do you have a fish tank?

[Kaido]

Update: Got some fishies today. Closeup and pic of the tank.

I've decided to get a freshwater 10-gallon setup. I haven't had a decent-sized fish tank since I was a kid. Here's my "ultimate" shopping list so far, feel free to add to it:

-10-gallon glass aquarium
-hood with a light and punch-outs for filter etc.
-vinyl background (no ugly plant pictures, just a nice blue fade)
-stand
-heater
-thermometer
-power filter
-air pump with tubing and a check valve
-airstone or bubble decoration (I like the treasure chest)
-undergravel sponge filter (for backup)
-gravel
-computer UPS (for backup power)
-live plant
-decoration (one of those pewter models)
-fish
-fish food
-small spare hospital tank
-spare water in jugs (at room temperature)

I'm planning on doing fishless cycling and then adding the following fish:

-goldfish (the kind with the eyes that stick out that look really weird lol)
-neon tetras
-angelfish
-small frog (the kind that live completely in the water, don't know the name)
-algea eater

Like I said, I haven't had a real fishtank setup since I was a kid. I have a small tank with a betta in it, but that's like a zero-maintenance setup. Anything I missed or tips to pass on? What have you found works well for cleaning?

 

[MagicConch]

Out of curiosity, why did you choose freshwater over saltwater?

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: MagicConch
Out of curiosity, why did you choose freshwater over saltwater?

Salt is a PITA!

 

[FoBoT]

i have 3 setup right now, with a 4th in the garage dry

they are all fresh, i have no time to deal with salt right now. i have them very lightly stocked so i can get away with less maintenance

i recommend dark color for gravel, light gravel makes the fish look washed out while dark background/gravel will enhance their colors

 

[Trygve]

Yep. I've got this 100-gallon tank

It's pretty low-maintenance.

 

[MagicConch]

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: MagicConch
Out of curiosity, why did you choose freshwater over saltwater?

Salt is a PITA!

That is what I have heard. But there are so many cool salt water fish. You can even do a miniature reef. I've seen one at the fish store and it was amazing. Of course those freshwater planted aquarium are pretty cool too.

 

[aircooled]

I did it years ago. African Cichlids (brackish water). Was fun but too much maintenance for me to deal with now.

 

[Warthog912]

We have a 12 Gal Nanocube here now...

It's saltwater with two Clownfish, as well as an anemone (sp). Maintenance is minimal. Our local pet store supplies the salt water once a month, which is easy to change. Besides that, all we do is feed them everyday-

Beautiful fish BTW.

 

[Xycl0ne]

Originally posted by: Trygve
Yep. I've got this 100-gallon tank

It's pretty low-maintenance.

:laugh:

 

[UTmtnbiker]

I've got a 29 gal and a 10 gal. Go bigger if you can as a larger tank's water quality isn't as affected as much by laziness (evaporating water, ammonia, nitrates, etc).

In my 10 gal. I have 1 chinese algae eater and a very agressive gourmami. In the 29 gal, I have a lot of community fish, neon tetras, plattys, zebra danios, and a huge pleco.

 

[wasserkool]

Your fish setup won't work.

Gold fish are Cold water fish while neons are tropical fish. The goldfish won't be able to survive in temperature for the neons and vice versa.

angelfish are natural predator of neons, and it is also not a good combo

Plus, goldfish are VERY VERY dirty and requires very powerful filters. I would just stick with neons, they are nice fish and quiet hardy for beginners. If you have a 10 gallon tank, i'll suggest you get only 12 neons + 2 algae eaters.

If you are wondering, i have 8 years of tropical fishkeeping experience with fully planted tanks, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[rahul]

Kaido, I'd recommend a 20 gallon over a 10. But if you only have room for a 10, please modify your livestock list.

1. Angelfish get too big for a 10, they will also eat neon tetras.

2. Replace the algae eater with a magnetic cleaner.

3. Fancy goldfish should not be mixed with other fish. They will also outgrow a 10. Atleast a 40 gallon for goldfish.

4. There is no real harm in keeping the frog. I wouldn't though.

Ideally, stick with a shoal (12-15) of small tetras. Neons, cardinals, rummynoses and serpae tetras are the best suited commonly available fish.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: MagicConch
Out of curiosity, why did you choose freshwater over saltwater?

No problem. My wife wanted freshwater.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: rahul
Kaido, I'd recommend a 20 gallon over a 10. But if you only have room for a 10, please modify your livestock list.

1. Angelfish get too big for a 10, they will also eat neon tetras.

2. Replace the algae eater with a magnetic cleaner.

3. Fancy goldfish should not be mixed with other fish. They will also outgrow a 10. Atleast a 40 gallon for goldfish.

4. There is no real harm in keeping the frog. I wouldn't though.

Ideally, stick with a shoal (12-15) of small tetras. Neons, cardinals, rummynoses and serpae tetras are the best suited commonly available fish.

Hmmm, I forgot about fish imcompatibilities. I'll see what I can do about getting a 20 gallon tank. What's a good place to get equipment online? My local fish store has a lot of good fish but not a whole ton of equipment.

 

[rahul]

I buy from Big Als and Kensfish. They have the best prices.

Also recommended: Aquatic ecosystems and Marine Depot.

Petsmart will often pricematch with their online prices. You can get good deals on filters and heaters this way.

 

[Alkesh]

Yes a 80 gallon

 

[antyler]

Out of curiosity why do you need a UPS? my filter has been off for hours and such before with no big problems, im just wondering why you want a batter backup?

 

[Antisocial Virge]

Originally posted by: aircooled
I did it years ago. African Cichlids (brackish water). Was fun but too much maintenance for me to deal with now.

