Planted tnak or not?

[Abercrombie6202]

Well this is troubling me I hate my tnak and i hate some of my fish!! Some don't even go good with eachother
i bought them to test, but PETCO won't take them back!!

1. MY tank 20 gallon, it is ugly, i swear it is fake, looks better then other tanks i have had in the past, but it has emerald green gravel mixed with black, 6 fake plants, 1 live plant that is dieing, and 1 fake rock decortaion!!
2. Should i change everyhting? put new gravel in, new live plants, lower the PH, and give my fish i love away?

I have 5 or 6 barbs and i don't want them and nobody will take them, except my friends, but my friends don't tkae care of their overcrowded, algae growing, snail infestated tanks and i don't want them dead!! MY livebearers are gentle and never get some food unless they attack the barbs and my puffers are always the last to eat!! What should i do????????

I so want a tank so i cna have a South American species tnak, but my UNcle said "NO" and he doesn't understand how much i love this hobby, i love animals to much and i jsut want everything i cna't help going to the pet store everyday and i can;t help buying more fish, but my tnak is getting crowded and he won't let me get another tnak, i'm so confused i don't know what to do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[1979camaro]

I think the first step would be to calm down....

Do you have a job? This stuff is expensive and money doesn't grow on trees (I probably sound like your uncle)...but seriously, setting up a whole tank is going to run at least $200 I would say if you want anything decent sized, especially something big enough for a cichlid

If you want my honest opinion what you should do, if you really are so disatisfied is not get a new tank, but try to re-work the one you have...scrapping everything and starting over is going to be expensive...very expensive.

Gravel is cheap...you could replace that completely for around $15 or $20 I would think. You won't have this emerald green problem you don't like that way.

Live plants are not cheap...they are at least 2 dollars each I would say, to fill a twenty gallon plus light it is going to be pricey if you are on a budget. Here is a link to something luvfishes gave me
http://members.carolina.net/hyrb/lighting.html that I found very useful if you do go that way. Will make lighting much cheaper...

For rocks, if you want something mroe realistic, just go pick some up from the ground...talk to some other folks about what they recomend for cleaning cause I've never gone that way. Driftwood is really nice (imo), and depending on where you live (I think NY if i recall) it should be possible to find something to use...again clean it well


You can't deal with the pH until you know how you want to stock the tank...is there not a LFS that is not a chain where you could donate the barbs? Do you like the livebearers? it sounds like you do, so why not try to keep them and the puffers and ditch the barbs...

I think mostly you need to manage your purchases more...I see a lot of times your posts where you buy something spur of the moment and then ask if it will work...perhaps try the other way around...do some research before you buy anything...petco isnt going to run out of whatever it is, and if they do, it will always come back in the next time they re-stock

I don't want to sound preachy, but this probably will anyhow...I think you need to spend a lot more time figuring out what you really want out of your aquarium...go through the toptanks and the freshwater profiles, see what appeals to you, read the descriptions, and then ask people here what they think...there are a lot of knowledgeable folks around, I am not one of them sadly, so i can't help much with compatability, but I like to think I have a fairly clear head on my shoulder...

feel free to drop my a line on IM at rabid caribou if you want to chat some

 

[Mike]

at my PETCO they are selling 10 gallon tanks for $10.99 but in some of the other PETCOS they hide them and don't tell you about them. try asking if they have them at your store. but they are only the tank with no top, filter, heater, gravel, plants, etc. i'm gonna but one and make the top and put some florescent lights in it to save me about $20. i might even just make my own 20 or 50 gallon tank but it depends if i tank out some stuff from my crowded room. if you want a bigger tank it will almost always be cheaper to make your own tank. ask your uncle how much money the materials cost and try to convince him to help you by telling him how much money you will save.
~~MIKE

 

[kittyfyinc]

Wal-mart had tanks that were 10 gallon with hood and filter(whisper) for only $30.00. I am not sure if they have them but they could go on sale again around Christmas.
Also check if a LFS might buy your loved but unwanted fish ..even for a store credit.

 

[aznpanther98]

i think petco still overcharges on that 10gal mylfs sold me a 10gal by itself for like 6-7bucks and i did my own lighting i got off that website camaro gave ya, that can cost around 20-30bucks bulbs are more expensive just make sure u get the right bulbs some are really yellow some are slightly blueish we have one for the porch thats sabled 50chroma but anyways for filter i just used a powerhead one in my 30gal one in my10gal both on sponge filters pointed down to avoid surface agitation around free from my uncles old tank, gravel i had some leftover from one of my tanks and put that in but i think 6 bucks for 5lbs i think, plant all i did was get a couple plants in a plant pckage on ebay and eventually they overtook my tanks if ur patient enough just put a couple of lowlight plants if u aren't gonna do that gutter lights on my ten gal alone i spent around 75 bucks all for the DIY lighting, filter tank gravel and heater which reminds me i need a new one (always remember about ur heater when u change the water)

another way to get plants probally is see if anyone are willin to send ya some plants by mail or something just pay couple bucks for shippin+handlein i got some watersprite that way they were barely muh pretty smal but now after couple months they just growing like crazy

also just do alot of reserch on the plants if u going with plants same thing with fish i didn't have perfect tank when i fisrt did the plant tank but now it looksreally nice not like some of the ones here but wish i had a digi cam to show ya all

 

[Jenniferhowe]

Silk Plants

Best way to go, if you don't have allot of money is Silk Plants. There are allot of nice looking Silk Plants out there. At PetWarehouse.com they have really nice silk ones that are resonably priced. Very real looking too. I'm going to buy some for my 6 gallon Eclipes, because I can't get enough wattage in there for real plants. I've been fooled by photos shown to me on the web. I had to guess it the plants were real or fake. I said real and I was wrong, They were all silk plants.