Newbie Here Seeking Help With Tropical 46 Gallon Tank

[Tayful]

Hi all! My name is Taylor and I'm 14 years old. Currently I have a 10 gallon tank with a tiny little Pleco and four long-finned danios. I love the tropical fish community aspect so I'll be getting tropicals. I also really love cichlids but I know when you have those you are limited, in the amount you can have and what kinds, very much.

Anyway, I am looking into buying myself a 46 gallon tank. I have to buy the tank stand, all the equipment, medicine, foods, fish, EVERYTHING with my own money. Currently I have about four hundred dollars saved and I know I'll need at least a couple hundred more! But that is besides the point.

I have a couple questions about the 46 gallon tank I have in mind. It's bow front and it's rectangle (more long than tall), so that's a good thing. I already know all about cycling and such so no worries there. But I'm really wondering about the filter I'll be needing. Internal or cannister for my tropical tank? Remember, I'm on a very, VERY tight budget but I don't want to have to go and buy something new later on. When it comes to filters, what do you think?

I also know I'm going to have a problem with overstocking. I love so many different kinds of cute fish and it's hard for me to limit myself. I definitely want to include the following in my soon-to-be new tank: mollies, gouramis, hatchetfish, and swordtails (maybe some more danios as well, or some rainbowfish?). I'm also thinking about barbs, angelfish, and spotted puffers, but I'm not sure if those would be good additions. I'd also like to include a beautiful cichlid that isn't aggressive or doesn't get too big. I hear the Firemouth, aka, Cichlasoma Meeki, is a good one but I'm not the expert here!

I want all of my fish to be good with live plants. Once my tank gets enough nutrients I will want to have live plants and such. I don't fish that will destroy those or eat them all in one day. Basically, I am wondering what would be a good combination of fish for me in your opinion, and if you have any other suggestions I'm not thinking of please let me know.

Thank you. I've read numerous textbooks on fish, done tons of research online, and this is going to be fantastic (but still very expensive) hobby for me. If you have any pointers about the fish you think I should keep or filters, please let me know. I don't want to mess up here!

 

[merry78]

Hi, Taylor, welcome to the forum!!
First off, congratulations on researching before you buy!!!! Helps keep the cost down and the problems to a minimum.

I don't have any advice to offer on your fish choices, i'll leave that to others, but i just wanted to put my vote in for an external filter. You could probably get away with an internal filter, but in the long run, i think an external is better, and then you wont have to worry about upgrading later, if you want higher stocking levels or messier fish.

All the best in your future fishkeeping,
merry.

 

[Mikaila31]

I also suggest using a external filter either a HOB or a canister. I don't know if you a dead set on a 46gallon tank, I think these are bow front tanks and tend to be more expensive, correct me if I'm wrong. You could always look in the paper, I sometimes see 55 gallon setups going cheap.

cheers,
mikaila31

 

[backtotropical]

I would just like to re-iterate what Merry78 said. External filters are far more efficient and easier to maintain. They do cost more so it will be a bigger outlay initially, but if you dont want to replace things later, an external is your best bet.

I'm sure you will do well in the hobby. Keep us updated with your progress?

Cheers

BTT

 

[Tayful]

Thanks everyone for your responses and the warm welcome! I will go for an external filter, because if I had to upgrade in the future I'd just end up paying more and there would be more problems. I suppose I will look into getting a cannister filter.

Also, I would love to have a bigger tank but there are the problems of money AND my limited space. The tank is going in my bedroom in a certain spot I have picked out for it. If I could get a bigger one I'd love that but I'm not too sure. Also, I'm big on looks. I want a tank that has a pretty shape and a beautiful stand. This might make it a bit more costly but I'd rather get something that I like how it looks. The tank I like the most and that would fit in my space is $330 for tank and stand. Maybe something else will come along better, but in the meantime this is what I'm set on.

I will definitely keep you all updated, thanks again for the help and advice!

 

[fatfishman]

Thanks everyone for your responses and the warm welcome! I will go for an external filter, because if I had to upgrade in the future I'd just end up paying more and there would be more problems. I suppose I will look into getting a cannister filter.

Also, I would love to have a bigger tank but there are the problems of money AND my limited space. The tank is going in my bedroom in a certain spot I have picked out for it. If I could get a bigger one I'd love that but I'm not too sure. Also, I'm big on looks. I want a tank that has a pretty shape and a beautiful stand. This might make it a bit more costly but I'd rather get something that I like how it looks. The tank I like the most and that would fit in my space is $330 for tank and stand. Maybe something else will come along better, but in the meantime this is what I'm set on.

I will definitely keep you all updated, thanks again for the help and advice!

What tank are you getting sounds alot like Juwel vision Bow front 180l if so i have this tank and like it very much. Have a picture if you want to see, poor quality though.

Welcome to the forum

 

[Mo_loves_fish]

For a filter i would recomend a canister or HOB(Hang on Back) filter. Cansiters can run you a good penny sometimes, but they are very nice. Alot of people on here would recomend and aqua clear. I think that would be alright. they dont run too expensive.

 

[Mr._Fishy]

I would recommend a hang on back for a filter. I have used HOBs, canisters, UGF (udnder gravel filter), and sponge filters. For a tank of your size, I would recommend a HOB because they are cheaper than the canisters, easier to maintain, and the fish you want aren't very messy fish. Unless you were going to do something like cichlids eventually, then I would go with a canister. The two best brands imo are Fluval and Ehiem. The Fluvals are more user friendly and the Ehiems provide more efficient filtration. But if you were going to do the community fish, I think your best bet would be a HOB. They are easy to maintain and cheap too. I also would rather vacuum up the waste rather than having to clean it out of my filter. A HOB that I like is the marineland penguin series.

For fish, live plants are great, but the pleco (which I am assuming is going in the new tank) will eat plants. If you wanted to have small community fish, for cichlids you could have a few german blue rams or some other dwarf cichlid. I am not really good with community fish though, so you might want to get a second opinion.

 

[Underwurlde]

HOB for a 46G?
Undergravel Filters! yuk!

External cannister, hands down mate! Won't go far wrong with an Eheim Ecco or the such like....

Andy

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Yes, canisters are absolutely fantastic, but I hate cleaning all that poo and stuff out of the filter, although I know many people say other wise. The same thing goes for the undergravels, they accumulate a ton of stuff under the plate. I really really don't like those. But if you don't mind spending a bit more out front and don't mind cleaning out the junk, by all means, go for the canister! It will be worth it in the long run.

Ryan