Getting a tank soon

[bamacannon]

I'm new here but not to fish, I used to have a tank years ago(10 gal, nothing special). Once I finish my move into my new house I would like to get a new tank, something for the living room, and something for my son to watch, he loves fish. I've been doing a lot of reading and research and here is what I have come up with. I would like some suggestions or opinions on my proposed setup.

-20 gallon standard tank.
-Heavy duty stand, anchored to the floor and wall ( so my son can't tip it)
-cannister filter (unsure as to what brand yet, suggestions?)
-mixed small and medium rock substrate with some larger smooth river rocks (only 3-5 of them)
-artificial plants (for the time being)
-large driftwood centerpiece
-flat rock cave structure in either or both corners
-florescent hood lights (wattage? color? not sure on those)
-no stupid divers or chest or things like that, all natural settings

Proposed Fish
-6 Tiger Barbs
-6 Zebra Danios
-some kind of cory/loach/bottom feeder (Need a suggestion here, what kind, how many)

So basically I need to know
-What cannister filter would do best?
-What lighting?
-Will tiger barbs and danios and some sort of bottom fish all live together
-Is there ANY adhesive that is safe for a tank, aka silicone or something. I want to construct the caves solid
-What bottom feeder would be ok for the tank with the other species?
-Any other glaring errors?

Thanks in advance everyone.

 

[gammerus]

I am not sure about the filter, but those fish sound like they would get along fine.

 

[Isabella]

Welcome to Fish Lore

For a 20 gallon tank you don't really need a canister filter, but if you want a canister, from what I've heard XPs and Eheims are great. If you want a great filter other than a canister, a HOB (hang on back) power filter  such as Aqua Clear is excellent. I love Aqua Clear filters. You should not be disappointed in them. Just remember that when you get a HOB power filter, get one that pumps 10 times the volume of your tank (i.e. 200 gallons per hour since your tank will be 20 gallons in volume). For canister filters, I believe, it's enough if you have a filtration of 5 times the volume of your tank. However, 10 times would be nevertheless excellent.

I know that Tiger Barbs do not go with many peaceful fish because they tend to nip at other fish's fins. But since zebra danios are very fast swimmers, maybe the two species will be OK together. But I am not 100% sure - you'd have to wait for someone else's opinion on that one.

As for silicone, use a special aquarium-safe silicone. Silicone all the things you want inside and let them dry out for at least 24 hours prior to filling the tank with water. A regular fluorescent light will be OK if you won't have live plants or if you'll have plain low-light plants such as Anubias, Java Fern, or Java Moss.

And ... OF COURSE ... CYCLE the tank before you add any fish to it!

 

[bamacannon]

Thanks a lot guys, a few more additons

I will only have artificial plants for a long time, I want to make sure I have a clean well running tank, at least a year before I begin fooling with plants.
I've been reading up on the

Ive been reading more and thinking about what my son likes in fish. I think I will try to go with this.

5 zebra danios
5 neon tetras
2 corys (for me, I like em)

hopefully that won't be too much for a 20 gal tank that is well maintained. If it turns out that it will be too much I should be able to move up to a 30 and fill it out nicely. Thanks again.

 

[AlfaBetta]

You can save a lot of money by going with a HOB filter. I think for your tank an Emperor 400 would be more than enough. It has two large biowheels. You can find it for around $40 at places like Big Als Online, That Pet Place, Dr. Foster & Smith etc. As far as the fish, I'd avoid the Neons as they're not very hardy and may die in your new tank. They prefer mature tanks of a few months old. You can get some other types of Tetras in place of the Neons though. Zebra danios and/or White clouds will be fine for your tank too. You will also need to get a heater. For the lights, any low wattage under 20W fluorescent full spectrum would work.

 

[Jmarcus]

If you are planning on adding live plants later you might want to think adding a nutreint enriched substrate now,plant geeks is a great source of informaton on this subject. Wishing you the best, and welcome to FishLore.

 

[Isabella]

I think I will try to go with this.

5 zebra danios
5 neon tetras
2 corys (for me, I like em)

hopefully that won't be too much for a 20 gal tank that is well maintained. If it turns out that it will be too much I should be able to move up to a 30 and fill it out nicely. Thanks again.

For a 20 gallon tank, 5 zebra danios, 5 neon tetras, and 2 cories are not too many The tank should be fine this way In fact, you could make it 6 neons and 6 danios, as they'll do better in larger groups. And you do have the space for 2 more of these small fish. So it will still be OK if you have 6 zebra danios, 6 neons, and 2 cories.