Aquiring aquarium today

[Thumper828]

Hi, all! Been on the site doing research for a couple of months now. I've been entertaining the thought of starting an aquarium. Everyone seems to be really helpful on this site.
So, getting right to it, Im the type of guy that likes to do things right the first time. I was talking to a good friend who has been into aquariums for quite some time. He has offered to help me with a few initial and essential things to get started, the actual aquarium, filter, heater ect.....
He has offered me two different set ups And i'm really unsure which route to go. A 20gal. long or A 75gal. No, no misprint. he has offered to give me a 75 gal aquarium. As a "newbie" which tank would be better?
after a couple of months of studing I have decided to do a fishless cycle and live plant. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[shellieca]

Go as big as you can because if you don't you'll want to at a later time. A larger tank will give more stocking options.

 

[Dubs1281]

Hi, all! Been on the site doing research for a couple of months now. I've been entertaining the thought of starting an aquarium. Everyone seems to be really helpful on this site.
So, getting right to it, Im the type of guy that likes to do things right the first time. I was talking to a good friend who has been into aquariums for quite some time. He has offered to help me with a few initial and essential things to get started, the actual aquarium, filter, heater ect.....
He has offered me two different set ups And i'm really unsure which route to go. A 20gal. long or A 75gal. No, no misprint. he has offered to give me a 75 gal aquarium. As a "newbie" which tank would be better?
after a couple of months of studing I have decided to do a fishless cycle and live plant. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Hello and welcome to AA (aquarium anonymous, because some of us have become addicted to the hobby) I would start with a 75. To be honest, the bigger the tank, the easier it is to maintain. Plus you have more room to add a larger variety of fish. If you are doing a fishless cycle with plants it will take two-four weeks to achieve the ability to put fish in. What I have always done is go to your lfs the first day of your cycle and ask for a handful of there gravel from there tank. This will help start the bacteria process much faster. If you are impatient like myself, test your water every day with an API Freshwater master test kit. If all of your water parameters are good and stable for at least three days, I have always thrown a test fish in my tank. After another 3 days, if the fish is thriving, you can SLOWLY add fish. This will take at least 2 weeks. As for the plant's I would look for a substrate suited for plants. I use eco complete that I bought online from petcos website. In the first month of the tank my plants grew at least couple inches. For the plants I would also look into Aqueon plant food. This has all of the nutrients plants need to thrive. But wait to buy it because if you buy an aqueon heater of filter, you get a two dollar off coupon for it. As for your tank specifics, does it include a top, light, heater, filter etc. And if you dont mind me asking, do you have a budget. I ask so I could suggest equipment, fish and other things. I am looking forward to helping you out. I really want to see the final product.

 

[Thumper828]

Thanks for the replys. As far as the tank specifics the 20 long comes with about everything. The 75 gal is missing the hood , light and heater. I agree with the fact about going ahead and getting the bigger tank but the cost of start up would be quite a bit more. How ever I do have a little patience and could aquire the equipment over time. I'm a little concerned about the over all weight of the larger tank and would probably need to reinforce my floors and build my own stand. The cost of which would be minimal,but I would have to do it in stages. The 20 long would probably have water, plants and the eco complete ,as suggested, and décor as soon as next week.

 

[Dubs1281]

Trust me on this. I have a 55gallon cichild tank, and a 30 gallon community. I want to make the both a 75. When you get a tank, you always want to make it bigger. And if your tank is small to begin with, you will regret it in the first month. If you look on Amazon, you can buy a 90 gallon aqueon filter for around 20 bucks. And a heater for around the same price. It will be a longer process but more rewarding and enjoying in the future. Also great idea for a diy stand. If you are good with wood (catch the ryme) you can make a cover. Its easier than you think. Just look at one from your lfs and you realize how easy it can be. The cost will be greater but please take my advice. The 75, is the way to go.

 

[Thumper828]

I kinda had a light bulb moment here. Since my friend needs both "out of his way". Should I get both? (if that's an option) establish the smaller tank while acquiring the equipment, substrate, reinforcing floors, building stand, ect. for bigger tank? or focus on bigger tank solely?

 

[Thumper828]

Forgot to ask for more detail on wooden canopy?

 

[reefdiver]

From personal experience go 75. I started with a 20 and four tanks later....something's I learned bigger you get more variety and quantity, they are more forgiving when it comes to testing.

 

[reefdiver]

That could work too. Look up some fish or visit a LFS and see what you like this will help you understand the needs of a smal or big tank

 

[Dubs1281]

Get both. Use the 20 as a hospital/quarantine/fry tank only when you need it. Just incase some fish you have decide to get it on or become sick, you have a place to separate them. I have a ten gallon and would love to have a twenty because some of my fish will get large. For the 20 all you need is a heater, sponge filter (for a fry tank) and a reading cip on light or two for a temporary home.

