Aquarium newbie

[Bedlamer]

So my next option is to remove a bookshelf and get a tank that has shelving underneath. Any suggestions?

You've received some excellent information from the other posters in this thread. I'll throw in a few suggestions for you as well.
I notice early in thread the talk of cleaning the gravel etc.

First of all--the thing that all experienced fish hobbyists know, and few that are just coming into the hobby know--is absolutely keep all soap and detergent away from your fish and fish stuff. Even small amounts of it will strip the slime coat off of your fish and leave them susceptible to various infections. To clean the outside of the glass and stuff not in with the fish--say your hood for example vinegar is good. A tank that is up and running, just needs the algae scraped off of the glass, periodic routine water changes (can vacuum the gravel at the same time using a siphon hose with a "vacuum" (a piece of rigid plastic pipe larger than the siphon hose) and infrequent plant pruning, and occasionally the rinsing out of your filter media in de-chlorinated water (to get the detritus/gunk out and leave your beneficial bacteria in place).

If you have to nuke or completely tear down a tank as was suggested earlier in this thread to eliminate the possibility of bad organisms or to eliminate a persistent disease, try a 10 to 1 solution of bleach water. Let it run through the filter and have it sit in the tank for an hour or so. Then do about a half dozen or more complete water changes--when you are done add extra de-chlorinator to the water. Bleach works well because it kills just about everything--and dilutes well. Use plain bleach--no scents or other cleaning agents mixed in there.

From reading the thread I see your limitations are space and money (common limitations--lol). The average bookshelf is about 30" across. If you have 30" a 29 gallon tank will fit length wise. I feel this is an excellent size for a beginner’s community tank (30"L X 12"D X 18"H. You can get an all in one 29 gallon starter kit at Petsmart for $97.49. If you go to their online site--they have quite an assortment of bookcase style stands--go browse around. Don't use the bookcase for your first edition hard covers/family bible /passports etc. there are sometimes mishaps with tanks and the area surrounding them. A 40 gallon breeder tank is another excellent size (36"L X 18"D X 16" H) if you have the room--One of the big pet chain stores has occasional $1 a gallon sale on tanks (hoods etc. extra).

If you are looking to save money you might try and score a deal off of Craig's list or the extensive for sale section on this site. Second hand aquarium stuff usually goes for a lot less than retail. If you buy the tank/filter that way--please bleach and rinse it before using. If you are using plants stick to the hardy low light ones mentioned earlier in the thread--I think you might have greater success if you use a plant specific substrate. There are a number of choices out there. One example is Eco-Complete http://www.petco.com/product/111998/...Substrate.aspx which goes for about $27 a bag locally or less online (but you need to factor in shipping. You could do a thin layer in a 29 with one bag--with 2 bags I think you'd get a nice 3" layer or so (someone chime in if my calculations are off). The main limiting factor for the carrying capacity of a tank is its surface area--which is the only part of the water column where gas exchange can take place (well other than in your filtration system depending on how its set up). So a horizontally orientated 15 gallon tank--all other things being equal will be able to support more fish than a column 15 gallon tank. If you are looking to get some rocks for decor, there are a couple of landscaping supply businesses on the west side of Houston that sell suitable rock for pennies a pound rather than dollars a pound like in some local fish stores (NEPCO and Alamo Stone).

If you can—ideally you should not place your tank directly in front of windows or next to radiators. Try to place it where you can easily glance up from an area you spend time in to get increased enjoyment from your tank.

Keep asking questions. There are plenty of people on here that enjoy helping new comers to the hobby and want to see you avoid as many beginner pitfalls as possible.

[Chris.d514]

I just realized a major problem with the setup I was wanting in that I was going to put the tank on my desk as there is room but the desk has a glass top that is supported by only two cross boards. I figure that a 15 gallon tank should be around 150+ lbs filled and this would destroy the glass top. So my next option is to remove a bookshelf and get a tank that has shelving underneath. Any suggestions?

[mnemenoi]

Great Choices! The flagfish do best in pairs, the male coloring up very nicely when mature. The Serba's is a personal favorite and are terrific in a small school of 3-6, they just get lonely all by themselves. I do recommend going with a sand or rounded substrate to avoid and damaging edges to their barbels. I like the classic guppy, we have some Tiger Endlers in a small planted pico. Be careful with some of the fancy strains as they can lose a bit of their hardiness, but they should be fine. I would recommend looking into some Endlers livebearers, they are one of the original species used to produce the guppy we know today, but are quite tougher and I believe just as pretty.

