Where should I start with my 21 Gallon?

Well, I'd like to start planning for my 21 gallon setup which will be happening in less than 2 months (yay!) but have been up in the air on where I'd like to start. I know I'd like to have some live plants in it, but have never kept live plants before and have no idea where abouts to start, can I cycle with live plants, or do I need to wait?

I've always wanted some Angelfish, and am thinking I could likely get away with 2, maybe 3 of them in this tank, but on the other hand my fiance wants schooling fish. The one pet store sells Fruit Tetras (I'm assuming dyed?) and my fiance loved them, but if that is the case with being dyed, I will obviously try to find some White Skirts. I've also thought about livebearers, but have only ever had Swordtails, and really don't know where I'd go from there.

I'm not even sure what to use for substrate, gravel or sand? Any benefits of either one? disadvantages? Any good links I should check out?

 

Java ferns are interesting plants and you can get a surprising number of sprouts from them. liveaquaria is a great place to browse for plants. I'd buy some at petsmart with a good look at them for snails, but don't trust petco's plants. As far as I know you can cycle with live plants.

Yea, I think the fruit tetras are dyed and would hesitate to shop there if they know it. The angels would be cool, but definitely the only fish in the tank.. has she seen the Koi Angelfish? those are fabulous and would make a great tank. If you want to go with livebearers, platys are pretty hardy and you could get a bunch in there, but guppies are really colorful and blue guppies are a very attractive fish.

we started out with gravel, but hated the dust and the betta fins didn't benefit from the gravel. then we went to flat glass marbles from the crafts department. nice and smooth, but they tend to let stuff slide down to the bottom easier. the look great under lights, but now we're going to switch the tanks to the small smooth river rocks.. we find those at Dollar Tree for 50 cents/lb. we'll just put the rocks layer on top of the marbles for a month or 2, then remove the marbles after we're sure there's been more than enough time for the river rocks to build up plenty of good bacteria. we've not tried sand yet, but have heard good on silica sand.

 

you can "cycle" with plants, but it's not quite the same. it's a "silent cycle" because the plants will use up the waste products, so you won't see the spikes (assuming you're well stocked on plants).

as far as substrate, I have and love sand. it's much easier to maintain (major plus) and I think it looks a lot better. it's also easier to keep plants planted (imo) in addition, it's very cheap I think I got a 50 pound bag for about two or three dollars at home depot or lowe's.

 

The angels would be cool, but definitely the only fish in the tank.. has she seen the Koi Angelfish? those are fabulous and would make a great tank.

Are they fairly easy to take care of? Got any links?

 

Are they fairly easy to take care of? Got any links?

I think they're not real hard, but not super easy either.. probably for someone who's had a little aquarium experience.
https://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Angelfish.htm

 

I was at the Aquarium Services store, I was looking through their fish and came across their Gourami's. Pearl, Flame, Powder Blue... they all look to be like the Dwarf Gourami's. I know the Blue Gourami's can be fairly aggressive, has anyone heard anything about any of these smaller gourami's? Would they be okay with a school of neons, or are they too nippy?

 

I was at the Aquarium Services store, I was looking through their fish and came across their Gourami's. Pearl, Flame, Powder Blue... they all look to be like the Dwarf Gourami's. I know the Blue Gourami's can be fairly aggressive, has anyone heard anything about any of these smaller gourami's? Would they be okay with a school of neons, or are they too nippy?

The dwarf gouramis are supposed to be fairly low on the aggressive scale and if the neons didn't bother him, it may work well.. especially with some caves and plants. i'd just watch and see what personality the gourami had and have a backup plan for him if he turned out to not play well with others.

 

I've even been considering some Sunset Platy's, Fancy Guppies and a school of Tetras or Cherry Barbs lately, basically I'm looking for an active aquarium with schools of smaller fish, Angels will have to wait until I get myself a larger tank.

The tank came with an Aquaclear 30, Aquaclear 30 150W submersible heater, 2 fluorescent slots for the included Aqua-glo and Sun-glo bulbs, and the rest was just petty stuff more than anything. Is there anything else I should consider beyond the obvious substrate and decoration? What kind of aeration would be best suited for a 21 gallon? I've never had a tank this size before, so it's all new to me.

