anybody have an aquarium?

[jbrentn]

i am contemplating getting an aquarium. the size range i'm looking at is anywhere from 28 to 40 gallons. this will be my first aquarium in a long time, so i was wondering where you got them and what kind of set up you have. any advice and input is appreciated. thank you.

oh, and for freshwater fish, not saltwater.

 

[Lurkerinthewoods]

Get the 28 and set it up to run for about a week without fish to establish the water. You can still add some salt to freshwater tanks to help the fish fight off sickness issues. Plus with the salt added you can get Ghost Shrimp...

 

[Grendel]

In my youth I was an aquarium buff. Still am, just don't have any any more. I had five separate tanks all freshwater, the biggest of which was 30 gallons. I got to the point where I was breeding some and trading the young for more aquarium gear. There used to be a pretty big aquarium store in OKC up on North MacArthur I think?

I would suggest going to your local book store and picking up a copy of Tropical Fish Hobbyist from the magazine rack. Should be a good starting place to start reading and getting familiar with gear and techniques, etc... I always spend a lot of time reading before I jump into a hobby. A lot of stuff has changed since I was in it 20ish years ago, especially with lighting. Also make sure to buy a test kit and stick to a regular water testing regimen. I lost a whole 20 gallon tank due to high ammonia levels once. And if you are going to keep warm water fishes, you can't spend too much money on the heater. Buy one rated for 1 1/2 times the tank capacity that you are going to put it in. I always used Visa Therm. One of my current co workers had a little tank that he started, and lost everything because the El-Cheapo heater he bought at Wall-Mart cracked and electrocuted all his fish. He decided to get a dog after that!

There's several different filtration methods, and reading up in TFH will help you figure out which type you want to use. And I would start out with hardy fishes like mollies, neons/cardinals, some of the African Cichlids, angel fish, etc...Stay away from discus, those are advanced hobbyist fishes. If you plan to put live plants in your aquarium, you almost have to have a separate quarantine tank that you keep highly medicated as the new plants will ALWAYS bring snails, and some other parasites with them. Putting the plants in the quarantine tanks for a week before transferring them to the main tank will kill the snails and other free loaders.

Aquariums are a hell of a lot of fun, but time consuming, and will empty your pocket book faster than you think.

 

[rebelracer79]

We have a 60 gallon saltwater setup, but with saltwater, if you have a cheap setup (like me) it's more maintenance than a freshwater and of course the fish are more pricey too, but if you have it setup right they are almost maintenance free

 

[Werewolf]

Take your time...

Do the research...

Decide what you want and make a plan. The type of fish you want is critical to the type of tank you will want to put together and the size. For example look at DT's tank. Cichlids. Notice all the hidey holes? Critical in a cichlid tank.

If you just go out and buy what ever strike your fancy, put water in it and fish you will end up being disappointed.

AND as Danny Tanner said: Learn about how to cycle a tank! I've done it fishless and with fish. Both work. Never had a fish die cycling with hardy fish.

 

[Sooner67]

Mine is Salt and its a 75 gallon full reef tank,we had fresh water for several years.If you get alot of fish keep your water changed often and running carbon keeps your water clear and helps take the fishy smell out.Do a ton of research and take your time and dont get in a hurry.

 

[Buddhaman]

We have 2 tanks, one 55 gallon and one 50 gallon. The 55 has a few smaller fish, 1 pleco, and 1 Blood Parrot (hybrid cichlid). The 50 gallon has 4 large angelfish, 2 pictus catfish, and a few smaller fish. Both are freshwater and both are pretty easy to maintain. Like everyone said, cycle the tank prior to putting fish in. Then decide what fish you want and determine what will be friendly to them. Get some test kits to keep an eye on the ammonia and some various other things. It's fairly pricey to buy an aquarium, stand, gravel/rock/sand, decorations, fish, filter, heater, etc. but if you can afford it then just be safe when you start and always use a water conditioner to make tap water safe!

 

[Danny Tanner]

Cycling with hardy fish is an option, but it still puts stress on the fish. You can also try cycling with plants or with fish food.

