Fish Tank's

[Dom]

I was thinking of getting a fishtank for the home.When I was growing up my parent's had one and was thinking that this would be something to get in to.Any idea's where to start and what kinda fish?

[ATbuckhunter]

Well if you have a big enough tank i would suggest a small or large mouth bass. Those guys are pretty cool!

[thphm]

Well if you have a big enough tank i would suggest a small or large mouth bass. Those guys are pretty cool!

 

He said a Tank not a Pond. .

[BigGuyNY]

I have had a saltwater tank for about 12 years.  There are many pros (exotic fish, colors) and cons (expensive, time consuming) with saltwater fish.  I also have had African Cichlids which are kept in brackish water.  They are also very colorful like saltwater but are inexpensive and easy to keep.   

[ATbuckhunter]

He said a Tank not a Pond. .

haha good point. You need like a 10 gallon tank at least. Brook trout would also be awesome to have and I would doubt they need much either. I used to have a lot of fish as a kid but I never knew what they were...I saw what I liked in the store. 

[shawnhu]

Test your water for general and carbonate hardness first, then decide on the fish to get based on your findings. NYC has very low of both, and is suitable for Amazonian biotope style fish.

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

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[gastrodoc]

Buy at least a 25 or 30 gallon tank.  Believe it or not they are easier to take care of then the smaller 10gal tanks.  Start with tropical freshwater fish.  A great  mix would include swordtails, black molly's, a school of neon tetras, 1-2 angel fish, and 1-2 bottom feeders like algae eaters or catfish.  This used to be a hobby of mine and I enjoyed it greatly

[Paula]

We have a tank, came with the mother in law 8 yrs ago. Down to one gold fish and we talk about frying it.

Cleaning is a pia, we have marbles in it now because they are easier to clean. There are some cool fish and stuff you can put in tanks. Have fun with it.

[wildcat junkie]

Stay away from live bearers of they will reproduce & take your tank over.

 

45 Gal H (high) is the same footprint as a 30 gal tank.

 

Go as big, within reason, as you have room for.

 

Set up an undergarvel filter as well as a power filter.

 

A few algea eaters help keep the tank cleaan.

[Carbonelement]

i used to be huge into fishtanks...had it all fresh water exotics, brackish water cichlids, salt water reefs, fish only, even sharks.  Get the biggest tank you can fit/afford.  This will make your life very easy. I suggest an overflow style set-up even with fresh water.  Get at least a chem, mechanical and UV sterilizer.  It may seem like over kill... it makes life easy.  I have gone months without water changes and never had a prob.  I love African cichlids esp the smaller fish from Lake Tanganyika.  They are great and will breed which brings a lot of entertainment.  Thats what I would recommend starting with because they are also fairly easy.

[Carbonelement]

Let us know what kind of fish you are leaning toward and I'm sure lots of ppl will help you. Also look for used tanks most ppl have them for a year or 2 and dump em....esp now that spring is coming!

[stoneam2006]

I have always had a tank up till recently....get a good filter set up at least 30 gal tank few bottom feeders...then I always liked Oscars cichlids and blacktip sharks.....Oscars will eat a pretty good sized minnow and worms easy.......BTW as others have said bass I had a 8in smallmouth in my tank for years they are a cool fish to watch but will kill everything in the tank no matter the size....

[ny hunter]

I would start with a 30 gallon tank,get it set up and running and then go to the store and see what fish you like......I always found Angel fish hard to keep but very pretty to have.....The fish tanks are very addicting at 1 time I had 5 tanks going and 1 feeder tank.....let us know how you make out.

[Jennifer]

Some good advice here. I used to do freshwater professionally, but now just keep hobby tanks at home.

 

[ATbuckhunter]

Some good advice here. I used to do freshwater professionally, but now just keep hobby tanks at home.

 

Holy Crap! How much would a tank like that cost someone?

[ny hunter]

That is a beautiful set up.

[greensider]

i kept tanks for most of my life now i would rather have a koi pond in my yard when i had tropical fish i learned one thing do the water change every week or the ph will get to low and kill most tropicals in the end i spent the later years keeping native fish such as bass and huge gills it was really nice having a natural looking pond set up i kept a 10 inch gill for years he would eat shrimp pellets from my fingers

[growalot]

Having managed 2 pet shops and delt with new aquarium people ...I'll tell you what I tried to tell them...

1. make sure you are set up with GOOD basics  FIRST

  a) STURDY base..they are heavy

  b)a place where you don't have to move it..... ie..not near windows and heat runs

2. Buy the BEST filter/aeriation you can for the size of the tank

3. a very good heater

4. A really good book of fish and fish diseases...you have to be their "vet" you need to know symptoms and what to do to keep a healthy tank...read read read FIRST

Then you will have an enjoyable time and spend less $$$ down the road

[growalot]

Jennifer...your expertise shows....... now that is a beautiful aquatic tank....

