New tank
- Thread starter randomletters95
- Start date
WELCOME to OUR WORLD 
You could do a 30g (don't bite my head off fishman) but you will either get tired of it (I can't seem to keep anything under 55g up to snuff) or end up upgrading. I always suggest to anyone looking for a tank that they scower CraigsList and find a used one there. 1.00/gallon is a good price for a tank and a 55+stand+lights+(whatever other crap they are selling with it) should be around 100.00. Don't get suckered into my tank is soooo nice crap, 100.00 is a pretty fair price, if it has an oak stand + oak hood 200.00 is probably pretty fair.
I like to use pea gravel that i buy for 3.00/bag at home depot. for 6.00 I can do an entire tank in pretty deep gravel. It has a pretty natural look to it. you should plan to wash the heck out of it, then wash it some more because it comes pretty dirty, but going this route will save you about 50-70 on the cost of gravel.
I like to stack slate in my tanks, I generally buy slate at home depot OR at a landscaping place. I use aquarium silicone to glue stacks of broken slate together then use the stacks as pillars to support other larger pieces. Fake plants are cheap at walmart.
***IMPORTANT!!!! When you set up a new tank it is important to get live bacteria going in your tank. YOU CAN"T BUY IT! the bottle stuff is CRAP.****
IF you have a friend with a tank, go there have them do a water change and swish their filter media in the dirty water to make a brown stinky muck for you. Take it home, dump it in your tank add fish. If you don't add fish the bacteria you brought home will die.
Some Local Fish Stores (LFS) will do this for you too, especially if you are buying fish there. It costs them nothing, but ya know they may or may not want to help ya out.
I gave advice on a new african tank on here the other day so im going to repeat it to you.
Hey so good choice on the Africans
I would recommend Malowi it's easier to find them If you can find the following it's how i would stock a 55G. Remember they are aggressive, some WILL likely die on you as you are establishing this tank and building it up over time. So if you stocked with say 20 in a year you would have around 12 or so decent sized fish left in a year, of the 20 I would guess 2-3 will just up and die on you, 2-3 will be beaten to death, and a few may go from disease. That being said your initial stocking should be price based. Craigs list is a good place to find breeders and cheap fish 2-5ea, LFS tend to sell them in the 8-20 range and well I just don't think a new tank is worth 8-20 dollar fish. (thats just me)
I would reccomend the following;
1 bumble bee if you get more then one be prepared for a possible war
3-5 Acei
3 (harem 2f 1m) Trewavasse (if you can find them they are my FAVE)
3-4 peacocks (they will be pricy if they are colored up males, I would grab some juviniles and wait and see what they turn into
5 electric yellows (these guys can be skiddish and you will likely lose a few)
2-3 aratus/chipoke
5 or so Zebras these come in colors and are not typically striped as their name suggests, I would suggest some red (they are actually orange) and blue maybe some OB (orange blue) calico type (various names for color choices ie blueberry etc)
1 BUSHY nosed NOT a common pleco (add him after the swimming fish as they don't tolerate meds and for the next 8 weeks you are at pretty high risk for ick)
other fun fish to maybe try are the jewels (only get 1 they are mean!) Hongi, kenyi (also pretty damn mean) living stoni (giraffe happ) venestus, I mean your options are open. In the end there is no RIGHT stocking order for a new tank, honestly fish you buy today may or may not survive the winter... People like to preach and scare people about how big these fish "could get" but we are not talking about new world cichlids here they are going to grow pretty slow, and you will lose many a long the way.
When you add the cichlids crank the heat for about 8 weeks (I like to turn it up to around 82-84), Ick and other fish diseases don't do well in warmer water and it will improve the health of your overall tank, after the 8 weeks turn the tank back down.
I would add a power head with and under gravel system (you need to put the undergravel plates in as soon as you set up the tank, once you have water and fish it's about impossible to add this) (aquaclear makes the best powerheads) as well as make sure you are running an aquaclear 70 or an aquaclear 110 filter. You will find differing opinions on the filtration but here is what i like about powerhead + aquaclear 110
-power head keeps water highly oxygenated, and water moving (if you can hook it to an undergravel filter all the better)
-the aquaclear 70 or 110 is a hang on the back unit that has a sponge as well as a biological agent, these do not need to be changed (eventually in 2-5yrs you will need a new sponge but they are like 7-10 dollars) you won't be messing with carbon cartriges that can cause mini cycles when changed
-they are reliable
-they are VERY quiet
-they move the water really well
well thats my 2 cents
You could do a 30g (don't bite my head off fishman) but you will either get tired of it (I can't seem to keep anything under 55g up to snuff) or end up upgrading. I always suggest to anyone looking for a tank that they scower CraigsList and find a used one there. 1.00/gallon is a good price for a tank and a 55+stand+lights+(whatever other crap they are selling with it) should be around 100.00. Don't get suckered into my tank is soooo nice crap, 100.00 is a pretty fair price, if it has an oak stand + oak hood 200.00 is probably pretty fair.
