Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Planning for a 20 gallon

8K views 53 replies 7 participants last post by  brownmane 
#1 ·
So my girlfriend and I are about to move (hooray!) and I am planning on installing a much larger tank. Space is not unlimited though so I'm thinking a 20 gallon should work out best.

Obviously I won't know what the tapwater is like until I move, but I will still have access to the water where we are currently living, which is darn near perfect being minimally processed spring water (chlorine is present due to state mandates but is usually very minimal).

My dilemma is what to do! There are so many choices, and I'm currently like a kid in a candy store :p

Things I am set on:
1. Planted. I love the look of natural plants and they allow me to skip the cycling process, so plants are going to be required. But what kind? In my dearly departed betta's tank I have a java fern and as it is still thriving I will probably transfer it to the new tank, but beyond that I have no idea. Maybe some betta bulbs?

2. Schools of smaller fish. I'd prefer to have a bunch of smaller fish rather than one or two larger fish. But at the moment I have no idea what kind of fish to get, everytime I see another kind of fish I go "Oh I want that one!" :-D
I do like a lot of the tetras and platys I'v seen, as well as a number of the catfish I've seen if that helps.

Anyone have some suggestions? I'd prefer fish that don't require constant observation, so aggressive species are out. I work full time so I'm usually only home at night and on the weekends (another reason for the 20 gallon, less maintenance for me).

Also how does everyone handle water changes and maintenance in a larger tank? With my betta it was easy enough to just scoop him out and put him in a cup of water while I did the water changes, but scooping out a school of fish seems like a much more daunting task, not to mention the fact that you can't just put them into a cup of water.

Also this will be my first large tank, any other things I should be aware of?
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Oh yes forgot to list the water parameters from where I currently live as this water is way better than any city water

PH 7.5
Lead and copper are both extremely low. (<.005 mg/l) Sodium is 10 mg/l and hardness is 33 mg/l.
Calcium 11ppm
Magnesium 0.95ppm
Potassium 0.83ppm
Chloride 9.9ppm
Sulfate 7.3ppm

Everything else was insignificant or not detected.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Best thing is check out the fish profiles (tabs on top). I think that is soft water. So you want a soft water fish that be in ph 7.5. Check out flame tetra (von rio) or zebra danios. They are small and would be able to fit many in your tank. I believe both don't mind that type of water.

edit: and a reason to check the profiles. I read the flame and it says ph below 7 is needed.
 
#4 ·
I was actually considering the Tetra and Danio mix. Probably going to start hitting up my local pet stores to see what they have in stock and go from there.

Anyone have experience buying live plants online? One thing my local stores are lacking is a decent selection of plants (or at least they were last time I shopped for plants)
 
#5 · (Edited)
You have a lot more options with soft water verses hard (which means guppies are out though). Bloodfin Tetras are nice looking. Dont know their water requirements off hand though.

If you go with danios, the long finned zebras are beautiful, but if you like them be causious of any tetra and make sure they arent fin nippers.

Have you thought of some smaller cories for the bottom? Albino, or even habrosus? I think Pandas would work in soft water too.

Or maybe some sparkling gourami? A shoal of 6 would look great, and you would still have room left.

Neon tetra? African Dwarf Frog? Dwarf Gourami? Honey Sunset Gourami? Dwarf Loach? Rasbora? GloFish?

Just ideas! I know what you are going through, I am about to set up a 15 gal, and debating on what to add. I mean, I will be transfering fish from my 5 gal (betta, frog, and snail...otos to my 29 gal), and will be adding the neons from the 29 gal...but that still leaves me a nice amount of room to work...just have to think about what else my betta will tolerate (thankfully he is pretty docile and comical and seems to enjoy tankmates more than being alone).

Good Luck...Cant wait to see it set up and stocked!!!
 
#6 ·
A comment on your water. Those numbers indicate soft water, about what I have out of my tap, < 1 dGH and KH [1 d = 17.8 ppm]. So that means that the pH will easily lower in an established tank. My tap water pH is 7 - 7.2 but my aquaria run from 6 - 6.4 and a couple at 5. And this is all just natural, I do nothing to affect this. So, that means your pH values for fish can be below 7 which is normal for soft water fish [there are a few exceptions]. Just opens up the options to many more fish.

