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hi,
new to the forum and setting up a aquarium. Thought it would be great for the boys, ages 3 & 5. Was going to go to Wal-mart and just buy the 29g deluxe kit w/stand, is this a good idea? looks to come with everything I need to get started. For decorations I plan on going to the LFS. Live plants is the plan.

Thanks for the input

Thats a nice size for a small to moderate community tank,and live plants are usually a nice thing to have and contributes the the quality of the fish's environment.

It is a good idea, but when dealing with the big chain stores always bear in mind their advice can be so bad that it regularly leads to fish deaths and negligent care, so make sure you have a go at fishless cycling (in case you didnt know a filter takes typically 21 to 28 days to mature before ammonia and nitrite toxin is reduced to undetectable and the normal production of nitrate , the least toxic poison that we reduce by weekly water changes) occurs. Until then you always stand a chance of losing fish. Cycling with fish in the tank from day one, under the control of the beginner, usually causes some fish deaths. Patience is a virtue in fishkeeping. Its better to use ammonia or detritus or cycling kits to get the filter mature well in advance of adding fish, often meaning you get the tank set up and dont add fish for nearly a month if you want to be sure of your fish enjoying a 100% survival rate.

Research the species you want to keep thoroughly, well in advance of purchase, and if you want an idea of what a good stocking level is, aND how many fish you should have and what species are compatible etc,post your stocking ideas and favourite fish here before purchase and we can run through them with you to make sure your fish stay happy and healthy.

People will sell you unsuitable fish, and if your a beginner its all too easy to make bad choices. A good number of fish in a shop labeled as "comminuty" means that they are suitable for different kinds of community, and their care and tolerance of other fish may come with a certain number of proviso's.

Hope that helps you get started, anything else you want to know just ask. Welcome to FP ! If we can we will help you get it right first time, every time.

While your here read through the posts of others , have a look at the problems of those who have gone before you, take in a little on the fish species in the profiles, and have a quick look at the disease profiles etc. It will all help you make some better judgements for the future.

Hi there,
29g is a great size to start with, not only does it allow more options for fish, and more fish to live in it, but it is larger and so more stable and easier to care for than a smaller tank.

I agree with Longhair - Dont listen to walmart advice. Also, dont buy fish at the same time you buy the tank.
Also, make sure the kit comes with a heater, if it doesnt you will need to buy one. In my walmart here some kits have heaters, some dont.

For a good getting started peice of advice, tank the tank home, find a good spot. Dont put it near a window.
Once you have the spot, set the tank up. Fill it with water, dechlorinated (you should purchase a bottle of Prime water conditioner), and add heater. Adjust temp to 78F (good temp for most tropical fish). Leave it for 2 days to ensure A) No leaks B) The heater works right.

Once the tank is done, at this point you need to decide, are you going to "Cycle" (Nitrogen cycle) the tank with Pure Household ammonia, or are you going to do a Fish-In Cycle. Please Read this link on the Nitrogen Cycle -
http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html

If you decide to cycle with Live Fish - this is a lot of work. I suggest one of the 2 following fish species - Zebra Danios, or White Cloud Mountain Minnows. A group of 8 of either of these species will work to cycle a tank. These are hardy, robust fish that usually will survive a cycle. If you dont plan to keep either, ensure your LFS will allow returns of the fish for credit or exchange.

During the cycle, you will need to use a liquid drip Ammonia test, a nitrItes test, and a nitrAtes test.
At first you will need to check for ammonia only. Check daily. Whenever you see ammonia reach 1.0 ppm or higher, you will need to remove 35% of the water approximately.
You will need to buy a gravel vaccuum - but dont vaccuum the gravel during the cycle, just remove water.
After about 1 week, start testing for NitrItes, every second or third day until you see them appear. Continue to do water changes when ammonia reaches 1.0ppm or higher.
One day your ammonia test will read zero. This is the time to start testing for NitrAtes as well. When the Ammonia and nitrItes read 0 and nitrAtes read +5, the tank is cycled and now safe for your planned fish!

When you stock your fish, you will want to do small groups of fish, purchased a week to 10 days apart, to allow the tank to stabilize between additions.

Adding live plants at the time of first fish is a great idea - they will make the cycle easier on the fish.
Cycling the tank will take anywhere from 21-60 days, on average. During this time, go to LFS with your boys, look at fish you all like, and write the names down.
Come back here, tell us what you like, and we can help you decide what works, how many, and how to plan for the stocking.

Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of fish keeping!


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hello again,
Thanks for the advice! Bought the 29g tank and stand, all is setup with just the water, filter, and heater running(no gravel etc). Kit came with aquasafe, put in and some drops of stress-zyme. question: with gravel and decoration in tank, should the water level be up to the filter or should the water be splashing into the tank? its an Aqua-tech power filter 20-40 model.

Everything appears to be good and working. Decided to go with the fishless cycle, hope I can find ammonia. Going the the LFS for gravel, plants, etc. Should I be testing the water now?

Thanks
Appreciate the Help

Hi there,
you should be able to find pure household ammonia at any walmart store or similar.
The water level should be high enough that the filter trickles down without a splashing sound.

When you get the ammonia, add a small amount, test the water, until you get up to about 2ppm.
You want to test daily or every second day to ensure ammonia stays around 2ppm for the cycle and add more ammonia when necessary.



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ok great,
I found the ammonia at the local ACE Hardware Store. I have added some and tested it, looks good. So now I will check it daily and wait for the nitrite to spike.
Thanks a bunch. LFS suggested using goldfish to cycle tank, I didn't care for that idea..... since I won't want to keep goldfish in it. Also said live plants are a no go with the horrible city water we have, so I got fake ones.

Will update u in a few weeks, thanks again

BAAHH horrid LFS giving bad advice.

Glad you didnt go the goldfish route, cruel and horrid and often just creates more trouble.

I've had live plants in my tank on city water just fine. They help in fact. However most tanks dont' have enough light for most plants, look for lowlight ones such as java fern, java moss, or hornwort.

A water conditioner like Prime will handle any heavy metals, many of them available in the states these days do more than just chlorine. Look for ones that handle chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals.

^_^

Hi,
Since you have opted for "Fish-less Cycling" of the tank
here is an article on how to do it:

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article14.html

Welcome to Fish Profiles, and please ask if you should
have any questions. The site is populated by many experts
in fish keeping and I'm sure they can come up with the
correct answers to make your venture into the hobby a
satisfying one.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--