setting up a fish tank

[XJSJohn]

Thinking of setting up a fish tank on my (covered) patio and looking for some advise for what to look for.

will be building from scratch.

air temps outside are in the 25 - 35 celcius range year around. The tank will not be in direct sunlight.

tank will probably be about 2m x .8m x 1.2m (or something like that.

Wife has decided that she wants small "shoals" of colorful fish, as opposed to one big lo han.

What sort of capacity pumps / filters etc should i be looking for, after some experience so that i dont walk into the shops like an idiot also anything to look out for?

cheers,

John

[pk500]

tropical is the easyer option than marine to keep if your starting off your best off with a tank with the filter out of the water , either in the lid or sperate underneath its easyer to clean , little fish like neons look good , you should be able to get a tank heater and everything ready to go . good luck!

[XJSJohn]

cheers, so external pump, makes sense, and keep it warm and fresh

If the ambient air temperature is 25 - 35 celcius anyway (i live in the tropics as it is ) would a heater be needed?

[Stevenj214]

Please read up on Fishless Cycling.

A lot of local fish shops will still advise cycling with live fish but for the sake of a few weeks developing the empty tank, would you really want to put the fish through it, hoping they don't die?

[Jasandjules]

XJSJohn said:

cheers, so external pump, makes sense, and keep it warm and fresh

If the ambient air temperature is 25 - 35 celcius anyway (i live in the tropics as it is ) would a heater be needed?

Is it tropical or marine? Or Coldwater or brackish?

[y2blade]

Jasandjules said:

Is it tropical or marine? Or Coldwater or brackish?

read the opening post

[Jasandjules]

y2blade said:

read the opening post

I still don't see an answer to the question though? Outside air temps, wanting a shoal of fish, on a covered patio etc. but not what type of system.

Or do I need to go to specsavers?

[y2blade]

Jasandjules said:

I still don't see an answer to the question though? Outside air temps, wanting a shoal of fish, on a covered patio etc. but not what type of system.

Or do I need to go to specsavers?

the temps suggest tropical...and he'd have said "marine" or "Brackish" if that was what he meant


or maybe I'm simplifying it

[XJSJohn]

Jasandjules said:

XJSJohn said:

cheers, so external pump, makes sense, and keep it warm and fresh

If the ambient air temperature is 25 - 35 celcius anyway (i live in the tropics as it is ) would a heater be needed?

Is it tropical or marine? Or Coldwater or brackish?

will keep it local so tropical fresh water.

edit - definitely very tropical given i am sweating my **** off at the moment!

[XJSJohn]

Stevenj214 said:

Please read up on Fishless Cycling.

A lot of local fish shops will still advise cycling with live fish but for the sake of a few weeks developing the empty tank, would you really want to put the fish through it, hoping they don't die?

just read through that, some good extra stuff, was planning on running the tank with no fish for a few weeks before letting the wife go mad, but that has a lot more extra advise (and suggestions on having a bit more patience too!)

Will read through a few more times to let it fully sink in!

[XJSJohn]

For clarification

fresh water tropical.
150x50x80 (cm) dimensions or thereabouts

Kept outdoors but out of direct sunlight in Singapore (so tropical environment anyway.

3 x dogs on standby to keep the local cat population at bay.

what do the PH experts recommend on

Pumps
Filtration
Lighting
Plant life (wife is waving pictures infront of me that look like a set from Lord of the Rings!!!
Other stuff i am missing

[boobles]

Pumps & Filters should see you right.

Just remember that outdoor fish ponds do take alot of looking after.

[y2blade]

boobles said:

Pumps & Filters should see you right.

Just remember that outdoor fish ponds do take alot of looking after.

what fish pond?

[boobles]

Mine & a few others I know of. I must be doing something right because the water is crystal clear & the fish are all 6yrs old.

[y2blade]

XJSJohn said:

For clarification

fresh water tropical.
150x50x80 (cm) dimensions or thereabouts

Kept outdoors but out of direct sunlight in Singapore (so tropical environment anyway.

3 x dogs on standby to keep the local cat population at bay.

what do the PH experts recommend on

Pumps
Filtration
Lighting
Plant life (wife is waving pictures infront of me that look like a set from Lord of the Rings!!!
Other stuff i am missing

filtration wise your main options are External or Internal
http://www.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/FishCare/F...

I have a Fluval4 Plus (internal filter) that draws air through a venturi so no need for separate air pump

Lighting wise I have a daylight tube and a flouro tube
...but if the tank is outside will it need a lot of lighting?

[y2blade]

y2blade said:

boobles said:

Pumps & Filters should see you right.

Just remember that outdoor fish ponds do take alot of looking after.

what fish pond?

boobles said:

Mine & a few others I know of. I must be doing something right because the water is crystal clear & the fish are all 6yrs old.

[boobles]

It's ok, I just realized he said fish tank & not pond.

[y2blade]

boobles said:

It's ok, I just realized he said fish tank & not pond.

no problem

[boobles]

Anyway, fish tanks are for pussies!

Fish ponds are for real men.

[tenohfive]

Stevenj214 said:

Please read up on Fishless Cycling.

Seconded.

And for that size tank you'd really be much better to look at a sump. A sump is basically another fish tank underneath the main fish tank (usually concealed in a cabinet, but can be anywhere) which contains different types of filter media - basically it turns a second fish tank into a huge filter. Do some digging, but I'd say that's the best way to go. Alternatively look at several large external filters such as Fluval FX-5's.

As for planting and fish stock, a lot of that will depend on what's available to you locally. Planting can either be a few hardy plants or you can look at going the densely planted route, with CO2 etc - though getting a lot of natural light will probably help. I'm not much good with planting but hardy plants like Java Fern, Anubias, Amazon Sword, Cacomba etc are fairly easy to come across.

As for fish, given that size of tank I personally would go with the big fish route - new world cichlids is the option I'd take in a heartbeat. Small fish aren't boring by any stretch of the imagination but bigger cichlids are often more colourful and have much more personality. With that size of tank you could probably tick both boxes anyway - a good few central american cichlids and a decent school of large dither fish such as boesmani rainbows.