50 years later and starting again. Maybe.

[Oldroamer]

I set up my first tank by candlelight during the power cuts of the seventies. During the following years I built up a collection of tanks of various sizes. The substrate in those days was pea gravel and the new fangled, back then, under gravel filters. Anyway as time went on and with several house moves my number of tanks reduced until I stopped keeping fish about 25 to 30 years ago.
I recently started to realise that I would like to set up one small tank and therefore started to read up on modern fish keeping and hence came across this forum. How things have changed!
The norm back then was to set up a community tank with two of each species, very slowly building up stock as fish less cycling of the tank was unheard of. I was looking at a tank of around 30 to 40 litre capacity, but am dismayed that current stocking recommendations for such a tank are extremely limited. Also there seems to be so many things to consider these days such as substrate choice, test kits, etc, etc that I am really wondering if I should forget the whole idea, especially given the fact that I go on frequent trips of four or five days duration (when covid19 has passed) and occasionally up to three weeks and the fish would have to fend for themselves with perhaps the help of a feeder block.
Anyway, any advice would be welcome.

 

[Herpin Man]

If you want fish, do it. Solve the little problems as they arise.
You only go around once.

 

[seangee]

Yes 30 to 40 litres is too small for a community tank.
I have 3 tanks ranging form a 54l nano to a 200l community. I am regularly away for work for a week (although not currently) and my holidays tend to be 3 weeks. Never had a problem. I just lock up and go. Most fish are fine without being fed for a week or 3. Those feeder blocks cause far more harm than they do good, and have been responsible for wiping out many a tank. If you do have to leave your fish for short periods it really is better not to feed.

 

[FishGuest5123]

Welcome! Another child of the 60’s/70’s. There are quite a few of us on here with the same story. We started, we stopped, did the family thing, retired and back to fish. Yes, a lot has changed but you learn quickly. My husband and I have a travel trailer and go camping for several days at a time. The fish get along without us. If we go for a week, I have someone come in and drop pre-measured food in the tanks mid-week. The only issue is a disease we all seem to catch called MTS or Multiple Tank Syndrome. I’m one of the worst with a fish room now and 15 tanks. Some only have a few and a few only have one. We welcome you here no matter what. It’s a great place for making friends and getting an education on fish care. We hope to see you around!

 

[Oldroamer]

Hi guys, thanks for your replies, i am flattered by the thought of a child of the 60/70s. I started keeping fish in the 70’s, I am a child of the 40’s.
Think I will give it a go, slowly.

 

[Retired Viking]

Hello and welcome, I started keeping fish in the early 80s with several 10 gallon tanks and later a 20 gallon and 55 gallon tanks. I also took time off from the hobby. I found plenty of changes when I came back. I went from plastic to live plants and now have a better understanding of fish and their needs. This is a great place to learn what is new and also improve your knowledge. Members are always ready to listen to your problems and find solutions. We did not have anything like this back then. So give it a try

 

[JuiceBox52]

Welcome to the forum! I say go for it!

 

[ChefAlex]

Hi oldroamer,

I wouldn’t worry too much about catching up to date on the advances made since the 70’s. The only critical part to understand is the nitrogen cycle and cycling your aquarium properly. After that, your existing knowledge and experience with fish will guide you most of the way. I remember working at a small local aquarium store in middle school and while in retrospect a lot has changed since then, in some ways not a whole lot has changed While undergravel filters are a thing of the past, many hobbyists maintain their aquariums exactly the same way I did as a child. That’s with a heater, an air driven box filter, a bottle of dechlorinator and a simple test kit.

A 40 liter or 10 gallon aquarium is a bit small, but you certainly do have plenty of options at that size.

 

[Retired Viking]

Hi oldroamer,

I wouldn’t worry too much about catching up to date on the advances made since the 70’s. The only critical part to understand is the nitrogen cycle and cycling your aquarium properly. After that, your existing knowledge and experience with fish will guide you most of the way. I remember working at a small local aquarium store in middle school and while in retrospect a lot has changed since then, in some ways not a whole lot has changed While undergravel filters are a thing of the past, many hobbyists maintain their aquariums exactly the same way I did as a child. That’s with a heater, an air driven box filter, a bottle of dechlorinator and a simple test kit.

A 40 liter or 10 gallon aquarium is a bit small, but you certainly do have plenty of options at that size.

I still use UGF in two of my tanks, they work fine as long as you do a good vacuuming every week.