New to Aquariums

[Geradmg513]

I am new to aquariums but I finally decided to get one. I have a freshwater 37 gallon tank with a Penguin Bio wheel 200 filter, 200w heater, Fusion 500 air pump, 1 12" air stone in the middle of the back and two 4" air stones in the corner. I have Marineland LED hood and light and some fake plants, assorted rocks etc. I am now debating on what fish I would like to put in it. I know I have read it's best to add them gradually and to not over stock the tank. I am wanting some colorful fish that are also peaceful. I do like Chiclids but I know if I go with them I won't be able to do any other type of fish. Here are some of the fish I was thinking of

-Cory Cat
-Bala Shark
-Loach
-Suck Catfish
-Tetra
-Mollie
-Pleco
-Angelfish

I know some of them will grow and I will eventually need a larger tank and upgraded heat and filtration and I am fine with that. I just figured this would be a good set up to start with. When adding fish how often would you add in a new one? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[exhumed07]

seems like a solid setup. first off u want to read up on the ammonia/nitrite cycle. you want to go with some hardy fish like some danios to get the cycle taken care of and then replace those with the perminant fish. in a tank that size i'd say the cories are a good choice or another bottom feeder like dojo or koolie loaches. don't get a common pleco, it will get to big for the tank. stick to a dwarf veriety like a clown or bushy nose.. angels will eventually need a larger tank. neon tetras would be good. and i personally would go with guppies over mollies. more color and veriety in my opinion.

there is a general guidline for the amount of fish for a tank. it's 1 inch of fish per gallon. so a neon can get to about an inch so say 10 of those. and 2 koolie loaches and u are up to about 22 inches already. add a bushy nose pleco and u are up to about 30 inches once it is full grown. then add in about 6 guppies and the tank is stocked. as an example thats how u will have to figure out the stocking of the tank. and as a beginer i suggest u follow that guidline and as u get more experienced u can kinda bend it a little.

as for adding new fish there is not realy an amount of time between adding fish. but there are some things u can do before adding the new fish. feed the fish in the tank so they are not hungry. and leave the lights off for a while before adding the fish to make them more or less sleepy and less agressive. but most of the fish mentioned are not agressive and u shouldn't have any agressive problems.

some pics of the tank would be nice to so we can see what u have setup

 

[Geradmg513]

I should have pics early next week I have not set everything up yet. Its actually a 350 Bio wheel not 200. I have 45lbs of gravel as well. Rhanks for your input! I'll post mi pics once its up and running

 

[Thyra]

I will add platies to the above list. They don't get quite as big as mollies and they certainly come in a lot of colors and are very active. I got some that the lfs called green tuxedo, and another that was almost red, and there are also "bumble bee" ones that are yellow and black or black and white. I also have a male betta in my community tanks.

 

[KcMopar]

Your filter is fine, be sure to use the bio wheel. And as mentioned read up on the cycle deal!!! It will save you money and from killing several fish. http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...eshwater-beginner-stickies-read-me-first.html . My personal way to cycle a tank (fishless cycle) is to throw in a piece of fresh (frozen is fine too) de shelled shrimp into the new tank and let it nature take its course on cycling your tank. Also a fact that is never really mentioned is that the cycle is a never ending cycle. It never stops so you much do weekly or bi-weekly water changes as the nitrates in the tank will build up and cause your fish to become ill and die. Nitrate is normally not harmful to fish until it gets over 80PPM but a good habit is not to let it get over about 20PPM so you can easily maintain the tank to healthy levels so you have pets that are happy and live a long time.

 

[exhumed07]

yeah the 350 is definatly better. i run those on both my 30 gallons and i run 2 on my 55 gallon. good filters but they do not like sand. i have to replace the impellers about every 2 years or so cause the sand eats up the shafts. but no issue with gravel. and make sure u clean everything with good hot water. and don't use soap. just want to get any left over chemicals or whatnot off the stuff u buy before it can get into the tank water. also rinse out the gravel. and as for the cycle, it can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks. if u happen to have a friend that has the same filters and an already established tank u can always switch out filters with them. that will pretty much instantly cycle the tank. i use instantly pretty loosly but what cycle u will have will be very minimal.

 

[Geradmg513]

yeah the 350 is definatly better. i run those on both my 30 gallons and i run 2 on my 55 gallon. good filters but they do not like sand. i have to replace the impellers about every 2 years or so cause the sand eats up the shafts. but no issue with gravel. and make sure u clean everything with good hot water. and don't use soap. just want to get any left over chemicals or whatnot off the stuff u buy before it can get into the tank water. also rinse out the gravel. and as for the cycle, it can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks. if u happen to have a friend that has the same filters and an already established tank u can always switch out filters with them. that will pretty much instantly cycle the tank. i use instantly pretty loosly but what cycle u will have will be very minimal.

