Newbie just starting

[jcorns33ia]

Just looking for suggestions here as I have yet bought anything.....

what size aquarium does everyone recommend for a newbie ? I have the means to purchase a 55gal setup, or should I start with a 29gal setup for experience purposes and add / upgrade to a 55g later ?

I want to try my hand at a few live plants and I am leaning towards either a gourami based community or a cichlid based, but could be persuaded to try something else based off suggestions, I am looking for colorful fish in the end.

Thanks for any info, advice, links !! I really appreciate the help.

Going to a football game now will check in this evening.

 

[mgamer20o0]

the bigger the tank you can get the better. bigger tanks give you more stocking options and its more stable. one thing i would start is looking on cl for a used tank. often you can find use tanks on the cheap.

 

[HN1]

I agree with gamer. Go as big as you can afford, but be sure to think about lighting needs as well if you want to go planted. Once you have the tank and know how big it is, you can come up with a stocking plan.

Welcome to AA!

 

[jcorns33ia]

I went ahead and started a 29 gal tank, got it cheap from a garage sale so couldn't go wrong and it will let me get my feet a bit "wet"

Got it filled and first dose of ammonia is in at between 5-6 ppm, temp at 85 deg, now we wait, this is truly going to test my patience LOL.

Gonna try and post a few pics now that most everything is in the tank, except fish of course, no live plants yet either, apparently no one stocks the live plants around here so going to have to order some, any suggestions where to buy from ?

let me know what you think, and any suggestions.

 

[jcorns33ia]

oops now a pic

forgot the pics

 

[mudraker]

If you are looking to go with live plants to replace the fake ones, I'd stay away from cichlids, they are mostly diggers and landscapers.

Most types of gouramis appreciate a nice landscape and if you get some non-agressive varieties, you can add a few other types of community fish for variety.

The nice thing about starting with a smaller set-up, especially a cheap one, is you can sink the saved cash into better equipment and aren't broke when its time to stock with fish.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

Bigger is usually better of course but 29gal is a decent sized aquarium! Mostly people run into problems when they start out with a 5 gallon setup thinking it will be easier than anything bigger - I know I did!

 

[BigJim]

A 29g is a good tank to start with. It's not a huge investment if you decide fish aren't for you, but it's big enough to house a large variety of fish.

You're off to a good start. Look at getting some taller plants (live or fake) for the back of the tank.

Lighting is the most overlooked factor when people decide they want live plants. What light are you using? If it's a stock fluorescent tube that came with the hood, you won't be able to grow much. If it's an incandescent fixture, replace the bulbs with some CFLs. It's an easy upgrade.

 

[Fastfossil]

And if you really like fish and the experience and buy a bigger tank you could make a sump tank out of that one like I will do one day.

 

[jcorns33ia]

ok going to show my complete lack of knowledge here.....

what's a sump tank ?

p.s. just had a guy give me his 29 gal as well, even comes with 4 little friends, question is can I use one of his filters in my new setup to speed up the cycling process or will i simply kill the good bacteria since i have already begun "dosing" my new setup with pure ammonia per the instructions in another post here in the forums.

I am currently at

ammonia 4-5 ppm
no nitrates
no nitrites
ph is around 7.8

thanks for help guys and gals is all much appreciated !

 

[BigJim]

A sump tank is a type of filter or refugium. Google "Melev's Reef" and read his sump page. It's very thorough and a good read.

The bacteria actually digest the ammonia and produce nitrite, then another type of bacteria digests the nitrite and produces nitrate. You're just feeding the food chain by dosing the tank.

If the 29g has more than one filter and can spare the filtration capacity, then yes, it will help speed the cycle. You can also just take some of the used filter media and put it in the cycling filter. This introduces the bacteria to the tank in a decent concentration.

 

[Fastfossil]

A sump is nothing more than an extra water containment area usually set up underneath an aquarium where you can place equipment, provide the aquarium with various types of water filtration, add top-off water to the tank and perform other maintenance tasks and not mess around as much with the main tank.It is more for marine tanks but I am sure my gourami's will benefit from it and it will mean I wont have as much in my tank heater filter air stones ect ect.I might even change to marine when I have gained enough experience and it will benefit me. Keep in mind gourami's can live around 4 years. Yes his filter will speed up the process but has he had disease of any kind you don't want to contaminate your new set up. As for the dose of ammonia it is beyond my know how and I only cycle normally and would not feel comfortable trying to assist you and if I am wrong in any anything I have said PLEASE ON BEHALF OF THE FISH IN OUR TANKS CORRECT ME if not for me do it for my fish. This is not an exact science and we all learn every day.

 

[adeebm]

I would recommend sweet aquatics for live plants. I got all my plants from them, really cheap and huge

--Adeeb

 

[jcorns33ia]

Thanks, I'll give them a look

 

[fearlessfisch]

Just a caution: If you like gouramis, you might want to avoid the dwarf variety in favor of other types unless you have a local resource with demonstrably healthy stock. Google "dwarf gourami iridovirus" or "dwarf gourami disease" to learn more about the frequent health problems in dwarf gouramis imported from Asia, especially Singapore.

 

[jcorns33ia]

i will have to look at that as I was going to make a dwarf one of my first purchases, any way to tell them from the "healthy" ones at the store ? I don't want to rely on the teenager filling the bag

 

[fearlessfisch]

Well, it is highly contagious, and fish with the virus can also get secondary bacterial infections. I would not buy from any tank where any of them look sick. That can include poor color, lesions, sluggishness, short or damaged or missing "feelers" up front, etc. If I were going to buy one, I would probably contact my local aquarium society. Mine has a message forum just like this. I would ask the members if they know of local breeders or places with healthy dwarf gourami stock. The local fish people probably know best where to find a healthy fish if one is available.