a guide into aquariums for newbies

[Fishdude3233]

I have been working on this for a decent amount of time, and I would like it to become a corner stone for new aquarists. I see a lot of threads on disease ID, stocking, helping a newbie, etc and I think that people should read this thread first, and then if they don’t see what they’re looking for then they can post away. So first I will start with setting up + cycling your tank
Ok so step one on the aquarium hobby is buying your tank!! Buy the biggest tank that you can afford, and have space for. The reason that you want to buy the biggest aquarium is simple; big tanks are a more stable ecosystem then their small counterparts, and you can stock more fish in big tanks. Check craigslist before you buy new as you can often find good deals on tanks. A good starting tank is a 20 long, or a 40 breeder

Here are some necessary supplies
· Filter (shoot for 3-5 times turn over on the tank in GPH)
· API liquid test kit (best kit on the market for the price)
· Lighting (if you’re not interested in growing medium/high light plants a standard t8 fixture will work)
· Siphon (to do those lovely water change)
· Substrate ( sand, gravel, eco complete)
· Décor (driftwood, plastic plants, live plants, etc)
· Backdrop (black works best ad it gives depth to the tank)
· 5 gallon buckets (so helpful!!!!)
· Food (NLS, omega 1 are good brands to look at)
· Heater (ebo jagar, via aquaria, aqueon are all good brands)
· Dechlorinator: (prime is the best)

Note: if people see something I miss anywhere send me a pm, and I can add what you suggest, and give you credit.​

Now we get to the fun part (not) cycling your tank. There are three main ways to cycle them.
1. Fishless cycling: this process involves dosing your tank with pure ammonia until you get a reading of 4ppm, and then monitor your levels until the ammonia falls to around 1, then dose up to 4ppm again. It should drop down to zero pretty fast this time. Then you’re going to want to look at nitrite when this reaches 0 do a large WC (water change) to remove all the nitrates, and then you can add fish. here is a great article on fishless cycling http://www.aquariumadvice.com/the-almost-complete-guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling/

2. Fish in cycling: this method involves adding fish at a very slow rate, and monitoring your levels VERY closely. Basically you’re going to build up the nitrifying bacteria very slowly instead of doing it all at once like you do in the fishless. There are downsides to this IMO, if you’re doing an mbuna tank and you add your starter fish he will claim his territory before anyone else can, which can lead to aggression issues. I prefer fishless but its up to you.

3. Instant cycle: my all time favorite J basically what you’re going to do here is find, some sort of cycled filter material from a tank. What I mean by this is say that your friend bob has a tank, all you need to do is get a sponge from his filter, and plop it in yours, and your tank is cycled.

Stocking your tank​

This should be your favorite part! I will cover some of the basic fish species that people usually want, but first things to not follow. 1 inch of fish per gallon of water, nonono this rule is out dated, and would allow you to put a oscar in a 15 gallon tank. Ok now that I got that out of my system lets continue. Here are some good websites to use fore stocking: aqua advisor, basically you plug in your tank size, and the fish you want and it gives you an estimated stocking level. A couple rules about this though.
1. Don’t follow this as the law; it is ok to be as much as 150% overstocked as long as your wc schedule is pretty heavy.
2. Don’t pay attention to the filtration thing as that is a novelty

Note to AA members: I am in need of help, and will accept any re written details on fish species, and will replace mine with yours.​

Notice: I keep some of the fish I'm about to list in a smaller tank then I say, but they are in specie only tanks, with large wc's​

Now for some of the beginner fish that I would suggest to the beginner aquarist

Barbs:​

Tiger barbs (these guys can be aggressive, but usually there’re pretty nice IME) tiger barbs need at least a 20 gallon long tank with open swimming places​

Black ruby barb: (not as striking in color as tiger barbs, but they are not aggressive at all) needs a minimum tank size of at least 20 gallons, with some open swimming​

Dension barbs/Rosaline sharks: (these guys need a 55 gallon tank as they get around 6’’ long, they are peaceful and have a neon red stripe down the lateral line)

Red barb/rosy barb: these barbs are a orange/red hue and grow to around 3’’ they can be kept with most fish except the smallest fish as they may eat them)

Tinfoil barb: this fish needs a massive tank preferably a 5 ft tank, not great specie to own due to its size)

Tetras:​

Neon tetras: these little guys have been a staple in the hobby for a long time, they only grow to about an inch, and only need a 10 gallon tank, they should be kept in a planted aquarium, and be acclimated very slowly. They should also be kept with small companies ​

Cardinal tetras: this fish is more colorful then neon’s, and have the same requirements as neon’s​

Congo tetras: this fish is becoming harder to find. It needs a 20 long tank, and looks amazing with a school of cardinals in a planted tank, keep tank mates small, and calm​

Buenos aires tetra: this fish needs a 20 long, and can grow to 3-4 inches. They are not great choices for the planted tank, as they will munch soft leaved plants! They also tend to be aggressive to slow/small fish​

Rummynose tetra: one of my favorites, they need around a 3ft tank, and look amazing with a school of densions. Keep in a heavily planted tank with smaller tank mates.​

Dwarf cichlids:
this group of fish is my all time favorite group. they have so much personality, color, and they breed like crazy​

German blue rams: buy these guys as a male female pair. Keep in a 20 long tank with plenty of plants, and small calm companions. I suggest feeding live foods every once in a while to make their colors pop. this fish should be added in a tank that has been set up for 3-4 months, and is sensitvie to nitrates.​

Bolivian rams: these fish are less colorful the GBR but they make up for it with their personality. I suggest a 20 long tank, with plenty of plants, and small calm tank mates​

Cockatoo cichlid: this fish is a striking center piece in the aquarium (just ask brokster123) breeders have developed many different color strains. This fish needs a 20 long, and should be kept in a tank with plants, and caves. They can become aggressive when breeding, but not to the point of killing other fish.​

Apistogramma mcmasteri: this fish is one of my favorites it always seems as if their breeding! I suggest a 20 long for these fish in a planted tank with caves, and peaceful tank mates:​

Well that’s most of the fish that I feel I know a lot about, but I would really like it if other people would send me pms with profiles on other fish.​

The disease section will be coming in the next day or so​

 

[Sk3lly]

Interesting read. Im mr negative and therefore cannot see the point in this. There are much more in depth articles on the things you briefly discuss.

