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If I were to start a new tank... Ideal size, stand, heating, oxygenation (if thats a word), substrate, plants, filtration, Lighting, cycling, Where to buy (online vs. offline), Just some basic thoughts from everyone would be appricated!

Jacob-

You've come to the right place for good advice and a TON of experience.

I would say do your homework before you buy anything (which you're obviously doing, by asking questions.

I wouldn't go anything less than 20g, but if you could mayb 55 gallons would be better. The reason is that the smaller the tank, the fewer fish you can have, and the tricky-er it can be to keep the water parameters (temp, ammonia, nitrites/nitrates, pH, etc.) where they need to be.

Research various species of fish before you just go out and buy the first "groovy looking" fish you see at the LFS. There's a lot to consider: what they eat, what water qualities do they require, what temperature, what species do they get along/not get along with, etc.

Research about plants as well. I don't have any live plants in my new tank (I have only been at this a month and a half) yet, as I want to focus on the fishkeeping part first.

Read the article in this forum called "Starting an Aquarium" by Fish_Tank. There's a TON of good information in there, and it's a great place to start.

You'll get a lot of feedback if you ask questions on here. The biggest thing I can suggest is read and ask questions before you buy your equipment and fish.

Good luck and welcome to the site!

Thank you Scott.

Entirely depends what you want to put in the tank. A 20g with a standard hob may be fine or you may require a 55+ with a cannister. Sometimes internal filters are actually a good idea but most of the time they aren't enough filtration. ie My small gourami breeding tank uses an internal filter because it's not big enough to warrant buying a cannister, I want minimal water movement, minimal surface movment(rules out the hobs), and it doesn't need strong filtration to keep it the water quality up. But on most tank setups you want surface agitation to increase aeration and high flow rates with more water movement to keep the tank circulated and well filtered so because my tank has a specific purpose it's an exception. Before anyone can suggest what you should buy you need to decide what you want to keep. The inhabitants determine the tank size, filtration, heating, substrate, lighting, etc...

My only suggestion for now would be not to buy tank kits. They come with cheap parts that usually don't serve your purpose. Buy everything seperately so you can get exactly what you want.

ok, gotcha'!

Having had tanks from huge to tiny I would say the best way to keep average aquarium for standard size fish for a good size community or a few larger fish like cichlids etc, big enough for most large plants, still be very manageable and have a nice variety of fish without costing the earth is your totally average , bog standard, 55 gallon rectangular tank. For a 55 lids, evaporation trays, decor, gravels , filters, lights and fittings are all still within standard sizes.

Big enough to indulge the hobby, stable and safe for the fish, not too much in the way of heavy lifting with water changes, and wont totally dominate the average room. A 30 is fine , but an understocked 55 really takes some of the effort out. Bigger than that and you need a little muscle and cash on your side. I have several 120's that are real graft to keep top notch, the 30 seems more work than it should somehow and I intrinsically distrust the disaster perameters of anything much smaller than 15 gallons. 55'S were some of my best tanks, looking better , performing better, and more fun to have than some of the larger ones, which when due for a major cleanup can really put a sense of gall into you, especially when youre tired. A 55 is a great tank. The stocking level a 55 gives you without too much work is a real joy, and if you keep to fish 4 inches or less in length you can keep them happily in there all their lives with little risk of abusive or insufficient care, and the shoals can still impress and the variety a joy to see.

A 55 is big enough to see fish through powercuts, the bacterial beds in proportion are big enough to survive the odd treatment, the oxygenation level is ok, you dont have to worry about leaving the fish if you go away for a couple of weeks etc,or an aerator of filter clogging while youre at work because the fish will most likely still be ok by the time you return, its just a kind of optimum size where you can live out most of your fishkeeping objectives without it taking over your life, or requiring some serious modifications to your house to compensate for the weight. Just stock it sensibly and its the most manageable and safe size around, its the size where the principles of fishkeeping all seem to knit together really well keeping the fish safe so that they can average good ages without the maintenance getting silly, and replacement parts and equipment getting too expensive.

It sounds like you put alot of emotion into that longhairedgit. Thank you!