This is a 20g. It will get filled very fast with the average tetra, Danio, etc. It is your aquarium and it should obviously reflect your wants, but going with smaller fish and less active fish means considerably more fish, and that means more colour and interaction and interest.

There are so many "small" fish available these days, yet so many see what is "common" in most stores, especially the chain stores like Petsmart, and they are very limiting. "Expand your horizon" in a sense, and be rewarded with a truly stunning display that will provide hours of interest.

Byron.
 
#7 ·
7.5 was my most recent reading but I'm thinking that the recent rains have made it more nuetral than normal. During the non rainy season (read most of the year in Cali) it's somewhere between 7.0 and 7.4. Very rare for it to go below 7 straight from the tap though.

A new store just opened near where I work so I'll probably go visit them tomorrow and see what they have to offer.

Also I got my birthday gift, which was the 20 gallon tank (not a surprise) and a tank stand (a surprise!). It's a 20 short, with the starter kit from petsmart. This includes: lid, flourescent light, Tetra 100 watt heater (from what I've read I'm not going to be using this, probably will just pop for a jager), Top Fin Power Filter 20 (build quality on these seems to be hit and miss, I'll probably end up buying a Marineland Bio-wheel filter), bigish net, and some food and water treatment samples. Oh and my sister picked out a decoration for the tank: a fake jaguar skull :p
 
#9 ·
7.5 was my most recent reading but I'm thinking that the recent rains have made it more nuetral than normal. During the non rainy season (read most of the year in Cali) it's somewhere between 7.0 and 7.4. Very rare for it to go below 7 straight from the tap though.

A new store just opened near where I work so I'll probably go visit them tomorrow and see what they have to offer.

Also I got my birthday gift, which was the 20 gallon tank (not a surprise) and a tank stand (a surprise!). It's a 20 short, with the starter kit from petsmart. This includes: lid, flourescent light, Tetra 100 watt heater (from what I've read I'm not going to be using this, probably will just pop for a jager), Top Fin Power Filter 20 (build quality on these seems to be hit and miss, I'll probably end up buying a Marineland Bio-wheel filter), bigish net, and some food and water treatment samples. Oh and my sister picked out a decoration for the tank: a fake jaguar skull :p
The Petsmart Starter Kits with heaters are pretty nice (buying the 15 gal tomorrow, and my 29 gal was one way back). The TopFin Heaters (I believe they are the same as Tetra), if they have the adjustable dial on the top, are actually pretty nice, I have had the same one on my 29 gal since I got it, which was a long while ago. Its a 100w and I love it. It had its issues with me trying to get it where I wanted it, but it only took a few days after I got use to how it worked, and love it som much, I will be buying one for the 15 gal of the same brand and style (as the 15 gal set up is heater-less).

As for the filter...If you want my personal opinion and experience...save your money from the bio wheel and just get an AquaClear...they are a little more expensive, but so worth it!!! Bio wheels kinda suck in my eyes. I still run my biowheel on my 29 gal, but it just didnt do its job...researched it and asked around, and everyone had the same issues...so I added on an AquaClear 50 that now works with my Marineland Penguin 150 Biowheel...AWESOME. The AquaClear alone works wonders as well. Biggest issues for me with the biowheel is 1-the biowheel stops spinning very soon, and only spins once in a while if the water comes through the cartridge a certain way (which is usually having the cartridge up too high and unable to put the lid on). Biowheel is useless if it wont stay wet for the beneficial bacteria it was designed for. And I have troubleshooted it to no end, nothing to do for it. 2-the filtration capacity is lower than desired for the sized tanks they are designed for. The only nice thing is that they can hold up to two cartridges or other types of filter media, however its a snug fit. I use the cartridges designed for it in the first slot, and in the second I use Fluval ClearMax media in pre-sealed biobags. Then my AquaClear 50 is just amazing, its using the things designed for it...foam, carbon, and biomax.

When I am ready to upgrade filters on my new 15 gal (it comes with the TopFin 20, which I will use my own bagged media on)...I will get an AquaClear.

As with any filter, maintenence and upkeep is required for continued success, otherwise even the greatest filters can and will fail. So always clean impellers and intake tubes monthly or as needed.