I have a 90 gal with africans. What africans did you have that were brackish? Wife has figure 8 puffers that are brackish.

 

[Wuffsunie]

Nice to see someone else getting into the hobby, though I do have to agree with other folks here in that you do need a lot of advice on what to get for starting up.

Bigger tanks are better. Nothing under a 20 gallon for a beginner IMHO, preferably 30 and above. In fact, your best bet is to get the whole thing as a kit. Stand, canopy, tank, all in one package. A lot of fish places will even offer deluex ones that will have your filter, thermometer, heater, etc included. You're better off getting a digital thermometer, though. Petsmart has a $10 model that I have never heard complaints about and has compared to lab grade equipment.

Filter wise, you can forget about the undergravel and sponge ones. They're outdated and a pain to clean. A hang on the back with a biowheel would be the best way to go, though an aquaclear would also work well in your situation.

You mentioned a live plant. Are you going for just a single plant, or totally planted? If totally planted you'll want to look into a different substrait than gravel (flourite or ecocomplete are the unequivical best for it IMO) otherwise you'll be dosing a lot of additives on a regular basis to maintain the plants. Then there's the issue of lighting. Most plants require 2 - 3 watts per gallon of light, which almost all standard lighting systems that come with tanks do not provide. You could easily jeep java moss and java fern, but that's about it with the standard lighting. Honestly, unless you're going fully planted I'd strongly recommend just sticking with silk plants. Do get a nice variety and not let that stop you from aquascaping it well.

Power backup is excessive unless you're doing a marine tank. Fresh would survive fine for a day or so without power, and if you think there's a chance it may go longer, there are battery powered air pumps available for cheap. Unless of course you have a UPS already available, in which case more power to you.

Oh, you'll want to add a good power bar and a good quality digital timer to your list to control the light cycle in the tank.

Don't go for a pewter model. They'll rust, release metal into the tank, and kill your fish.

Hospital tank is excessive, IMO, unless the water around your area is horrible and/or your local fish providers have abyssmal conditions where you think disease will be very prevalent. A small quarantine tank is not a bad idea for an established system if you plan on adding and/or swapping around fish. Not necessary for your startup situation.

Either way, you will want to look into this product, Prime. It does a fantastic job of removing chlorine and chloramine from the water.

You mentioned a blue background. I'd suggest painting it instead. You won't have problems with the vinyl sticking to the glass that way. Of course the fade effect that you wanted will depend on your, or a friend's, skill with a paint can.

Oh, and since you want a blue background, I'd seriously reconsider the neons. You'll lose them too easily in the background, especially in a sparsily populated tank. A nice school of red harliquin rasboras would look much better. I have a friend with a smilar setup -- blue background and rasboras -- and they stand out quite well. They're also angel friendly (he has one of those) if you're interested in that fish. Either way, both types are schooling fish and I'd not get any less than 8 of them in order for them to feel secure and grow well.

While not totally accurate, Elmer's is a good guide on what kind of fish go together in a community tank.

Finally, ditch the small frog. They're cool, but unless you want to feed it blood worm (preferalby fresh, though frozen works just as well) each day, they're probably more work than you might want.

On that note, you can look into an auto feeding system. Ehiem feeders, while pricy, are the best out there.

For the fishless cycle, I've found that this is an excellent guide on what you'll want to add when.

Warthog912, wow, congrats on keeping an anemone in a nanocube. I assume it's a bubble tip? (If so, red or green?) How long have you had it? Is it a modded cube, or is it surviving under the standard lighting? If it's been there for over six months and its the latter, I'm impressed and a little more than surprised.

Trygve, cool tank, man! What do you feed it?

Finally, here is my marine tank. It's a 15 gallon, that with sump comes to 23 gal. I have a 30 gal fresh planted tank, too. Hopefully I can have some pics of that tomorrow.

 

[Doodoo]

Nice tank..what kind of lighting do you have for the clam and acros? I have the same super skimmer...the middle sized one for my 60 gallon mixed reef.

 

[Wuffsunie]

Originally posted by: Doodoo
Nice tank..what kind of lighting do you have for the clam and acros? I have the same super skimmer...the middle sized one for my 60 gallon mixed reef.

Aquamedic 150 Watt metal halide 6" from the surface with a 20K bulb.

Edit: And, yes, the coralife superskimmer is the 125 gallon model on a 15 gallon tank... yes, I'm nuts.

 

[I Saw OJ]

BTW, a computer UPS will only last 20-30 minutes tops, if that. A fish tank will have no problem going for many hours without any power. Unless there are extremes in tempreture hot/cold and you need some power to regulate that.


Seth

 

[alien42]

i havent restarted my 55 gallon since i moved however the best advice i can offer is to use around 3/4 inch deep of 100% natural clay kitty litter with 1/2 inch of clean sand on top as a base. this is the ideal base for plants and with the right water conditions and fish assortment will actually allow you to have a perfectly balanced system that does not need much filtering if any at all. i ran mine without a filter for a couple of months. the most time consuming thing was removing all the extra plant growth.

one other modification that went with the setup was a very large 4 light hood that i rigged up to provide enough light for the plants.

 

[Wuffsunie]

Originally posted by: alien42
i havent restarted my 55 gallon since i moved however the best advice i can offer is to use around 3/4 inch deep of 100% natural clay kitty litter with 1/2 inch of clean sand on top as a base.

I've always been very wary of using kitty litter as a base, simply because it can degrade (by design) and pollute your tank. Is there a paticular brand that you recommend to get around that? What's the one that you used?

 

[nageov3t]

fish tank? yes.

fish? no.