Houston Aquatics off Sheperd has Flagfish regularly and breed many different strains of guppies at the store if you are looking for someone in Houston, others might but I have not seen them regularly. Just give them a call before driving to make certain they have some.

Overall this sounds like a delightful tank, stock it with some low light plants and driftwood or stones and you'll have a eye catching aquarium that will be a delight to have and maintain with no surprises as they grow and possibly breed. Can't wait to see some pictures when you get it all set up and have some occupants. Good Luck!!!

[Chris.d514]

Ok so I'm thinking 2-3 flagfish, a serba's cory, and a school of 5-7 guppies with plants and some shale. Does that seem like an ok setup? Or should I look at some other type or fish or invertebrate instead of the Cory?

[mnemenoi]

Now we are certainly talking indeed, both species appreciate a well planted tank with very low flow or current. The Flagfish is actually a native killifish and is quite managable and easy to keep. They prefer a tank thats a bit colder then most other fish do, but can be put in a tank with a heater though it can reduce its total life expectancy. They would certainly be my recommended species for trying natives, especially with some other natives we can even catch locally.

The scarlet Badis appreciates almost the exact same enviroment, heavily planted with no water movement. They are tropical, so a heater is required. It is a tiny species, with males only reaching 0.8" and females at 0.5". Its downfall is food requirements and tankmates. They are notoriously noted as being finicky and only accepting live food or appropriately sized frozen food. They are slow and easily spooked, so any tankmates that are aggressive eaters will end up consuming everything and they will eventually starve. They can be housed well with a thriving dwarf shrimp colony and eating small shrimplets, but that is about the only success I have ever seen keeping them in captivity. If you had readily available access to live brine shrimp and microworms it would be possible, but that can get expensive and tedious. I would not recommend this species for anyone but the most devoted keepers. Another fish that might fit the bill a bit more closely could be the cockatoo dwarf cichlid or Bolivian ram from South America, they are a bit more forgiving and exhibit similar colors and choice of enviroment.

[Chris.d514]

Would American flagfish and scarlet gem badis work?

[mnemenoi]

Some of these will work great and I'll explain what might not and why
albino cherry barbs - excellent choice!!! They stay small and you could have a small school of 10-15 that would work wonderfully
Odessa barb, snakeskin barb - They both get a bit larger then cherries and would need to reduce the school size a bit
clown loach - Get very large (16") and need a school of 6+, try some dwarf botia or zebra botia they both stay much smaller
Colombian shark - are actually brackish (half salt water) and get very large. Aggressive predator that eats any tankmates that will fit in its mouth
albino rainbow shark - solitary specimen only, they fight with another shark. They do get larger as well, 6" and will bully other fish
turquoise rainbow, axelrodi rainbow - Larger Rainbows, try some dwarf neons or threadfin rainbows, maybe even blue eyes as they stay smaller.
dalmatian molly, harlequin sailfin molly, balloon molly - all appreciate a bit of salt in the tank and can grow to a decent size, can be done but it limits your tankmates.
topsail platy, bleeding heart platy, painted platy, pineapple platy, and tiger ruby platy - good livebearer choice, can breed quite regularly if given the right conditions

Also would Texas holey rock be good for the column tank? - That depends upon your preference for rock and layout. It will also slowly alter your Ph up as it is limestone essentially. I would avoid if going with softer water fish and acquire if going with harder water fish (mollies, platies, rainbows). Rock that does not alter the Ph (slate, granite, quartz, lava, petrified wood) can be used in softer water tanks (for barbs)

[R_sustaita]

Rock yes, most fish like to hide and make the rocks home. The clown loaches are good for the column tanl, the others may not interact to well, as they love to swin. Have you seen angels? They like tall tanks and they get tall. They are slow swimmers and they are just amazing fish.

[Chris.d514]

Some of the freshwater fish that I like are albino cherry barbs, Odessa barb, snakeskin barb, clown loach, Colombian shark, albino rainbow shark, turquoise rainbow, axelrodi rainbow, dalmatian molly, harlequin sailfin molly, balloon molly, topsail platy, bleeding heart platy, painted platy, pineapple platy, and tiger ruby platy. Also would Texas holey rock be good for the column tank?