If you need any equipment suggestions or reviews there is a section here on TFK you can scan through, but a lot of them are a couple of years old. Or you can post a new thread, or just ask any of us. I know I have gone through all brands and styles of all kinds of aquarium products in all catagories...and through it all I have found what works well, what has faults, personal likes and dislikes, and that spending that extra few bucks is so worth it!! lol.
 
#8 ·
To answer your question about water changes, you don't need to remove the fish. Buy yourself a gravel vacuum such as this Top Fin® Gravel Vacuums - Aquarium Maintenance - Fish - PetSmart and a 5 gallon bucket. You can siphon the water into the bucket and clean the debris out of the gravel at the same time. One 5 gallon bucket would equal about a 25% water change.
 
#10 ·
I always mention this with respect to filters because it is very important: know what type of fish you intend to have before buying a filter.

I have had Aquaclear filters, but I would not select these for a 20g unless you intend keeping fish that need water currents, and in a 20g that type of fish are very limited. In a 20g with quiet fish, the sort of forest fish that Amanda has mentioned and I have hinted at with your soft water, and esp with any live plants, a sponge filter is sufficient. And it will be much less expensive.

Plan the aquarium before you buy any fish; know what you want first, then work towards it. And research any fish before bringing it home. There are many threads on this forum about aquarists who bought without doing this, and soon regretted it. And it is not easy disposing of troublesome fish.

Byron.
 
#11 ·
I always mention this with respect to filters because it is very important: know what type of fish you intend to have before buying a filter.

I have had Aquaclear filters, but I would not select these for a 20g unless you intend keeping fish that need water currents, and in a 20g that type of fish are very limited. In a 20g with quiet fish, the sort of forest fish that Amanda has mentioned and I have hinted at with your soft water, and esp with any live plants, a sponge filter is sufficient. And it will be much less expensive.

Plan the aquarium before you buy any fish; know what you want first, then work towards it. And research any fish before bringing it home. There are many threads on this forum about aquarists who bought without doing this, and soon regretted it. And it is not easy disposing of troublesome fish.

Byron.

As always, your knowledge and opinions is greatly respected by me, Byron. But I did want to point out that the outflow on the AquaClear is much slower and softer than any other HOB filter I have come across (especially the biowheel), and it is adjustable for the outflow to be even softer. I often have to double check to make sure its on because there is such a tiny current from it. But that's just my experience and opinion regarding them. :) I dont have experience with sponge filters in any manner, so I cant say how I feel about their effectiveness as a filter.

And I totally agree with planning ahead. I am having to invest way more money than I want to into my 29 gallon...as it was originally set up for cichlids, in which I quickly decided a couple of months in that I could only do dwarfs and didnt want to at that time, so have been slowly switching it to a more tropical community tank as it is now. Still need more plants, live ones. And I so wish I would have done sand instead of gravel...to switch now would be a major pain! Not to mention all the beneficial bacteria on my gravel for this long!! It would take me forever to slowly replace a section of gravel with sand!!! But the new 15 gal (getting it in like an hour), will be sand! I have thought ahead!!! lol
 
#12 ·
Thanks Amanda. The one thing i don't like about HOB filters is that in a power outage they can restart without water and burn out. I had one that did this. Mind you, that was back in the 1980's and perhaps they are different now with preventative measures.

I still do not like the water current entering such a small tank. Of course, I am talking planted tanks, where filtration is only there to move the water around minimally and pass it through media that will remove suspended particulate matter, which is where a sponge is ideal.

Most of the small forest fish we can house in a 20g are fish from flooded forests, ponds, swamps, ditches and very slow-flowing streams. It is very stressful on these fish to have to fight any sort of current, and since they must do this night and day in the closed confines of the aquarium, having no escape, it does take its toll. This is why I push minimal filtration.
 
#13 ·
Thanks Amanda. The one thing i don't like about HOB filters is that in a power outage they can restart without water and burn out. I had one that did this. Mind you, that was back in the 1980's and perhaps they are different now with preventative measures.

I still do not like the water current entering such a small tank. Of course, I am talking planted tanks, where filtration is only there to move the water around minimally and pass it through media that will remove suspended particulate matter, which is where a sponge is ideal.

