mosin360

Hello from Illinois. I'll do a quick background. I got my first 10g tank when I was a kid. Myself and my parents had zero knowledge but we went slowly and did pretty well. Sadly, I have no pictures of that time so I gotta remember everything. Anyway, my family started to move a lot and I never had the time/space/ect to get back into it. So, I recently moved into a house so I have plenty of space and I got some free time.

Now to current time, I was thinking of getting a starter kit from a local store like Wal-Mart or Petco. The minimum I want is 20g with a max of 30g. So if you got a suggestion please let me know with the price.

Anyway, this site looks very active and I can't wait to explore what it all has to offer.

Lucy

Welcome to FishLore and welcome back to the hobby!

iloveengl

Hey there Mosin360 Welcome to FishLore!

I think 20g is a great size to start off with. It gives you room to have a nice collection of fish and inverts, but it's not too big that it's gonna overwhelm and discourage you right away.

Here are a few excellent links to check out: http://www.fishlore.com/TropicalFishProfiles.htm and http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

I really recommend fish-less cycling. It's easy and less stressful for you and fishies. Here's an explanation of how to do it: Four Methods of Fish Less Cycling OR you could invest in a bottle of Tetra Safe Start.

There's loads of info in those links, so definitely ask any and all questions that come up while you're reading or checking things out on the site.

bolivianbaby

Welcome to Fishlore Glad you've decided to get back into the hobby! Great advice above.

pepetj

Welcome to Fishlore mosin360. I also kept fish previously (age 7 to 23). After a 20 years hiatus I found Fishlore and was lucky enough to learn from others' experience and also mistakes. I did my first fishless cycle in May 2008, with a 10gal low tech planted tank. A year and a half later (now) I keep over a dozen tanks and enjoy every one of them.

My two cents: The bigger the better. A 30gal will give you more room to experiment than a 20gal and the cost is likely similar.

Read around an enjoy the planning stage, it's a great part of fishkeeping.

Ask around whatever you need to. We learn from each other here. Make yourself at home.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

mosin360

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

I've done a lot of reading about cycling and I'm going to go the Tetra Safe Start route. I'm going to clean all the stuff like rocks and trinkets real well. I do have some questions so here goes.

1) I looked at the recommended starting fish and so far like Cherry Barbs and Dwarf Gourami. I know the Barbs like to be in schools but I also read that you should only add a couple fishes at a time. Would it be ok to put in six like it recommends of the Barbs or should I try for two female Dwarfs?

2) I like real plants so is it alright to add those at the start? Also, is there any particular plants that I should be looking for or even avoid?

3) I'm looking for a general idea of how much fish cost. I rarely go to a pet store these days much to the dismay of my hounds so anything would help. I do plan on going to two tomorrow so I rather have some idea.

Thanks

TedsTank

Hi and Welcome, Mosin360 !!!

I would like to add that if you get either a 20 or 30 gallon tank, find the long variety not the real tall ones. There is so much more room for the fish to swim and much better areas to decorate.......enjoy this hobby again, we are with you!!!!

mosin360

Thanks for the tip, I'll keep that in mind when I go to the stores tomorrow.

Shadowbeam

Welcome to Fishlore! And welcome back to fishkeeping This is a fantastic site, i was fairly new to fishkeeping when i started and people have been really helpful!

Fish generally don't cost too much (well i was suprised to find how little they cost anyway!) though i expect the rarer ones cost more. Over here they can start as little as £2-3 (not sure what that is in $) which is about what my mollies and platys cost.

mosin360

I got another question to add to my three above.

4) When should I get a algae eater and what is recommended? I know to avoid that common one that grows and grows.

Nate McFin

Welcome to Fishlore!
It is fine to add plants right away. Might do a quick search of the forum regarding plant dips if you dont want hitchhiking snails! The plants will help cycle the tank a little faster as well. Do make sure the plants you buy are truly aquatic. Alot of petstores are selling plantsthat will only last a short while in your tank. Lucky Bamboo is one that comes to mind but there are others. Some you might look to use in a tank that size that would make nice starter plants are Anubias, Java Moss, Java Fern, Crypts, maybe a sword if you go with a 30G. ( I would recommend a 30G or bigger as Pepetj said)
For algae eater you cant go wrong with a small group of Otos. They are a great little fish. They are best added to a well cycled tank. Always add last and prefer to wait a month or two after cycling.
I havent had Barbs but I understand they can be pretty aggressive fin nippers. Maybe someone else will chime in regarding stocking choices.
Best Wishes and welcome aboard!
Nate

shellbell4ever

Welcome to Fishlore

mosin360

I went to the LFS where they had the Aqueon 20g and 29g starter kits. The prices weren't bad at all so planning on the 29g. I would be open to something in the 30s but the next size was 55g.

