New and overwhelmed

[kpreece]

Watched too many episodes of "tanked" over my holiday vacation and got a 60 gallon tank.

I'm a bit overwhelmed on where to start; the deal also came with a 20 gallon tank. Thinking about setting that one up while I clean the bigger one, it was NASTY. I have an autistic boy who loves movement and color of fish but I'm not ready to deal with a salt water tank so any suggestions on what to stock a community tank would be appreciated

 

[54seaweed]

Welcome to AA
we all have to start somewhere . Rome wasn't built in a day so take your time so you can achieve what you have envisioned .

if you work your way down to the fresh water section ask all the questions you need ,
there are many well experienced freshwater enthusiasts that would be happy to help make your dream come true.

 

[nirbhao]

Congratulations!

So you have a 60 gallon and a 20 gallon tank. What else came with this deal?

My recommendation for the 20 gallon:
Get an AquaClear 30, an API master test kit, a heater (although that can wait), and a little bottle of ammonia from the hardware store. Get the filter running and add some ammonia. The goal is to get it up to 4ppm so that you will develop some nitrifying bacteria.

Make a list with your son about what colors and shapes he likes. Does he like groups that move together? Slow movement? Hide and seek? These will all direct you on good stock. Pick your favorite fish and build the tank, including their tankmates, around them.

The 60 gallon will be fun. You'll have many more options for stock. But 20 is great. Really.

 

[kpreece]

So they were not well taken care of tanks but I've washed all the gravel and structures, probable for 10 gallons bucket of gravel. Everything was to sketchy to keep so I've got to filters, heaters. They did have the under water filters too. It I would have to find new up take tubes, old ones are NASTY

 

[Autumnsky]

Welcome!!!

You don't need undergravel filters. So you would be able to skip cleaning those.

What kind of fish seem to get your or your son's attention when you visit the fish store???

 

[flchamp89]

Welcome and take a deep breathe. You got this and your at a great place to learn.

 

[Delapool]

Welcome

 

[AnimalKrazed]

Greetings and welcome aboard.

I don't have any personal advice on equipment since I have only just gotten back into the hobby after some seven to eight years out of the hobby. I don't quite know what the current bests are now, so you are better off listening to the more experienced and updated on that front. I also tend to agree with AutumnSky and nirbhao advice for you on the fish since it sounds like you are really keeping your kid in mind with this project, which I am sure he appreciates.

 

[skrapeNKA]

Welcome and take a deep breathe.

This is the best advice! There's a thread called 'The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling' from eco23 floating around here that helped me a lot getting started. Just take it slow; as long as you have a filter running it will take a few weeks (maybe 4-8) for your tank to be fully cycled! You can use that time to decide if you want real plants, fake plants, what decorations you want, make a list of fish you like, and so on and so forth. The one bit of anecdotal experience I'd have to add is once you are registering nitrItes, don't let them get past what your test kit will register: it seems like my cycle completely stalled out until I did enough water changes to reduce my nitrites to testable levels (and then it was completed in a week)

Another potential headache saving piece of wisdom: always test your water BEFORE adding dechlorinators (or any water treated with it) if you are using them. Most of them will give you false positives for ammonia that might not actually be present.