New to Hobby, interested in starting to keep fish

[Byron]

Substrate will be fine gravel (for the cory's) unsure about colour, maybe black.

Missed this earlier. I strongly suggest sand, not gravel no matter how fine; I have never seen gravel as fine as sand, and with cories you want sand.

Black is OK, but it will be aquarium sand which is very expensive. I tried black once and did not like it; under the water and tank lighting it was darkish grey, and every speck of detritus showed up. I use play sand in my tanks now and never have either issue.

 

[CycleDave]

Won't sand affect plants from growing?

 

[seangee]

Won't sand affect plants from growing?

Aquatic plants take nutrients from the water rather than the soil. http://www.fishforums.net/threads/substrate.449915/#post-3801732

The link above is a recent post on the "black" sand in one of my tanks. In this particular tank I use no fertilisers and the sand is completely inert.

 

[Byron]

Won't sand affect plants from growing?

No. It is the overall best substrate for plants because roots easily grow through it to anchor the plant, and decomposition of organics by bacteria is faster and more effective/thorough in sand than in larger-grain gravel. Plant roots are then more easily able to assimilate nutrients as the water passes through the sand.

 

[CycleDave]

Aquatic plants take nutrients from the water rather than the soil. http://www.fishforums.net/threads/substrate.449915/#post-3801732

The link above is a recent post on the "black" sand in one of my tanks. In this particular tank I use no fertilisers and the sand is completely inert.

Thanks for the link. I'm kinda going off black sand. It was only an idea I got from a youtube video. But I do kinda like that colour sand.


Unsure about foam filters as they require an air pump. Since I would have the tank in my bedroom, I don't want to hear a hum all the time.

 

[CycleDave]

How much sand would be needed for a 20g long?
Also, still no idea what filter to buy. Did find these corner filters, or I guess I could use an Aquaclear 20.

 

[Byron]

How much sand would be needed for a 20g long?
Also, still no idea what filter to buy. Did find these corner filters, or I guess I could use an Aquaclear 20.

You want an overall depth (with the sand all washed and spread evenly over the tank floor) of 1.5 to 2 inches. I've no idea how much sand this equates to, in pounds or grams; I use play sand which comes in 25 kg (50 gallon) bags and one of those is more than enough, but extra sand is nice to have on hand.

On the filter, if you are still intending fish like those mentioned earlier in this thread, they do not appreciate strong currents. In small tanks, it is more difficult to effectively diffuse the flow from a filter than it too much, and I would view all HOB filters too much in this small a tank.

I use sponge filters connected to an air pump on tanks up to 40 gallons. [If I had Hillstream Loaches that need currents I would obviously have different filters.] You mentioned quiet air pumps earlier...I cannot hear my Fusion pumps (I have two) and have to look for bubbles rising in the sponge filter tube to see if they are on or not. They come in several sizes.

 

[Essjay]

I don't think Fusion air pumps are available in the UK. But Eheim air pumps are, and mine is almost silent. They come in various sizes.

 

[CycleDave]

I've looked on the net and I cannot find the Fusion pump in the UK, however, I've watched a couple of videos for the Eheim and it seems quieter than most, so think I will buy one of these. Thank you for mentioning it @essjay

My questions now are:
Can I hook this up to two sponge filters? Why do some models have one or two nozzles for tubes?
What size air pump should I buy if I use two sponge filters out of the 100, 200 and 400 models?

Still in two minds whether to use a sponge filter or something else.

What 'size' submersible heater/thermostat for the 20 gallon long? 100watt?
Is Seachem Prime all I need as well as a source of ammonia?

 

[Byron]

Can I hook this up to two sponge filters? Why do some models have one or two nozzles for tubes?

It depends upon the size of the pump; the larger the pump the more airlines it will support. I generally acquire a pump for one more airline than I intend. I have one pump for three tanks, and one for two; each tank has a dual sponge filter (= one airline per filter).
As you intend only one tank, a small pump will work; you can use a gang valve to have two or more airlines from the one.

What 'size' submersible heater/thermostat for the 20 gallon long? 100watt?

I have a 150w heater in my 10g and 20g high; I would get this or a 200w heater for a 20g long. The higher wattage heaters tend to be better quality; I have had three 50w heaters fail, but never a higher wattage heater in 25 years. Eheim Jager is a good brand, there are undoubtedly others.

Is Seachem Prime all I need as well as a source of ammonia?

If you intend live plants, I would not add any ammonia. Fast growing plants, and floating are best for this, can take up a lot of ammonia and get you through "cycling."

As for Prime, this is not a conditioner I recommend, unless you have ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in the source (tap) water. I use API Tap Water Conditioner; it deals with chlorine and chloramine and heavy metals which is all I need with my water. The fewer chemicals going in a fish tank the better for the fish.

 

[CycleDave]

Found a website that has most items I want. I'll go for the 150w heater.

Any recommendations for fast growing South American plants?
I have the cabomba written down.

If I'm not adding ammonia to a planted tank, what do I do? How does the cycling work? I can't find anything on the net that goes in depth about using plants for cycling.

 

[seangee]

Search on "silent cycle". Should find everything you need. As long as your plants are actively growing and you have enough you should be fine. Fast growing plants are best. Water sprite is good as is amazon frogbit. Water sprite can be planted or floated, frogbit must be floated. If you are planning South American fish most will appreciate these. Give them a few weeks to settle in before adding fish.

 

[Byron]

Any recommendations for fast growing South American plants?
I have the cabomba written down.

Cabomba is not an easy plant. It is fast growing, which means brighter light and more nutrients. Most but not all of the stem plants are similar.

The easiest fast-growing plants (thinking of the "silent" cycle aspect) are floating, like Water Sprite, Water Lettuce, Frogbit; Brazilian Pennywort is one stem plant that grows very well if left floating.

Other easy SA plants that will not be so fussy about light is the chain sword, Helanthium tenellum. [This plant may still be seen as Echinodorus tenellus.] The true sword plants in Echinodorus are fairly easy too, but many get too large for a 20g long. But having said that, sometimes they tend to stay relatively small. I have had this plant grow leaves 30 cm and longer, while some of the adventitious plants produced along the inflorescences remain 10-15 cm.

If I'm not adding ammonia to a planted tank, what do I do? How does the cycling work? I can't find anything on the net that goes in depth about using plants for cycling.

I'll just add a bit to what seangee mentioned. I only use this method, and for over 20 years. You need fast-growing plants, and floating are the best; you often see floating plants termed "ammonia sinks" because of their capacity for taking up ammonia/ammonium.

Aquatic plants obviously need nitrogen, and they prefer it as ammonium. Nitrate is only taken up when ammonia/ammonium becomes insufficient in balance with light and other nutrients, because the plants have to spend energy converting the nitrate back into ammonium. With floating plants and other plants growing, you can add fish with no issues, though initially I suggest you start slowly.

The nitrifying bacteria will still appear and establish, but with the plants taking up most of the ammonia, nitrite is very minimal, and nitrate the same. Test kits won't be able to detect ammonia or nitrite during this process.

 

[CycleDave]

How many tetra could I add with 4-6 Panda Cory's ?

 

[Byron]

How many tetra could I add with 4-6 Panda Cory's ?

First you want at least six panda cories, preferably a couple more. They will be happier and thus healthier, and this is a species that does like to "play" around together.

To the tetras, it depends on the species, but assuming the smaller "common" species like neons or glowlights and similar, I would suggest 8 to 9. If you go with the much smaller Ember Tetra, 12-15. You want relatively quiet fish, meaning non-active swimmers.