Fluval 26 Bow front kit

[majormo]

For Christmas my mom gave me a brand new 26 bow kit! I’m super excited to get it up and running, and I can’t wait to show her just how awesome fish really are, but she gave me some conditions.

1. The tank is going to be in the living room (the most active and loud part of the house)

2. She wants a nice active tank with lots of plants

3. The scape, fish, and anything else I might need (specific foods, extra filter sponge, etc) must cost less than 100 dollars.

 

[majormo]

For Christmas my mom gave me a brand new 26 bow kit! I’m super excited to get it up and running, and I can’t wait to show her just how awesome fish really are, but she gave me some conditions.

1. The tank is going to be in the living room (the most active and loud part of the house)

2. She wants a nice active tank with lots of plants and a ‘centrepiece fish’

3. The scape, fish, and anything else I might need (specific foods, extra filter sponge, etc) must cost less than 100 dollars.

Oops, didn’t finish my post. As you probably guessed, this poses a couple challenges. I’ll need fish that don’t scared easily, and are hardy, so I’ve narrowed it down to a hand full of options.

- a pearl gourami and some harlequin rasboras

- 3 dwarf gourami/honey gourami and some glowlight tetras

- a blue gourami and some blood fin tetras

But in general I’m really open to suggestions of what to stock with, and of course the type of tetras will change depending on what’s available at my lfs.

If you have them please leave other suggestions for stocking, I really appreciate them! I’m in no hurry to get the fish, I’ve still got to cycle it yet.

Ps: Also, my mom would like angelfish, but I don’t think the tank is large enough for them, but is it?

 

[V227]

Major
Congratulations on your new tank. I suggest low light, low maintenence plants like Anubias and Java Fern. You don't have to wait until the tank cycles to plant them. Only need rocks or driftwood to attach then to.
Tiger Barbs (standards, albinos, greens) and a few Cory Cats would be good selections for your first occupants. If you want Tetras that are hyper active schoolers, research Buenos Aires Tetras. Although they are known to graze on plants, probably won't damage the listed plants.
Since money is an issue regarding aquascaping. Have your mom take you to your local rock yard or landscape company and pick out a few appropriate size rocks. Likely to pay less than $5 for enough rocks to do the job. For substrate gravel, consider shopping at Lowe's or Home Depot lawn and garden center. They sell 50 lb. bags of pea gravel for $5. Buy the smallest grained pea gravel available. My 65 gal. Tank has a Lowes pea gravel substrate. It looks and functions fine.
Since your new kit is a Fluval, I'm assuming your power filter is an Aqua Clear 30. If so don't worry about replacing the sponge until it starts falling apart. Likely 2 or 3 years.

 

[majormo]

Thanks! I’ll probably check out my local Home Depot, we don’t have a Lowe’s here, but I think they’re pretty much the same thing. I’ve done a little research and was actually thinking maybe pool filter sand? I like the look of a sand bottom a lot more than gravel, and if I only get rhizome plants I shouldn’t need gravel or any fancy planting soil, and I have a friend who works a a big box pet store that can get me a discount on most scaping supplies. For the budget I was more concerned about the cost of fish, seeing how some pearl gourami I’ve seen are 20-30 dollars per fish, and imports/specialty orders to a city as far north as mine is very expensive, plus any high quality specialty (like cichlid/herbivore/live) food is quite pricey, but I will definitely do some research on those!

 

[V227]

My display tanks substrate is small grain swimming pool filter gravel mixed with small grain white quartz gravel. I really like it.
Your tank is probably just big enough to stock a pair of Dwarf Cichlids, (German Blue Rams, or Bolivian rams). There are several AA members that breed these as well as other small species that you might be interested in. I would imagine good deals can be found. Just follow the posts and see what is available.