Hi everyone, i just signed up.

I have kept fish now for about 4 years, i currently have a 4ft tropical tank setup (nothing special) with some angelfish, 2 pim pictus', 3 clown loaches, a huge pleco and a smaller spotty pleco. Sorry to be so vague, i'm still fairly new to the different sorts of plecos etc. I would like advice on setting it up properly, as im forever making adjustments to keep it filled up and clean. I used to have sand which i changed for a fine dark gravel which looked much better, and i researched online that plants would prefer gravel to root into rather then sand, however my plants keep dying, and rotting away and then i have to throw them away. I have a 800lph (i think) internal filter/pump which is what keeps the tank clean and circulating, and i have a 300w heater too which is kept at around 29 degrees Celsius. The light i use is a spare kitchen strip light which was laying around, and has been the fish light for around 2 years or so now and i know its not the correct light. I would like advice on how i can keep the plants alive (which i am told i need a special light for that) and what light i actually need, for the tank in general or two if i need one for the plants specifically. I dont have a "proper" tank lid, as i bought the tank off eBay around 3 years ago which was only the glass tank with no lid. I have made a lid to the best of my abilities with some wood, and still water is evaporating which i dont know if its normal and im forever having to top the water up.
Sorry to just sign up and write up a huge "omg help me please" post lol. My name is Dave btw, and i hope to chat to some of you fellow fish keepers soon :)

Thanks in advance for any advice!

HI Dave

Welcome to FK
Any chance you could post some pictures of your tank and the lighting/lid, and the plecos, that will give us more to go on? Tx

Hi cathie thanks for the welcome and the reply.

here are some pictures of my tank, lid, and some of the fish.

sorry about the 3rd photo, the small pleco hides as soon as the camera comes out lol


edit: i did add the photos, where did they go?

Ah, we do that to trick the unsuspecting ...
The easiest way to post pictures is to use the attach file button BUT
a) only one picture per post; and
b) you must also have some text in every post

So you should be ok if you do 3 posts, the first one saying here is my tank - attach file, upload, submit; next one here is the lid - attach file etc if you see what I mean??

ah, i see what you mean!

well here is my tank, with the dreadful light

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the lid, (not very good but consists of a wooden frame i built and some spare wood flooring that was laying around) i do actually have some unused glass shelving that fits across the inner lip of the tank to stop water splashing near the light

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  20120226_214626.jpg (436.87 KB)

the tiny pleco, that hides from the camera (i think is a bristle nose)

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  20120226_214701.jpg (465.74 KB)

and the big pleco, who loves the camera

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  20120226_214746.jpg (469.10 KB)

The big plec is a member of the genus Pterygoplichthys. You can tell by counting the number of rays in the dorsal fin; more then 10 and it's a Pterygoplichthys. The species is probably either pardalis or disjunctivus. Do you know what his underside looks like? If it has spots then it's a P.pardalis (the same as the one in my sig, which is an albino); if it has a reticulated pattern it'll be P.disjunctivus. Both can grow to between 12" and 16", occasionally bigger. Mine is (I hope) fully grown now and 12 1/2" long excluding her tail, 14" with tail included.

You have got some potentially very big fish in that tank. Before thinking about sorting the lighting, had you thought about getting a bigger tank and an external filter at all? And have you got a test kit for ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte and pH? What are the readings for your tank? And tap water after standing for 24 hours? Do you know how hard your water is? (there is a separate GH/KH test kit or you may be able to check your post code on tour water company website).
Sorry to bombard you with questions but if you want to really get sorted out properly and end up with a reasonably stocked tank, with fish compatible with your water and eachother, we need to be very nosey