 

[Thumper828]

The day just got better. had an interesting phone call from another good friend who is a cabinet maker. He offered to build me a cabinet that would eliminate the need for floor reinforcement. So there's two birds with one stone. Looks like I'm going with the 75 gal. and as dubs suggested, getting the 20 long to have and hold if needed.

 

[Mebbid]

Getting both sounds like a good plan. I wish I could upgrade my 55g planted to a bigger tank but I'm already in the process of upgrading my 20g reef into a 40g

If you are worried about cost you can skip the planted tank substrate (It will cost a fortune to fill a 75g tank with that) Plants will do fine without it. I would like to add that eco complete has no nutrients of it's own and takes a while to absorb them from the detritus that collects in the tank. The few inches of growth that you saw was from your care of the plants

As for the amount of weight from the tank Just make sure the tank is sitting perpendicular to the direction the floor joists are running and you should be fine.

 

[Thumper828]

Getting both sounds like a good plan. I wish I could upgrade my 55g planted to a bigger tank but I'm already in the process of upgrading my 20g reef into a 40g

If you are worried about cost you can skip the planted tank substrate (It will cost a fortune to fill a 75g tank with that) Plants will do fine without it. I would like to add that eco complete has no nutrients of it's own and takes a while to absorb them from the detritus that collects in the tank. The few inches of growth that you saw was from your care of the plants

As for the amount of weight from the tank Just make sure the tank is sitting perpendicular to the direction the floor joists are running and you should be fine.

I was thinking kinda along those lines as far as the substrate goes. There seems to be sooo many different opinions on the subject. What would be your advice as a cost effective substrate alternate ? In my mind, It seems that any plant substrate would eventually loose all nutrient value over time and fertilization would be required, regardless.

 

[Dubs1281]

I was thinking kinda along those lines as far as the substrate goes. There seems to be sooo many different opinions on the subject. What would be your advice as a cost effective substrate alternate ? In my mind, It seems that any plant substrate would eventually loose all nutrient value over time and fertilization would be required, regardless.

You could use regular sand and add root tabs to it.

 

[Mebbid]

I was thinking kinda along those lines as far as the substrate goes. There seems to be sooo many different opinions on the subject. What would be your advice as a cost effective substrate alternate ? In my mind, It seems that any plant substrate would eventually loose all nutrient value over time and fertilization would be required, regardless.

You have to add root tabs regardless if they are heavy root feeders. The substrates are more for making micro nutrients available. Substrates such as eco complete absorb nutrients from the gunk that accumulates in the tank (from my understanding)

I use black diamond sandblasting sand in my 55g. It's coarse enough to not compact like some sands will and cost me about $16 for enough sand for a 55g. I still added MTS to my tank though. My plants are doing amazingly well, especially since I stopped using store bought root tabs and switched to some DIY ones. The only downside is I wouldn't keep loaches in the tank due to the substrate being kind of sharp.

 

[Thumper828]

I like the thoughts of sand. I'm going for a natural look. getting ready to go to pickup the aquarium and go to petsmart in a bit. Any advice on what to "shop" for?

 

[Dubs1281]

Heaters, filters and if you plan on setting it up today, substrate and plants

 

[Rivercats]

Dirt and commercial substrates such as Eco Complete has a high CEC, cation exchange capacity, which means they are able to absorb nutrients from detris and the water and hold them for use by plants. I have Eco in all my tanks or Dirt with an Eco cap.

As long as you don't use a gravel with too large of a grain size most substrates will work for plants. It's pretty much a matter of choice.

If you've never had a planted tank before I would suggest getting both tanks but first set up the 20g and get the feel for running a planted tank. You need to understand that the lighting you choose will dictate what plants you can grow. You can learn how and which ferts are best for the type of planted tank your running. Learn about using either CO2 or liquid carbon. If you start with a properly set up small planted tank this will be a good learning tool before jumping into a large planted tank. Planted tanks can be as simple (low light- low tech) to as advanced (high light- high tech) as you want them to be. I've been in the hobby over 30 years and while yes your limited to stock in a smaller planted tank it's a good way to learn how to run one properly. And in the mean time you can research and decide what type of planted tank you'd like to do with the 75, what type of lighting (low, medium, or high), what type of plants, and slowly buy equipment. Then when your ready you'll be prepared to set up the 75 and you'll already have some experience with planted tanks under your belt.

 

[Mebbid]

+1 to rivercats. I don't think it's possible to state that any better.

I went straight to a medium light planted tank and it has been a heck of a learning experience with me floundering through trying to keep my plants alive without horrendous hair algae growth. It would have been a lot easier to start off on a smaller scale.

 

[Thumper828]

As exited as I am to be getting the 75 ,I think I will follow rivercats advice and start small to adapt and learn at a lower initial cost. I'm headed out but will update after while.

I really appreciate all the advice and tips!!