Starting a 40 Gallon Tank

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DieselJunki

The Tomboy
Aug 20, 2009
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Ok so I'm new here and still consider myself a noob to the fish hobby world.

I bought just the 40 gallon tank today with nothing else. I plan on buying bits and pieces every week when I get my pay check. So here come the many many many questions!

Honestly I have no idea what fish to put in this tank. While picking up my tank I talked to the fish lady at the pet store who just confused the heck outta me lol. I guess I'll have to get a list of a bunch of fish or something and figure out exactly what I want to get and if they are even compatible. I plan on doing a fish-in cycle. I already have a 10 gallon aquarium that I can steal stuff from to make it cycle better.

I plan on having plants (can you have plants even though you don't have those CO2 pressurized things I was reading about?)

I want to use sand as a substrate instead of the rock stuff. It seems to be the easy to clean from what I have read. But I've read of people using different types of sand! Adding to more of my confusion. What type of sand should I get? I heard you can use play sand but how would you filter that to make sure it's clean before you put it in the tank. I've also heard of plant substrate if you are keeping plants, should I use this type of substrate if keeping plants? . . . What if I wanted a colorful sand, like blue or black or something is there something like that out there?

So far for equipment in the tank I know I have to get:

  • Tank Hood with light fixture (Does it need to be a special bulb? or can I just use the one that comes with the hood?)

  • A filter (Would you guys just recommend me buying a filter that just is for a 40 gallon or should I buy a filter that is able to filter a larger aquarium?)

  • A Heater (should I get two 20 gallon heaters and put one on each side of the tank instead of just one 40 gallon heater?)

Should I get an air stone of some sort? I bought one with my 10 gallon aquarium but the thing wouldn't make bubbles . . . So I ended up throwing the thing out along with the air pump!

Thanks for reading!
 

krytan

.
Sep 2, 2007
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Wayne
I plan on doing a fish-in cycle. Fishless cycle is a lot easier, a lot less work and less stress on the fish

I plan on having plants (can you have plants even though you don't have those CO2 pressurized things I was reading about?) Yes

I want to use sand as a substrate instead of the rock stuff. It seems to be the easy to clean from what I have read. But I've read of people using different types of sand! Adding to more of my confusion. What type of sand should I get? I heard you can use play sand but how would you filter that to make sure it's clean before you put it in the tank. I've also heard of plant substrate if you are keeping plants, should I use this type of substrate if keeping plants? . . . What if I wanted a colorful sand, like blue or black or something is there something like that out there? Play sand is fine to use, wash it really well first.

So far for equipment in the tank I know I have to get:

  • Tank Hood with light fixture (Does it need to be a special bulb? or can I just use the one that comes with the hood?)Depends on what plants you want.

  • A filter (Would you guys just recommend me buying a filter that just is for a 40 gallon or should I buy a filter that is able to filter a larger aquarium?)All aquariums need to be filterd

  • A Heater (should I get two 20 gallon heaters and put one on each side of the tank instead of just one 40 gallon heater?)Either, if you have two then you will have one incase one goes wrong.

Should I get an air stone of some sort? I bought one with my 10 gallon aquarium but the thing wouldn't make bubbles . . . So I ended up throwing the thing out along with the air pump! Only if you want one, they arn't needed.

Thanks for reading!
.
 

DieselJunki

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Aug 20, 2009
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Fishless cycle is a lot easier, a lot less work and less stress on the fish. (I hear you might have to wait months and months for that, so I figured putting a couple fish in with some of the filter material from my 10 gallon filter would work faster for me. Or if I added the filter material in and did a fishless cycle would that not take as long? Sorry I'm still trying to learn all this!)

Play sand is fine to use, wash it really well first. What if I wanted a colorful sand, like blue or black or something is there something like that out there I heard some stuff was made out of a glass product and was bad for the fish?


