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JonasN515 said:
I love the way that 20 gallon long looked. I could still put a couple dwarf gouramis in there along with some other fish (Petco has hella guppies, snails, mollys, and other corys!) Advice on now what tank to get. Square one :( Thanks again.
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The thing with smaller tanks is that you need to change the water more often, relatively speaking, especially if you keep many fish in it.
If you decide to go with 20G, you only need a smaller filter, but the cost of a smaller one is only marginally cheaper though. As suggested by others, sand works well with HOB filters, and cheap too.
As for fish, I have 3 spot gouramis, espei rasboras, 5 banded barbs, among others (I stay away from tiger barbs). Note that I have soft water here.
I don't keep dwarf gouramis, other members here mentioned they carry disease.
All the best with your fish keeping.
 
JonasN515 said:
So! Horrible news. My mom was transporting my 55 gallon to another location, slid on some ice, long story short, smacked dead into another car, which both cars are now totaled. God blessed us and no one was seriously hurt!!! However, in doing this episode, my 55 gallon now has a HUGE crack and will not hold water! I suppose I wasn't meant to have a 55 gallon tank? I went to Petco today before all this happened and there is a nice 50% sale on all Aqueon tanks. No lid, no nothing with it. However, I'm thinking now about getting a nice 20 gallon long, and a 10 gallon and having two separate tanks. I've been told my numerous people that littler tanks are not for beginners, so again, should I splurge the money for a 55 gallon (AGAIN?!) or not? I know filters and everything, cost adds up. I believe a 55 gallon would be about 70-80 dollars after the sale goes in effect. That with a 55 gallon filter as mentioned by TNG, that's well over half my 250. I'm fine with this but as previously stated by ya'll, sand/gravel is expensive as hell. I love the way that 20 gallon long looked. I could still put a couple dwarf gouramis in there along with some other fish (Petco has hella guppies, snails, mollys, and other corys!) Advice on now what tank to get. Square one :( Thanks again.
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oh my, I didn't see this. Glad everyone is ok.
 
I love this forum so much! It's fabulous. I never in my wildest dream would have thought I would get this much advice. I love the 2 20's. Like I said, they are 50% off now but I gots to find lids. I was looking on facebook marketplace and have found some good deals. Hope that comes through. Thank you so much Boundava! One of my next questions was about a heater and you answered perfectly. Food too! Any other advice on what I should do stocking wise with a dwarf gourami 20 gallon tank? Can I still have 2?
 
many times you can even find even free stuff on facebook...
with bare tanks you can use simply 2 pieces of glass
the black frame around the glass top should have 2 "levels"
you just cut a piece for the top which is fixed and where you can put a cheap light on it
then the bottom piece you can go to the dollar store and find those sticky tapes that stick on both sides and just attach a piece of bent plastic to act as a handle xD
if you never cut glass...#1 make sure to wear gloves (not the medical ones)
and use an oil cutter with a flat surface..they tend to "runaway" less
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3D2G499/?tag=ff0d01-20
as for oil...you can use anything...people tend to go nuts over "cutting oil" but at the end of the day you just need any thicker than water liquid so your cut isnt dry...
cooking oil will do...olive...vegetable...anything will do...
and once you start cutting your own glass...the possibilities are endless...
then comes a rotary tool to shave edges (cheaper than sand paper in the long run)
and if you ever want to drill a tank...DON'T
glass is cut/drilled these days with cnc tables/waterjets...if you really want to do it use a rotary tool to pierce through the glass and keep shaving until the hole is big enough for the pipe fittings
reason for that is that drilled glass always has small cracks that can succumb to pressure and just crack crack crack...always make sure if you ever get a tank...the holes have 0 imperfections
which means they came from a glass cutting cnc table/waterjet just to prevent future "surprises" like a burst tank after a days work..
 
