To heat or not to heat?

[Ginafish]

Okay, so it was a corny title... :P but I've been tossing this around for a while now and since finding this site today, I'm as unsure as ever. Here's my tank history/experience and my current dilema:

I have 20 yrs of tank experience. I have a pretty good knowledge base (although some of the posts I've read so far make me feel like a newbie [acronym:ba3db6dca9="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:ba3db6dca9]). Anyway, my tanks have always been successful until the last time, 2 yrs ago.
I have a 45 gallon [acronym:ba3db6dca9="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:ba3db6dca9]. For years I had goldfish because I like them, and also I didn't have to deal with heating, etc. Three years ago my last goldfish died so I started over and switched to [acronym:ba3db6dca9="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:ba3db6dca9] tropicals. I've had tropicals before so I know how to run the tank. Well, this time, I had bad luck. They were dying a lot. I did all the standard tests and troubleshooting. It was frustrating as you can imagine. Around that time I had to move, so I broke down the tank and haven't set it up in 2 yrs. My insticts tell me that my filtration was the issue last time. When I had the goldfish, I had an Aquaclear 500....ALOT more filtration than needed, but with goldfish, it worked perfectly. When I switched to tropicals, I got an Aquaclear 200. Barely adequate [acronym:ba3db6dca9="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:ba3db6dca9]. I think this was the problem.
So anyway, I just finished setting up a fishless tank. And I have two Aquaclear 200's running. I always believe in extra filtration.
Okay....so the dilema....I was going to go with goldfish for the same reasons above. But now that I've found this site....I'm SOOO tempted to try the tropicals again. Of course, I have to get a heater (preferrably a submersible and I posted in another thread about that). Oh yes, and this whole matter of cycling fishless. I've never done that but it seems to be the preference of people here.
ARGH! What to do!?? [acronym:ba3db6dca9="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:ba3db6dca9]!!
So I guess the question is: what do I put in my tank? Tropicals or goldfish

Anyway, that's me.

[Jchillin]

Welcome to AA Ginafish! Without utilizing any bias, I would suggest tropicals. With the tank you have you can have a very nice community.

In regard to fishless cycling, you would use an [acronym:e2cb65f1da="Ammonia"]NH3[/acronym:e2cb65f1da] source other than fish (fish food, pure [acronym:e2cb65f1da="Ammonia"]NH3[/acronym:e2cb65f1da], elements from an established tank) to cycle your tank.

Good luck with your decision (especially if it's tropicals)!

[Ginafish]

Thank you!
Yes...as I sit here staring at the tank, which I LOVE, I can envision a nice community in there. [acronym:eb58091df5="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:eb58091df5]
I plan on reading all the threads I can find on here about fishless cycling. I do have plenty of fish food left over I can use. I'm also a science teacher so I'm sure I have pure ammonia in my chemical cabinet at school. But that scares me a bit using that. I think I'm going to go out and buy an aquarium test kit too (saw some good ones recommended). I know I also have water testing kits at school but I'd rather have my own at home. I'm rusty on what levels should be what during cycling, so I need to read all that again too. Guess I won't be getting fish as soon as I thought I would. Ah well.
Once again, I'm so happy I found this place!

[SerLunchbox]

Adding fish food to cycle the tank can sometimes have it take longer. It depends on how much patience you have. Fishless cycle, i am all for it myself. [acronym:0ac105f6e9="In my opinion"]IMO[/acronym:0ac105f6e9] i think it is the way to go. There are some ways to speed the process up instead of cycling from scratch. Jchillin mentioned elements from and established tank, well, what i do (for friends that will be establishing their tank for the first time) is i give them about 5 - 10 gallons of water from my tank when i am cleaning it. It has established bacteria in it and can help it cycle faster. Another thing i saw at my [acronym:0ac105f6e9="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:0ac105f6e9] is a substrate that comes packaged in water. This water actually has a lot of beneficial bacteria in it. it is something to look into. If you also happen to know someone with extra filteration, you can also see about borrowing someones established "extra" filter for a week or 2. These are all things that can help you out.

If you want to cycle the tank with fish, after a few days or a week you can add some zebra danios to help out. they are a hardy fish that will survive very well in the water.

[Ginafish]

Thanks so much. I was just reading a thread on fishless cycling that was a bit overwhelming. [acronym:e5807f261f="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:e5807f261f] I could try using Ammonia if you think that's better.
I guess the biggest problem is that I don't know anyone with an established tank. How sad is that? [acronym:e5807f261f="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:e5807f261f] So I'm out of luck with that. I suppose I could check out packaged substrate. There's a good fish place about 30 min from here. I could see if they have anything like that.

[BASSNMAN]

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Every day as I learn more, I realize how little I really know Go for the tropicals.

[deeni0z]

If you go with tropicals, you can have pretty pretty plants to obsess over!

[BrianNY]

Originally Posted by BASSNMAN

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Every day as I learn more, I realize how little I really know Go for the tropicals.

Ain't it the truth? Alot of well meaning people simply give poor or incomplete advice, so I understand your confusion completely. Just because something can be done doesn't make it the best way to do it. That goes for keeping a successful aquarium too.

Planning your aquarium ahead of time makes sense. Select one species of fish that you want to keep and then build the environment based on its' requirements. If you avoid overstocking, overfeeding and impulse buying of fish at the [acronym:3bd10b5382="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:3bd10b5382], you'll have a very successful aquarium.

[Ginafish]

Thanks everyone!
Well the good news is that I have the proper ammonia here at school (guess it helps to be a science teacher...just have to make sure it's a lower molarity [acronym:e4fbf5da5b="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:e4fbf5da5b]). So I think I'm gonna do that fishless cycling. I need to piece together some threads I've seen on here so I know step by step exactly what to do and when.
And you're SO right!! After reading all this info, I feel like I know so little! [acronym:e4fbf5da5b="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:e4fbf5da5b] And yes, sometimes there's so much info from different people, it's confusing. Like I said, I found 2 threads on this site that are pretty specific...but if anyone has "directions" for me, I swear I'll do the tropicals. LMAO!! Alright, I probably will do the tropicals, but I'd be ever so grateful.
Actually, my students have been bugging me to get my goldfish tank here at school going again. I could help the cycle at home using a couple of goldfish (not comets) and then transfer them to the cold water tank, no??
Oh, and I posted in a thread under Equipment about heaters. I'm trying to decide between a couple of brands. If anyone has a suggestion, I'd appreciate that too. I was looking at Visi-therm Stealth probably 300 Watts for my 45 gallon.
Thanks again!!

[BrianNY]

At 5wpg you only need 200w. The best way to do this is with 2 100w heaters. visatherm is an excellent brand. [acronym:ca58fa3059="Just My Opinion"]JMO[/acronym:ca58fa3059]