About to buy my first large tank - Help!

[hansen]

Hello everyone. I am somewhat new to the world of aquariums. I have successfully had bettas for years, but they were almost always in a bowl and required such little maintenance. A few months ago I bout the Aqueon Evolve 4 gallon tank for my current betta to have a little more room. Since then I have added an african dwarf frog, a few mystery snails, and two ghost shrimp to that tank.

And im ready for something bigger. But i really dont have much experience with these things. I have so many questions I'd rather ask first before buying a 20 gallon, than after. Whats the best (affordable) brands of 20 gallon tanks? What exactly is water cycling? I know starting a tank is a lot of work and money but I have both right now and I've always wanted to learn how to really (properly) take care of fish! Any tips/pointers for a newbie to larger tanks would be great!

 

[Mebbid]

20 gallons is actually a fairly restrictive tank size sadly. Have you thought about a 29g tank? That size opens up a ton of different fish species, has a nice foot print, and wouldn't be a big increase in expense.


Water cycling is the act of growing specific types of bacteria in your tank. Fish waste and decomposing food both create ammonia in a tank. The bad thing about this is that ammonia is HIGHLY toxic to fish. The good thing is that there is a bacteria that consumes ammonia and converts it into nitrite which is also toxic to fish. Finally, there is another bacteria that consumes the nitrite and converts it into nitrate which is far safer to fish.


There are two different ways to cycle a tank, whichever you choose I would follow the directions fairly carefully (especially for fish in cycling). Take a look at this link and it will give you TONS of useful information that is stated far more thoroughly than I can manage

Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

Also, it's always nice to see newcomers to the hobby! Welcome

 

[ktomminello]

Welcome!! I know this may sound silly, but you kind of already know how to cycle, you just don't realize it. Frequent water changes are a must, there are several different cycling methods, I know I'm a horrible person, I usually do my freshwater cycling with fish in- betta are great for this, but you have to keep an annoyingly close eye on your fish and water parameters until you're completely and totally done your cycle.
Everyday change 2g at the end of the week do a 30% change. Monitor water, first through ammonia spike, then nitrite, then nitrate. Once you've made your way down to 0 readings again and stay consistent for a week at the very least, you can start adding fish..

That is an incredibly watered down version but there are plenty of articles even on this sight on cycling good luck

 

[Khuligirl93]

Bigger is always better when it comes to aquarium keeping! (Easier to maintain good water quality). When tank shopping, keep in mind the dimensions of the surface where you want to place your tank, and make sure it can support about 10 lbs for every gallon of water.
Also, if you want to cheat you can borrow filter media from someone who has an already established tank for an immediate cycle using decorations from an established tank is beneficial as well because they also hold some of that bacteria you want.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Welcome to aa!