  • All aquariums need to be filterd. (Right but should I get a filter that is able to fiilter a 55 gallon aquarium or just go with a filter that filters a 40 gallon? I read somewhere that if you get the next size up in filtration it works better. Or would that make to strong of a current?)
..
 
Last edited:
Dec 20, 2006
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Michigan
if you have material from a cycled 10, you should be able to do a fish in cycle in the new tank with minimal problems. put a lot of the media from the ten in there, and monitor the parameters closely to make sure it ammnia doesn't spike. i'd be doing 50% water changes every two days at least to make sure.

play sand is fine for aquariums, so is pool filter sand which is a little bit lighter in color, and they also make sand specially for aquariums that comes in white, black, or navy that i've seen. any are fine. if you want a special substrate to help grow plants, you could look at eco complete or flourite, but neither are necessary to grow plants at all.

over filtering your tank is never a bad thing, most fish aren't bothered by stronger currents, as long as you don't have something like a filter rated for 100 gallons on a 10. hehe. if you over filter by a size rating or two, that's even better, but not required.
 

montanafish gal

AC Members
Aug 1, 2009
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I would stick with low light plants that require 2 or less wpg (watts per gallon). Java moss, java ferns are good. I have hygro and amazon sword that I bought from another member that look really nice. I would recomment buying from the classifieds here as opposed to a LFS or website. You don't need CO2 unless you want a jungle in your tank, IMO. Alot of people, including myself, just dose dry or liquid fertilizers. There are also fert tabs that you push into the substrate near the plants roots. Many use Flourish Excel, which is a form of liquid CO2 with good results. Remember also that plants and fish must be compatable. Some fish will uproot, destroy plants. Good luck!
 

Jakezori

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Jan 24, 2009
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My favorite way to cycle a tank is a "pre-loaded" fish cycle. It puts less stress on the fish and cycles faster than both ways =).

You go to your LFS (local fish store) and ask them for a sponge squeeze or filter squeeze or wtever on one of their established tanks. They give you some water that looks like poo and you put it in your tank, then within a couple of hours put fish in there. (The water contains little guys that will eat your ammonia and such) Then you need to do water changes everyday for 3 days (30-40%) the every other day (30-40%) for 3 days then once a week normal water changes. I would also suggest you get a sponge squeeze from your LFS twice... The second time after 3 days.
 

Nak

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Mar 18, 2009
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I plan on having plants (can you have plants even though you don't have those CO2 pressurized things I was reading about?)
Yes! CO2 injection isnt necessary but does help ALOT, as long as you have fish in the tank your plants will have some co2, with the appropriate lighting and the right plants (low light plants) you will see some growth. However, if you want healthy, fast growing, thick bushes, heavily planted tank etc you'll need co2 injection. It's quite easy to do with DIY co2, but if you have the money pressurized is the way to go. I myself am using DIY co2 and my plants are doing great.

So far for equipment in the tank I know I have to get:

  • Tank Hood with light fixture (Does it need to be a special bulb? or can I just use the one that comes with the hood?) If you want a planted tank, then yes. Have a read around the planted section for more info.

  • A filter (Would you guys just recommend me buying a filter that just is for a 40 gallon or should I buy a filter that is able to filter a larger aquarium?) There is no such thing as too much filtration. The thing to look for in a filter is the turnover rate (how many gallons per hour). The general rule of thumb is a turnover rate of 2-3 times the size of your tank per hour (i.e 80-120gph for your 40g). My 55g tank has turnover rate 400gph :D The current really isnt too bad, my fish dont seem to be effected, my tank is very heavily planted though so i need the extra current to push all that poop from all the nooks and crannies in and around my plants.

  • A Heater (should I get two 20 gallon heaters and put one on each side of the tank instead of just one 40 gallon heater?) It's up to preference really. Like people have said before me, 2 would help in the event that one breaks down. I use a single heater in my 55gallon.

