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beginner help!

2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  jeaninel 
#1 ·
alright, here is the deal. i have had a 10gal tank for a few months now and im looking at upgrading in size and fish. i have found a 55 gal and a 30 gal for sale that i could afford. which one should i get and what kind of fish are cool? both tanks come with heater and filter and so on. i would like to have a good number of fish in the tank so i guess they would have to be fairly friendly. any advice is welcome...thanks guys!
 
#2 ·
in my opinion you should always get the biggest one you can afford because if you dont, you will be kicking yourself later on and then go back and get it anyway. as far as the fish, you need to post some kinds that you like and i'm sure there are some smart people on here that can then tell you what will work as far as the ones that can live with each other.

Steve
 
#3 ·
Yep, I agree. Not only will you want the bigger tank anyway (as it holds more fish and bigger fish) but the larger the tank, the easier it is to take care of. Increased volume means decreased temperature and chemistry changes, which means a healthier environment for your fish.
 
#6 · (Edited)
The quickest way to safely get into a new larger aquarium is to set it up and fill it with dechlorinated water. Once everything is running and the temperature matches the tank you already have, move the fish and the filter from your old tank to the new one. That way you will have a mature filter on the new tank that has enough bacteria in it to deal with the fish load in it. After all it has been dealing with those fish for a while already. Once the two filters have run together on the new tank for a month or more, the new filter on the large tank will be mature enough to take care of the tank by itself. After that just stock slowly and you never need to go through a difficult cycle again.
If you left the small filter running on the big tank all the time, it would give you one to use if you ever want to set the 10 gallon up again because it would stay cycled.
 
#7 ·
be sure to also check your PH levels and temperature in the new water to make sure they match that of your old tank before transfering over your new fish! I made that mistake when going to from my 20G to 55G and lost some fish....Good Luck!!

John
 
#8 ·
Hi. Do you have a test kit? Don't use the test strips. They are inaccurate. You'll need a good liquid test kit like API Freshwater Master Test Kit Freshwater Master Test Kit to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and Ph. These are usually about $30 at the LFS but you can find them for cheaper online. A cycled tank will have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and nitrate should be kept under 40ppm with under 20 being preferred.

You will really enjoy the 55 gallon. It opens up so many more options for stocking than the 10 gallon. Also, keep your 10 gallon handy. It would make a great QT or hospital tank. Good luck!
 
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