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Wild

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
Messages
46
Location
Houston, TX
So i am just starting out and i'd like to get some opinions and explanations and all that fun stuff. I have no experience with fish keeping, and no upplies as of right now. I am currently hunting around locally to find a 30-55 gal used tank, to keep warmer FW fish in. (as it does get around 100 degrees here in the summer)
If the answers are on here, sorry to ask the question again, i couldn't find it

1) How difficult are planted tanks to maintain? Do they need a lot of maintenance? Are these fertilizers, special substrates and CO2 injections necessary? or just recommended?

2)With regular water changes and gravel cleaning, how often do you have to do large water changes(70-100%)? Do you ever do a full water change?

3)I have no room for a quarantine tank, will this be a big deal?

4)How long does a usual fish-less cycle take? With out all the extra tricks to speed it up (so no Ph downer, seeded material) and most likely a few mistakes thrown in there to

5)Is there any sites that has good trustworthy fish profiles? Any that have some recommended stocking plans?

6)Considering i'm a complete beginner(i'll have a very experienced friend helping though)Would it be okay to venture away from the recommended begginer fish? I'm not taking about having a ton of chichlids, or anything super delicate, but i'd like to get some of the prettier fish eventually. And i'd rather not kill them.

7)Can you really ship fish? So far my lfs havn't had the kinds of fish i'd like so i was just wondering how reliable shipping is? from a good dealer who ships a lot of course.

8)For feeding fish, how do you know what kind of food is good for all of them? How often do you mix up the type of food?

9)Is there anywhere that has sand vs gravel bottom explained? can i go with fine gravel and not have it sucked up?

10)What is the difference between sumps, HOB and other kinds of filters?

I'll think i'll stop at 10 for now haha, if anyoen could help me out or even give me someplace to look that'd very much appreciated. Thank you!
 
So i am just starting out and i'd like to get some opinions and explanations and all that fun stuff. I have no experience with fish keeping, and no upplies as of right now. I am currently hunting around locally to find a 30-55 gal used tank, to keep warmer FW fish in. (as it does get around 100 degrees here in the summer)
If the answers are on here, sorry to ask the question again, i couldn't find it

1) How difficult are planted tanks to maintain? Do they need a lot of maintenance? Are these fertilizers, special substrates and CO2 injections necessary? or just recommended?They are as difficult as you want them to be. You can go low tech and do very little maintenance or high tech and have regular maintenance.

2)With regular water changes and gravel cleaning, how often do you have to do large water changes(70-100%)? Do you ever do a full water change?I do 50% wc's weekly, I don't do bigger ones unless theres a water quality issue.

3)I have no room for a quarantine tank, will this be a big deal?Yes and no. Any time you add new stock to your main tank you are running the risk of infecting them with any disease or parasite that the new fish might have. This risk can be mitigated by getting your fish from a trusted source, but its never 100%

4)How long does a usual fish-less cycle take? With out all the extra tricks to speed it up (so no Ph downer, seeded material) and most likely a few mistakes thrown in there toI don't usually recommend fishless cycles, but from what I've seen it takes about 4-6 weeks just like a regular fish-in cycle would

5)Is there any sites that has good trustworthy fish profiles? Any that have some recommended stocking plans?A lot of people use AQadvisor as a stocking reference tool. It's not bad, not perfect by any means and should only be used as reference and not as a be-all end-all guide.

6)Considering i'm a complete beginner(i'll have a very experienced friend helping though)Would it be okay to venture away from the recommended begginer fish? I'm not taking about having a ton of chichlids, or anything super delicate, but i'd like to get some of the prettier fish eventually. And i'd rather not kill them.Get what you want. There are some fish like discus and rams that I would steer away from, but in general add the sensitive fish last so that the tank is better established.

7)Can you really ship fish? So far my lfs havn't had the kinds of fish i'd like so i was just wondering how reliable shipping is? from a good dealer who ships a lot of course.Yes, how do you think the LFS gets their fish?

