Aquarium noob, please help!

Hi, im new to the aquarium world and I would really appreciate all the advice I can get. I was recently gifted a 55 gallon tank and I really want to get started on it but I know nothing on co2 and substrate. What plants are good for beginners and can you have other fish besides micro fish in the tank? Please help

 

Welcome, welcome! The first big thing you’ll want to learn is the nitrogen cycle, and get yourself a API master kit.
Co2 isn’t necessary for a planted tank, and fluval stratum is a good starter substrate. Anubis, Java fern, Java moss, and some Cryptocorynes are all good beginner plants. You could probably keep some more medium sized fish, depending on the measurements of your tank.

 

Welcome to fishlore.

CO2 is optional - it really depends on the plants that you want to grow. Same for substrate - you can get aquasoils etc but you can just as easily use sand or gravel, but it comes down to what plants you want to grow and in some respects, the fish that you want to keep (some species prefer sand as a substrate for example). Some plants don’t even need planting - they just grow attached to rocks and wood.

Not sure what fish you define as micro fish - a 55g gives you a decent amount of space to play with but it wouldn’t be suitable for larger fish like oscars etc. Do you have any ideas on what fish you want? I’d decide that and go from there personally, then you can set the tank up to suit them.

 

Are you sure you want co2? I have a planted 55 with crypts, vals, anubius and frogbit and they are doing well without it.

I use sand with Thrive root tabs and liquid. My guru tells me all-in-one ferts and good for beginners.

I got my first tanks about 2 years ago. Never buy a fish on a impulse, do your research and take your time. It's a lot easier to buy fish than it is to rehome them when things go wrong, so take your time stocking.

 

Welcome to Fishlore

As Cue pointed out the most important thing you need to understand is the Nitrogen cycle. Read up on it. If there is something you don't understand, ask questions. It truly is a simple process but it takes time. Cycling a tank means growing bacteria that will remove the ammonia your fish are going to produce.

You have to decide whether you want to cycle the tank with fish already in it or cycle it before you add fish. Let us know what you want to do and we can help you either way.

 

Hi welcome to the forum!
As you can see, our members are happy to help!
Here's a good place to start our research, FishLore's
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