[R_sustaita]

I do water changes about 2-3 weeks but i am not looking to breed my fish and my water perimeters are just perfect. Some fish demand frecuent WC some dont like bee said. My shrimp tank gets a WC every week for 25%

[aquabee]

Yes on the water changes. I do mine either once a week or once every other week, but that's because my fish do fine with that routine. Some fish absolutely require weekly or twice weekly water changes to thrive. But I never ever wash my gravel. I do use a siphon with a "gravel-vac" attachment to do my water changes, so you can get some of the detritus out from under the gravel. However, beneficial bacteria, while mostly in your filter media, also adhere to porous surfaces in your tank. So I would never take gravel out and wash it. It's also unnecessary because using a siphon with gravel vac is usually more than sufficient.

[Chris.d514]

I read somewhere that I should be changing 10-15% of the water weekly and washing 25-33% of the gravel at the same time is this correct? And is it the same while cycling?

[mnemenoi]

Thanks for all the advice. I restarted the tank with the amquel plus and have added a heater, ph monitor, ammonia monitor and thermometer. After testing the water this morning I found it was 70 degrees but now have it stabilized at 78 but the ph seems a little off it is at about 8.1 and the ammonia is at .05 ppm. I also added a moss ball to the tank. For the column tank we want to get that vs a horizontal for the space saving reasons and have not decided what fish to look at for it yet but I looked up some of the suggested ones and my wife and liked them.

Glad to help, we all started somewhere and would not be where we are without someones help. The temp looks good and the Ph at 8.1 is not too far off what our normal tap water is here in Houston. Ours here in Spring comes out at 7.8-8.0 and will very by location in Houston. It should be fine for what you are keeping, it just makes ammonia and nitrite a bit more dangerous at high levels. Your ammonia will grow as your tank cycles and eventually builds bacteria that consume it and give off Nitrite which will spike. Eventually you will develop bacteria that consume it and give off nitrate. At this point your tank will be cycled (2-3 weeks at least) and the only way to reduce nitrate is water changes. It is less deadly then the other two and plants will consume small amounts of it. Just watch your levels and do regular water changes and you should be great in a few weeks.

If you need help with your selections in your column tank just ask, the fish that really enjoy vertical space are a bit harder to find but I believe you'll be far happier with your selection in the end and so will your fish. Feel free to toss up things you have found that you like the look of and we will try and find species that will work that act similarly. Good Luck and welcome aboard!!

[Chris.d514]

Thanks for all the advice. I restarted the tank with the amquel plus and have added a heater, ph monitor, ammonia monitor and thermometer. After testing the water this morning I found it was 70 degrees but now have it stabilized at 78 but the ph seems a little off it is at about 8.1 and the ammonia is at .05 ppm. I also added a moss ball to the tank. For the column tank we want to get that vs a horizontal for the space saving reasons and have not decided what fish to look at for it yet but I looked up some of the suggested ones and my wife and liked them.

[mnemenoi]

Sorry to hear you've had such a rough start, getting on here will certainly get you the right advice on your hobby though. Elikewhoa is correct in restarting this small tank, they are quite cute and tempting. To be honest they can be tough for even seasoned aquarists to function correctly. They vary in temperature and water chemistry widely and can only support a truly small number and type of fish. I think a pair of zebra danio's, fed sparingly (what they can comsume in a minute) could be allowed to cycle within 3-4 weeks. Maintain regular water changes, perhaps a tall glass nearby and some premade water near it. Even a glass full a day would help.


As to your column tank inquiry, they can be very well done and attractive. The best tanks are chosen by what type of fish and aquascaping you plan on keeping in it. Column tanks are terrific for smaller Gouramis that move more vertically in the water column. Fish that tend to be slower swimmers are another ideal choice. If you are looking for specific types try searching for Dwarf Gourami, Sparkling Gourami, or Licorice Gourami. They all come from Southeast asia and would be perfectly accentuated with some Kuhli loaches or Dwarf Chain loaches. Doing a small shoal (5-6) of Harlequin rasbora or Celestial Danios would work in that set up as well. As these are all brightly colored fish, try a darker substrate to enhance their dramatic colorations. They would all appreciate some driftwood and plants in the tank, especially to bring out the vertical height. Maybe some Amazon Swords or Crypts with some java moss or anubias as smaller foreground plants.

Let us know what type of fish you like and would want to keepo in this setup anjd we can give you lots of workable options that you will not regret later.