8)For feeding fish, how do you know what kind of food is good for all of them? How often do you mix up the type of food?A good high quality pellet or flake is your best bet. NLS and Omega One along with a few others are good. I'm trying out a new food line by API soon, looks promising.

9)Is there anywhere that has sand vs gravel bottom explained? can i go with fine gravel and not have it sucked up?What do you mean? You will suck up gravel or sand the same if you have enough suction. I like sand better personally, its not that hard to clean, you just have to hover over it. Also, on that note, get a python or other similar water changer, its the best investment in this hobby.

10)What is the difference between sumps, HOB and other kinds of filters?
A sump is basically a tank beneath your display tank that holds and filters water. It's benefit is that it gives you much more water volume to work with, which is always a good thing. A HOB is a waterfall type filter that hangs on the tank, canisters are just that, a filter that is a canister that goes under the tank somewhere and pumps water in and out of it through tubing. A sponge filter is driven by an air pump and it basically uses air bubbles to force water through a sponge material which catches debris.
I'll think i'll stop at 10 for now haha, if anyoen could help me out or even give me someplace to look that'd very much appreciated. Thank you!

Answers in red, welcome to the site.
 
1) Not that difficult at least in my experience. It really just depends on what type of planted tank you are wanting. Most stock lighting on that come with the tank will be able to support low lighting plants like anubias, java fern and mosses. Fertilizers and C02 injections aren't really necessary in low light tanks, but once you reach to the med-light to high-light area, then may it be necessary to start dosing with them.

2) I don't really do 'large' water changes. Usually just a 25% - 50% water change once or twice a week will do. No I do not ever to full water changes. Never are they really necessary and sometimes then make things worse than really help at all in my experience.

3) I have room for one, but I don't have one. Personally, I don't like QT tanks and never have I QT'd a fish in my life and I've done just fine. It's just the sources of fish (were I get them) that I am worried about < Luckily I have a trusted Local Fish Store. And if you have no room for one, then no this will not be a problem.

4) When I cycle a tank, I use the fish flake method and it works like a charm. Out of all the tanks I've had, I've used this method and each of the tanks took 4 weeks tops to cycle. Now, from what I've seen, some have difficult times with pure ammonia to cycle the tank and it takes a long time to cycle < from what I've seen, never really experienced it. Generally, it should take a tank 4-8 weeks to cycle In my experience.

5) Aquatic Community does - very detailed profiles.

6) When you tank cycles, start with what ever you want. Just make sure that you meet it's requirements, you acclimate it properly (I recommend Drip acclimation for your acclimation process - it's been effective for me so far).

7) Check out our Classifieds section. There are many trusted sellers there. Our moderators HN1 and Severum_mama have their own fish store in Georgia and will ship fish quite well from what I've heard.

8) For most fish, it's recommended to vary their diet, so as a beginner, I would recommend that you vary the diet of your fish. Also, it really depends on the fish > for example, the GBR, it's a very picky eater and needs a varied diet.

10) Basically a sump, at least from my experience, is to add more water volume to the tank you add it on, serves as another source of filtration (If you make it into one) and a place where you can hide all your in tank equipment. There are many advantages and disadvantages to using a sump system. The cost is the biggest disadvantage so most fish-keepers with smaller tanks don’t use them. Hang on the back and canister filters are a lot cheaper to purchase. The advantages can out way the cost when you’re caring for a larger tank in several ways. First off you have a lot more filter media so that you don’t have to run several hang on the back filters to keep the tank protected from ammonia and nitrite spike.

A HOB filter is a hang on back filter that hangs on the side of the tank.

A canister is an external filter and most commonly used on larger tanks.

Really, there are many differences..



Anyway, good luck and welcome to the community
 
Thank you for the warm welcome! It's a wonderful place you guys have here =)
And thank you a bunch for the answers! They are very helpful, glad to know i can try a planted tank with some pretty fish.

Could i get a link to an explanation of the fish flake method? Or would you mind explaining it to me?

Thanks again
 
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