Setting Up My First Tank Ever

Hey guys,

Completely new to the fish/aquarium world here.

I have been researching for a while now, and learned all about the nitrogen cycle, maintenance etc.

Now I'm planning on buying a 37 Gallon ( fresh water) tank as my first tank.

And I have decided I want to start out with live plants, since this seems to be the best for the fishes in the end.

Now I know it is important to have fish that are top dwellers, center fish & bottom feeders. And some fish will dig up plants etc. So I have a couple of questions about fish and plants.

1. How many smaller fish can I keep in a 37 Gallon tank without stressing them out or putting too much load on the filtration system? ( I know plants will help, but I want them to be happy too. I will obviously not keep any fish that will grow larger than 2 inches.)

2. Which fish are good to combine and will most likely live in harmony? I browsed online and went to the fish store and these are the fish that I like: Platy ( micky mouse, gold twin bar, blue coral), dwarf Gourami , Tetra (red blue), Cory Catfish, Dwarf neon rainbow,white cloud mountain minnow, Zebra Danio ( 6 or more for the top). If I want to combine most of these, what would be the ideal amount of each?

3. What kind of substrate will be best for my plants, without the bottom fish getting stressed?And what do I need to maintain substrate? ( do I need to replenish it, can I clean it with a hose etc)

4. what kind of plants are best suited for these fish, without them digging them up too much?

5. What do I need to take care of underwater plants ( food etc) and how often do they need to be replaced.

6. what plants are true underwater plants? ( not just water resistant houseplants)

7. What method is best for beginners when it comes to housing plants( potting, planting, wood/rocks,)

8. Is the light that comes with the tank suitable for live plants? And the filter?

Any other question I might have missed, please let me know! I want to know as much as possible before even setting a tank up. As I realize it is much easier to ( over) do it right the first time, then to readjust everything once the fish are already situated.


Aquarium kit specifics:

• 37 Gallon Glass tank with hood

• Bright White LED

• Thermometer

• 6 in Nylon Net

• Water test Vial

• 200 Watt Heater

• Top Fin Silentstream 40 Power Filter with cartridge instruction Manual.

I'm so exited you guys!

 

I'm no good with tank stocks I'm afraid, but I just wanted to welcome you to fishlore and to the addictive magic of fish keeping!!!

You will love it here, trust me

Maybe Katie13 and junebug can help though!

 

Greetings and welcome to Fishlore

I am pressed for time right now so can not go into all your questions. But others will be along soon I am sure. The fish you want are not compatible. The white clouds are very cool water fish. The platys need much warmer water. Look into the needs of each fish you like before you buy. Do not go by the pet store people.

If you want to go the sand route I suggest BDBS (Black Diamond Blasting Sand). $8.00 at Tractor Suply Co. for 50# It has the good points of sand with none of the drawbacks like sandstorms that kill impellers.

This the 150.Those are live plants. Med-large grit BDBS.

 

[QUOTE="presh, post: 3362852, member: 95836"

These are some great questions, sounds like you've been doing a lot of research. I'll answer the ones that I feel comfortable answering.

1. How many smaller fish can I keep in a 37 Gallon tank without stressing them out or putting too much load on the filtration system? ( I know plants will help, but I want them to be happy too. I will obviously not keep any fish that will grow larger than 2 inches.)

Different fish will create different bioloads, simply put, some poop more than others. Depending on the type of fish you want will dictate the number of fish you get.

2. Which fish are good to combine and will most likely live in harmony? I browsed online and went to the fish store and these are the fish that I like: Platy ( micky mouse, gold twin bar, blue coral), dwarf Gourami , Tetra (red blue), Cory Catfish, Dwarf neon rainbow,white cloud mountain minnow, Zebra Danio ( 6 or more for the top). If I want to combine most of these, what would be the ideal amount of each?

White clouds need colder water than the other fish. I think they are a lot of fun but realistically they need to not be in a tank with the other fish. Gouramis and dwarf neon rainbows aren't really beginner fish, they require extra care and aren't very forgiving. Cory catfish need to be added to an established tank but they are certainly appropriate for a beginner and can be the last to be added. I'm not familiar with the red/blue tetras.

