I just got a new tank... from guess where...

[ValRasbora]

OK I admit it, I picked a tank out of the trash... so what? why should a perfectly good tank go to waste?
Alright, so I saw a nice tank in somebody's trash, it was about 2 min walk there to my house, so I lugged it home. Its just bigger than my 10g so I figured it was a 15g! Anyways it's approx (in inches) 24inch long, 17inch high, 16inch wide. I'm going to do the math today to figure out exactly how big it is... Any-ways, I checked it half way for water-tightness and its good so far. I'm going to check it again today, just in-case... I cleaned it out with salt water (BTW i didn't use the cooking-type of salt, I used AQUARIUM salt)! and I'll probably clean it again today. So did I sterilize it well enough? I am going to try to "upgrade" my 10g to a 15g (20g? probably not...) I am going to probably use my tank equipment (heater, filter, air-pump) Will 10g stuff be good for a 15g?? My filter is an AquaTech Whisper, and I think my heater is good for a 15g. All I need is some more decor and gravel and a light hood (and more fishies!)
Thanks for advice

 

[ValRasbora]

Oh by the way, I want to get 4 more harlequins (a 5 in total) and 3 more neons (5in total) and some kind of centerpiece fish... Maybe a swordtail?

 

[FroggyFox]

Nice! Actually I think what you have there is a 29! I LOVE my 29 gallon tanks, it is a great size.

Definitely check it well for holding water...in a bathtub or outside if you can.

Your equipment for the 10 might work on a 29 but you might want to think about upgrading the filter depending on the size you have now. You should be sure on the measurements first...and then you can go from there Do you have a stand for it?? If not, you should be able to find one at a garage sale or on craigslist pretty easily.

Oh, and in a bigger tank I would definitely go for a bigger school of both your harlequins and the neons! With that mix you could get most any calm community fish for a centerpiece... Just be careful if you switch filters that you don't go into a mini-cycle...be sure to transfer everything to the new tank.

 

[tropicalcrazy]

thats awesome. ive been watching out for someone to do that around here. i was a minute too late for a HUGE bird cage that i seen someone grab from someones trash. i priced that size at stores and it ran around $200. it sucks because ive been wanting to get the kids some birds and that wouldve been perfect to start up. good luck on the new tank you found thats awesome.

 

[bmoraski]

ive been watching garage sales around my house .
but like Froggy said check very well for leaks ! lol
good luck

 

[bmoraski]

thats awesome. ive been watching out for someone to do that around here. i was a minute too late for a HUGE bird cage that i seen someone grab from someones trash. i priced that size at stores and it ran around $200. it sucks because ive been wanting to get the kids some birds and that wouldve been perfect to start up. good luck on the new tank you found thats awesome.

we just got a big cage from local place ( not sure the name , the wife actually picked up for $ 10 !! we just had to assemble. its a $ 100.00 cage !
we didnt need it but now my African Peachface will have 2x the space. just couldnt pass it up !lol

 

[ValRasbora]

HEY! Nope, it's not a 15G... NOT A 29... BUT A.... 20 GALLON!!! yes, I am so happy!! it's actually kinda odd, because I've been wanting to upgrade my 10gallon but didn't really feel like savin' up the $180+ to get a new tank and equipment!! YAYA! Now all I have to do is get about 70-100 bucks for a better filter, a light more gravel and maybe a heater. I unfortunately have a cheapie heater, but that's OK... BECAUSE THE TANK WAS FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I def don't want any jumpy fish, because it'll cost kinda alot to get a light hood, so I'm getting an LED light (clip-on) for about ten dollars. Yay!! Yes I'll probably get about 5 more neons, and 4 more harlequins, plus a centerpiece fish of some type... Thanks guys!! I'll just put it where my 10G is, it'll fit on that dresser...
I AM SOOOO EXCITED!! yay

 

[RexyTexel]

I think you should check your math again.

24x16x17= 6528
6528/231= 28roughly. I rounded it to 29.

I always browse through garage sales around here. No good stuff yet though. Though I don't even have the space for anymore tanks.

And as far as a centerpiece fish goes..you could always gets a betta. They do well in calm community tanks. Especially with neons.

 

[ValRasbora]

Sorry those measurements are wrong it's:
24x12x16 (inches) sorry guys.
a beta wouldn't work because aren't they good jumpers? Too bad, they are such pretty fish!! I tested my tank for water-proofness (lol ) and it was good so far... even if I managed to give my basement a mini-flood oh well, its all cleaned up now!! So I just added a bunch of salt into the tank to make sure its good and clean... Is salt good enough? Do I need to add some other stuff? Oh BTW here's my plan for my tank:
6 harlequin rasboras (they grow 1.5 inch, that's approx 8 inch)
7 neon tetras (1 inch each, thats a seven-inch total)
so I have five gallons/five inches of fish left.

 

[homebunnyj]

a beta wouldn't work because aren't they good jumpers? Too bad, they are such pretty fish!!