They had plenty of Auqa Safe in the 30g and 75g bottles so after reading this forum, I'd go with the 75g to make sure I give it a really good chance.

The price of the fish wasn't bad but I forgot to look at the live plants so will have to write down a reminder for next time.

Anyway, here is the 29g kit so please take a look and see if there is anything hardware wise I would need. http://www.aqueonproducts.com/produc...uarium-kit.htm

mr.fishy

Welcome to the forum. I took some years off too before getting back into the hobby this past year. I think the 29g kit is a good size. If I were going bigger I would consider a 29g also. I think the aqueoun kits are good.

DRock914

I recently bought an aqueon 20 starter kit and I cycled the tank with 6 gold barbs. The barbs did fine but if you are going to add fish to your tank wait until 4 days after you initially set it up. The only problem I have with the aqueon kit is the filter. They will usually give you a filter that is designed for the tank you are buying as the maximum size so you may not get all the filtration you will need. You have to throw away the filter cartridges and add new ones every 4-6 weeks. I would suggest you buy a bio-bag to throw in the filter box that way you can keep some of the good bacteria when changing your filter cartridges. You may also want to put the used filter cartridge in the tank for the first couple of days to help keep your cycle.

iloveengl

Tetra AquaSafe is a water conditioner. Tetra SafeStart is the stuff that cycles your tank. Totally different stuff.

You still need a water conditioner for water changes and such, but I just wanted to clarify that because it sounded like you may have thought you could instant cycle with AquaSafe, which you cannot.

TSS is notoriously difficult to find in stores; you may need to order it online or your petstore may order it in for you. In which case, I totally agree that the bigger the bottle, the better.

mosin360

Whups my bad. I did mean Safe Start. They had quite a few bottles of both sizes so I didn't think I needed to buy any today. I did check for a expiration and a sticker said 09/2010.

DRock914 - You got a link to a bio-bag or info on them?

Meenu

I agree with going with the larger Tss bottle. And with the TSS, I would add more than 2 fish with the Tss too

mosin360

Would three Zebra Danio's be good or should I go with 4-6?

DRock914

Sorry, it's not a bio bag its called BioMax.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/214858/product.web

Meenu

I'd go with 6. the TSS can handle it, and when i had 2, they were very aggressive

mosin360

Ok, so thats a insert for the AquaClear brand filters correct? The kit I'm looking at is a different brand. The Aqueon brand says they have their own biological filter.

Here is a link to their info. http://www.aqueonproducts.com/assets/009/11583.pdf

mommybaby295 - Thanks for the info.

DRock914

I think you are misunderstanding what I am saying. The biomax is not a filter and the brand doesn't matter. The biomax is to add behind the filter cartridge. Look at the picture of my filter. I also added a sponge to absorb bacteria.

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mosin360

Ahhhhh, I get it now. The picture helps clear any confusion I had. I'll add it to my list, thanks!

DRock914

No problem. If you buy it make sure it isn't the product that gets rid of ammonia because they look the same.

mosin360

At my LFS today, I seen the one for a 20g but not a 29/30g so would the 20g be alright? I also seen the sponge there so I'll be getting that also.

DRock914

I had to buy the smallest I could find which was the aquaclear biomax 20 because there isn't a lot of room. As for the sponge I am not sure which size I used because I just took one of my dads old ones but I had to cut it in half so it would fit. If you are going to add the sponge check on it everyday to make sure your water level doesn't get higher and end of overflowing. Mine never did so you will probably be ok but I don't think you want water on your floor. Did you buy a 29 kit?

mosin360

Yeah, thats the one they had so that's good. And yup, I'd prefer not to have any water on the floor so I'll be sure to watch it.

I did get the 29g kit and created a new thread in the Member's Tank section to keep a record. First tank in almost two decades.

DRock914

Yea I saw that after I asked.