For All Of You Guys Who Are Just Getting Started.

[seth]

ok, so you want a tank? Well welcome to the tropical fish world. The ideal Tank for a begginner is a 30 gallon tank. these tanks usually cost from $150-$200.(u.s.) A lot of times you ask yourself what is a good filter? I personnally have had great success with the penguin bio-wheel. Also you will need p.h. nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia test kits. Each of those are about $10. You also will need some kind of aquatic water conditioner (edit). I have had a good experience with Prime. And last of all a heater. Now it is time to fill up your tank. First wash all decoration, gravel, plastic plants, etc. Now place all the decorations in the tank how you want them. now fill up your tank and follow the water conditioner(edit) instructions.install the heater/filter. and let your tank run with no fish for a few days. After that you can put some Hardy fish in such as red eye tetras. to turn your tank. heres a link about it.http/www.fishforever.co.uk/cycling.html After about a month you can add fish. A good general rule for fish is 1 inch of fish for every 1 gallon. It always is a good idea to buy catfish becuase they eat scraps from other fish. Some fish that i reccomend are albino corys, guppys, black mollys, and sunset platys. After you stock the tank you have a fully functunal tank.(did i spell that right?) And welcome to the tropical fish world. Does anyone have anything to add? thanks for your time.

 

[hoppybunn]

ok, so you want a tank? Well welcome to the tropical fish world. The ideal Tank for a begginner is a 30 gallon tank. these tanks usually cost from $150-$200.(u.s.) A lot of times you ask yourself what is a good filter? I personnally have had great success with the penguin bio-wheel. Also you will need p.h. nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia test kits. Each of those are about $10. You also will need some kind of aquatic chlorine killer. I have had a good experience with Prime. And last of all a heater. Now it is time to fill up your tank. First wash all decoration, gravel, plastic plants, etc. Now place all the decorations in the tank how you want them. now fill up your tank and follow the chlorine killer instructions.(p.s. the stuff isnt called chlorine killer) install the heater/filter. and let your tank run with no fish for a few days. After that you can put some Hardy fish in such as red eye tetras. to turn your tank. heres a link about it.http/www.fishforever.co.uk/cycling.html After about a month you can add fish. A good general rule for fish is 1 inch of fish for every 1 gallon. It always is a good idea to buy catfish becuase they eat scraps from other fish. Some fish that i reccomend are albino corys, guppys, black mollys, and sunset platys. After you stock the tank you have a fully functunal tank.(did i spell that right?) And welcome to the tropical fish world. Does anyone have anything to add? thanks for your time.

Actually it's called water conditioner (the chlorine killer you were mentioning), and sometimes cycling a tank with fish takes more than a month. The best way to determine when you can add your "real" fish is after both ammonia and nitrite readings are at zero. Water test kits are VERY important in telling you when the tank is properly cycled. Another way to cycle a tank is by fishless cycling, there is a sticky topic about it.

 

[jarmado]

ok, so you want a tank? Well welcome to the tropical fish world. The ideal Tank for a begginner is a 30 gallon tank. these tanks usually cost from $150-$200.(u.s.)

why would you recommend a 30g tank when you only have 20g on your profile?
any bad experiences to share with the 20g?

 

[seth]

I bought my 20 gallon tank 3 years ago for fire bellied toads. but when thay died I decided to turn it into a fish tank. Now im hooked on fish. Any bad experiences with a 20 gallon tank you ask? my only problem is that for just a little bit more money you can get a 30 and 30's have more potential to be great. Now I am not saying that there are not good 20 gallon tanks but from what i have seen and heard 30 gallon tanks are the way to go for a begginner tank. And a 30 gallon tank is a good all around tank. It is affordable and there is a lot of potential in them. If you guys have any questions feel free to ask. thanks for your time.

 

[hoppybunn]

I bought my 20 gallon tank 3 years ago for fire bellied toads. but when thay died I decided to turn it into a fish tank. Now im hooked on fish. And a 30 gallon tank is a good all around tank. It is affordable and there is a lot of potential in them.

I agree that 30 gallons is a good size for a beginner tank, as 20 gallons is usually too small to keep a variety of fish, or large ones. Also the general rule is that the bigger the tank, the easier it is to control the water conditions.