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Spontaneous tank purchase- my new 29 gallon!

13K views 89 replies 21 participants last post by  froglady 
#1 ·
Well, here is another case of MTS! I just got a 29 gallon aquarium with stand, light, and hood off of craigslist for $10. This is going to be my project tank, and I thought I would start a thread to document its progress. I already know that I will need a new light fixture (the one it has is only rated for a 20 watt bulb) as I am going to plant it. Here's my plan of action:

-get a shop light (should I go for 2 or 3 watts per gallon?)
-get some play sand as substrate
-use root tabs and DIY CO2
-get a filter rated for 50 gallon tanks (I know a lot of people like the bio wheel ones, but what is the noise factor? The tank will be in my room, and I do need to sleep in there!)
-get a 150 watt heater
-plants!
-pick up some driftwood from a nearby lake and boil it thoroughly
-get some rocks (is granite ok?)
-cycle using fishless cycle

My 15 gallon has sort of been my trial, so I now pretty much know what I am doing as far as plants go. But, I am going to experiment with the CO2 and such first before I get any fish. I want to avoid any problems with the plants before I have to worry about fish as well (something I learned last time).

So, here comes the fun part, I really have no idea what fish I should put in there, so I am looking for imput. I already have guppies, corys, a betta, and I am getting a gourami, so I am looking for something different. Preferably something not so common as tetras, plattys and such.

So, what do you think? Any suggestions, comments, etc.? I am on a limited budget, so I will probably be purchasing a little something here, and a little something there, and Christmas is coming up! So, I have plenty of time to plan a really nice tank, and decide on some cool fish.

I will post pictures as I add things.
 
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#2 ·
34 views and no one has any ideas! Hmmm, and I thought that everyone would be trying to fill my tank with their favorite fish!

I got a heater yesterday, as I will be using this tank as a quarantine for some new fish for my 15 gallon until I get the things that I need to set it up. In a few minutes, I will be cleaning and resealing it, as well as making my own temporary filter.
 
#3 ·
I have a 29g tank with nothing in it but a Jack Dempsey. Eventually I'm going to get him a bigger tank (55+) but since he's only about 3 1/2" right now I've still got a while. I was thinking about heavily planting the tank when he's gone and getting a single Leopard Ctenopoma. It would be really cool in a heavily planted tank.

You could also try a pair of mid-sized cichlids like convicts or salvini cichlids. You could do a pair of any type of dwarf cichlids and still have room to add some other fish.
 
#4 ·
I have a Penguin 300 biowheel. It's an older one and I hardly notice it anymore. So long as the water level doesn't get low its pretty quiet.

As for fish, what about rasboras? Ya know... asian tetras.
 
#5 ·
But why not tetras? They may be common, but are so elegant, friendly and beautiful... There are many varieties to choose from as well, and they all look quite different, but for neon and cardinal tetras, I guess, well also rummies have look alikes, and others too if you think of it. But you can still find a great variety in the family.
 
#6 ·
Wow...a 29 gallon WITH stand for $10? What a great find.

How about a couple keyhole cichlids with some rummynose or bleeding heart tetra and some cories for a nice South American tank? Keyholes are peaceful for cichlids and have such cute faces. Sand substrate, plants and driftwood with a couple rock caves would complete the tank.

Or for an Asian tank how about a couple pearl gouramis with harlequin rasboras and some kuhli loaches?

Looking forward to seeing the tank progress. Have fun!
 
#7 ·
Thanks everyone for all the great responses! All the ideas sound great, and I will have to google image some of the fish that I am not familiar with.

I didn't even know that there were dwarf chiclids :lol: , and since I've never had any, that may be really fun. The loaches sound cool too. Oh, so many possibilities! :D

As for tetras, I think that I should have worded my first post differently. I do like tetras, and I was thinking of having a small school of something in my tank. I just wanted the main focus to be on a kind of fish that I have not kept yet. :D Hope I didn't offend anyone.

