Hello all,
Was told it was OK/requested to do an introduction here so, here we go.
Been wanting an aquarium for years but never pulled the trigger till now. I got a smoking good deal on a 40gl with just about everything to get started except décor, water and fish. It is definitely bigger than what I thought would be a good starter tank would be but, I couldn't pass it up at $40. I hope I didn't bite off more than I can chew. Anyway, The filter is a Penguin Bio Wheel 200 and is very quiet.
Just today, I finally got all the décor situated (picture below) but, the tank has been running for about five days. Apparently I'm a bit of a tweeker with décor. Yes, that is SpongeBob stuff in there but, what could I do when my 5 year old comes home with mommy and says "I got you a present daddy." I think I managed to make it work. I think I kind of like it (lol). I had to experiment with the heater for a bit but the temp has settled at 76 deg/f.
I have been combing this forum and have found it
EXTREEMLY helpful. I'm actually excited about preparing and maintaining the mini ecosystem I have created. So watch for future posts like "OMG my fishless cycle isn't working!" lol. Speaking of which, I plan to start that today. I have bookmarked
this thread, I got my API freshwater test kit (and have read the instructions), I got a journal to record my readings and I found some pure ammonia (what a quest that was.) I found the pure ammonia in the form of "Blue Ribbon Clear Ammonia" at True Value as suggested by a different thread. It's not listed on their website but I can confirm that they do have it in the store.
Ok, this is a lengthy intro and you will need to excuse my noobie enthusiasm. I'll end with thanking everyone who has put in the time to create a such a wonderful resource as AquariumAdvice.com.