the9thpawn

I'm going to use this thread to document my building and maintaining of my first large tank. I couldn't figure out how to use the blogs, so this forum is good enough for me (move it if any moderator finds a better place).

I finally settled on the tank and furniture (took me long enough). It's going to be a 55 gallon tank. 48x13x20 l/w/h. I wanted a long tank as opposed to all the tall ones I saw for sale in stores. It's going to be a freshwater tank.

I've had smaller 10 and 20 gallon tanks, but mainly when I was younger and didn't have to care for it (other then feeding them and tapping on the glass to see them move)... btw, I’m talking like 10 years old when I didn't know better.

One thing I want to make sure to get clear first, is I'm not looking to have people start a message war with each other like my first post ended up about my betta fish, lol. I am not a professional with this, and don't intend to be after I live the rest of my life. I am here to BE BETTER at not killing my fish. Mainly because it's too expensive for me to do something this big to be buying fish all the time... but also because I'm not insensitive to the fact that just a little bit of knowledge can keep my pets happy and alive.

The fact that I've learned a bit about how to acclimate my fish better and a couple other facts is worth my visit to the forum already. But please, I don't care if I'm not as smart or willing to go all out as some of you with fish care. So if I get messages with "you're cruel" or "you evil man, I wish I could put you in a box and shake you for hours to see if you pass out" will just get ignored. I want this to be fun, and not a new career

So here we go!

the9thpawn

Reading about the Nitrogen Cycle, I can see why this is important and I am willing to give it some time to do this correctly. My first goal with this tank is to have a large school of neon or cardinal tetra's, then add some other friendly fish along way (maybe even taking months to get it "fully stocked").

It seems like adding the neon tetras first would not be the best way to get this cycle started, as I keep seeing "hardy fish" are better... and neon tetras don't seem to fit this mold I guess. I saw a recommendation about zebra danio's for this, and these are fish I wouldnt mind having in my tank anyway. So I could go this route.

Or... I could use Option 6 in the FAQ and get this liquid to cycle in 24 hours?!? I am understanding this correctly, I could then get a small number of Tetras (like 6 or so, just enough to have them feel compfortable in a school) and wait a couple weeks to make sure all is good before getting more, and adding other fish.

Ultimately I am ok with trying that fishless option as in the end, if I start with neons, they are inexpensive and I wouldn't be risking killing a TON of fish if I did something wrong. Plus the benefit that I will have the fish I REALLY want to have almost right away.

Thoughts on one over the other for a new person myself relying on the community for assistance throughout this process?

Cody

go fishless. feed you tank like there already are fish living in it and that will help get the cycle started. if you dont have a test kit to test your water parameters you Petcos and petsmarts will for free. and so will most lfs. i would feed your tank for at least 3 or five days before getting it tested for the first time. make sure you continue feeding yoru tank during the whole cycling process. keep us posted. and i willl be PMing you and different topic in a second

the9thpawn

I didn't know that petco and petsmart can test my water for me for free! This will save me some up-front cost of getting this project started and I can buy my own testing equipment down the road when I get tired of going into the store to test. Thanks for this piece of advice!

Charmaine

I would suggest that you only get about 2 zebras if you decide to go with the fish cycle.
Incase something does go wrong you will only loose 2 instead of 6 or more. Watch your fish closely for about 2-3 weeks, if all is good then you can add the rest of your fish.
As for the "Tetra Safe Start"', I have used it and it worked for me.
Good luck and I hope all goes well with whatever you decide.

HatchetHaven

Don't do a fish cycle. It is cruel, involves daily water changes and takes longer than a fishless! Fishless has everything going for it.

Charmaine

I agree. And it is less expensive.

the9thpawn

Ok, fishless it is! Got that figured out.

Now a question on filtration. My research shows canister filters seem to be the way to go for what I want. Number 1 priority is sound factor (quiter is most important to me), secondly I would have a limitation of what is available at petsmart or petco.

I've seen many models in the 45g and 75g range. Would I be able to "get away with" a 45g, or would it be best to get larger then my size (55g). I am assuming the answer is larger and I wonder if there are flow-rate settings anyway.

Since this seems like a more costly expense in my setup, I wouldn't want to sacrifice on quality. So something that doesn't have a track recording of breaking/leaking would also be high on my list of needs for this.

Thoughts?

HatchetHaven

Get a 75gal filter! Overfiltering is good. It can help cover you if you are a tad overstocked as well!

