# New to The Hobby and Need Help.



## pegger4 (Aug 11, 2010)

Hi I`m new to this aquarium hobby. I`ve never had anything more than a 5 gal tank with a few cheap fish and decorations in it. 
Now I`m looking to buy a good sized tank to start with and advice on how to get a good tank running so that I can have a good variety of fish and plant life. 

Advice on everything would be greatly appreciated but mostly I`m looking for:
-Size of tank to get (20 -30 gal)
-How to get the tank ready for fish
-How to keep them alive
-Pretty much where to start??

Thanks guys.

**Also I tend to be out of town for weekends so is it even going to be possible to have fish if I am going to be leaving them unattended and unfed for a few days????


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

First let me welcome you to the site.

1. Get the biggest you can afford, a 30 would be better than a 20 and so on. Get a filter rated for twice the size of the tank. If you want live plants, start out with low light plants like java ferns, anubia others. Also get a few good bunches of anacharist (sp) to late for me. Java ferns and anubia does best tied to wood or rock or some sort of deco. Choose a substrate. Lots of people go with sand if you want cories. but even small rounded rock will be ok. 

You will need to cycle the tank, which you can find some good info here, but you can also google it. This can take 2 to 6 weeks without fish, but you will need some sort of ammonia to start it. You can use ammonia from a hardware store, as long as it has no perfume or sudsing agents. 
You can also cycle a tank with fish, but you want to use very few hardy fish and be prepared to do several water changes during this time as it can damage or kill the fish.
After the tank is cycled do a 50% water change and slowly add your fish, at least a week to 2 weeks apart.
As for being gone on weekends. Fish can do without food for up to a couple of weeks and be fine so 2 to 3 days should be no problem. Just feed before and do a water change when you get back.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Definitely, the larger the better. Although I have a couple that are lower from previous years, I wouldn't go any smaller than a 55g. Larger tanks are easier to manage and are affected less by minute changes in water parameters - making it easier for someone new to the hobby. But, you may not have the available space for this size tank.

I'm still pretty new to it myself. Unless you get an everything kit with all you need, I'd buy everything you can online (decorations, heater, filter, etc). You can save as much as 50%, in some cases even more. I paid $70 for my 400W heater at my local fish store to only find it online later for about $30.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Welcome to the site, first and foremost! I'll parrot what everyone else has said and say buy the biggest tank you have the budget for, as the larger the tank the more stable the chemistry and temperature. You'll also have room for more interesting animals than if you went with a smaller tank.

Some decent size aquariums are the breeder tanks, 30g/40g, and the 50g/65g. The nice thing about them is that they offer you more surface area (good for gas exchange at the surface, and biological filtration at the bottom), and a wonderful depth of view effect from being so wide. For example, even a 30g breeder offers you 648 sq. inches of surface area, compared to 576 sq. inches for a 55g. I don't as much like the 30g or 40g breeders as I do the 50g and 65g, simply because once you put gravel in there you don't have a whole lot of height to work with, but pick whatever works with your budget.

What sort of fish are you planning on keeping? It might be wise to pop on over to Liveaquaria.com and peruse some of their stock to find things you like, then come back here and ask what's compatible with what. I noticed you also mentioned keeping plant life; keep in mind that will effect your total budget, as the lighting required for plants can be expensive at times. It might even be a good idea to forego the live plants for your first dive, and get the hang of maintaining an aquarium without them. Get your feet wet, so to speak.

Repeating what Susan said, your fish will be more than fine without food for a weekend. Most established aquariums, especially those with live plants, have a nice little population of tiny critters in there that your fish will snack on. If you're planning on being away for a week or more, have someone come in twice a week to feed the fish with pre-measured amounts of food, and you'll do great.

Under no circumstances should you use vacation feeders. They do nothing but pollute your water, cause algae problems, and kill fish.


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## pegger4 (Aug 11, 2010)

thanks everyone for the advice.
although I am still a little unsure of where my new tank will go, the one thing I do know is that it will be in my bedroom which is located in a basement (im just a teen fyi so as not to give off a different vibe). 

-With this in mind will the aquarium be alright in my room with little to know natural sunlight?
-and if I post a few links for used aquariums for sale will somebody let me know if any of them are good buys (of course tho I will inspect them to make sure there are no leaks or cracks) 



Here are a few things I have been looking at:

30 Gallon Aquarium - Stand - canopy & More! - Winnipeg Pet Accessories - Kijiji Winnipeg Canada.

29 GALLON AQUARIUM - Winnipeg Pet Accessories - Kijiji Winnipeg Canada.

Aquarium all included - Winnipeg Pet Classifieds - Kijiji Winnipeg Canada.

33 gallon aquarium - Winnipeg Pet Accessories - Kijiji Winnipeg Canada.

If anyone can help me out here it'd be greatly appreciated since I am pretty much clueless at what I'm looking at and what I need.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

The first one you posted (assuming it's still in serviceable condition, ie no cracks and the stand is solid) is a steal. I'd snap that up in a heartbeat, since it'll make a great first aquarium for you.

It's actually preferably to not have too much natural sunlight getting into your aquarium, as it can potentially cause algal problems. I wouldn't necessarily keep your fish in the constant dark however, so if your room gets no sunlight at all for long periods of time, maybe keeping a small table lamp near the aquarium would be a good idea. Fish are accustomed to a certain amount of photoperiod each day, and not having one could potentially lead to health issues.


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