NewFish
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hey all, new fish here in the pond.
I just have some comments. Now bear in mind, I don't mean to offend, slight, or tick anyone off, but here goes:
I have been an on/off fish hobbyist for the last 10-15 years. Off and on, small tanks and big, aggressive and tropical. I have kept small 5 gallon tanks, and a 55 gallon tank. I have successfully kept Oscars for many years at a time, and have had great success with tropical fish too. Here's the thing, I have never "cycled" a tank, NEVER bought chemicals(other than ick guard, and medicine at times), and like I said, have never had any "real' problems. Did I have some fish die? Of course, did I have fish that I wanted to die and lived for years?? yup!
What I am getting at is this, how neccessary are all these steps to "setting up the best tank"? I have maybe tested water in any of my tanks only a handfull of times. My Oscars at one point were at LEAST 10 inches long, and almost as wide. I've had fish breed with no issues either. Have I just gotten lucky, or what? I have a 55 gallon Paludarium going on now, with VERY Minimal filtration. It is planted with live plants. I keep 2 dart frogs on the land portion, and some assorted tetras in some pretty tannis water. They are all thriving!!
I just set up a 20 gallon long today. I am trying to do the right thing by waiting a while before adding fish. I bought an AquaClear filter(with bio), and a whisper 100w heater. I plan on letting it run for a week or two, then adding some plants. YES, I have gravel in there, and NO, I don't plan on using a sand substrate. After I see how they do(maybe another week or so), I am going to add some fish. I did use some Tetra Aquahealth, or whatever it's called.
So what do you experts think???
Please be nice to the new guy, again, I don' t mean this to be mean-spirited AT ALL, just wondering out loud.
I just have some comments. Now bear in mind, I don't mean to offend, slight, or tick anyone off, but here goes:
I have been an on/off fish hobbyist for the last 10-15 years. Off and on, small tanks and big, aggressive and tropical. I have kept small 5 gallon tanks, and a 55 gallon tank. I have successfully kept Oscars for many years at a time, and have had great success with tropical fish too. Here's the thing, I have never "cycled" a tank, NEVER bought chemicals(other than ick guard, and medicine at times), and like I said, have never had any "real' problems. Did I have some fish die? Of course, did I have fish that I wanted to die and lived for years?? yup!
What I am getting at is this, how neccessary are all these steps to "setting up the best tank"? I have maybe tested water in any of my tanks only a handfull of times. My Oscars at one point were at LEAST 10 inches long, and almost as wide. I've had fish breed with no issues either. Have I just gotten lucky, or what? I have a 55 gallon Paludarium going on now, with VERY Minimal filtration. It is planted with live plants. I keep 2 dart frogs on the land portion, and some assorted tetras in some pretty tannis water. They are all thriving!!
I just set up a 20 gallon long today. I am trying to do the right thing by waiting a while before adding fish. I bought an AquaClear filter(with bio), and a whisper 100w heater. I plan on letting it run for a week or two, then adding some plants. YES, I have gravel in there, and NO, I don't plan on using a sand substrate. After I see how they do(maybe another week or so), I am going to add some fish. I did use some Tetra Aquahealth, or whatever it's called.
So what do you experts think???
Please be nice to the new guy, again, I don' t mean this to be mean-spirited AT ALL, just wondering out loud.