I haven't had a tank in YEARS and want to get an acrylic tank for my son' room. it has to fit on a 20wx17d side table in his room, so i'm thinking under 20 gallons...?
i've been looking at the nano cube, biocube 14, biorb, and the sea clear 18... i think there are many others and am open to suggestions since i know nothing!
we want freshwater, maybe heated, maybe not?? something simple in terms of maintenance since we're just starting.
so my questions are:
1- which brand is good?
2- what kind of fish should i get?
3- if i get an aquarium 'kit' should i replace any of the parts that come with (i.e. filter, heater, light, etc)?
4- if you recommend a particular tank, please let me know what other accessories i should get (filter, heater, light...)
5- what other general advise do you have? open to all of it...
thanks so much in advance for your advise... i really need it!
Is it a relatively heavy duty side table? I only ask because it needs to support over 100lbs without leaning or wobbling or anything.
Number 2- I'd recommend something hardy that could withstand some abuse. Depending on what size you settle on, a school of mollies, platy's or guppies. If you end up deciding on no heater, I'd go with Zebra Danios.
Those kits you mentioned are really designed for saltwater. They'll work for freshwater but are overkill if you ask me and are really, really expensive. You can get a 10g tank kit for well under $100 that comes with most of the needed equipment (although some don't come with heaters). Do you have a specific need for an acrylic tank? I prefer glass over acrylic because glass tanks are easier to clean without scratching. Or you could just buy a standard glass 10g tank and buy the parts for it separately. Craigslist often has really good tank deals, as well.
thanks for your input. do you know of any acrylic brands that are good? i do prefer acrylic since the views seem to be better and lighter to carry. this tank will be on my son's side table next to his bed...
however, if i were to consider a glass tank, which parts/brand and models? would you recommend i buy? heater, filter, etc....?
The Marineland Eclipse tanks are pretty nice as far as acrylic tank kits designed for freshwater use. They come with everything you need except a heater (plus decor, water, fish, that sort of stuff).
As for glass tanks, I think a standard 10g tank is all that would fit on something 20" wide. You can buy a kit that comes with pretty much everything the Eclipse kits come with or you can just buy everything individually. You'll need the tank, a canopy (I just use the plain glass ones), lights, a heater, a filter, substrate (gravel or sand), decor, a good dechlorinator (preferably one that removes chlorine and chloramine along with heavy metals and ammonia and nitrite...Seachem's Prime does all of the above), some nets, etc.
No matter what kit you go with you'll need a good liquid test kit. You'll need one to cycle the tank and it's a good tool to have anyway.
thanks, iamntbatman! i really appreciate your input. i might have some more questions in the next couple of days, if you don't mind! hey, where are you in MD? i used to live in bethesda, rockville, gaithersburg...
No problem! I live in Gaithersburg, actually. Small world, huh?
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