Most of the small forest fish we can house in a 20g are fish from flooded forests, ponds, swamps, ditches and very slow-flowing streams. It is very stressful on these fish to have to fight any sort of current, and since they must do this night and day in the closed confines of the aquarium, having no escape, it does take its toll. This is why I push minimal filtration.
Yeah, speaking of power outages...last night the electric company was replacing some electric cells and one of the 50 apartment units effected was mine...so I was without power for 3 hours. The good thing is that my Marineland BioWheel on the 29 gallon and the Tetra Whisper 10i on the 5 gallon are self priming, so I didnt have to worry about them. However, my AquaClear is NOT self-priming, so I unplugged it after the electric went out so it wouldnt burn the motor if the power came back on and I wasnt right there to prime it (only thing I dislike about the AquaClears). But after the power came back on I primed it easily and all was well. Only lost 2 guppy fry during the outage, but I dont think it had anything to do with the power loss as none of the water parameters changed during it. I did keep a close eye though to make sure there wasnt a climb in ammonia or nitrite or anything so that I would be ready to do an emergency water change if something of the sorts were to happen.
 
#14 ·
Thanks for the input Bryon and Amanda!

Amanda I have heard just as many good stories about the Tetra brand heaters as bad stories. It seems they either work just fine or they don't work at all. :dunno:

Byron thanks for the recommendations, especially for the foam filter recommendation. I am doing a lot of research, finding out what fish are available in the area. I would prefer not to have to order fish online, but will consider it if I fall in love with a particular species. I have plenty of time and am not going to rush in to anything. I'm probably not going to move for another two weeks at least :p

Do you have any fish in particular you think I should look at?


On the research side I went to the petsmart here and wrote down the fish they had available and I thought looked interesting. Now to find out if any of them fit my water parameters and are compatible...

Also saw they had some Anubis Nana plants started on rocks for a pretty good price. Otherwise their plant selection was pretty poor (some java ferns, a plant simply listed as "tropical fern", and some grasses).
 
#17 ·
Thanks for the input Bryon and Amanda!

Amanda I have heard just as many good stories about the Tetra brand heaters as bad stories. It seems they either work just fine or they don't work at all. :dunno:

Byron thanks for the recommendations, especially for the foam filter recommendation. I am doing a lot of research, finding out what fish are available in the area. I would prefer not to have to order fish online, but will consider it if I fall in love with a particular species. I have plenty of time and am not going to rush in to anything. I'm probably not going to move for another two weeks at least :p

Do you have any fish in particular you think I should look at?


On the research side I went to the petsmart here and wrote down the fish they had available and I thought looked interesting. Now to find out if any of them fit my water parameters and are compatible...

Also saw they had some Anubis Nana plants started on rocks for a pretty good price. Otherwise their plant selection was pretty poor (some java ferns, a plant simply listed as "tropical fern", and some grasses).
Anubias is an easy plant; it attaches to wood or rock (the rhizome must not be buried in the substrate or it may rot) and prefers less light so it does well in rear corners or under floating plants where it is not in direct bright light. Algae easily forms on its leaves in brighter light, and in some cases the leaves will yellow and die from too much light.

Avoid the "fern" as i suspect that is a terrestrial plant. Many land plants are sold in fish stores and while they may look "nice" at first, they usually slowly rot when submersed permanently. Same for any "grasses" but if it is the common "Fountain Plant" (species of Ophiopogon) it can sometimes last a year or so submersed. But it is also slow growing and thus not a fast user of nutrients (ammonia/ammonium).

For fish, Amanda had some suggestion a couple of posts back. Check through our profiles (second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top) under cyprinids for many small species that love soft water, and in characins. Of the latter, Ember Tetra are beautiful, and many of the pencilfish are well suited to a 20g planted tank. The nice thing of any of these smaller fish is being able to have more of them, so even in a relatively small space like a 20g you have a large variety of colour, behaviours and interactions that makes for a very interesting aquarium display.

Byron.
 
#15 · (Edited)
1. Planted. I love the look of natural plants and they allow me to skip the cycling process, so plants are going to be required.
Perhaps this has already been mentioned, as I know both Byron and Amanda are knowledgable about fish, but I didn't notice it in scanning through their posts, so I feel the need to point out that plants do NOT allow you to skip the cycling process.

