Brand New 40g

[hatchet]

My wife came home with my christmas present today - unwrapped. She said she couldn't hide it because it was too big. Anyway I went down and bought a book on setting up a new tank, fish requirements, # of each for the size, etc.etc.
I'm in the process of cleaning it out and will be ready to get everything setup long before the fish are bought.
So my specific questions are - what are some good "community" stocking schemes for a 19wx18dx20h tank? I've also read in this book about cycling (I know it's not watching fish ride bicycles) but it never really tells me what that is - can anyone expand please? One more question on equipment - do I need an aerator like the old treasure chest? I DO NOT want a treasure chest by the way.. hah.
I appreciate any help as I want to do this right the first time.
Thanks

 

[Fruitbat]

hatchet...

Congratulations on your Christmas present!

As to your first question about stocking the tank....this is all a matter of personal preference and you'll get as many opinions about that as people you ask. My suggestion is to go to your local pet stores and scope out the fish that really appeal to you. Make a list (and try to get the scientific names if the lfs knows them). Then go home....hit the Internet....and do Google searches on the names of the fish that struck your fancy. Find out what their requirements are and what kinds of personalities they have. Don't forget to check out their maximum sizes. If you can't find out information about a particular fish...post here. Chances are that somebody has either kept them before or knows something about them.

Regarding the 'cycling'.....fundamentally it concerns the Nitrogen Cycle. The important part of this cycle for the aquarist is summarized below:

Fish waste/decomposing food/decomposing plants release -----> Ammonia which is then broken down by -----> Nitrosomonas bacteria into -----> Nitrites which are in turn broken down by -----> Nitrobacter bacteria into -----> Nitrates

The reason this is so important is that Ammonia and Nitrites are very toxic to fish. Many of the fish deaths that occur within a week of introducing the fish to the tank are because the Nitrogen cycle was not completed. Nitrates, in low concentrations, are not dangerous to fish and can be easily controlled by water changes or are used up by live plants.

One important piece of equipment you should get before you go out to spend money on fish is a good water test kit. It should include tests for: pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, General Hardness (GH) and Carbonate Hardness (KH). You might be able to find one that includes a test for Nitrate too, though you can buy this one separately.

Start out right....with patience....and you'll have a GREAT time with that tank!

 

[Fruitbat]

Oh....and NO....you do NOT need an aerator as long as you have a good filtration system. Personally I avoid the 'Treasure Chest' syndrome like the plague but others do like their decorations.

 

[hatchet]

Great.. I appreciate the info. The test kit I'll get tomorrow. With the purchase my wife got a product called "Cycle" - I saw you posted this in another post. When should that be introduced into the aquarium? Sooner or later.. right before adding fish? Is "Cycle" only to be used if the Ammonia and Nitrates don't zero out?

 

[hatchet]

HAHA.. The Wife bought a Penguin 170 Bio-Wheel Power Filter or was talked into buying it. I think I saw a similar one in Finding Nemo.

 

[Fruitbat]

I've heard that Cycle isn't particularly effective...I've never tried it personally though. I have used Bio-Spira with great success. Basically it adds live bacteria to your aquarium that will make the 'cycling' of your tank MUCH more rapid. Some people will get a couple of 'feeder' goldfish to start their tank out....goldfish produce a LOT of waste for the bacteria to use. Then they add Bio-Spira and sit back for a week or so while the bacteria populations grow. Others use the 'fishless' cycling method and swear by it but I have never tried that so I can't really comment on its effectiveness. Somebody else can probably fill you in on this technique.

 

[grimlock3000]

" The Wife bought a Penguin 170 Bio-Wheel Power Filter or was talked into buying it."

That is not enough filtraiton for a 40g tank. You might want to look at upgrading before you open it, just a warning...

 

[hatchet]

Like I said my wife bought this whole setup. Looking at the box I would've probably made the same mistake.. says it's good for 50g. Oh well - Maybe I'll just buy another one or would that be too much?

 

[Allivymar]

Just to clarify some of the great info you got from Fruitbat:

You want a filter which will move between 6-10 times the tank amount every hour. So a 40g tank will need filtration which moves between 240-400g per hour. You could add another filter to the one you have to achieve that, or return it and use just one; up to you. If you get a HOB (hang on back) filter, like the Penguins, the agitation they cause at the surface supercedes the need for aeration. What puts oxygen in the water is not air bubbles that rise thru the water; its the surface agitation they cause.

Cycle is a waste of time. I'd return it and see if the lfs carries Bio-Spira as Fruit said. Theres a nice explanation of the cycle here: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

 

[BrianNY]

Hi Hatchet, welcome to the board
I always prefer to have 2 filters in my tanks. Reason: I alternate filter cleanings every other week. In this way I've always got some of the beneficial nitrifying bacteria working for me. Also, you can never really over filter a tank.
HTH

 

[grimlock3000]

"Like I said my wife bought this whole setup. Looking at the box I would've probably made the same mistake.. says it's good for 50g. Oh well - Maybe I'll just buy another one or would that be too much?"

Unless the fish are always swimming against a very strong current, you are not overfiltering. In my 26g tank, I have an Eheim 2233 canister filter (145gph) and a Aquaclear 200 (200gph) for a 13x turnover on the filtration.

