20 Gallon, semi-newbie, need advice/suggestions

[NovaWo1f]

Hello fishy people
I used to (like, a very long time ago, 5 years maybe more) have a little 10 gallon tank, and it was my first ever aquarium. I remember it did well, considering i siphoned the water out once every four months and didnt use an undergravel filter (used one of them waterfall filters, coool) anyways. I sold it along time ago. Now, I am wanting to get back into having an aquarium. I miss the relaxing time i'd spend staring at the little fishies go about their daily lives within a glass box. Anyways, I'm gonna get a 20 gallon so i can have more fish, plus i'm definatly going with undergravel. All those filter changes got expensive. So, i have almost forgotten everything i ever learned. So today i went to the library and checked out every book they had on freshwater aquariums. Umm, ok, i'm rambling, on to the point of this message:

Reading through all these books, kinda got me scared again. I don't remember how i did back then, but none of my fish died, so i guess i did stuff right. But, all i need to do is get the tank, some gravel, some nice plants (plastic of course) an undergravel filter, a powerhead, and a little diver that exhales bubbles and then just fill it with water, dechlorinate it, get some cheap ph test strips, and what ph should it be at? Somewhere around 7 or so? Also keep temp around 75 or so i remember (i think) and then, slowly add fish right? But the thing is, i havnt used u/g before. So, would i have to let everything sit for a few days/weeks before adding fish? Or what, would i have to like put food in so the bacteria can start living or something? Anyways, thanks for any help, and sorry for the long rambling post. I am in a rambling mood tonight.

 

[tkos]

Well if you ever think that you might want to get real plants then undergravel filters are not the way to go as the roots will grow into it and clog it. The standard HOB (the waterfall) is pretty much the norm in smaller tanks before you need to head to canisters. However, some people still love the undergravel so that is your choice. With the HOB filter you don't need to change the media very often, in fact doing so makes you loose valuble bacteria. I haven't changed mine in my 10 gallon for 4 months. I just rinse it out everytime I do a water change. Also the carbon in those filter catridges are really only needed when you have to remove something like medicine from the water. It is the bacteria that do the work of riding the tank of ammonia and nitrite.

Ideally you want to cycle your fish tank before you add fish. That way the fish will be very happy when you add them. You can do this by adding exisiting aquarium gravel or filter media and some sort of an ammonia source (a lot ofpeople like rotiing shrimp).

Otherwise add the fish slowly, a few at a time and the hardiest fish first. Buy an ammonia test kit and keep testing for ammonia spikes. If you get a spike then do a water change.

Good luck.

 

[lashilia]

tkos is right. Be sure to know what type of fish you want. Some fish require this or that to live. For example, Angels like slate and guppies need plants. Don't forget to add a little salt to the water, as that will provide a pH buffer.

You can buy a fish to cycle the tank. Pick something hearty, locally bred, and cheap. People call the 'suicide fish' but sometimes they can last longer than the rest of the fish.

Finally, a pleco or bottom feeding cat will do wonders for keeping the tank clean. If you want your enzymes perfect, you can use a Penguin 'waterfall' filter and use a biowheel. For dirty fish, like cichlids and goldfish, the carbon helps, and the waterfall action provides oxygen.

Good luck and welcome back!

 

[tkos]

Watch out with plecos in that small of a tank. Try to find a smaller pleco like a bristlenose. A common pleco will get 18 inches or bigger and will outgrow that small of a tank. Flying foxes or smaller catfish make a suitabel bottom feeder for a tank your size.

Most people that do a cycle with fish will use danios as they are cheap and very hardy. If you do cycle with fish then add you fish very slowly and keep checking those ammonia levels.

Salt is good but only for some types of fish. It is that hardness or GH and KH of the water that will determine your pH buffer. Salt can actually be harmful depending ont he types of fish you choose. Scaless fish like a lot of loaches don't do well with salt. Guppies, mollies, swordtail all like a little salt in the tank.

Pick out what type of fish you think you would like and do a little internet research on them fist or else drop a note here and I am sure that someone will know something about them.

 

[NovaWo1f]

Well, I've been looking around on some websites about aquariums and stuff, i learned about cycling and stuff (yay) in my last aquarium i had one of those ugly black fishies that sucked onto the tanks and stuff? Anyway, those are ugly, and i was looking through this fish book, and found a Dwaf Sucker Catfish, i like its looks, so if any place near me sells them, i'm gonna get one of those, plus i GOTTA have a red-tailed black shark, i love those things. Then I was thinking of having maybe 4 Black Neon Tetra's and maybe 4 Black Phantom TEtra's, but i dunno know that i think about it, going by that little "1 inch per gallon" thing, i'm at 21 inches and 20 gallons..plus i'm not sure that combo will be very colorfull and active, what do you all think?

 

[tkos]

That will probably be okay. The dwarf suckers are probably Otto's. They are great algea eaters but make sure to buy some sinking algea tabs for them as well. They like to be in groups, 3 would be good. Put some caves or places to hide for the shark, they like to hide especially during the day. This will be the biggest fish in the tank and won't like other sharks as tank mates.

Instead of one of those tetra groups you could try Serpae Tetras which are a nice red colour for variation. Or silver tips which are a nice bronze colour. Or else cherry barbs which are a small fun colourful fish (similar in size to the black neons) and aren't too aggresive if you keep them in groups.

If you add some easy to care for plants like Java Fern, Water Sprite etc...make sure to have adequate filtration you should be okay. Buy a test kit and make sure
that you ammonia levels don't spike.

Add the ottos last as they are sensitive fish and need good water quality, plus do best if there is a little algea already growing.

 

[MicroFish]

Having recently set up my 20g after a 5-year hiatus from fishkeeping (except for Bettas), I would echo what the others are saying. Also, the UG filter is not the greatest (in fact, I think they suck, literally) for filtration. Our 20g tank had an UG filter already and after I saw how nasty it kept the water, I yanked it out and installed a Penguin biowheel filter. Within 3 days, our fish (the danios were cycling it at the time) were swimming in perfectly clean and non smelly water. MUCH better than those nasty UG filters... and trust me on this, the UG filter is a PITA to keep clean. Filters are not expensive if you buy them in bulk from Ebay or somewhere, and it will save you a lot of hassle in the long run. Good luck!

We just added our Dwarf Powder Blue Gourami (pictured on my avatar) yesterday... what a beautiful fish! I was never a Gourami person but he could easily convert me.