many questions!!!!!!!!!?

Question

1.) how do i check ph, temp, nitrites, etc and how do i keep it ate the right levels?

2.) what plants are suggested for a BEGINNER looking to HEAVILY plant a 55 gallon aquarium? (also easy to care for and live long) also the lighting and things needed for each plant if u could. :] please

3.) when can i add plants when water is set?

4.) when can i add fish when water/plants are set?

5.) suggested fish to add?

6.) how much water do i need to change and how do i do that and how often?

7.) thanx u guys rock!! :]

Answer 1

Alright my favorite question

1. If you bought an aquarium with the whole setup, the light comes with it as well as a filter, a heater, and usually some other stuff

2. When you set up your tank, NEVER put it near a window, since you get direct sunlight in your tank and you grow algues with that, and you don't want that

3. Wash the gravel thorough before you put it in your tank, also wash the carbon filter or cartridge (depending what pump you have) thourogh to get all the dust out of it

4.If you are planning a tropical one, you need a heater and a thermometer (I prefer the one you stick on outside of the tank), depending on what fish you get you should set the heater between 76-82

5. Fill up your tank with water, preferrable fresh water not the tapwater(is very hard usually), and put the water conditioner called "Aqua Safe" as directed on the bottle in the water

6. Buy fresh Waterplants and put them in the gravel ( they are healthier for the fish and also good for oxygen)

7. If you have a all in one Test kit like the "Quick Tip" test your water and adjust it as you need to

8. You can put usually fish after about 3-5 days in your aquarium, that's the time when you need to start checking your amonia levels in your tank

Good fish to have are as follows:
1-3 Plecotasmus (keep your tank clean)
a group of neons ( they are schooling fish so you need to buy at least 3-6 of them)
Platy's (there are all kind of different ones, but they get all along with each other)
Guppy's (2-3 females on every male)

any fish that is semiaggressive get along with each other

In my experience I clean my tank like every 6 months completely out, and I have a 30 gallon tank
You need to change your carbon filter or cartridge at least once a month
Personnally I don't do any water changes, because it really doesn't get dirty since I'm not overfeeding my fish
I fill up the water once a month until the level I started the tank out with and put in "Easy Balance" once a week as directed on the bottle.
My fish are all happy and healthy

For any more questions you may have, feel free to email me
(I'm open for emailing)
Good luck

Answer 2

Okay,
You need to go to a reputable aquarium store and talk to the most knowlegable person there.

Keeping aquariums is a lot more complicated than it seems. It's not like you just put water in a tank, plop in some fish and plants and call it a day.

Firstly,
DO NOT ADD fish until your tank has cycled for at least 2 weeks. This gives the water time to release all the nitrites, nitrates, and other garbage before you add living creatures to it. (If you don't wait, you'll have a really hard time getting everything right AND all your fish will die.)

If you decide to go with a planted tank, then you'll need appropriate lighting for it. The typical starter kit doesn't have the right kind of lamp you need for a planted tank.

Also, 55 gallons is a large tank for a beginner. Have you purchased your tank yet? If not, then may I suggest you start with a 20 gallon tank instead? It's still plenty of water, but it's a lot easier to maintain until you get the hang of it, plus it's easier to light the plants correctly.

Water changes are done as needed in my setup, but most people I know do about 25% every two weeks.

Like I said before, get yourself an aquarium guru and it wouldn't hurt to pick up a book on the subject. I flipped through Tropical Aquariums for Dummies, and it looked pretty good.

Good luck and do right by your little fishy buddies.

Answer 3

the temp you can get a thermometer that goes inside the tank the ones that stick on the tank are usually wrong. you can test for other stuff with either a kit that you have to test each reaction for or with a dipstick test kit that shows everything but the ammonia level in the tank. you can get another dipstick test kit for that too. for keeping the nitrates correct you can use a few different products check local pet store. you would be better to add seeds they are cheaper first off and usually only take 30 days to start showing that they have leaves. its easiest for a beginner but they are mainly fresh water plants. I dont know what kind of system you have but natural light is best. if you put your tank near a window you can get more natural light to help the plants grow but you should close the blinds part of the day because too much heat can crack the glass in the tank. fish depends on you and what kind you want if you go to www.about.com and type in freshwater aquarium or saltwater aquarium it will give you alot of informaiton on set up different plants and how to care for them. the lighting requirements and also types of fish that can and cannot be together.

Answer 4

1) you can get strips to test the water that will test everything at once. if you do regular water changes you don't really need them. the way you keep the aquarium at the right levels is water changes -- small ones -- like 10% every other day when you start until ammonia and nitrites are 0 and then 20% a week or two depending on how many fish and plants you have to keep nitrates down.

2) there are lots of plants that work well for beginners -- in a 55 gallon i am assuming you have flurorescents -- just get a generic aquarium plant light and you can grow lots with that. you can grow bulbs like apongetons -- often sold as bettas bulbs -- lilys (nymphaea) , and onions (crinum)-- apongetons grow really fast and are good to keep nitrites down while you cycle your tank -- they will reach the top of your tank in a couple weeks.
other easy to keep fast growers are the hygrophilias -- there are usually 2-3 readily available in stores -- one is called "water wisteria" another one is "temple plant" i like "giant hygro" -- the leaves and stalks kind of resemble bamboo and it grows really fast. you can fill a corner in a couple months if you start with a couple cuttings.
water sprite grows really well really fast too.

a whole different group of plants are things you can just tie to rocks or driftwood and drop in these are anubias, java fern (microsorum), bolbitis, and java moss (vesicularia). i have included latin names so you can google for pictures and more information.

3)for all of these just get a fish to make poop and some iron rich fertilizer (it will be marked (0-0-3 or similar)

4 & 5)next comes fish -- you dont want cichlids in a planted tank -- they dig up plants. angelfish are considered "peaceful" but still iffy. i like gouramis personally . second choice would be rainbows. add like one or two a week and you will have a full tank in no time.

here is a listing of common species that are relatively easy to find --

http://www.aquahobby.com/e_freshwater_tropical_aquarium_fish.php

6)when you start you want to do small changes -- like 5-10% every other day. if you are testing you want to do this until ammonia and nitrites hit 0. if you aren't testing do this for about 3 weeks. you should notice your aquarium smelling a lot better (ammonia smells like the nasty) but your nitrates will still be high -- lots of plants will take care of this for you. in about a month you should be able to get away with 20% water change weekly or every other week depending on how many fish you have.

Answer 5

one you need to get a ph nitrite kit from the feed store they do sell them i would do goldfish or tropical fish easy to take care of 3 heres the best thing for your tank it will be going threw something called new tank syndrom can kill anything in your tank till it cycles it means your water will not be balanced for 4 weeks k listen start out with a few feeder goldfish if they die your at no lost now your water will get dirty and gross after a few days dont change it at all leave it alone for 4 weeks or your mess it up and have to start all over again so it will clear up on its own its normal leave it totally alone then after 4 weeks you can start changing out 25% of the water out dont do it till then.....or youll be sorry and just have to start all ove again with the water ballancing again it will a just on its own Then you ccan add stress coast so much for every gallon of your tank each time you do a water change its the only chemical u ever need durring a water change 5 in a half caps of stress coat