New to the forum, new edge owner, any tips/advice appreciated

[BenjiBoy]

Hey everyone,

firstly i would like to say this is a great forum and i have read through many of the threads. There are some great tips and advice and i have taken them all on board, i am currently on day 3 of my fish less cycle and so far its looking good, i have the 23l edge in the special edition white with the LED lights and it looks amazing, ive gone for a minimalistic approach, with the bamboo wall at the back, a few artificial plants and a few rocks, heater is in the post and should be coming tomorrow. (pic to follow)

i do how ether have a few questions that hopefully you lot will be able to assist me with. Firstly, the selection of fish that you feel would be most suitable for me being a beginner, also the balance of different species, i think i see somewhere that some fish are good for fighting algae?

secondly, i have been advised to carry out a 25% weekly water change and wondered if i was to do this at the end of this week before i proposed to buy my fish or do i leave the water for another week and let the fish settle in? should i buy some kind of test kit to keep the water in tip top condition, if so can you recommend any?

thirdly, each morning i have woke up, i have noticed there has been an oxygen bubble formed, probably around the same size as a tennis ball, does this mean the tank is not full enough or the tank is not sitting level?

as for the noisy pump, i have taken to top cover off which seems to have significantly reduced the noise levels how ether there is still a distinctive noise that will hopefully go.

hope to receive some replies,

Ben

[Michaelx105]

Hi there BenjiBoy!

I've been into fish-keeping for 18 months now and gone through several tanks and have now bought the 1st gen pewter 23L edge this week, so hopefully I can offer a tip or two.

Firstly, if you've just set it up, there will be air pockets in your substrate which will eventually rise and escape as you disturb it while setting up your aquascape. When you add the wildlife, they too will disturb these air pockets as they explore the floor of your tank. Have you filled the tank right up past the top of the tank? I have it just 1cm short of it over-flowing. Maybe get a spirit level to see if your tank is level.

Secondly, can you adjust the temp on your heater? I just got the AquaEl NeoHeater 25 watt which is compact and is adjustable. You need to be able to vary the temp more precisely to deal with disease and different fish like different temps.

Thirdly, I'd recommend getting some real plants. They look better, oxygenate the water, and provide a more natural environment.

Fourthly, people overestimate the quantity of wildlife they can put in. Initially, I'll move in a siamese fighter and a couple of galaxy rasbora and a few shrimp into my Edge from another tank I'm closing down. I'd be weary of having more than that in such a small tank. As an alternative, 5/6 galaxys, and 5/6 chilli rasbora with a few shrimp would do as they grow no larger than 2cms'.

Finally, noisy filters are irritating so check the inlet pipe on your filter. Is there an air-pocket at the top? Turn it onto full power and make sure the filter is full of water. Does the top of the inlet pipe make contact with the filter lid? Make sure the pipe is pushed down as far as it will go. Looking around the Forum, it seems it may take a couple of weeks for the filter to settle and go quiet.

I hope some of this helps, and it's great to see a site dedicated to one type of tank and their users, I've never seen that before.

Cheers