Anyway, I just made the temporary filter for when I put some fish in for quarantine. I used gravel from my guppy tank (this one has the best biological filtration of them all) and it is in there now until I set up the tank. Right now I am waiting for the tank to dry so that I can reseal it. I will post pictures when I set it up. Thanks everyone!

This is going to be so fun!
 
#8 ·
aww i would have jumped in here if i had seen it,
sorry i've been in a little world of my own. :(
well i liked what jeaninel suggested. :)
 
#9 ·
willow said:
aww i would have jumped in here if i had seen it,
sorry i've been in a little world of my own. :(
well i liked what jeaninel suggested. :)
Oh, feel free to continue with the ideas! I would like to hear as many as possible, and I have plenty of time to decide :D .
 
#11 ·
Since I'm pretty much new to cichlids, maybe someone could help me out. (No, I haven't decided yet, but I do like the idea.) Most of the time when I see cichlid tanks, they have a variety of species. How does this work to prevent aggression, and could I do this with the smaller species? Also, I looked up keyhole cichlids, and I liked them, then I read that they can reach 6" in length. Is this true, because wouldn't they then be a little big for a 29 gal.?

I also liked the kribensis idea, and the loach idea. Hmmm, so many to choose from. Well, I do know that whatever I choose, I want the fish to all come from the same region.

What about German Blue Rams? I have read that they are picky about water quality, but since I am too, that shouldn't be a problem.

Well, I sealed the tank, and I will post pics when I set it up tomorrow.
 
#12 ·
The idea of crowding to reduce aggression is a concept applied to stocking African Rift Lake cichlids. The tanks you see with all the differently colored fish are likely tanks full of mbuna from Lake Malawi. A 29g is, in my opinion, too small to have a good assortment of mbuna while also being able to control aggression problems. There are several smaller Rift Lake fish from Lake Tanganyika (like the smaller shelldwellers) that would do nicely in a small group in a 29g. All of the Rift Lake fish prefer hard water with a high pH. The tanks usually have sand or crushed coral as a substrate and large rock formations to provide plenty of hiding caves and territories. Shelldwellers need empty shells like escargot or murex shells to live in.

"Dwarf cichlids" usually refers to the smaller riverine cichlids from the New World as well as African river systems. Dwarf cichlids include the different apistogramma, kribensis, rams, nannacara and others. Most of these fish need a lower pH with softer water. You can't pack them together to reduce aggression - putting them in cramped quarters is a recipe for disaster since pairs will form anyway and fights will likely result in death. In a 29g tank I wouldn't want more than a single pair of any sort of dwarf cichlid, possibly with an extra female to even out aggression. However, since they're small and not usually aggressive to non-cichlids, you can safely keep other community fish with dwarf cichlids.

Even though they're small, keyholes aren't really dwarf cichlids but more like a mid-sized American cichlid. They're one of the better community cichlids though. Festivums might also work. The convicts and salvinis I mentioned are much more aggressive fish, so you probably wouldn't be able to keep anything else with them.
 
#13 ·
Thanks for clearing that up for me. I probably will want more fish in the aquarium, so I think that I will probably go with a pair of some type of dwarf cichlid. My pH is a little high (7.6), but from what I have heard about my other fish, is that most domestic fish should be fine in water with that pH. If this is not so, please tell me.

So, I'm supposed to get a few of whatever I choose, and wait for pairs to form, then bring the others back. I will have to call some fish stores to make sure they do this.

I will be setting up the tank today :D !
 
#14 ·
It's kind of weird, really - it depends on the fish. In my experience, most stores sell regular ol' kribensis as unsexable juveniles, so you will likely have to buy a few and take back the extras after a pair form. The more rare (and expensive) wild-caught pelvicachromis varieties (i.e. wild kribs) are usually sold as pairs. Apistogramma are also usually sold as pairs. Rams are usually sold as singles, but it can be difficult to find females since many rams are given hormone injections to bring out their colors that result in most of them being male.

