# New to the aquarium world, could use some help.



## asadikeen (Aug 3, 2012)

First off i would like to say hello to everyone, I am new to the forums here.
Just by reading some of the threads, i feel like this is a great community and I am excited to be apart of it.
Anyhow, I just moved into my own apartment and everything seems pretty boring so i decided that i wanted to buy an aquarium.
In the past i owned four betta fish, and I took great care of them and enjoyed their company.
However, I felt that i am ready to set up my own aquarium. After doing a little research i found the perfect one at petsmart. Its a 56 Gallon - 30" W x 18" D x 24" H
I know it only comes with the aquarium, stand, and light.
What kind of filter would you recommend for this? Also what else do i need to perfectly set up this aquarium?
I would like some live plants in there.
One main fish that i have my eye on is a Plecostomus. What kinds of fish would interact well with one?
Also about how much extra would i be paying for electricity a month with this 56 gallon tank?
Any help to these questions would be highly appreciated.
Honestly, other than the tank itself, i do not know what I am doing, and before i take drastic measures i want to completely inform myself so i can properly take care of these wonderful creatures.
Thanks for your time.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

Go to your LFS and look for a filter that is rated for 56+ gallons. I would recommend Aquaclear filters and I have also heard good things about Marineland biowheel filters. I actually just picked up a marineland biowheel for me saltwater tank so I am actually hoping they are good as well.

You also need a heater. I think that a 150 watt heater would work, but a 200 watt couldn't hurt. 

Live plants are good I suggest water wisteria, java fern, and willow hydro. You can probably find a hood that will fit and just get some daylight bulbs (6500k - 10000k) at around 1 watt per gallon of water. There is a better way aside from wattage to judge what lights to get. I would also just recommend asking other forum goes what they use. 

Many fish go well with plecos. However avoid common plecos as eventually they will grow to 2' and outgrow your tank. Take a look at some various ones here Plecostomus Fish: Plecos and other Catfish for Sale

Plecos are peaceful fish so other peaceful fish will go well with them. Tetras, reasboras, guppies, mollies, etc. . . Angelfish and gouramis may also be fine with a pleco. Remember with a pleco to add driftwood to your tank as plecos like to rasp on it. Also realize plecos are bottom dwellers and may uproot your plants.

as far as electricity goes I have no idea, probably not a huge extra expense however.

As some last advice I recommend reading up on how to cycle aquariums. We have a great article on how to do a fishless cycle. There is also a silent cycle and a with fish cycle. I personally suggest a fishless or silent cycle. Silent cycle involves heavily planting an aquarium and adding fish slowly (1 or 2 per week). A fishless cycle involves using pure ammonia or fish food (as an ammonia source) to cycle the tank.


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## asadikeen (Aug 3, 2012)

jbrown5217 said:


> Go to your LFS and look for a filter that is rated for 56+ gallons. I would recommend Aquaclear filters and I have also heard good things about Marineland biowheel filters. I actually just picked up a marineland biowheel for me saltwater tank so I am actually hoping they are good as well.
> 
> You also need a heater. I think that a 150 watt heater would work, but a 200 watt couldn't hurt.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the reply jbrown. 
This greatly helped me out because for a whole I wasn't feeling so confident about this idea but this definitely made me reconsider. I am going to look into silent cycle so that everything could be ready for my fish before I put them in.
However I do have some other questions if anyone would like to help me out that would be great.
As for a 56 gallon tank what would be a good amount of fish I could put in there? I don't want it to get over crowded. Also what would be a good number of plants? What does uprooting mean and is it. A bad thing?
And last but not least if I have different kinds of fish like herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores, how would I feed them? Do I need to worry about a fish eating the wrong food?
Thanks again!


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

asadikeen said:


> 1. What kind of filter would you recommend for this?
> 2. Also what else do i need to perfectly set up this aquarium?
> 3. One main fish that i have my eye on is a Plecostomus. What kinds of fish would interact well with one?
> 4. Also about how much extra would i be paying for electricity a month with this 56 gallon tank?
> ...