3. What kind of substrate will be best for my plants, without the bottom fish getting stressed?And what do I need to maintain substrate? ( do I need to replenish it, can I clean it with a hose etc)

Flourite is an excellent substrate for plants as is Fluval.

4. what kind of plants are best suited for these fish, without them digging them up too much?

I have multiple tanks that are planted and have a heck of a time keeping things alive. Depending on the strength of the light will depend on the plants you can keep. I personally like Anubias and crypts best.

5. What do I need to take care of underwater plants ( food etc) and how often do they need to be replaced.

Root tabs and liquid fertilizer is a great start. Follow the directions as each one is different. Generally the liquid is needed on a weekly basis and root tabs every couple of months. Plants that get their nutrients from their roots (such as swords) will need the tabs and plants that get their nutrients from the water column (such as grass plants and floating) will need the liquid. Red plants will need iron supplements.

6. what plants are true underwater plants? ( not just water resistant houseplants). I suggest you go on a website. aquarium plants liveaquaria and tropica can give you suggestions and ideas. Tropica is a great website, they give ideas for tank setups as well.

7. What method is best for beginners when it comes to housing plants( potting, planting, wood/rocks,)

Depending on the plant will depend on where you plant it. Some plants cannot be planted in the substrate (anubias). Other plants cannot be anywhere else but planted though I think that is mostly true.

8. Is the light that comes with the tank suitable for live plants? And the filter?

No, the light that comes with the tank is most likely not acceptable. Check the light to see what the specifications of the light are and the gallons of the tank and it will dictate if the tank has high light, medium, low or you-can't-grow-anything-but-algae light. It depends on the filter, I'd just suggest doing some research on that part.

Any other question I might have missed, please let me know! I want to know as much as possible before even setting a tank up. As I realize it is much easier to ( over) do it right the first time, then to readjust everything once the fish are already situated.


Aquarium kit specifics:

• 37 Gallon Glass tank with hood

• Bright White LED

• Thermometer

• 6 in Nylon Net

• Water test Vial

• 200 Watt Heater

• Top Fin Silentstream 40 Power Filter with cartridge instruction Manual.

I'm so exited you guys![/QUOTE]

 

Welcome to Fishlore! The filter isn’t the best (8-10 times the tank size is recommended for gallons per hour). The light would do fine with low light plants (Anubias, Java Fern, Anarchis/Elodea, and Hornwort are some). The number of fish you can keep in this tank size depends on the species. What type of tetra? Red and blue is pretty vague in this hobby.

 

Is it the red blue Columbian tetra?

 

I think red blue, OP meant is Neon or Cardinal. Both may not be good with the other choices OP made.

May be OP can do platies(6, 4F2M), Corys(6) and a single Dwarf Gourami in a 37G?

 

I have a 36 gallon planted, it has 5 panda cories, 11 cardinal tetras and 12 harlequin tetras as well as 5 amano shrimp and 4 nerite snails plus cherry shrimp, I'm not sure how many, they keep breeding!

It's a corner pentagon so taller than wide and it has a Fluval 2.0 light and is considered to have a medium light. Anubias and spiral val grows quite well in my tank. Somehow Amazon swords don't grow well. Elodea anacharis also grows well but I'm pretty sure you could grow that in a toilet. I have floating plants in my other tank, I'm not sure how I feel about it, they grow well but shade the rest of the tank and I'm not sure how I feel about the roots. It's definitely different. If you choose floating plants make sure you choose plants that compliment them... I did not.

 

For root tabs and liquid ferts,

-osmocote plant fertilizer(bought it on Craigslist but I’ve seen tables sold on eBay as well.)
Or you could make your own with dissolvable tablets

-seachem flourish excel(got it on amazon for $10)

I put one tab under each of my amazon swords every few months and it seems to work good.

 

Y

I think red blue, OP meant is Neon or Cardinal. Both may not be good with the other choices OP made.

May be OP can do platies(6, 4F2M), Corys(6) and a single Dwarf Gourami in a 37G?

For root tabs and liquid ferts,

-osmocote plant fertilizer(bought it on Craigslist but I’ve seen tables sold on eBay as well.)
Or you could make your own with dissolvable tablets

-seachem flourish excel(got it on amazon for $10)

I put one tab under each of my amazon swords every few months and it seems to work good.

