New to Freshwater

[bavass]

My daughter has a 20g long tank and wants to set it up. I know nothing about freshwater i have had a reef tank for years but not freshwater. What do I need to set this up? I know I need a heater and a HOB filter but what else? Do I need to do a cycle like in saltwater? etc...

 

[George9]

Yep, you need to cycle it. Read this thread. It will tell you literally everything you need to know. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

 

[jcolon]

My daughter has a 20g long tank and wants to set it up. I know nothing about freshwater i have had a reef tank for years but not freshwater. What do I need to set this up? I know I need a heater and a HOB filter but what else? Do I need to do a cycle like in saltwater? etc...

Sounds like you pretty much know what you need, you cycle it similar to saltwater ... except salt water bacteria I believe is a different type than fresh water so forget about seeding the 20gal with your salt tank. An HOB would work fine for a 20g long ... in fact ... that's the tank size I want to upgrade my son's 10gal to.

What fish are you considering and are you looking for a planted tank? If so then you'll need to consider lighting options. Low light plants like anubias, crytp, Java fern and Java moss give you simple options ... a single 5000K - 6500K T8 would probably do the trick.

 

[bavass]

not real sure what fish yet probably just like neons or something