Starting my first tank

[annlynn]

Hi all,
I am hoping to get my first tank on Saturday. After some research I have decided I am getting a 20 gal but after that I am not sure. One big hurdle I need to figure out is that the only place I can put a tank is in front of a window. It does not get any direct sun but enough light that low light plants do just fine.
My ideal tank (though I know it will take some time to get there) would include-
a diverse community
an algae eater
live plants
I know that I will need to cycle my tank and am seeing conflicting information about including fish and what fish to include. If I can't do fish while cycles can I do live plants?
Any ideas people have would be appreciated!
Thanks,
AnnLynn

 

[philipraposo198]

Well in terms of cycling the fish in option is still very viable and with proper care can be done with no harm to your fish. It is my belief that you can pretty much cycle a tank with any fish within reason. Its very important to find HEALTHY stock. This means doing some research on how long they have been at the LFS and observing their behavior and asking questions. If you have one close by that you can visit regularly this is your best bet. Healthy fish are more important than hardy fish.

The more plants you can put in your tank the easier things will go for you and your fish. Plants will help dispose of the toxic waste fish produce. The key here would be setup the plants a week before fish, give them a bit of time to get establish. You will want fast growing plants and floating plants.

Keep your lights on for a.max of 8 hours daily and feed lightly every other day. Get a api master liquid test kit and test water daily for ammonia ect.

Using products like ATM colony and tetra safe start will ensure a quicker cycle period but care must be taken to ensure this is done right. If you get ATM colony I can help you through the process daily.and provide advice as I have first hand experience with this. Cycled in 10 days using cardinal tetras and zero deaths. Months later and all my fish are great.

As far as your window, get some blinds and you should be fine.

In the tank showcase section I have a video journal of my tank which I started a bit over 3 months ago. You can see my tank to give you an idea of what I have done. Seems like we want the same things.

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[Brookster123]

You can cycle a tank a few different ways, all of which are listed in this forumn.. it's always a bonus of you can get your hands on some seeded filter media! Either from your lfs or another fish freek on cl.. feel free to ask any questions you may have along the way.. people around here love to help with anything fish related!! Welcome!#

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[annlynn]

Thanks for all the help and advice! I picked up my 20 gal yesterday off CL and some substrant and other chems from my lfs. All the rest of equipment should arrive by mid week. Can't wait to get the tank all scrubbed out and set up. Hoping to add the plants next weekend.

 

[philipraposo198]

Anything else just let me know

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[Gibberwatt]

First off, I would get a larger aquarium - maybe 30, or 40 if you are feeling adventurous. With those extra gallons, you can get a lot more fish.

From my point of view, you have two choices:

1. The aggressive tank - lots of fish swimming around, chasing eachother. I think a red tailed black shark (algae eater) and some angelfish would go well together, with a snail or two.

2. A peaceful tank - lots of fish swimming around, with fishy smiles on their faces. This would include some tetras, and other smallish fish, like hatchets, danios, oto's, and similar fish.

 

[annlynn]

Well, I have my aquarium all set with five Harlequin rasbora's swimming happily around among 2 java ferns and 2 anubias. I lost one fish between the store and home. It looked and acted healthy until the end of the trip home so I am hoping it was just the trauma of the transition and not ill. If all continues to go well I will try for some shrimp to eat up the algae next.

 

[mPhish]

Instead of getting blinds you could tape so thick paper to the sie of the tank facing the window, that's what i did.