[shawnhu]

Some good advice here. I used to do freshwater professionally, but now just keep hobby tanks at home.

I've only got the Java ferns and miss Jenn has ????

X-Calibur Lighting Systems

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[Jennifer]

Holy Crap! How much would a tank like that cost someone?

 

Oh, I am not sure-- do you mean if a service came in and did it? I honestly don't know these days. The photo is of one of my personal tanks. It's a 54 gallon corner tank (which is a giant pain in the rump to light and filter by the way, don't start with a weirdly shaped tank as your first). I've got 6 T5 10k (that's color temperature) bulbs lighting it and pressurized CO2 (like what you'd get for beer brewing) injected.If you want a high-tech tank with injected CO2 and fancy lighting, then it gets a lot more spendy.

 

But-- You can do a nice planted tank setup for not too much cash if you are patient and do the proper research.

 

One can get really nice plants growing on low tech tanks, though. This is a recycled 12-gallon that I stripped the old broken hood off of and it is simply a filter, heater, and a LED gooseneck lamp on top. Plant growth is slower and I had to pick species that aren't demanding, but it can still look ok. It's not setup as a 'showpiece' tank like my other one so it's not as pretty but if I was more patient with it I could make it really nice. This tank must have all of $100 in it total. I don't run carbon filters (just sponges in a built-in sump) so the only ongoing expense is water for water changes, and electricity. My shrimp repopulate themselves.

 

 

One of said shrimp (don't get any wild ideas about raising food, they are tiny things)

 

If any of you are interested in doing tanks like this it's not too hard if you research it out a little; like I said-- the budget depends on what you want to do. High tech vs. low tech. Sort of like hunting, beyond the minimum investment you can be as fancy or as simple as you want with this stuff. I do caution, like many of the above said-- for beginners, a tank greater than 20 gallons is really your best bet. When you make a mistake in 20+ gallons of water it is much less catastrophic than in just a few gallons. Temperatures are much easier to keep stable in larger volumes, as are water quality parameters. You have to remember you aren't just tossing fish in a cage or plants into a pot of soil. You have to establish a balanced ecosystem, right down to the bacteria that break down ammonia and nitrates.

A good forum for people that like to go gung-ho with this: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/

Edited February 15, 2015 by Jennifer

[ants]

Are those actually tanks or your painting of tanks??? I can't tell with you..

[Jennifer]

Those are photos of my actual tanks! I've got three right now.

[ATbuckhunter]

Oh, I am not sure-- do you mean if a service came in and did it? I honestly don't know these days. The photo is of one of my personal tanks. It's a 54 gallon corner tank (which is a giant pain in the rump to light and filter by the way, don't start with a weirdly shaped tank as your first). I've got 6 T5 10k (that's color temperature) bulbs lighting it and pressurized CO2 (like what you'd get for beer brewing) injected.If you want a high-tech tank with injected CO2 and fancy lighting, then it gets a lot more spendy.

 

But-- You can do a nice planted tank setup for not too much cash if you are patient and do the proper research.

 

One can get really nice plants growing on low tech tanks, though. This is a recycled 12-gallon that I stripped the old broken hood off of and it is simply a filter, heater, and a LED gooseneck lamp on top. Plant growth is slower and I had to pick species that aren't demanding, but it can still look ok. It's not setup as a 'showpiece' tank like my other one so it's not as pretty but if I was more patient with it I could make it really nice. This tank must have all of $100 in it total. I don't run carbon filters (just sponges in a built-in sump) so the only ongoing expense is water for water changes, and electricity. My shrimp repopulate themselves.

 

 

One of said shrimp (don't get any wild ideas about raising food, they are tiny things)

 

If any of you are interested in doing tanks like this it's not too hard if you research it out a little; like I said-- the budget depends on what you want to do. High tech vs. low tech. Sort of like hunting, beyond the minimum investment you can be as fancy or as simple as you want with this stuff. I do caution, like many of the above said-- for beginners, a tank greater than 20 gallons is really your best bet. When you make a mistake in 20+ gallons of water it is much less catastrophic than in just a few gallons. Temperatures are much easier to keep stable in larger volumes, as are water quality parameters. You have to remember you aren't just tossing fish in a cage or plants into a pot of soil. You have to establish a balanced ecosystem, right down to the bacteria that break down ammonia and nitrates.

A good forum for people that like to go gung-ho with this: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/

Wow thats a lot of technical stuff. I used to have a tank for a while so I still remember how to take care of it. I think this requires way more time then I have to spare.

[Elmo]

I think every kid has should have a fish tank when growing up.  I think once my little one gets pass his terrible 2's, I'll have to invest in a tank as well.  Even if it's a simple gold fish.