Welcome to the forum! Let's get started....

1. For a 56 gallon, I would suggest a MarineLand Magnum 350 or C-350. The Magnums can be found used for super cheap if you live in a city ($50-$100), the C-350's are the newer version and are $120-$150 at pet stores. They're big, run quiet, have huge amounts of media storage capability, and are built to last. Keep an eye on the for sale section on this forum as well, if you want. Aquarium societies have swap meets/auctions as well where you can buy some good stuff for cheap.

2. Heater, and good light, really. What kind of light do you have? T8 fluorescent, probably? Let us know.

3. Plecos are very docile and bottom feeders, but they get BIG. They also have a propensity to dig when they get big, and can uproot plants. Try and get a bushynose or bristlenose pleco (talk to Susankat on here), they only get 6"-8" long. As far as cohabitants, they get along with everything, literally.

4. Depends on your kWh charge. In Utah, at $0.08/kWh, I was spending about $5.00 extra a month.

5. Depends on the size/type of fish. You could either go with a TON of tetras or rasboras, a few gouramis, or one or two red tailed sharks, tiger barbs or bala sharks.

6. The more the merrier!

7. Uprooting means the plants get pulled out of the substrate. It won't kill a plant outright, but if they continually get uprooted they will starve and die. The exception to this is moss.

8. Most all fish are omnivores. A balanced diet of protein mixed with veggie matter is ideal, and is exactly what flake food consists of. Kensfish.com sells a ton of high-end foods and some frozen foods which can be used as a special treat. Fish LOVE live foods though; live worms, live insect larvaes or morphs, live baby shrimp, even baby fish fry. Just be sure to drop a piece of blanched zucchini or some mashed up spinach or peas in there every now and then if you're going to go with high-end food.

9. The only time I have ever had to worry about feeding the wrong things is with African dwarf frogs, because they can suffer from bloating. Otherwise, everything's equally edible.

Hope this helps!


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## SueD (Aug 4, 2012)

I would suggest an Aquaclear 110 filter like this - Aquarium Filters: Hagen AquaClear Power Filters. Don't need the carbon that will come it, just use extra sponge or biomax. You should filter at twice the tank capacity.

If you stick with the stock light at first, look for lower light, easy plants such as java fern and smaller anubias which you can tie to rock or wood. You can also get some of the taller anubias and plant just the roots in the substrate, leaving the rhizome above. 

As for fish, I agree with the choice of a bushynose pleco, or perhaps a bulldog (rubbernose) pleco. These are gentler on plants. Plecos also need some driftwood and mine like to hide in something - I have a bamboo cave in one tank and a driftwood cave in another.

As for the rest of the tank inhabitants, I suggest that you go window shopping at your local fish store (LFS) without purchasing anything at first. Just see what is available to you, what you like and develop a list of options. Then check back here with others to get an idea of compatibility and numbers. Some species should only be in schools of 10 or more, some should be solitary, and some in pairs or trios. Be wary of the advice received from the store if you are dealing with the chain stores such as Petsmart, Petco.

This hobby can be addicting and you will need both patience (while cycling) and restraint (in numbers) in stocking your first tank.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

