How long has it been since you set up your first tank?

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roydooms

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I setup my 125g tank the beginning of this year but if you'll ask me when did I set up my first tank, I'll say 11 years ago. Would you believe I put a silver arowana in a 75g tank? It was 2.5' when it jumped out of te tank and died. Poor fish. Where I came from "cycling" involves 2 wheels. I didn't even know that there is such thing as aquarium heaters. I've had cichlids, oscars, pacu in their own 20g tanks. But still, too small...

Now I know now how to start(cycle) a tank and that I need to research before I buy any fish. Thanks to AA :D
 
My 10 gallon has been set up for about 3 months. Just finished the long and grueling fish in cycle. My first fish for it was a rainbow shark :face-palm: it got to about two inches before my cat got it. :double facepalm:
 
Homedog98 said:
My 10 gallon has been set up for about 3 months. Just finished the long and grueling fish in cycle. My first fish for it was a rainbow shark :face-palm: it got to about two inches before my cat got it. :double facepalm:

At least you knew that you have to cycle your tank first. With my tanks back then I didn't cycle them nor check the water parameters and I did PWC only once a month. They didn't ask if your tank is cycled, how big. The LFS in the Philippines is just as bad or worse than the big chain stores...
 
Set my first tank up(with the help of my grandmother who has been keeping fish nearly 40 years now) about 13 years ago. Was 10 years old and she bought me a 10gal and let me decorate and stock it(with a little guidance).
 
Josh said:
Set my first tank up(with the help of my grandmother who has been keeping fish nearly 40 years now) about 13 years ago. Was 10 years old and she bought me a 10gal and let me decorate and stock it(with a little guidance).

That's good to know that you had somebody that guided you and taught you how to set up your tank. I'm teaching my little brother the same thing. I got him a 33g, taught him about cycling and seeding and let him decorate and stock it :) Teaching him now how to use the API FW master test kit.
 
I had a bowl when I was a kid, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't my idea... so I consider my first tank to be June/July of 2009... a 55g with 15 or more goldfish and a common pleco... with a treasure chest bubbler and neon gravel.
 
mfdrookie516 said:
I had a bowl when I was a kid, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't my idea... so I consider my first tank to be June/July of 2009... a 55g with 15 or more goldfish and a common pleco... with a treasure chest bubbler and neon gravel.

Do you still have those fishes? If I remember it right, you're not a fan of bubbles in the tank. Is it because you got tired of it with your treasure chest bubbler?
 
nah, i just learned how to make tanks look more natural... not to mention I thought you had to have that stuff. I dont like bubbles for tons of reasons, but none are related to that.
 
mfdrookie516 said:
nah, i just learned how to make tanks look more natural... not to mention I thought you had to have that stuff. I dont like bubbles for tons of reasons, but none are related to that.

I also thought that you need bubbles in your tank. When I read your post about not liking the bubbles and that it doesn't look natural, I got rid of all my air pumps. Lol. And I'll say that it does look more natural :)
 
Been about two months for me since I set up my 10G. Then migrated to 29G.

Knew nothing about fishkeeping three months ago. Been a crash course.
 
It's been over 9 years now. My first tank is a 36gal TruVu. Still have it running today :)
 
I've had my 48litre tank up and running since december. So 4 months :) feels like I've had them forever now. I don't watch tv anymore, I watch the fish :D
 
Fishies86 said:
I've had my 48litre tank up and running since december. So 4 months :) feels like I've had them forever now. I don't watch tv anymore, I watch the fish :D

Same thing with me. I used to watch tv and play black ops all the time. Haven't touched my ps3 since I set up my tank end of December last year. I can say that this hobby improved my lifestyle :D
 
I got my first tank when I was in 5th or 6th grade, 10g, convinced my mom if I cleaned the house I deserved my very own aquarium, stocked it with four tiger barbs four cherry barbs and a pleco, actually had the pleco up until about two years ago! Had a diver man bubbler and blue gravel...been a long journey since then.
 
It's been almost 7 years ago. But I was given the fish before I had a tank. I truly knew NOTHING, back then.
I was at a blood lab in Portland, Or., about 2 hrs from where I live. They had a huge FW tank in the waiting area and it was really full of fish.
At the time I didn't know what they were but, they had 3 Common Plecos.
2 were about 7" and 1 was about 4".
My grandson was (and is) really into dinosaurs and the fish looked kind of prehistoric. So I asked the tech what kind of fish they were, he didn't know, but he asked me if I wanted one of them. Dummy me said sure, so they put this fish in a big clear salad bowl and I started the long drive home, with a fish in a bowl and a horrible storm blasting.
We made it back to town and I stopped at petco to grab a 10g, LOL, tank.
I at least knew that chlorine was bad for fish and I grabbed a dechlorinator. When I got home I set up the tank and filled it with water mixed with the dechlorinator and dropped the Pleco in.
For some reason that Pleco survived every stupid thing I did. I don't know how but he did, he was such a great fish that we now have 2, 10g tanks and 2, 55g tanks. My grandson, Casey and I take care of the tanks together now.
We lost Eddie Fisher (the Pleco) in early 2010 to a bad case of ick, Casey and I both were devastated, by his loss.
Casey still watches way to much television, IMO.
 
Hoowee... Great to hear that your Pleco survived like it did!

Really sorry to hear about the loss to Ich though. It's nasty, and can be an uphill battle when it strikes...
 
Hoowee... Great to hear that your Pleco survived like it did!

Really sorry to hear about the loss to Ich though. It's nasty, and can be an uphill battle when it strikes...

Thank you, he was one of a kind.
I hate ick, it has been responsible for the death of so many great fish. Not only mine but so many other peoples fish too.
It is truly an evil :evil: creature :evilbat:.
 
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