Hello There!

[Satchel_Paige]

Hi there! I was recommended to this forum at my local fish store today. I currently have a 10 gallon tank that I set up for my Betta I got for xmas as the one gallon I had received with it just didn't seem large enough. Unfortunately, the Betta has passed as it seems it had some odd disease. However, I had a few albino corys with it as well and they are still doing great! I am new to fish keeping but feel that I have a good handle on most of the basics (cycling, water changes, etc.) and feel like its just not large enough. I hear this is a good problem with fish keeping. I went out today and took advantage of petco's dollar a gallon sale and picked up the largest tank I have room for at my home (29 gallon). I can't wait to set up this new tank and get an even larger family together!

[icydeath]

Wait! THE DOLLAR PER GALLON SALE IS ON?!

I am glad you caught the bug and seem incredibly compassionate and reasonable when it comes to your fish. You are putting your fish in a better environment without anyone telling you, something that is a good sign of a great fish keeper.

[Satchel_Paige]

Yeah, I had no intentions of purchasing a new tank today, however, when I just happen to have 40 bucks in my wallet at the time it seemed like it was a great idea. Now I can't wait to get it set up so I can (slowly) start adding more and more fish.

[icydeath]

Haha I gotta see if it is on at my local store. What are you thinking about stocking with? I can help you with compatibility, research; etc. I am off to bed now, but I can help you tomorrow.

[Satchel_Paige]

I definitely appreciate the help! I love my corys and will be keeping them. I am looking at some small angelfish at my local pet store but having done some reading on them I don't know if doing 1 or 2 of them in the 29 with the corys and more fish would be a little too cramped. I miss the personality my betta had so if I could find a fish like that but less aggressive would definitely be preferred. Not a huge fan of the neon tetras or the glofish or any of those types. Was considering a bristlenose pleco just because I love bottom dwellers for some reason. Other than that, the more I can have and the more active they are the better. First and foremost I'd just want them all happy haha. I do have questions about which filter to go with, bubblers and potentially lighting set ups and the such. I am completely new to that side of fish keeping so any and all advice to that is welcome and appreciated.

[icydeath]

I share your opinion on bottom dwellers (haha I even started a thread on a bottom dweller only tank). Lighting, filters, and bubblers are really dependent on what you are looking to do.

Some questions that can help narrow it down are:
1. Do you want plants? If so low, medium, or high tech? Low pretty much just has a plant bulb with the occasional ferts like roottabs. Medium has everything low has but you can add liquid supplements and more specific ones can be used (iron, phosphate; etc). High usually has really high lighting and gaseous CO2 along with supplements. Make sure to do some side research to help you decide.
2. Do you like making things (in other words, are you a diy person?) or are you okay spending more money to avoid making things?
3. Do you know what kind of filter you want?

Some awesome youtube channels that you may like are Dustins Fishtanks and King of DIY (aquariums), just to give you some inspiration.

[Satchel_Paige]

I was thinking about some live plants but have never done that and really don't even know where to begin with those. I have two moss balls right now but that's the extent of that. If it isn't a whole lot more difficult to maintain I think I'd like to go that route. I also am going with a sand substrate but do not know what type of sand would be best for a freshwater tank. I also would prefer a hob filter as I'm more familiar with them. I was thinking a whisper ex45 but not sure how that deals with sand. As for diy I wish I was more like that but generally would be more inclined to spend money to fix/set things up

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[icydeath]

Maybe you will end up liking it in the future.

Also, pool filter sand is great and is cheap. You can supplement with florapride and flourish root tabs (or osmocote if you want to make your own). There are a lot of different supplements you can use that you should look into.

A lot of plants are really easy to keep. Anacharis, anubias, amazon sword, java fern, and a few others come to mind. Planted tanks usually are less work than non planted tanks once established.

I don't have experience with the whisper but have heard a lot of good things. They are incredibly simple for one. If you want, you could just get a sponge filter and put a powerhead on it.

[Satchel_Paige]

We can hope haha. What would the supplements be for? Keeping the plants healthy or the water? Do I need to put a fertilizer base under the sand? I was kind of looking to stay with a hob filter if possible with sand. Thanks again for your help!

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[icydeath]

The great thing about hob's is for the thirty gal size, they are really cheap if they do break. You don't really need to put anything under your sand. Most plants do good without it. You should put root tabs in though.

Supplements are for the plants yes.

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.

[Satchel_Paige]

Thanks! I'm glad to be here. I'm thinking I'm set on what I want to get in my tank. Going to keep my Corys, potentially get one bristlenose pleco, 1 dwarf gourami, 5 black ruby barbs, 1 red tail sword tail, 1 German Blue Ram. I may adjust, such as remove either the pleco or the ram to get an angelfish. I really would like an angelfish I'm just not wanting to dedicate an entire tank to one with a few corys.