# Just got a new tank - juwel vision 260



## ams

It was a xmas gift and a complete surprise as I never thought in a million years I would get one! 
Now looking at all the options and quite overwhelmed!
What is the minimum I need to buy to set up and any useful tips?!
I would like to try real plants, are they difficult to keep...
And I saw there are a range of backgrounds, some which can be put inside the tank - is it worth the money?


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## magpie

Lucky you! What a lovely present! 

Have you ever kept fish before? Had any thoughts on what you'd like to keep yet?

You'll need to give the new tank and filter a good rinse out before filling it up, and then do a full, fishless cycle before you can put any fish in there. You'll need a source of ammonia and a liquid-drop test kit for the cycle, and it usually takes 4-6 weeks to complete, which gives you plenty of time to plan about what's going in there 

If you're not sure what fish you want yet, what I would do is go to a few aquatics/pet shops and see what fish you like the look of. Then go home and do a bit of research (or ask here) and find out if they will be suitable for your tank. DON'T impulse buy!! Nothing worse than bringing fish home and then discovering that they'll outgrow your tank, or you've bought too many for your tank size, or you've bought fish that will eat each other. Also DON'T trust the advice of the shop staff, they don't always know what they're on about, and some will literally sell you anything you ask for regardless of how appropriate it is.

With plants, I much prefer the look of real plants, though I do personally struggle a bit with looking after them! So long as you go for ones that are easy and fast growing, you shouldn't have too much trouble (also helps if you have fish that don't eat them!).

The 3D backgrounds that go inside the tank do look quite effective, however just bear in mind that they do reduce the volume of water in your tank (as they are usually quite thick). I used to have one in a 200L tank, and I think I worked out that the background took away about 30L or so of that. A plain, black background also looks very effective, without affecting your total volume


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## NaomiM

Great advice there from magpie 

I'd reiterate the importance of doing a fishless cycle before getting any fish. Don't believe what the shops tell you about letting it 'stand' for a few days - this does nothing and will not protect your fish from ammonia poisoning. You need to establish a colony of nitrifying bacteria in your filter to process the harmful ammonia and nitrite in fish waste. A step-by-step guide on how to do this can be found here: Tropical Fish Forums UK - Setting up your new Aquarium and if you need help at any stage, feel free to ask here 

Another decision you ought to take early on is which substrate to use. The most common are gravel or sand. I personally prefer sand as it's better for plants and for many bottom-feeding fish such as corys and loaches.

Live plants look fantastic but can take a bit of work - I have relatively easy plants in both my tanks, but still probably spend more time and money on them than on the fish! They look great though and are beneficial for water quality too 

Hope that helps - feel free to ask as many questions as you like along the way, as it can be quite a steep learning curve!


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## ams

Great advice thank you. Will look into the fishless cycle!


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## Dragonlady

Congratulations on the new fab fish tank! Juwel 280 Vision sounds exciting...

Well, now you're at the most exciting stage of planning what fish you select and plants.

Live plants are really beneficial as they use all the harmful chemicals like ammonia, nitrate and nitrates.

I, personally, have sand and it's quite easy-going and corydoras-friendly as they don't injure their barbels.

As for plants, I'd recommend water sprite (hygrophila difformis), vallisneria and ludwigia repens - you cannot do anything wrong with the plants, they'll just grow. At the beginning, you can also introduce Ceratophyllum. It a pest plant in the nature, however in the tank at the beginning it's the best way of algae protection as it competes with algae. You can keep it later or remove if you see the plant expands too much.

Well, now the fishless cycling... It's definitely worth trying as no fish will be harmed. 
I saved some links about the topic: The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community
Tropical Fish Forums UK - Setting up your new Aquarium
My favourite: The Art of Fishless Cycling - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

After reading a lot and going through many forums, slowly I start to think it could be not a method for everybody.

I read about many cases that people finished cycling, stocked the tank to the full capacity and it turned out some of the fish was sick. At the end, they needed to start the cycle from scratch.

For the reason, I'd recommend keeping a small quarantine tank for newly purchased fish before you add them to the display tank. In such a way, you can check if any of new fish has any health problems which they didn't show in the shop.

If you have an aquarist friend who keeps a tank and doesn't have any health problems I'd recommend to take some media (used sponge, some gravel etc.) to transfer the beneficial bacteria into your tank. You could start with a couple of fish and add more in one-two weeks. In the meantime, you could QT newly purchased fish in the small tank.

Fish keeping is much more difficult than keeping a cat or a dog. The difference is that normally a cat/dog won't die on the 2nd day if you make a mistake, fish will do, unfortunately.
On top of that, a fish keeper needs quite a lot of knowledge about zoology, plant biology and some basic chemistry (nitrogen cycle and not only). If you have attention to details you can spend ours on aquascaping planning your new tank.

Buy some books. It's a good start and you will save money on fish and plants later.
Internet is great but at the same time sometimes confusing. It takes also a lot of time to find information IMO.

My favorite book so far is "A practical guide to creating and maintaining Water Quality" by Peter Hiscock (bought from Amazon)

Good luck and keep us updated about the progress.:thumbsup:


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