I was a first-timer and as a first timer, I recommend the ammonia method. Get pure, non-dyed, non-scented ammonia from Ace Hardware (http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1307957). Even though Ace doesn't have any single bottles listed on their site, they sell these by the bottle. I paid less than $5 for mine. It's the same crap your elementary school janitor used to mop the floors with. So smelling it (it stinks) might remind you of that kid from 3rd grade that puked up their Rice Krispies in the cafeteria floor, but it's an awesome way to cycle a tank. Basically, fish waste creates ammonia, ammonia is eliminated by nitrates (or nitrites). Without nitrates (or nitrites), your fish would die from ammonia poisoning. Cycling with ammonia "tricks" your tank and filter into thinking there's fish waste, so once the bacteria is there to consume the ammonia properly, the tank is ready for fish.

This link is blocked for me at work, but I believe this is the calculator I used to determine how much ammonia to use: www.fishforums.net/aquarium-calculator.htm. Follow it exactly. It took about 30 days to cycle my tank. I know some people don't have the patience to do that for a bunch of stupid fish, but patience will pay off and you'll avoid stress, disappointment, and lost $$$ by doing things correctly the first time. Do not listen to the PetSmart employees who will tell you "just let the water sit for 24 hours to remove the chlorine and then add your fish" as odds are, you'll end up with a tank full of dead fish.

In my case, my types of fish benefit from having a more natural tank setup that includes a sand substrate, stones and flat rocks to allow for hidey holes to act as homes, bully retreats, love nests, etc. If you're going to use heavy stuff like stones, pick up those plastic grid-style fluorescent light diffusers (also found at Ace Hardware) and cut to size. This way you're dispersing the pin-pointed weight of stones and rocks across the diffuser and not directly on the glass.

Invest in quality lights and filters. You don't have to buy a $1,000 LED setup, but do make sure know what type of light spectrum will benefit your fish the most and go with that. Filters that come with tank kits are fine in the beginning, we used one to cycle and for the first 2 weeks after stocking before weening over to our Eheim canister filter), but invest in a quality, reliable filter and keep the kit filter as a backup.

Research what fish you want and research what other fish, invertebrates, and plants they will get along with. You don't want to spend $$ on shrimp because they look cool only to find out within 3 days they've become fine dining for your bastard fish. They will all benefit from different environmental factors, too, like pH. In my case, even with cichlids, not all cichlids (even African cichlids) make perfect tank mates.

Invest in quality testing equipment and water treatments. API seems to be the recommended testing supply kits, these can be found at any pet store. You'll want nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, and pH kits. I also like API's stress coat (used to eliminate chlorine after tank cleanings/water changes) and their aquarium salt.

I use a Python no spill clean n fill to vacuum/clean and do water changes. It hooks up to the kitchen faucet and uses water pressure to vacuum the sand as well as drain and fill when doing water changes. Not a necessary tool, but it definitely saves a ton of time when it comes to cleanings (I can do a full clean and water change in less than 30 minutes using one of these).

We picked up our tank kit at PetSmart for either $400 or $600 and it included the stand, aquarium, light hoods, lights, and filter. We spent at least twice that amount total after buying supplies, fish, etc. So it's definitely not the most expensive hobby, but it's also not as cheap or easy as picking up a tank off Craigslist for $20, filling it with water, letting it sit for 24 hours, throwing some fish in and adding an oxygen pump for neat bubbles and calling it a day.

Doing it wrong will only lead to frustration, doing it right will be very rewarding. I felt honored in the fact that after only being stocked for 2 months, my fish were already mating, which is a sign that they're happy and healthy.

I'm by no means a professional aquarist, so the best thing you can do is research, ask questions, research, ask more questions, and research again. It's more work than you may have first expected, but it's totally worth it.

 

[white92coupe]

Where are you at in OKC? I have a 70 gallon African Cichlid tank myself. I also work at Wet Pets by Steve in Norman. If you would like to come down I would be more than happy to show you all you options for starting a tank up, and give you any advice to help you along the way.

Also, for those of us that already have tanks we do free water testing for all customers. If any of you have any questions feel free to PM me or visit us at the store. Everyone that works there is a hobbyist.

 

[Buddhaman]

Where are you at in OKC? I have a 70 gallon African Cichlid tank myself. I also work at Wet Pets by Steve in Norman. If you would like to come down I would be more than happy to show you all you options for starting a tank up, and give you any advice to help you along the way.

Also, for those of us that already have tanks we do free water testing for all customers. If any of you have any questions feel free to PM me or visit us at the store. Everyone that works there is a hobbyist.

You guys are my wife's favorite place to go! Definately helped us alot when our tanks had some nitrate problems and now we just get our water from you guys to do our changes!