Going back to substrate again, I am considering sand more than anything, do you need special sand, or does anything go so long as it's rinsed out?

 

I've even been considering some Sunset Platy's, Fancy Guppies and a school of Tetras or Cherry Barbs lately, basically I'm looking for an active aquarium with schools of smaller fish, Angels will have to wait until I get myself a larger tank.

The tank came with an Aquaclear 30, Aquaclear 30 150W submersible heater, 2 fluorescent slots for the included Aqua-glo and Sun-glo bulbs, and the rest was just petty stuff more than anything. Is there anything else I should consider beyond the obvious substrate and decoration? What kind of aeration would be best suited for a 21 gallon? I've never had a tank this size before, so it's all new to me.

Going back to substrate again, I am considering sand more than anything, do you need special sand, or does anything go so long as it's rinsed out?

That would be a great combination of small colorful fish that would definitely be active.

For aeration, i'd put an airstone on both ends of the tank or a bubble curtain in the back center.. you can get a good air pump and run through a gang valve to control the flow, although the gang valve wouldn't really be necessary.

I hear that silica sand is a really good choice for a sand substrata.

 

I hear that silica sand is a really good choice for a sand substrata.

I use silica sand for my substrate on my planted tank, and it's great. you do have to rinse it out before you begin, but it's a one time thing. it's also called play sand at places like lowe's or home depot. really cheap too, I think mine was about $2-3 for 50 pounds, more than enough for your tank

 

I hear that silica sand is a really good choice for a sand substrata.

I use silica sand for my substrate on my planted tank, and it's great. you do have to rinse it out before you begin, but it's a one time thing. it's also called play sand at places like lowe's or home depot. really cheap too, I think mine was about $2-3 for 50 pounds, more than enough for your tank

I was looking for silica sand for the mahachaI tank at the pet stores, but didn't know it was called play sand at home depot.. thanks for that info.

 

Excellent, I like the sounds of cheap substrate, although I definitely don't need 50lbs of it, lol.

I've been trying to find time to read up on plant keeping but have been extremely busy with other things that I haven't really found the time. Hopefully after next week when school is done I will have the time to sit down and read up a little bit before I begin.

Thanks for all the help and ideas, it's really appreciated.

 

I was looking for silica sand for the mahachaI tank at the pet stores, but didn't know it was called play sand at home depot.. thanks for that info.

it's a great substrate imo. glad I could help you out as you've helped me out more times than I can count!

 

Excellent, I like the sounds of cheap substrate, although I definitely don't need 50lbs of it, lol.

I've been trying to find time to read up on plant keeping but have been extremely busy with other things that I haven't really found the time. Hopefully after next week when school is done I will have the time to sit down and read up a little bit before I begin.

Thanks for all the help and ideas, it's really appreciated.

hehe, you definitely can't beat the price. they sell substrate for bettas (basically a handful of regular gravel) at the lfs for more than a 50 pound bag of sand at a hardware store! I bought a bag of it way back, and I just recently used up the last bit of it. i've used it for all but my barebottom tanks, and still had quite a bit left over that I used to plant land plants

if you have any questions about plants, i'm sure someone on here will be glad to help you out

 

it's a great substrate imo. glad I could help you out as you've helped me out more times than I can count!

no prob. it comes with the big paycheck and vampire betta that Mike gives the moderators.

 

I'm actually considering a saltwater tank now, my fiance and I were at Big Al's yesterday and as usual she makes her way to the saltwater fish to find the Clownfish and Tangs, granted a 21 gallon wouldn't allow for much, but I'd imagine I could keep a Clownfish or two with a few invertebrates. Although there doesn't seem to be a saltwater beginners area on these forums, so after reading the guide I'm still not sure what the best course of action could be. After the initial set up cost (which I know is fairly hefty), would it be about the same to maintain as far as cost goes? The maintenance seems to be a little less needy as well on a Saltwater tank beyond keeping an eye on water quality. Can a saltwater tank be done okay with a 21 gallon?

 

i've seen them as small as 5.5g so I think you could have a tank with a pair of clowns & anemone and a decent amount of live rock in a 21g.