I really don't want to do that. Just rather buy a lid from somewhere? I'm going to check my LFS tomorrow to see if they just sell lids! Hopefully cheaper then just getting a whole set for a 20 gallon! (With filter, heater, etc)
 
try facebook first...many people when they sell their tank it comes with a lid plus a few more things like nets etc...which you also need
 
JonasN515 said:
www.petsmart.com

Top Fin® Bow Front Aquarium Starter Kit - 36 Gallon | fish Starter Kits | PetSmart

Top Fin® Bow Front Aquarium Starter Kit - 36 Gallon at PetSmart. Shop all fish starter kits online
www.petsmart.com www.petsmart.com

Is this a good deal? For a start anyway?
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Kits are seldem ever good, often comes with inferior light and filtration. If you look up the filter you can see it has 3/5 stars with 111/278 people giving it 1star. It also is a disposable cartridge, which you can modify if you want, however it just barely meed the needs of the tank for filtration.
If you get the kit be prepared to swap it out for a better quality filter and light, which may mean a new lid.

You could go with a dwarf gourami in the bowfront, but two maybe pushing it. Have you seen paradise fish? They are a lot hardier fish with less genetic defects than the dwarf gourami, they are aggressive to their own species but gentle to other fish.
 
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Wow, Jonas, most of us experienced our first fishkeeping disaster AFTER we set up our tank! :lol: I was all geared up to give you some great stocking advice for a 55 gallon, then I read about the wreck. Wow. Glad everyone is OK.

I agree that you're getting a lot of very sound advice, some of it very complicated stuff that you really don't need yet. It's possible to keep it fairly simple. Here's what I think:

First, settle on a tank size. 20 long, 36g, and 55g are all great tank sizes with many possibilities. So no problem there. Just decide what you like and what you can afford. Any could work for a dwarf gourami; with a 55 you could get a group of pearl gouramis!
Second, if you haven't, figure out your water hardness. That will affect what fish will thrive in your area. You can either get a hardness kit from your pet store, or just call your water company and ask them. If you already did this, I missed it, so please enlighten me.
Once you figure that stuff out, we can go from there.

A few other hopefully comforting thoughts:
1. Filtration doesn't have to be that complicated. Once you pick out a tank we can help you with that. For a beginner, I'd recommend a simple hang-on-back filter, rated for twice your chosen tank size. Super easy to set up and maintain. You can tweak the filter media and all that later, but a cheapo HOB will get you started.
2. Plants are not that complicated, and in the long run make fish keeping easier because they make your fish happier. Just make sure you get an adequate light. Again, we can help you with that once you decide on a tank.
3. I agree completely that play sand or pool filter sand are great substrates. Dirt cheap, too.
4. Most important, remember that this is supposed to be fun! One thing at a time; don't get overwhelmed by the details. If you're getting stressed about it, you're doing it wrong. :)
 
To save on expense I would still at least check into having the tank repaired. Even if there is no qualified fish store in the area a decent glass shop should be able to do the job. It may well turn out that a repair could cost more than a new 55 gallon tank but I'd still check it out.
 
Water Hardness is - 157 PPM or 9 gpg. I found that on the water works website! I looked around more today at fish tanks and now, really don't know what I want! 20-39 gallon is calling my name, more and more. 20 gallon or two of them sound fun. One dwarf gourami, and 6 Zebra Danio's is what I have thought more and more about. A 20 gallon can handle that correct? I like the Aqueon Quiet Flow 30 and gets good reviews from Amazon.com. For a hood/light, do they sell those individually? How much is that going to cost? Everyone has told me not to get a set so I'm not going to. I trust you guys. Thanks for any more advice, lol.
 
JonasN515 said:
Water Hardness is - 157 PPM or 9 gpg.
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There are two hardness units used in fish keeping - fish profiles will one or the other. You already have one of them, ppm. The other is dH.

Your hardness is 157 ppm and 8.8 dH.

This is right at the upper limit of soft. It is too soft for most hard water fish, but many soft water fish are suitable. Just avoid those soft water fish which must have very soft water. The website Seriously Fish will tell you if a fish you like is suitable or not.
 
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