I don't understand... you need fish that jump for some reason?

I thought you wanted fish that don't jump, thus a betta would work nicely. ???

 

[jo3olous]

I don't understand... you need fish that jump for some reason?

I thought you wanted fish that don't jump, thus a betta would work nicely. ???

A lot of fish are jumpers. If you don't put a lid on a tank and your fish are stressed I'll bet you they'll all jump out at some point. So get a lid. Doesn't have to be one with a light. I have a simple mesh wire lid that are make for terrariums.

 

[ValRasbora]

Yeah I might get a cheapie one like that, good idea, then I could get the LED light... Hmm a beta would be nice.
homebunnyj...
I saw in a profile that betas are good jumpers... sorry if anyone else misunderstood me too!
OK another reason I DON'T want jumping fish is because even though I had a hood on my tank, there are still holes to put equipment in, right...? Once a fish of mine jumped out of there... And my tank WASN'T over-stocked when he jumped out, by the way!!

 

[blue_ram]

HEY! Nope, it's not a 15G... NOT A 29... BUT A.... 20 GALLON!!! yes, I am so happy!! it's actually kinda odd, because I've been wanting to upgrade my 10gallon but didn't really feel like savin' up the $180+ to get a new tank and equipment!! YAYA! Now all I have to do is get about 70-100 bucks for a better filter, a light more gravel and maybe a heater. I unfortunately have a cheapie heater, but that's OK... BECAUSE THE TANK WAS FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I def don't want any jumpy fish, because it'll cost kinda alot to get a light hood, so I'm getting an LED light (clip-on) for about ten dollars. Yay!! Yes I'll probably get about 5 more neons, and 4 more harlequins, plus a centerpiece fish of some type... Thanks guys!! I'll just put it where my 10G is, it'll fit on that dresser...
I AM SOOOO EXCITED!! yay

An Aquaclear 20 should run about $29 and will work wonderfully in the 20. Walmart often has sales on their house brand filters which would be abotu $19 for a filter good enough for the 20. The Walmart filters are rebranded Marineland Penguin filters and reportedly can be retrofitted with a bio wheel.

Do not put a 20g tank on a dresser. The 20g will weigh over 200 lbs and even if the dresser holds for the short term, it will eventually fail. Depending on where you live, you might be able to find a nice stand at the store on clearance. I got one my perfecto 20 pine stands on clearance for $19 and the matching one for my 10g for $10at pet supermaket. I just recently found a 55 with perfecto pine stand at a Petco for $125.

 

[jo3olous]

Yeah I might get a cheapie one like that, good idea, then I could get the LED light... Hmm a beta would be nice.
homebunnyj...
I saw in a profile that betas are good jumpers... sorry if anyone else misunderstood me too!
OK another reason I DON'T want jumping fish is because even though I had a hood on my tank, there are still holes to put equipment in, right...? Once a fish of mine jumped out of there... And my tank WASN'T over-stocked when he jumped out, by the way!!

I don't think you're getting my point. The tank does not have to be overstocked for a fish to be stressed. Another fish could be bullying it, something could be in the water, etc.

Yes some fish are escape artists. Take those FW crabs they sell at LFSs for 3-4.00, they are masters of escape. Fish like bala sharks and flying foxes are also very prone to leaping out the tank if there's gaps.

If you get the right lid there should be no gaps; possibly little creases where the filter sits, but you can usually get the lid fitted properly so that it's almost perfectly sealed, or just duct tape the cracks.

 

[unwritten law]

psh... I don't think you need a lid... even with a Betta... the fish jo names are related to freshwater sharks which all always jump...The neons and rasboras shouldn't jump at all and some live bearer or a Betta I think would be okay too....

 

[ValRasbora]

OK sorry there jo3olous... I guess it was maybe that he (the fish) had just gotten into my tank and was new there... whatevs. Once I saw a crab crawling its way across the floor at an LFS. lol it was pretty funny also another reason I think that I would probably want a lid is because I really don't want my dog to chew up it if anything gets out, euwwwww that'd be gross yuck... Anyways why hasn't anybody reccomended a centerpiece fish other than a betta? not that I don't like them, its just I'd like to look into other species. Thanks guys!!

 

[unwritten law]

I figured you could research on what you like... and so far you only mentioned a betta or swordtail....

 

[ValRasbora]

How about this:
6 harlequin rasboras (I'll buy five more)
7 neon tetras (I'll buy 4 more)
1 male swordtail.

I like swordtails, especially males... they seem very appropriate for a centerpiece fish, don't you think? With those vibrant colors, unique tail... wouldn't it be nice??

 

[ValRasbora]

Hey how big do harlequins grow?? I've heard 1 inch, 1.5 inch and 2 inch... WHAT DO I BELIEVE?! In my experience, they've only grown 1 inch... but what do you guys say?

 

[unwritten law]

I'd count them as 1....