Also there are a few parts to what you have written that i strongly disagree with.
Such as neons in a 10g!

 

[Mebbid]

Interesting read. Im mr negative and therefore cannot see the point in this. There are much more in depth articles on the things you briefly discuss.

Also there are a few parts to what you have written that i strongly disagree with.
Such as neons in a 10g!

There are much more in depth articles this is true.. But how many people that are new to the hobby want those ridiculously in depth articles? The aquariumese language they are written in is hard enough for new people to understand much less the overwhelming levels of detail that many of them go in. Even my eyes glaze over reading some of them.

For a newcomer I think this is a decent guide but needs a bit of refining. After my exams are over I'll try to throw out some ideas at you.

There's ALWAYS people that will disagree with stocking. But, when in doubt check Live Aquaria. They are the gold standard for stocking guidelines in the aquarium community.

Also, I've had 6 cardinal tetras in my 10g for over a year now with 0 deaths or diseases

 

[Sk3lly]

There are much more in depth articles this is true.. But how many people that are new to the hobby want those ridiculously in depth articles? The aquariumese language they are written in is hard enough for new people to understand much less the overwhelming levels of detail that many of them go in. Even my eyes glaze over reading some of them.

For a newcomer I think this is a decent guide but needs a bit of refining. After my exams are over I'll try to throw out some ideas at you.

There's ALWAYS people that will disagree with stocking. But, when in doubt check Live Aquaria. They are the gold standard for stocking guidelines in the aquarium community.

Also, I've had 6 cardinal tetras in my 10g for over a year now

This is very true. I do think people that are interested in getting into this hobby though should be willing to take the time to learn the more in depth articles though.

When you learn to drive do you just go over the basics quickly or do you take time to learn the more in depth things??

I massively disagree with the OPs article in saying its ok to stock 150%. A beginner to the hobby should be understocking not over

 

[Mebbid]

When you learn to drive do you just go over the basics quickly or do you take time to learn the more in depth things??

Me personally? I like a ground up approach. Learn the basics and then improve on them.

I massively disagree with the OPs article in saying its ok to stock 150%. A beginner to the hobby should be understocking not over

I agree that they shouldn't but when I entered the hobby that's exactly what I did. I stocked my tank right up to 150% and did the appropriate water changes to keep my fish healthy. German blue rams were really the only fish I had problems with keeping healthy at that point.

 

[Sk3lly]

I agree that they shouldn't but when I entered the hobby that's exactly what I did. I stocked my tank right up to 150% and did the appropriate water changes to keep my fish healthy. German blue rams were really the only fish I had problems with keeping healthy at that point.

But if the more experienced are teaching the newcomers that its ok to overstock an aquarium if you keep up on water changes, then surely its ok to overstock to 300%?? Just do large water change daily.

Now im in no way trying to argue with you as i've read a lot of your posts and i know that you know your stuff, but shouldn't we be explaining the reasons as to why overstocking CAN lead to problems??

 

[treemanone2003]

fishdude,

I'm on about 4 hrs sleep and no coffee yet ??. Responding right now so I have it in the top of my list. Thanks for putting this together and will get thru it during lunch today and very happy with the open critique approach. Shows class !!!

 

[Caliban07]

I think this is a good read. I did something similarly myself but I think only a couple of people responded. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the guide I think the effort that has gone in to the article with the thoughts of other people in mind should be commended firstly.

It is VERY easy to assume that all fish need is a some water to survive and all newbies should never be frowned at or attacked with !!!! So often seen on here. They are here for help. They took the time to come here because they realised that they have made a mistake and they care enough about there pets to put it right. Choosing to ignore our friendly advice is different. Even those that do take the time to research first will make a mistake.

Good effort but does need some ideas throwing out there.

 

[Fishdude3233]

Thanks for the responses i will be more then happy to change profiles, etc. im also working on going more in depth On fish profiles.

 

[Delapool]

I like this a lot, I'd have a bit more explanation at the front on who it is for and how the thread is laid out.

Why not break the subject into different chapters eg, disease; a sub-chapter is the disease type and then write a quick para and post a link to a more detailed sticky (or more detail). That way you cover the basics and for those that do want to read up can go to a sticky or read past the summary.

 

[Fishdude3233]

I like this a lot, I'd have a bit more explanation at the front on who it is for and how the thread is laid out.

Why not break the subject into different chapters eg, disease; a sub-chapter is the disease type and then write a quick para and post a link to a more detailed sticky (or more detail). That way you cover the basics and for those that do want to read up can go to a sticky or read past the summary.

I like that idea! ATM its not letting me edit it.

 

[Delapool]

Drat! Always the way....all this technology sometimes drives me up the wall.

 

[severum mama]

I like that idea! ATM its not letting me edit it.

There is a time limit on post edits except for site staff.

 

[Fishdude3233]

oh thank you! i sent a pm to one of the mods, and they told me.

 

[Delapool]

6 hours I think?