So for the substrate, I need to put in fertilizing tabs? How often? I read somewhere that the soil, if it is special plant substrate, won't have to be replenished for around a year, and then start the tabs?
I have not found any seachem where I live ( Canada)

Also, how do you keep your tank contained when you have live bearing fish like a platy?

 

Also, how do you keep your tank contained when you have live bearing fish like a platy?

Either you keep a second tank with a predatory species to eat any fry the parents don't or trade them to your local non chain pet store for credit.

 

I've brought guppies to Petco. They take them in "out of the goodness of their heart" and adopt them out for $.50 less than what the other fancy guppies are being sold for. They're being sold for less but they aren't being sold as feeder fish. I had probably 40 of them and watched them grow and got very attached, knowing I was going to get rid of them, when I asked at a LFS they said yes they would buy them and I casually asked if they were sold as feeders and she said, "Oh yeah. We sell them for about $.25 each." I audibly gasped and walked out of there mortified. I was ok with them being eaten when they were new and I hadn't gotten attached but I wasn't ok with it when I'd watched them grow and get big!

 

is it a possibility to only get male guppies? Or are they too hard to differentiate.

 

is it a possibility to only get male guppies? Or are they too hard to differentiate.

Absolutely. Male guppies are smaller and have pretty tails. Female guppies are larger and mostly grey.

 

Welcome! Can't help you with stocking but I am gonna put my two cents in on substrate for your plants.

Do not buy seachem flourite red(idk about black) while it grew my plants super well without any fertz its super sharp and I'm pretty sure my corys hated it(I had sand in the middle of my tank and they spent there time on that or the giant bridge). I believe seachem makes sand flourite which I didn't know existed until recent, its expensive but it would probably be best for the corys.(I wish I knew it existed before I got another brand of flourite substrate to cover it, haven't had it long enough to give a review but its not sharp, its carribsea floramax black) I would deff go with some type of flourite substrate tho.

 

is it a possibility to only get male guppies? Or are they too hard to differentiate.

You can definitely keep only males!

 

so far I've come up with this TOP: 6 Zebra danios, ? amount of possibly male endler guppies?
MIDDLE: 10 cardinal tetras, 4/5 male guppies
BOTTOM: 4/5 Cory ( bandit, panda adolfo, not sure the difference)

I'm rethinking the real plants now, maybe I want to do more than I really should take on. If I go without the real plants, what do corys like the best substrate/gravel wise? I read somewhere that it can't be too course, or is that more a problem with smaller bottom fish.

 

In my personal experience, guppies take up the middle and top, they don't stick to one area like they're supposed to. Cories need something small, coarse or big gravel can scratch their bellies and make it difficult for them to get their food. I would consider cories as smaller bottom fish. Get good substrate early on, you don't want to regret the purchase and end up needed to re-scape the whole tank to put in new substrate.

 

My only input is to either get only male, or only female live bearers. To give you an idea, 2 female platy gave me over 24 fry that survived to juvenile stages in my ‘not fry friendly’ tank.

 

so far I've come up with this TOP: 6 Zebra danios, ? amount of possibly male endler guppies?
MIDDLE: 10 cardinal tetras, 4/5 male guppies
BOTTOM: 4/5 Cory ( bandit, panda adolfo, not sure the difference)

I'm rethinking the real plants now, maybe I want to do more than I really should take on. If I go without the real plants, what do corys like the best substrate/gravel wise? I read somewhere that it can't be too course, or is that more a problem with smaller bottom fish.

I've honestly have no issues with my corys and the sharp/course gravel. They have zero issues getting the pellets I feed them. There barbells stayed long and they have had no wounds but I'm pretty sure they don't like it. Corydora like sand. You should get six of them that would make them the happiest, just make sure they are the same species (Pandas, Bronze, Emerald, Pepper, ect are all different species of cory and won't school together) and are temp compatible with your other stock.

 

National Geographic™ Crystal Lake Aquarium Sand | fish Gravel, Sand & Stones

Is this a good substrate for corys? And for easy low tech/light plants if I provide them with root tabs?