What can i add/change in my aquarium?

Recently decided to get back into the hobby. Super excited to get back into gear again set up my dad's old 60 litre with a new filter and heater with a few snips of vallisneria and what i think is a microsword? Thinking of adding a java fern. Suggestions would be great. Also haven't decided on fish yet. I've had the tank running for 5 days now and it went through a bacterial bloom which has since cleared. I added drift wood from and already established tank. When would be a good time to add fish?

 

@BudsZA congrats on getting back into the hobby. I would suggest testing your water first to see if your biological media is ready for fish. Also suggest to just add one fish and take it from there (maybe add a second after a week)
Also if I may suggest , replace the gravel with sand. It will look better and will be easier to maintain. Maybe look at pool filter sand (available at hardware stores or maybe a fine black sand. Are you adding any beneficial bacteria in a bottle eg seachem stability ?

 

Hey, well done on taking the hobby back on. Lol! I think we’ve all been there myself included. I would say it depends on what you want to add in terms of fish. If you are looking at plecs or some sort of Dwarf cichlids like kribensis or apistogramas you will need to add some sort of cave structure for them to hide in.
So in terms of what you should add, decide what fish you would like to keep and if they have any special needs then make a choice from there
Here is one of my tanks.

 

Thank you for the replies! I haven't added any special bacteria or anything. I took down my dad's old established tank, replaced the gravel and put the drift wood back in with a few plants. I don't mind waiting for it to cycle as i will have to get the fish in probably in 2 batches as i live in the middle of nowhere (150km from the nearest pet shop) i will just have to do with the gravel for now. I got a second tank i want to take over too that i will get sand for. Weird how the pet shops still push the old style gravel. I'm really keen on doing a tetra+danio tank with some corydoras at the bottom. Can't make up my mind lol

 

Also i don't have any test strips. I will have to get my hands on some. Any recommended products?

 

Corys are awesome , I have bronze and sterbai corys . Ja I just use standard pool filter sand , it’s 130 for a 40kg bag lol! Looks good easy to keep clean and the fish love it. If those are you fish choices then I think your tank is perfect ​

 

Hi @BudsZA and welcome. I like your set up it looks really nice. As stated above whatever fish you decide to keep will determine what changes, if any, would need to be made in terms of your decor.

With regards to cycling the tank, you will need to add bacteria in order to have a cycle. The cycle needs food (ammonia-nitrite-nitrate) to complete it's cycle. Bacteria in a bottle of you want a fishless cycle but in my opinion a fish in cycle is faster and just requires more water changes