Ahhhh!! My head is spinning..

[SCAddison]

Brand spanking newbie here! Please feel free to laugh and point but right now my head is spinning. I am new to this hobby, so new I don't even have an aquarium yet.

Which brings me to my point... What kind of aquarium should I get? I have been looking at AquaPods and like the fact that it is an all in one package and has a sleek design. But the advertising I have seen makes me think it is designed to be a Saltwater aquarium. Is there anything that is similar designed for freshwater?

I'm looking to get into a 20-25 gallon tank and kind of have what I want planned in my head. I just need to get it on paper and get thoughts from the board. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Thanks in advance.

Sean

 

[TheFighterFish]

Hey Sean, welcome to the tank.

To get more ideas you should go to the library and check out as many fish books as you can. Take note of what kind of fish you would like to take care of. Knowing about the fish is key to determining your equipment (such as your aquarium, light, filter, and so on).

Especially with saltwater, money can quickly accumulate. Plan everything out first and then ask questions. The people here are friendly.

Keep us updated and good luck.

 

[SCAddison]

Horse before the cart?

Okay let me lay out what is in my mind really quickly.. Please let me know your thoughts..

In a 20-25 gal tank..

I would like to have a half sand half gravel base.. purely for aesthetic reasons..

I plan on using Rocks and Live plants as my cover..

Stock would include 6 neon tetras, 2 swordtails, 2 panda corys and 2 Danios..

Any comments, questions, concerns please let me know, I am here to learn!

Sean

 

[MOsborne05]

Welcome to the tank!

There really aren't any all-in-one tanks that are 20-25 gallons. I have a Mini-Bow 7 gallon which I really like, but I'm not even sure if you can get them anymore. It comes with a 14 watt light so you can grow quite a few low-light plants. Eclipse tanks are also nice, but they are acrylic so they scratch really easily.

For something 20+ gallons, you should check out your local fish store (lfs) to see what they have available. Sometimes you can get a pretty good deal on a tank with the stand & light. It's normally better to purchase your own filter & heaters anyways, because the ones that come in kits usually aren't very good. You can also check craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums to see if there are any good deals in your area.

 

[JWright]

The aquapods are nice for saltwater nano ("small") tanks... They're pretty expensive compared to freshwater setups however.

Your LFS's probably have 29 gallons "starter kits" that you should look at. 29 gallons is a great first tank size, IMO. Try to just get the tank and stand. Ignore the filters and food and books and crap they want to sell you with the tank, it's generally cheap junk.

If you are going to want to go with live plants, you're also probably not going to want to go with the hood/light that comes with the tank. Generally speaking these don't put out enough light for most live plants.

As far as where to get filters/heaters/etc goes, you probably want to look around online. There are a lot of sites that offer very competitive pricing on these "dry goods." Generally speaking I buy tanks, stands, and gravel/sand locally, and everything else online. Poke around Aquarium Filter, Fish Tank Filters and Aquarium Power Filter Supply – Drs. Foster & Smith and when your head is about to spin right off your neck, c'mon back and let us know what you've learned

~JW

P.S. Do a fishless cycle... you'll learn a lot about the biochemistry of your tank, and your future fish will thank you (well... they probably won't actually "thank" you... and I'm not sure we want to know about it if they do...)

 

[forrestcook]

I'm on my first tank currently and have a 29 like JWright suggested. My LFS had options for tank deals... 100 bucks for tank and stand or 100 bucks for tank and filter. I got the tank and stand because, like he said, those included filters are junk.

with a 29, should you decide that's the size for you, you will certainly need a larger than stock lighting rig. mine came with a single bulb fluorescent which gave me a whopping 20 watts of light for 29 gallons. I just ordered a 2x65watt (130 watts total) compact fluorescent lighting hood to fix that problem.

with a 29 you also open up your stocking options a bit.

 

[SCAddison]

Thanks everyone for the comments so far. I'm going to head down to the LFS Davey Jones Locker to see what I kind find. I will report back later with my findings.

Other than the tank did anyone find any faults with my idea for a setup? Substrate, stocking, etc?

Sean

 

[JWright]

I'd try to go with cardinal tetras rather than neons, they're a bit hardier.

The danios will try to "recruit" other fish to be in their school if there's only two of them, so you might want to either add more or drop them.

With the swordtails, you're eventually end up with lots of swordtails... They're like rabbits.

You might want to think about something like: A dozen or so cardinals, 4-5 cories (preferably a dwarf species), and some sort of larger centerpiece, like a gourami.

Generally fewer different kinds of fish in larger groups makes for a more attractive tank.

~JW

 

[MissFishy]

Welcome SCAddison! Your stocking sounds like it might need a bit of fine tuning. If you are planning on starting a freshwater tank, take the time to read up on "cycling a tank" in either the stickies on the freshwater forum or the link in my signature. The link also has info on a basic tank set up and exactly what you will need to purchase, with a shopping list! If you plan to do saltwater...can't help you much there.

 

[FroggyFox]

I totally agree with the suggestion of a 29 gallon tank, nice dimensions not too big not too small. I have two of them

I also agree on the reading up about cycling. Be sure to buy the equipment that you want, not something you get talked into by the fish store. I'd suggest a canister filter and those guys are spot on about the lights if you want live plants. I would get all of your equipment first, get the tank settled and up and running with no fish. I'd also suggest a fishless cycle...but at the very least you ought to read up on both types so that you have the whole picture clear to make a decision. Then you have quite awhile to decide on your stocking plans. A fishless cycle will take probably 3-6 weeks depending on if you help it along and then you can put all of your fish in at once, a fish-in cycle you'd have to stock very slowly adding only a few fish every week or two...and the only way to do it immediately would be to use bio-spira.

If I were stocking a 29 with the fish you suggested I would do...

7 cardinal tetras,
3 swordtails (one male two female)
5 panda corys
5 Danios
I like the mix of danios with livebearers because you have a smaller chance of overpopulation since the danios are voracious little eaters. Personally I'd wait to add the cardinals until your tank is pretty well established and you're used to water changes etc...they can be very finicky little fish.

Oh and on the substrate, you want to look at specific plant substrates to find one that you like. If you weren't doing live plants I'd suggest not doing a mix of gravel & sand because they will not mix well and the tank will be difficult to clean since you clean gravel differently than sand. If you have them mixed together you'll end up sucking all of the sand out when you try to clean the gravel.

Welcome to MFT and the hobby!