I like to use pea gravel that i buy for 3.00/bag at home depot. for 6.00 I can do an entire tank in pretty deep gravel. It has a pretty natural look to it. you should plan to wash the heck out of it, then wash it some more because it comes pretty dirty, but going this route will save you about 50-70 on the cost of gravel.
I like to stack slate in my tanks, I generally buy slate at home depot OR at a landscaping place. I use aquarium silicone to glue stacks of broken slate together then use the stacks as pillars to support other larger pieces. Fake plants are cheap at walmart.
***IMPORTANT!!!! When you set up a new tank it is important to get live bacteria going in your tank. YOU CAN"T BUY IT! the bottle stuff is CRAP.****
IF you have a friend with a tank, go there have them do a water change and swish their filter media in the dirty water to make a brown stinky muck for you. Take it home, dump it in your tank add fish. If you don't add fish the bacteria you brought home will die.
Some Local Fish Stores (LFS) will do this for you too, especially if you are buying fish there. It costs them nothing, but ya know they may or may not want to help ya out.
I gave advice on a new african tank on here the other day so im going to repeat it to you.
Hey so good choice on the Africans
I would recommend Malowi it's easier to find them If you can find the following it's how i would stock a 55G. Remember they are aggressive, some WILL likely die on you as you are establishing this tank and building it up over time. So if you stocked with say 20 in a year you would have around 12 or so decent sized fish left in a year, of the 20 I would guess 2-3 will just up and die on you, 2-3 will be beaten to death, and a few may go from disease. That being said your initial stocking should be price based. Craigs list is a good place to find breeders and cheap fish 2-5ea, LFS tend to sell them in the 8-20 range and well I just don't think a new tank is worth 8-20 dollar fish. (thats just me)
I would reccomend the following;
1 bumble bee if you get more then one be prepared for a possible war
3-5 Acei
3 (harem 2f 1m) Trewavasse (if you can find them they are my FAVE)
3-4 peacocks (they will be pricy if they are colored up males, I would grab some juviniles and wait and see what they turn into
5 electric yellows (these guys can be skiddish and you will likely lose a few)
2-3 aratus/chipoke
5 or so Zebras these come in colors and are not typically striped as their name suggests, I would suggest some red (they are actually orange) and blue maybe some OB (orange blue) calico type (various names for color choices ie blueberry etc)
1 BUSHY nosed NOT a common pleco (add him after the swimming fish as they don't tolerate meds and for the next 8 weeks you are at pretty high risk for ick)
other fun fish to maybe try are the jewels (only get 1 they are mean!) Hongi, kenyi (also pretty damn mean) living stoni (giraffe happ) venestus, I mean your options are open. In the end there is no RIGHT stocking order for a new tank, honestly fish you buy today may or may not survive the winter... People like to preach and scare people about how big these fish "could get" but we are not talking about new world cichlids here they are going to grow pretty slow, and you will lose many a long the way.
When you add the cichlids crank the heat for about 8 weeks (I like to turn it up to around 82-84), Ick and other fish diseases don't do well in warmer water and it will improve the health of your overall tank, after the 8 weeks turn the tank back down.
I would add a power head with and under gravel system (you need to put the undergravel plates in as soon as you set up the tank, once you have water and fish it's about impossible to add this) (aquaclear makes the best powerheads) as well as make sure you are running an aquaclear 70 or an aquaclear 110 filter. You will find differing opinions on the filtration but here is what i like about powerhead + aquaclear 110
-power head keeps water highly oxygenated, and water moving (if you can hook it to an undergravel filter all the better)
-the aquaclear 70 or 110 is a hang on the back unit that has a sponge as well as a biological agent, these do not need to be changed (eventually in 2-5yrs you will need a new sponge but they are like 7-10 dollars) you won't be messing with carbon cartriges that can cause mini cycles when changed
-they are reliable
-they are VERY quiet
-they move the water really well
well thats my 2 cents
