Getting back into the Aquarium World

[Jake]

I used to be a member on here, and I love the help, and community so I decided to come here first.
So I used to have a 10g set-up I had it going very well, but the costs were getting high for everything and I didnt have the time. I was in highschool at the time. Now I just graduated high school, and I would really like to get back into the Aquarium world. I still have my 10g but I would like to get something bigger. I have looked on my local online sales forum Kijiji, which is world wide, but local there is a lot forsale. Now I live in Canada so the prices are a little higher then the US. So if someone could please help me with the following questions after reading this simple part : I would like to have a aquarium with non-aggressive fish, colorful, and have plant life growing and expanding, not too expensive, and a freshwater set-up.
1) What size should I go with? ( gallons )
2) What fish do you recommend?
3) What plants do you recommend?
4) Any tips for starting a new aquarium?
Any help would be muchly appreciated. I have a full time job, so I have a ok amount of money to spend each month.
Thanks.
Jake

 

[Guysy1110]

Welcome back into the aquarium world lol !

I would go with something like a 20-30 gallon to start off with, second hand tanks will save you some money and are normally a sweet deal.

Maybe a few tetras to start off with or maybe some guppies ?

If you want plants thats fine, but if you want high light plants you will have to buy highter wattage lights which can push the price up a lot.

My tips are to do a fishless cycle (no fish) and use ammonia or another method to cycle the tank. Other wise fish can be stressed during the cycling of the tank.

Read all of the stickies in each catagory and you will learn some more about sucsessful fish keeping

Guysy

 

[Mahamotorworks]

I say go with a 55G tank you already have fish keeping experiance. I know that when I bought my 29G it wasnt long till I wanted a bigger tank. You can always get 2 smaller tanks, say 40ish, and keep a variety of fish.

MAHA

 

[Helena21]

I think a 20g would be a good size to start off with (or mabye even a 55g if you dont want to upgrade somewhere along the line)
You could do a community set-up with mollies,platies and a school of tetras or something and some ottos for cleaning
If you want to do plants then you will need some high wattage bulb and if your good a DIY then you could make your own DIY canopy which would save you alot of money.
I suggest easy growing plants like ambulia, java moss, java fern etc.

 

[Jake]

Thank you for the quick reply. I am thinking of starting off with my 10gallon I still have I just finished giving it a very good cleaning with hot water, no cleaners, or chemicals. So if I build my own lighting then I will be able to grow plants at a reasonable rate? I want to get my 10gallon set up get it going and maybe get a bigger aquarium after my birthday March 8th. So I will have some money from there.
Thanks everyone for the information.*celebrate

 

[Helena21]

yep you should be able to grow plants sucessfully .
Good luck! keep us updated please

 

[Jake]

So I am working on setting up the aquarium tonight here is what I have so far. (Not Much Done).
FRONT VIEW

CLOSE UP

 

[Helena21]

looks really good! are you gonna cycle with ammonia?

 

[MissFishy]

Looking good! What is that fuzziness on the front? Is that bubbles?

 

[Jake]

It is the moisture from the wet gravel and the light.
Here are more pictures with water in the aquarium.
FRONT VIEW

 

[sclabman]

cool! i would get rid of the bubble stone thing... i just dont like those.

good luck!

 

[Jake]

What else could I use?

 

[sclabman]

for what? the filter usually provides sufficient water movement, especially in smaller tanks... but like i said it's just a personal preference, by all means keep it

 

[Jake]

The airbubble stone in the back is providing oxygen into the water. Not for water movement. Labman, so I do not have to have a bubble stone if my filter is moving enough water?

 

[bala_aquarium]

You should be fine with the amount of oxygen coming from your filter.I wouldnt worry about it.

 

[VirgoWolf]

Yeah, filter should be fine. The air stones and air powered decorations are pretty much a novelty more than a necessity.

 

[Jake]

Ok cool , I have always hated it the mmmmmmmmmmmm... dumb humming noise always coming out of the pump.
LOL

 

[big54bob]

i always like putting my hand on the pump
feels good

 

[Jake]

So I went to my LFS tonight and bought three plants. I will post pictures later, if someone could please identify the plants for me it would be great. My LFS does not have a clue which plants they sell and do not sell.

 

[Jake]

PLANT 1

PLANT 2

PLANT 2( Right ) PLANT 3 ( Left )

Full Tank Picture