I also have a Powerhead in the tank moving more water around so my total water turnover is up around 18x. I wanted to take it out but my wife like the bubbles. The Guppies like the bubbles too, so it is in there for good

 

[hatchet]

8O
Wow.. thanks for all the great info. I think I'll get another filter to work with this one being that the surface area isn't that great I think 2 would keep the surface from being too turbid. I guess I'll just have to check at the LFS to see if they have Bio-Spira.
Thanks again for the great information.

 

[captainGregor]

Hatchet, LFS always have a gigantic mark-up on all the equipment. Maybe you would be able to do a little trick - if your equipment is a part of the kit, it's one thing, but if everything is separate, maybe you would consider taking all the equipment except for the hood and tank back to the LFS, get refund, take that money, go to reputable www dealer like bigalsonline.com and get yourself much better equipment for same money! Example - your Penguin 170 filter probably cost $40 at the LFS, whereas on bigals it'll cost you $17.99 and for $40 you can get the Cadillac of HOB - Emperor 400. See if you want to do that instead of going to the LFS for equipment.

 

[hatchet]

Right on. I appreciate the information. I see you have Clown Loaches. How are they for caring for? That's the only fish my daughter pointed to in a book I have..haha.

 

[captainGregor]

Clown loaches are wonderful. They are my favorite fish. They are playful, comical, and altogether great. There is one thing that you need to be aware of - they become HUGE. They do live a very long life given proper conditions, but in about 4-5 years they will be maybe 7-9 inches and in another 5 they could reach 12 inches. They are BIG. So, if you planning to have them for a long time, plan to move them to a big tank in about 5 years cause they will be big and you will be attached to them as pets. I have 3 and think that in 5 years I will hopefully have a big tank to move them to. They also like to be in pairs, which I did not know when I bought them. Get 2 for your 40 should you decide. Make absolutely sure you have either rock caves or any other caves to hide in for them. They like tiniest of places for some reason. For first maybe week or two they will be hiding but after that they will be all over the place. They love shrimp pellets and live snails to munch on. They loose color of their stripes when they are nervous and defend their food. My loaches suck on the pipette I use to feed angels with worms. It is so funny, I need to take a pic of it. You will absolutely love them. Since all of your fish is new, and tank is new, I guess quarantine for loaches will be in the new tank itself. Loaches are caught in the wild and often carry parasites. If they get Ich, you cannot use regular ich medication, cause they are scaleless. Whew, I wrote a lot.
hope you have fun with them

 

[hatchet]

They sound like a load of fun. The configuration of my tank may not allow me to do that if they get that big. It's taller than it is wide.. 20wx18dx22h. Although if they are the only fish I have as far as bottom feeders it should be ok.
Eventually the following is what I would like..
4 - Platies (see if I can find some blue)
6 - Lemon Tetras
6 - Zebra Danios
2 - Clown Loaches or 2 - Cory Cats
Does anyone see a problem with this situation? Less of anything? Compatability issues?
I also had a quick question on plants. I'm kind of in the middle right now - fake or real? I like the look of real plants (of course) and am going to plant or place heavily in one corner and have it taper off as it goes to the other corners. Also a change in substrate in planted versus open. The reason I'm going from the corner out is that the tank will be viewable from 2 sides. Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[mgkaelen]

hey hatchet
congrats on the new tank (i know i'm late on responding) -- i'm sure none of this will be new information but still! --- i used bio spira myself, and it was a GODSEND. if your lfs doesn't carry it, look for bernie here on AA. he runs a fish store in TN that carries it. including shipping, it's about the same price as buying it in the store =] i believe his website is www.fishstoretn.com

my boyfriend's grandparents have clown loaches and they are hysterical. it's like they are attached at the hip (they have two) .. they swim all over the place constantly looking for something to do.. they must be 4-5 inches, too.

personally, i love fish like FW flounders, and hillstream loaches (i have one!--check gallery for picture if you're interested; i love the "flattened" shape they have) as well as gouramis and kuhli loaches!

anyhow, just browse your local LFS and and if your store is something like a petco, petsmart, make sure that the employees aren't trying to pull the wool over your eyes and sell you something you don't need/will be detrimental to your tank! try to look for a local fish store in your area. HTH!

 

[captainGregor]

hatchet, for your 40 I do not see any problems with this config. I would have 2 loaches AND 2 corys, or 4 corys. Loaches have a tendency to buddy up with corys. Corys are funny too! You may need to have some otos to fight your diatom problem that you are destined to have. Wait with that until you do though. As far as plants go, you could go 2 ways - plastic at first, and as tank matures, slowly switch to real, or go real from get go. Just remember if you have low light (1 or less watt per gallon) get low-medium light plants and you'll be alright. You can also get aponogeton bulbs at Wallmart and they grow good too.

 

[hatchet]

Right on. I'll see what the LFS has in stock as far as fake or real plants and make the decision then. If the fake ones look ok I will probably go with them. Still undecided on driftwood or not. I grew up on MT and the theme of the tank is kind of leaning towards the streams up there. I've currently got 3/4" gravel (darker) on one side with a line of larger rocks to separate the sides. The other side will have smaller lighter gravel where the plantings will be.
HAHA.. I just checked the wattage on the light the wife got. 15w.. so yeah.. that's much less than 1w / gal. So that may sway me towards fake plants - I'd rather keep peace in the family than go with a different light.

 

[hatchet]

Thanks mgkaelen. I almost missed your post. I'm watching the little one today so I'll go this afternoon and see if they have Bio-Spira or not. I want to get my plants and any other items for the tank so I can get it filled and into a cycle before I into fish. I'm probably going to start with the danios after the cycle is done.