With my kribs, I've found that they do a *lot* better as a pair if you have some sort of dither fish. Ideal tankmates would be active fish that don't really pose a threat to your krib fry yet are active enough to seem threatening. Fast fish that can easily get away from angry krib parents are best. Tetras, barbs, danios, rasboras would work well. My kribs got in fights with the gourami when they were raising fry so that might be a bad mix (as would housing a pair with any other type of dwarf cichlid). I think cories are also a bad idea. My cories barrel through the piles of krib fry without a care in the world, and subsequently got the snot beat out of them by the kribs. They never learned, got themselves some torn fins, and probably ate some fry in the process. Rams, should you get a pair, will be a pretty similar experience. Apistogramma are generally worse parents.
 
#15 ·
Ok, I think that I have my stocking plan. I have read a lot about the suggested fish so here it is;

5 kuhli loaches (they like to be kept in groups right)
6 harlequin rasboras
A pair of pearl gouramis (or should it be 2 female to 1 male?)

I was leaning towards the cichlids before, but I don't know if I am ready for any aggression right now. I would probably end up feeling bad for the fish that end up being chased by them, and set up a whole new tank for them!

Oh, and I know that I keep promising pictures, but I have been really busy this week with school and all. The tank will be in my room by today though!
 
#16 ·
no pictures
guess i'll just do this while i'm waiting then
and if i get really board then this

hope you enjoy putting the tank together.
:)
 
#19 ·
Hehe willow, your post made me laugh :checkedout: Well, I set up the newly sealed aquarium and stand today. I also got some rocks. They are granite, and I made sure that they were not flakey, or showed any metallic areas. I am going to do the acid test tomorrow (with acid from my nitrate test kit), and if everything is fine, I will be playing around with positioning and siliconing some of them together to give it more support.

Here's the tank and stand, it looks so big compared to my other tanks (5.5, 10, & 15)! I like it :lol: . I still have to do a final rinse before it gets filled, and windex the outside.

 
#21 ·
couldn't resist :wink: lol
that's a nice tank there. :)
i've used vinegar befor and wiped it off with news paper,
makes my hands a little dirty,however the glass comes up really nice.
look forward to more pictures,and walk along side you with the enjoyment of decorating and filling. :)
 
#25 ·
Yeah, I know it was a great deal! :D I had to reseal it, but that was easy. A little while ago I saw a 55 gal. tank, hood, and stand for $25! I must be lucky with craigslist :roll: .

Today I rinsed, scrubbed, scrubbed some more, and poured boiling water over my rocks. Tomorrow I will position them and use silicone to attach some of them to give it a little extra support. Then, I'm going to add my homemade filter, and a few fake plants and use it as a quarantine for 3 new corys and 2 sparkling gouramis that will go in my 15 gallon. During this time I will be getting some driftwood, sand, and hopefully ordering my supplies as well as plants. Do glass diffusers work with DIY CO2? I will post more pics of the tank w/rocks tomorrow, and some with the quarantine fish in it later this week.
 
#26 ·
Before you go crazy with the silicone on the rocks:

I have a bunch of rocks in some of my tanks, including a pretty extensive formation along the back wall of my community tank. I didn't have much sealant left when I was originally going to put the rocks in the tank, so I decided I would just let gravity do its thing and hold them in place. I don't have any "tank-busters" in there so I wasn't really worried about the fish knocking them over.

Let me tell you, not gluing them together was the best decision I ever made in regards to that tank. I've had to take all of the rocks out three or four times in order to net fish, and it would have been impossible had I glued all of the rocks together or glued them to the tank itself. If you're just making a few stand-alone caves or something, I'm sure you'll be fine, but if you're doing big rock piles or anything like that, just be prepared to never be able to net any of your fish.
 
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