Help getting cychlid setup going. First time aquarium!

[matthewh133]

Hey everyone, I'm looking to put together a nice size tank. Something not too big. Maybe 20 gallon? I was thinking freshwater would be the way to go considering this will be my first tank. I was also looking at the Cichlids (yellow cichlid look really nice) at one possible inhabitant.

I am wondering a few things:

1. With filters etc. how often are you still required to clean the tank, if at all?
2. Any fish recommendations to go with Yellow Cichlid? Is 20 gallon large enough for Yellow Cichlid?
3. What equipment should I look at to start off with? I want to have to clean the tank as little as possible. I don't want it to stink (it will be in my bedroom). That being said, I am obviously willing to clean it as much as needed to ensure my fish are healthy.

Thanks for any assistance!

Edit: I was aiming for something that looks similar to this:

 

[bruinsbro1997]

Hey everyone, I'm looking to put together a nice size tank. Something not too big. Maybe 20 gallon? I was thinking freshwater would be the way to go considering this will be my first tank. I was also looking at the Cichlids (yellow cichlid look really nice) at one possible inhabitant.

I am wondering a few things:

1. With filters etc. how often are you still required to clean the tank, if at all?
2. Any fish recommendations to go with Yellow Cichlid? Is 20 gallon large enough for Yellow Cichlid?
3. What equipment should I look at to start off with? I want to have to clean the tank as little as possible. I don't want it to stink (it will be in my bedroom). That being said, I am obviously willing to clean it as much as needed to ensure my fish are healthy.

Thanks for any assistance!

Edit: I was aiming for something that looks similar to this:

Hi there,

Yellow labs get too big for a twenty gallon and you can't really keep them with anything else but African cichlids. If you're looking for a good African cichlids I could recommend shellies or kribs.

 

[matthewh133]

Thanks for the info Bruins

 

[librarygirl]

Hi and welcome to AA! From what I've read, you can never have too big a tank to start with (as long as you have the physical space), so just keep that in mind.

For filters, there are a lot to choose from. The AquaClear filters are good I think. You just want to be sure they're the right size for your tank. You can always have more than one filter running on a tank too, extra filtration is never a bad thing.

As far as cleaning, the only maintenance really is weekly water changes. You don't want to fully replace your filters b/c then you'll lose any beneficial bacteria you have on them. You'd just swish the filter media in OLD tank water during a water change every couple of weeks to clean them off. You should also vacuum your gravel (or sand) every couple of weeks too.

How are you planning to cycle your tank? You need to cycle it, preferably before adding fish (otherwise, with fish, you'll be doing a lot of daily water changes and water testing and potentially could lose fish). There's a link in my signature below (the one that reads 'new empty tank..'). Give it a read and see what you think. You'll need a bottle of pure ammonia and a good liquid test kit like the API Master Kit (you'll need this too once you have fish anyway). Good luck!

 

[matthewh133]

Thanks Librarygirl. Yeah, I was planning on doing a fishless cycle. I don't want to cause any fish harm. Thanks for your link, I'll be sure to give it a good read!