Beginner freshwater aquariumm helppppp

fishboss

hey everyone im a beginner and i want to start at freshwater aquarium theres a listing for a 90 gallon aquarium with stand, lid, light, heater, and gravel vacuum, but no filter for $500, i might be able to bring it down to $400.

is that a good price for a 90 galllon aquarium?

and also how much would it cost besides this aquarium to setup and maintain this tank, how much would a filter cost for this tank and everything else.

are freshwater tanks easy to take care of for a beginner ?

thanks for the help

ladayen

Freshwater tanks are easier to maintain then saltwater tanks. An appropiate filter for a 90 is going to cost a couple hundred new. The Rena xp3 or Fluval FX5 are both suitable I believe, you can double check on those. Without a proper filter $500 or even 400 isn't really that great of a deal, not horrible but nothing special really.

In addition to what you have listed you will need a test kit to check your water parameters. Api Master test kit is about $35 and should last up to 6 months. A couple of nets as well, they are a couple dollars a piece. Water conditioner is $15 or so and should last a couple months as well. Of course food, price varies widely but dont be cheap on that. It will have an effect on your fish. You will need substrate(Gravel or sand) as well. Decorations can be pricey sometimes but there are often cheap alternatives. What is appropiate depends on what fish you are planning on.

PENN

hi welcome. yeah you sould be able to get it down 50 bucks.yeah awsome that you wana get into the hobby.its fairlly simple to have a heathy community tank for bigginers if you do your research and ask lots of questions.dont be shy

fishboss

alright thanks so you think its a rip off even if i get it for $400 ? and also is it pretty easy to maintain freshwater tanks? when should you clean your tank and stuff ?

ladayen

Not a rip off, just dont see it being anything all that special. Doing a 50% water change every week is recommended. With a larger tank like a 90g you may also want to invest in a "python" a hose that you can connect directly to a tap. Those cost about $25-50 depending on length. Rinse off filter media and vacuum the gravel once a month, not at same time though.

It can take a bit to get things running smooth but once that happens it takes little effort to keep it going.

CAangels16

maintaining a freshwater tank is nothing too difficult, you just can't be afraid to put some time into it. Just like anything else in life, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.
I would say that $400 is a good deal for all of that, is it a nice stand? because new stands alone can cost $400 for a 90 gallon tank.
For your filter you can choose to go one of two routes, either a canister filter or a power filter. Canister filters are much more expensive, but do a better job than power filters. My preference is an Aquaclear powerfilter though. I like this filter because it is set up like a canister filter but it hangs on the back of your aquarium. This filter also allows for a great exchange of gasses and airates the water really well, which is something that i don't think canister filters do a very good job at.
To maintain this tank, you can do water changes every other week, about 15 gallons. Or even better would be to do that every week if you want a thriving tank :)
If you keep things rather simple, then this will be a great project/hobby for a begginer!

fishboss

alright thanks alot.. i brought the offer down to $350 with tank and stand, light bar, heater, and python hose. ill post a picture of how the tank looks like with stand.

http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc...3252gj_20.jpeg


is it worth $350 you think? and also on top of that how much would i spend to keep tank running.

CAangels16

Based off of the picture it seems like that would be fair market value.

Once set up and you have all the cleaning tools, test kits, ect. all you really need to do is change the water and keep it clean, which is rather inexpensive. LFS sell RO water for about 50cents a gallon, so if you do a 15 gallon water change every week it would be about $30 a month, plus your own hard work to make sure everything is running smoothly. But of course there are always going to be unexpected problems along the way, and depending on the problem it can be a cheap fix or potentially a very expensive fix.

1077

You don't need R/O water to run a healthy freshwater tank .
Tapwater and water conditioner such as PRIME will allow you to keep a wide range of freshwater tropical fish.
I would suggest changing as mentioned,,15 to 20 gal of water each week for the life of the tank.
substrate can be a simple as regular playsand found at hardware store for around 5 to 8 dollars for 50 lbs.Around 150 lbs would be about right.
I would go with cannister filter which will provide more media /suface area for good bacteria to colonize and I would read up here,or elsewhere on cycling a new tank before i considered placing fish in the tank.
Call the local water company or look online for local water company report to determine what type of water you have readily available from the tap.
this is imprtant to know before you begin placing fish in the tank.not all fish appreciate same type of water.
the test kit mentioned above API freshwater master kit,can give you/us an idea as to what your water is like with respect to pH ,GH,KH and this info will allow us or other's to suggest proper fish for your tank.
Number one rule...PATIENCE. don't get in a hurry to stock the tank with fish and feel free to ask question's here regarding getting the tank ready for safely introducing fish.

fishboss

alright thanks. i have a couple of questions for you.
is sand better than gravel ? i heard your supposed to have sand for saltwater ?
what filter would you recommend?
is it easy to use test kits?
are plants in the tank worth it or are ornaments better? if no plants then what would be good to put in tank?

and last i can get the 90 gallon tank with light/lid, heater, python hose and stand for $350

it looks like this

http://imgc.classistatic.com/cps/kjc...3252gj_20.jpeg


thanks for your help