First purchase - a good book. As an alternative, a trip to the library to borrow some encyclopedias of aquarium fish. Start looking through them and see what's intriguing. We can make all the suggestions we want, but we don't see with your eyes.
You could very well get excited about fish none of us could care less about. I find glofish, injected fish and test tube hybrid fish (blood parrots) really disturbing - I like to think I can observe nature in a tank. Many other aquarists love them. You have to see where you stand, and also what the possibilities are.
The web is good if you know what you are looking for. For exploration, you still can't beat a big thick book full of fish species. The Baensch Aquarium Atlas series is almost overwhelming, but really good. It's been around for a while, and it's the standard.
The fish you like determine a lot, including, to a degree, filtration. I use Aquaclears, as I prefer hang on the back filters for their easy access. I hate using canisters - but Gizmo, a knowledgeable aquarist, loves them, Read up on the pros and cons first.
If you fall for Malawi or Tanganyika cichlids, you will need a radically different set-up than if you fall for cardinal tetras, which will have different needs than rainbowfish, or livebearers, or fancy guppies, or barbs - onwards and onwards. There are hundreds of fish species available in the trade, although your average corporate chain store would never give you that impression.
If you are lucky, you are in a centre with independent aquarium stores - that way you can go see a lot of the fish you will find in the books.
We're all different, but leafing through fish books is fun for me - I get ideas and start thinking about what I would do to keep certain fish well - it's kind of fun, if you like learning. I'd suggest it as a starting point. Then, you can hit us with specific questions and see if we can help.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

First: make sure you can have that size aquarium in the apartment. Most have some kinda size limitation.

second: take a look at the methods in the link in my signature.

Third: Have the best tank ever-- one you can enjoy.

forth: Just my .02


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## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

If you can i would go with a canister filter..like a ehiem or a flual..no noise out of them what so ever..super quiet , no water ricling effect unless you dont like that..but most important it give you better filtration in my opinion..i realize your new so a hang on the back might be the way you want to go , but canister filters are not that much more expensive now days..

as for as checking out the methods in bob's signature..well that would be doing you a unjustice..those will only get you in trouble..

good luck and welcome to the forum

Rick


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## dtn23 (Jul 9, 2012)

As a recent beginner myself I can offer a little advice that would have helped when I was first starting. After countless hours of reading I now know what mistakes I made. Honestly, I would go with a fishless cycle. I tried fish-in and it was a serious struggle. Fighting with water changes to keep the fish healthy but consequently slowing my cycle. There is a great sticky on this forum about cycling a tank. An API Master Freshwater Test Kit would be your best friend during a cycle. Drops are MUCH more accurate than strips and you get hundreds of tests for $30 instead of 25 strips for $10. Also make sure you have a good dechlorinater like Seachem Prime or Tetra AquaSafe.

As for stocking, it's all up to what you prefer, but certain species are much harder to keep than others. I, personally, would love discus, but they are expensive and rather difficult to keep. I currently run a tropical community of mostly livebearers and I think that's a great starting point due to their ease of keeping and variety. Cichlids and angels tend to be other favorites, but are a bit more complicated.

I don't have excessive knowledge of plecos but I will agree with the others on the forum that a standard pleco will easily outgrow your tank, so you would want to look into a small species. You could also look into other fish that are similar to plecos. Bottom-feeding catfish for example.

I have a 55 gallon long tank that is currently running a Penguin 350 BioWheel; it's a great filter but it doesn't quite seem enough for me, so I currently have an AquaClear 70 on order which should be here within a week. I will be running both of those filters for a total of 650 (manufacturer claimed) gallons per hour of filtration. The BioWheel is great for the biological stage of filtration but I want the AC to help out with the mechanical.

I run a 200W heater with a small digital thermometer and it easily keeps my tank right at 79.5 F. I can't offer much insight into planting a tank because I'm just looking into that myself.

The absolute best thing I can tell you is to read and ask questions before you do anything. Don't trust Petco or PetSmart (to a degree) because their job is to sell products. The forums are the best place to learn IMO because most people here speak from personal experience. You may want to stop by the aqadvisor website for a guideline on stocking. It takes into account your tank size and filtration level and will give a reasonable stocking limit based on which fish you choose to want.

Sorry for the wall of text but I tried to cover all of the bases that I wish I knew looking back. Feel free to respond here or PM me with any questions and good luck 

(and I wouldn't recommend Bob's methods either, they may work for him but I believe you'd be happier with more mainstream methods)


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