Charmaine

Besides the filter, which you should get the bigger filter, you should also make sure you have enough oxygen flowing through you water.

jdhef

I use a Fluval 205 Canister filter for my 36 gallon tank. I really like it alot. It is very easy to maintain,quiet and you can have your tank closer to the wall since you don't need room for a HOB filter. Plus the whole media basket system gives you the opertunity to customize your filter media.

Heres a link to the one that would be right for your tank size:
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/pro...01002110021501

Shawnie

cant wait to see the before and after pics!! is the tank already built and set up??

as far as the cycle, fishless for sure...its way less work, and the DAILY water changes with fish will kill ya ...took me 9 weeks to cycle with fish ina 75 gallon and it stinks! if you can find the bio spira, or tetra safestart, thats your best bet..its expensive tho but a sure way to cycle fast...if not, put a small piece of raw shrimp in the tank and just let nature take its course..I would get an api liquid master test kit and NOT rely on your LFS for tests..they WILL sell you tons of stuff you dont need and thats just a headache period...as far as filter, I agree with others...always go a couple sizes bigger because you can NEVER have too much filtration...I use one simliar to the link jd posted and its very quiet as long as I dont let my water level get too low...make sure you get us some pics!!

Ghostfish

Yeah, I just switched to a canister filter and my first big mistake was not accounting for the lack of oxygen when using one. The bio-wheel I had used to bring oxygen down into the water as it splashed. I had not had a chance to add my live pants either, so the oxygen level was way down. It cost me a couple of fish. You can either go with an air pump with an airstone or bubble wand (my fish love the bubble wand), or you can go with live plants. I personally do both. Live plants scare many, but it can be done with no added cost other than the plants themselves. Some anachris, a java fern, a microsword...all these are easy to grow and require no special lighting or CO2 injection.

I got a good deal on a rena xp3 canister filter for less than $100, I am using it in a 55 gallon and it is rated for a 175 gallon tank. It is way overkill, but the rena brand is awesome. I have this one because my wife had turtles and you need that type of filteration for turtles. Rena has very nice filters.

It sounds like you likely would want to go with the fishless cycle. You shouldn't use fish unless you really are prepared to watch the readings like a hawk. Fishless allows you to safely get a high bacteria count very quickly. Using fish, you have to add slowly and test water a couple times a day. It is like walking a tightrope between torturing the fish and not cycling the tank. Fishless is way less complicated.

So a quick summary:

Fishless: Great choice.
Canister: Great choice. Nice and quiet.
Air Pump and/or Live plants: A must.
Bubble wand: Fishes idea of Disney World.

Cody

otherwise if, your rather get the 45 gallon canister. you could get another power filter rated for 55 gallons. but yes as the others said you want more filteration. alot of people say double the needed it better.it might cost more but actully it save money, since it will improve water quality and then save you money on possible fishloss. but fish die if your a beginer or expert, but we can do are best, you will see with a larger tank its much easier to take care of becuase theres not as fast of a build up

the9thpawn

Not setup yet... If I finish my home bar assembly and customizing today (also a bigger project then expected) I will go down to PetCo and buy the tank and stand I want. If I feel like staying in tonight and getting a head start I will try to get the stand put together. My building skills at 2am aren't what they used to be though

I plan to take a bunch of pictures, including one already of the space where it will go before setup, hahaha.

I am what people call... a picture vvhore.

the9thpawn

Bummer! Will look into that, which I was incorrectly assuming wouldn't be an issue. Is there a reading in water tests for oxygen levels as well, to monitor this in case the level of live plants or bubble wand is not enough?

Ghostfish

I am not aware of a test kit for oxygen, but I can't imagine it will be an issue with just an air pump and air stone even. The clearest sign is to just watch your fish and see if they go to the top of the water often to get a breath. I noticed it a lot with my wife's cories. They were constantly dartin up to the top, catching a breath of air, and then shooting back down.

the9thpawn

Ok, that seems easy enough to watch for.

Well, I ran into a snag with the bar that will force me to wait till a buddy gets off work to get an extra set of hands on it... so...

I picked up the stand and lights, going to make a return trip (I own two cars, but the biggest of which is a Ford Focus, hahah) in a few minutes to get the tank itself and get some first supplies. Probably won't begin the actual test setup (filtering, heating, etc) until tomorrow at the earlist.

I might have the first two fish in the new setup within a week or two!! So exciting...