tap water, added the conditioner, turned on the heater and the filter.

I'm a noob so any advice u guys can throw at me i'd appreciate. I've been doing a lot of reading of all the stickies on the forum already.

cheers,

 

[FroggyFox]

Welcome to MFT Scott! Sounds like you have a good start. Are you planning on trying a fishless cycle or fish-in cycle? (did you get around to that sticky yet? hehe)

What kind of fish are you thinking about keeping?

 

[Dino]

Glad to have you with us.

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Welcome to the tank!

 

[sdivell]

Welcome to MFT Scott! Sounds like you have a good start. Are you planning on trying a fishless cycle or fish-in cycle? (did you get around to that sticky yet? hehe)

What kind of fish are you thinking about keeping?

Yes, I've read that sticky and as much as i'd like to get the tank settled and going before fish the g/f is really anxious to see some fish (fishies as she calls them) swimming around...So i'm going to fish-in cycle...i was thinking of a few danios (maybe 6) as i've read that they're tough fish. any thoughts?

i'd like to get some Tetras eventually as i really like the colouring (yes with a 'U', I'm Canadian) on them but I know they need more stable water.

 

[Oreo]

Welcome to MFT !

 

[FroggyFox]

Makes sense...its hard to look at that empty tank for very long. Danios would be my choice for a fish-in, 6 sounds like a good number. I think having those plants will help your cycle move quickly (if you have enough light to keep them happy).

There are some very neat kinds of tetras

 

[seastaar88]

if you have a friend w/ an established tank, you can take a handful or so of their substrate, put it in the foot end of some pantyhose, knot the leg closed and toss it in your tank. it will help to seed your substrate w/ beneficial bacteria, thus, speeding up your cycle.

WELCOME!!!!!!!!

 

[sdivell]

Thanks for the hints but none of my friends have tanks.... no wait... i dont have any friends... but if i had friends they dont have tanks

 

[Big Vine]

none of my friends have tanks.... no wait... i dont have any friends... but if i had friends they dont have tanks

Well, now that's what you get for living in Ottawa...too many darn politicians there. It's kinda difficult to make friends with so many liars and crooks around town, lol. Mind you, the changing of the guard up on Parliament Hill is kinda neat when you see it for the first time...really, it is...

Either way, it's nice to see another fellow Canadian on the forum...welcome aboard!
(yes, I realize Omaha, NE is not actually part of Canada...I've been 'displaced' )

BV

 

[Katie217]

Another Canadian eh?!
Welcome to the forums

 

[lauraj]

Welcome! Just came home from a week's vacation in Ontario. We stayed on Lake Opinicon.....love it up there!!! Brought home tons of bass....YUM!

I did a fish in cycle myself with a couple of platies. It's a timely process, but rewarding when you get through it and manage to keep the fish healthy through it all. Good luck!

If you know of a fish store that sells Bio Spira, it can cut the cycle time in half!! It's basically live bacteria, but it must be kept refrigerated at the fish store for it to be any good.

 

[sdivell]

Got 6 batman platies today at my LFS... they seem very happy and active in their new home... cant wait for them to start poopin and breathing to start the cycle.