Plants help absorb nitrates, but that is the last step in the process. If you're not familiar with cycling, there are posts here and on other fish sites that explain how to do it in detail. Basically, you set up your tank, put in some source of ammonia, such as a small amount of fish food each day, then check the ammonia every few days. When it spikes and starts down, start checking nitrites. When they peak and start down, start checking nitrates. When the ammonia and nitrites are at 0 - no higher, not even .25 - and the nitrates are in the right range for the fish you are planning, your tank is cycled and ready for fish. If you don't put fish in right away, continue to add an ammonia source, so that the bacteria that are transforming the ammonia to nitrite, and the bacteria that are transforming the nitrite to nitrate don't die of starvation.

It is possible, but not advisable, to cycle with fish in the tank. However, you run the risk of losing fish to ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning, and it takes a lot longer to cycle the tank completely because to avoid this risk you have to do frequent water changes, which removes the ammonia and/or nitrite and slows the reproduction of the right bacteria. Without fish, the levels can go high enough to support a fast-growing colony of bacteria, which cycles the tank more quickly.

Also, getting some "used" filter media and/or substrate from an already cycled tank will help the process, as will adding beneficial bacteria during the cycling.

Good luck with your new tank.

By the way, very pretty betta. I love his color. Is he yours, or just an avatar?
 
#16 ·
With respect I must correct this, as it is inaccurate.

Live plants do not normally assimilate nitrates, or if they do it is either minimal or as a "last resort" to get nitrogen. Their preferred source of nitrogen is ammonium. This holds for the majority of plants we use in aquaria, and there are scientific studies I can provide if anyone wants them. But you can also read this in many books, such as Hiscock's Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants, Walstad's Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, and Kasselmann's Aquarium Pants.

When there are sufficient live plants in a new aquarium, with a few fish, there will be no discernible cycle, by which I mean that our common test kits (such as the excellent API) will usually not detect ammonia or nitrite above zero because it is so minimal. A "cycle" does still occur, as it must in all new tanks. But the live plants--provided they are sufficient for the fish load--will assimilate most of the ammonia/ammonium and they are faster in doing this than nitrosomonas bacteria. Bacteria will still appear but they will be secondary to the plants so to speak.

As the plants assimilation of ammonium/ammonia does not produce nitrite, any nitrite in the tank will only occur from the ammonia/ammonium taken up by the nitrosomonas bacteria, which is minimal as I said. The minimal nitrite will then result in the establishment of Nitrospira and similar bacteria, and nitrate will be the end product. But again, it will be minimal, due to the afore-mentioned. This is why in well planted aquaria, nitrates are always very low, often zero or certainly below 10 ppm. The fish load and plant selection has a lot to do with this, since the more fish there are (in numbers or size) the more ammonia, and the fewer plants there are the more opportunity there is for bacteria.

A word on ammonia/ammonium and nitrate. Fish produce ammonia in respiration, and the breakdown of their waste along with other organics by bacteria in the substrate also produces ammonia. In acidic water, this largely changes to ammonium, and the plants grab it fast. Faster growing plants grab more of it and quicker than slow-growing plants. In basic water (pH above 7) the ammonia produced by fish and bacteria is taken up by plants and much of it is converted into ammonium by the plants. They can also use the toxic ammonia in other ways I won't get into. Plants also have been shown to prefer ammonium from the water and not the substrate, since they assimilate it through the leaves. Ammonium is critical for all photosynthesizing organisms (including plants and algae) because it is used to produce their proteins.

In order to obtain nitrogen via nitrate, plants must take up the nitrate and then change it back into ammonium, a process termed nitrate reduction, and it appears to be a mirror image of nitrification. They do this with enzymes that only have this as their function. But this consumes a considerable amount of energy from the plant; studies show that it takes as much energy to convert nitrate back into ammonium as it does for nitrifying bacteria to convert ammonia to nitrite. Studies have also shown that the same plant species when given the option of ammonium and nitrate will always use ammonium first and only resort to nitrate when the ammonium is no longer available. Ammonium uptake is also faster; for example, the plant Pistia stratiotes was shown in a study to take up ammonium in just 4 hours, where its uptake of nitrates required a full 20 hours.