The girl at the pet store said she would cycle for 4 weeks and she said she used Zebra Danios and Neon Tetras through out the cycle. I will read up on the sticky though as well. I'm looking forward to it though!

 

[Geradmg513]

The tank is 31 long x 24 tall x 12 wide. The only reason I stated I can move to a larger tank eventually is because I am moving to a larger house in the spring. I had read up on both the cycling with fish and without. From what I understood from it was that everything including gravel, decorations, and fake plants should be cleaned and rinsed thoroughly with hot water to remove all chemicals (no soap water) and once everything is in place and set up to fill it up with clean water if possible and if using tap use a water conditioner which eliminates the chlorine content. After that I put in a small amount like 1/4 cup ammonia into the tank and check the level 24 hours later. I continue to do this until the tank develops it's eco-system that will automatically get rid of the ammonia on it's on. I also got that if I used items like bio wheels, or items from an established aquarium it can help to expedite it. The girl at the pet store said she does the fish cycle for 4 weeks using danios and tetras and basically let's nature take its course.

Regardless I just want to do it right. I got a Betta a few months ago and I started with a 2.5 gallon tank, carbon filter, air stone, heater, air pump, fake plants etc. He seems a lot healthier and happier than any fish I see in little bowls or cubes.

 

[exhumed07]

bettas are pretty easy fish for the most part, there is something in my water that kells them though lol. every fish i have does absolutly great except them and i need to buy distilled or ro water for them. and i personally like the fish in cycle myself. but i have tanks where i can interchange the filter media and have pretty much no cycle to deal with at all. but gravel, deco, filters that have been in an established aquarium will help because they have the bacteria u need for the cycle and helps to jumpstart it. also u don't need to use a water conditioner if u are on well water unless u want to. but if u are on municiple water it is a must. as for haveing a specific time line for the cycle is not entirely right. to say 4 weeks may not be true. it may take that long, it may be quicker, or even longer. bioload, size of the fish, size of the tank all play a factor in it. but the best bet is just to keep watching the water tests. once ammonia drops to 0ppm then concentrate on the nitrites. once they drop to 0ppm and u see nitrates come up u know u are cycled.

 

[Thyra]

So far the idea of having your own liquid test kit hasn't been mentioned and that is the most important part of the whole process. Also I am also worried about using the ammonia because personally I found it difficult to find PURE ammonia without surfactant or scents - and you definitely don't want to do that!

 

[exhumed07]

if u go to a farm supply store they usually have it for gardening purposes, at least thats where i have found it. and having your own test kit is a good idea. i'm an API fan myself. and make sure whatever brand u get. buy liquid test kits. they are alot more accurate then the test strips. a good api test kit that checks ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph, and general hardness will run about 30 bucks but it's everything that u will need.

 

[Geradmg513]

I understand the concept and general process of cycling but I am getting mixed answers about the procedure as far as adding to the water whether it be ammonia or a bacterial agent chemical etc. Also what is a good and reasonably priced testing kit?

 

[lauraf]

The problem with using a bacterial agent is that some of it is kind of snake oil. It may - or may not - have beneficial bacteria, that may - or may not - have been preserved properly during the shipping and storing process. The other problem is that you don't just need to establish the beneficial bacteria, you need to feed it - which means a source of ammonia. A lot of the bacterial agents are intended for treating the water and adding fish right away, meaning the fish provide the food source, but if the agent doesn't work, then you are stuck with an ammonia spike in an uncycled tank and that means large daily water changes to try to save the fish.
I have never done it, but I like the sound of KcMopar's shrimp-in cycle...

 

[exhumed07]

as u can see there are multiple ways to achieve a cycle but it all comes down to u need a source of ammonia be it rotting shrimp, out of a bottle, or produced by fish and a source of nitrites, produced by rotting shrimp or fish to get tha bacteria established into the tank to further proccess what the fish produce. and it HAS to monitored every day. this is one of the things a few of us are pretty passionate about. informing people about the cycle as most pet stores either don't know and don't bother and people buy fish and then they die and they don't know y and get discouraged thinking it's to hard and to expenssive when it is in reality a very simple and can be a rather cheap long run hobby. obviously it can get expensive but can be done pretty cheaply. so not only hear what we have to say on cycling but reasearch it for yourself and take all the info that u get and combine it all for a complete understanding. u can get info on about anything on youtube and then cross reference it on here or vice versa. there is a wealth of information out there. use it