New Fish Tank

[jerzeepunk79]

Hello Everyone,

I am a beginner and I have some general questions....

I'm looking into buying the Marineland Eclipse 12 gallon tank. It says it is an all in one tank kit and that you just need to add gravel. I'm a little confused though because I feel like there is more too it.

I intend on buying 6 neon tetra jumbos once the tank is fully cycled. I'm also going to buy a 50 watt heater, as well as a thermometer. I will also buy a gravel cleaner.

What conditioners and solutions will I need?

I also want to get live plants, but I'll post my questions in the plant section.

Do you recommend any online stores for buying related products?

Thanks!

 

[supra1997]

First off don't buy the eclipse if you want plants and the fish you are looking at getting. If I remember correctly, the eclipse systems are the all in one tanks that have the light, filtration all in one. Bad design, not upgradeable, and doesn't filter very well. Go out and buy a nice 10-29 gallon tank, hang on filter, heater, and gravel, and be done with it. That wont cost you more than $100 total if you shop around. I believe some places sell a whole 29 gallon kit with florescent lighting, heater, and filter for around $65.00. Then you just need the stand, and gravel, and water stuff. Make sure if you are getting a small tank not to overstock it with too many fish. I wouldn't put more than 3 or so of the Tetra's in a 10 gallon, but in a 29 gallon you have plenty of room for what you want.

 

[jo3olous]

I am second to discouraging tank kit setups. Eclipse kits, bio orbs, bleh to them all. You can buy a larger tank, better filter, and heater seperate for cheaper. This will also allow you to match a lighting fixture to house whatever kind of plants you want to keep

 

[DrunkFish]

The larger the tank, the easier to maintain, especially water quality

 

[MissFishy]

The eclipse systems are also pretty overpriced for what you get. Especially if you want to get into plants, go with something you can upgrade with plant lights, etc. I've ordered things from Big Al's Online (google it) and get nice stuff. Myfishtank also has a sponsor site you can check out.

 

[jerzeepunk79]

Well I followed everyone's advice and nixed the eclipse tank idea. I had a really hard time finding an inexpensive 10 gallon tank online... maybe because I'm new to ordering supplies online? Anyway, I ended up getting the tank at walmart for about $14. I ordered the rest of the stuff from Drs. Foster & Smith -- hood, heater, mag-float, filter, gravel, air pump, etc. It was the cheapest site I could find (even compared to Big Al's).

Everything will be delivered on the 11th and I cannot wait to get started!!

Thanks again for the advice! It is much appreciated.

 

[Ammy]

Aw, if you hadn't ordered your stuff yet, I was going to say go to Craigslist. A lot of people just want to get rid of their old set ups, so even if you opt to buy a different filter or light than the one they give you, a lot of times you still get great deals on tanks. My LFS sells it's used tanks for nineteen bucks. Even the huge forty or fifty gallon longs. Nineteen bucks. Que aquatic mindgasm.

 

[jerzeepunk79]

I didn't think about craigslist at the time, and I don't really have a LFS around here. I have everything I need now.