I have set up dozens of new tanks and introduced a lot of fish on day 1 and never had an issue with cycling. My latest was a rebuilding of my flooded Amazon aquascape, using a 70g aquarium with new substrate and a canister filter with new media. Plants were moved from the existing 90g tank, and then all 80 fish. Not one loss, and some of these are very sensitive wild-caught species.

Byron.
 
#18 ·
Byron,

Apparently I was misinformed previously about plants absorbing nitrates. In fact, I've been told not to put plants in a tank until the tank was cycled, though I've never followed that advice.

I have been following the discussion about ammonia and nitrites in another thread, and have read what you and Dawn said there about highly planted tanks. I've never had a tank planted heavily enough to have the effect you describe, but since you have done it I bow to your greater experience and knowledge.
 
#22 ·
In response to what kind of fish...I have a 20 gal planted tank that I started last October. My water PH is 7.4. I have had 7 lemon tetra since starting up my tank. At first their colour was just pale yellow, but within a week of settling in, their beautiful black markings on their dorsal and underneath (I'm not altogether familiar with fishy terminology) fins came out. They are active and fun to watch as they chase each other and also enjoy leaping for food at feeding time. I like the yellow fish with the green plants.

I have 2 panda cories which I love, although I did start out with 5. According to my LFS, pandas are not commonly stocked by them so I couldn't replace the lost pandas. They swim all over the tank at all times. However, I did need to add 3 more laser striped cories to make the pandas comfortable.

My laser stripe cories have been in the tank for 2 months and spend the day under the driftwood in the tank. I can only see them swimming around at night with minimal night lighting on and they quickly hide if I do anything to try and see them in daylight. In that sense, I'm kind of disappointed that I can't really watch them. But I do know they are healthy when they come out to feed at night...I just can't see what they really look like.

So that's my thoughts about what I enjoy in my 20 gal :-D
 
#23 ·
In response to what kind of fish...I have a 20 gal planted tank that I started last October. My water PH is 7.4. I have had 7 lemon tetra since starting up my tank. At first their colour was just pale yellow, but within a week of settling in, their beautiful black markings on their dorsal and underneath (I'm not altogether familiar with fishy terminology) fins came out. They are active and fun to watch as they chase each other and also enjoy leaping for food at feeding time. I like the yellow fish with the green plants.

I have 2 panda cories which I love, although I did start out with 5. According to my LFS, pandas are not commonly stocked by them so I couldn't replace the lost pandas. They swim all over the tank at all times. However, I did need to add 3 more laser striped cories to make the pandas comfortable.

My laser stripe cories have been in the tank for 2 months and spend the day under the driftwood in the tank. I can only see them swimming around at night with minimal night lighting on and they quickly hide if I do anything to try and see them in daylight. In that sense, I'm kind of disappointed that I can't really watch them. But I do know they are healthy when they come out to feed at night...I just can't see what they really look like.

So that's my thoughts about what I enjoy in my 20 gal :-D
Sounds like a nice set up you have there, brownmane. Have you considered trying to add a couple more cories to see if that might help? Or might that overcrowd your bottom? Either way, I can imagine what a beautiful color combo the yellow and the green would have.
 
#24 ·
OK so based upon what is available locally I think I am going to go with this plan:

Plants: Java Ferns, Anubis Nana, and some other Anubis varieties.

Fish: Tetras, probably two schools of different species, or one school of one species and then maybe danios? Bottom feeders I am still indecisive between Loaches, corys, or Rubber Lip Plecos.
 
#25 ·
OK so based upon what is available locally I think I am going to go with this plan:

Plants: Java Ferns, Anubis Nana, and some other Anubis varieties.

Fish: Tetras, probably two schools of different species, or one school of one species and then maybe danios? Bottom feeders I am still indecisive between Loaches, corys, or Rubber Lip Plecos.
I am very fond of my cories. My peppereds and albinos are very active, regardless of time of day, in my large community tank, but were more skittish in a 10 or 14g tank. If you have enough hiding places, plants and other decor, they might like your 20g. I would think loaches and plecos would both get too big for a 20g, but I could be wrong, as I've not had either. Just my impression from what others have said.
 
#31 ·
Good luck with your move.
I've been reading up on pH a bit lately, and from what I've gathered, for new fish enthusiasts, it is more important to have stable pH that the fish can acclimatize to than worry if it is exactly in the right zone. My pH is 7.4 in a planted tank and I have (as mentioned above) lemon tetras and panda and laser stripe cories:)
 
#32 ·
Woo! We get the keys tomorrow! Moving starts in earnest on Saturday, and should be all moved in by Sunday. Which means next week I can start acquiring stuff for my tank.

First step will be finding gravel, driftwood, and other inanimate tank stuff. Got to get a better heater and a sponge filter too. Then plants then maybe next weekend fish!
 
#33 ·
Starting to accumulate stuff for my aquarium. Got a piece of driftwood today as well as a gravel vac.

Now I'm reconsidering my fish mix. I think I want to go with a pair of dwarf gourami and a group of tetras (probably a long finned variety of some sort). And cories down the line.

How many fish would be good for this set up? 2 dwarf gourami, 6 tetras, and 4 cories? More? Less?
 
#34 ·
Starting to accumulate stuff for my aquarium. Got a piece of driftwood today as well as a gravel vac.

Now I'm reconsidering my fish mix. I think I want to go with a pair of dwarf gourami and a group of tetras (probably a long finned variety of some sort). And cories down the line.

How many fish would be good for this set up? 2 dwarf gourami, 6 tetras, and 4 cories? More? Less?
Depends on the tetras, as if they are fast swimmers, the gourami wont appreciate it very much. And a lot of tetras are known for nipping and tend to nip at gourami because they are slower and have that breathing thing (I know the name of it but cant remember how to spell it, starts with an L, like labrinth or something to that effect.) I also hear that very colorful fish can bring out aggression in male gourami (even the dwarf). If you do two dwarf gourami, I recommend a male and female pair to avoid aggression as best as possible, or maybe both female. And for cories, I would go 5-6. If doing gourami, you might want to look into 6 rasbora instead, as they are slower swimmers and a better fit with gourami. I do suggest reading up on dwarf gourami in the profiles here, as they come with their own risks.

Wanted to mention that if you are planning on doing live plants, sand is probably a better option than gravel, and even though cories are fine with gravel, they do tend to prefer sand. (I have mine on gravel...and if it wasnt such a major pain to switch my established 29 gallon from gravel to sand, I would so do so...but too much beneficial bacteria to lose. Still might do it many more months down the road as I would like it fully planted like my 15 gal as well.) At least I did my 15 gallon in sand, and even though it was a slight pain, it was so worth it! Of course, unless doing loaches or dealing with certain plants, substrate is a personal choice.

Good Luck, and cant wait to hear what you go with and to see pics of it set up. If you need a link to the cycling article here on TFK let me know...if not its in the top of the freshwater aquarium thread list titled something like "A beginners guide to cycling an aquarium".
 
#35 ·
Yes, I too would reconsider the dwarf gourami. If you really like this fish, have a look at the very similar but slightly smaller and more "freindly" honey gourami, also in the profiles [click the shaded names...]. Probably a better fit for a smaller tank with other fish.
 
#36 ·
Purchased a Jager 75watt heater, 20 pounds of eco complete substrate, and a Duetto DJ-100 filter.

Got a cool piece of mopari wood soaking right now, should be ready by the time the substrate arrives

Not looking forward to making 20 gallons of treated water though...

Is it best to put in the water treatment before or after putting the water in the tank?
 
#37 ·
Doesn't really matter since you don't have any fish yet. Just fill up the tank then add your water conditioner.

Post some pics of your progress. We love watching a tank build.:)
 
#38 ·
Hoping to add some photos soon, don't have internet at the house yet so that's complicating matters.

And now I'm changing my mind on what type of fish to get again! :lol:

Now I'm considering a female betta tank. Why I didn't think of this sooner I don't know.

I will probably end up setting up and planting the tank next weekend. So fish maybe the weekend after?
 
#39 ·
I would suggest taking a little more time before adding your fish. The tank does need to cycle to make the environment safer for your fish. Take the time to dream and plan. IMO you will be happier, you will have a better fish survival rate and if you spend the time choosing your fish, the last thing that you want to experience is the death of a beautiful fish.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top