Should I get an air stone of some sort? I bought one with my 10 gallon aquarium but the thing wouldn't make bubbles . . . So I ended up throwing the thing out along with the air pump! As long as there is surface agitation from the filter there is no need for an air stone. If your fish look like they're doing fine (not gasping for air, breathing fast) then you really dont need one.

Thanks for reading!
:3
 

zpromoter

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Jun 15, 2009
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My favorite way to cycle a tank is a "pre-loaded" fish cycle. It puts less stress on the fish and cycles faster than both ways =).

You go to your LFS (local fish store) and ask them for a sponge squeeze or filter squeeze or wtever on one of their established tanks. They give you some water that looks like poo and you put it in your tank, then within a couple of hours put fish in there. (The water contains little guys that will eat your ammonia and such) Then you need to do water changes everyday for 3 days (30-40%) the every other day (30-40%) for 3 days then once a week normal water changes. I would also suggest you get a sponge squeeze from your LFS twice... The second time after 3 days.


If you go this way, you really want to be careful of who you get this "squeeze" from. Make sure that the tanks the filter runs are prestine in condition and there are no sick looking fish. Otherwise you could end up with disease in your tank as well.

I personally would just use the media that you can take from your ten gallon tank. I used just the filter media from my ten gallon to cycle my 30 gallon. I let the tank run for a week without fish and then added my large male convict. The water perams were perfect with once a week water changes.

As many would agree extra filtration is always good. A great filter for your tank would be the Marineland Penguin 200 or 350. I personally run the 200 on my 30gal Long and it is great. At 200 gallons per hour, it would filter 5x the capacity of your tank. With the bio-wheels on the filters the tank establishes itself fast.

Many types of sand can be used in the aquarium. Most local fish stores will carry the colored types that you are looking for. They are usually a bit more pricey though. If you are looking for an inexpensive route you can definately use play sand. 50lb bags can be bought at Home Depot for cheap. With play sand, make sure that you rinse it several times and very well before using. There is also another route that you could take. Still at home depot is sand called meduim grain, otherwise known as blasting sand. if you ask for blasting sand, they'll know which sand. It is a nice texture light color sand that is not so fine that it will end up in your filter. **Make sure that when you use sand that you stir it up at least once a month to keep anerobic pockets from occuring.

If you want to incorporate plants and still keep your sand, I find one way to be the most convient. Get shallow plastic cups, pots, etc and fill them with the plant substate of your choice and plant the plants in these. Now that you have all your plants planted, you can just set the pots down in the tank and arrange them how you want and then cover with the sand substrate. The pots and the plant substrate will be covered leaving you with just the plants and sand.

I would go ahead and just buy two heaters, in this case, it one fails there won't be a huge temperature spike/drop in the tank because the other one is still functioning.
 

DieselJunki

The Tomboy
Aug 20, 2009
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Thank you all very much for your advice! I really really really appreciate it!

I will take your advice on the plants montanafish gal. Although I was also looking at the Dwarf Hairgrass, I thought it looked kinda neat and it said it was an easy plant.

I will do a fish in cycle using only my media from my 10 gallon tank just to be positive that I don't get any unwanted disease. Pretty much do what you suggested zpromoter waiting a week and then putting some hardy fish in. I especially like your idea about the plastic cups and plants.

I have been running through some of the freshwater fish on the internet and found some that I really like. They are mostly non aggressive fish although some are semi aggressive (from what I've read). I just want to run the list by your guys here on the forum just incase. Now I have also heard of the 1 inch per gallon of aquarium space. Should I use this rule or could I go over a little bit?

Here's my list of fish that I liked. I know I probably wont be able to put all of these in my tank but I'd be able to get an idea of what goes best with each other.


Ghost Glass Cat
Neon Blue Dwarf Gourami (I'm thinking 2 of these guys would be neat)
Veil Angel (I wanted to go with the black and albino one but they are semi aggressive so if you think just 1 in the tank that is cool with me)
Acei Cichlid
Gold Neon Tetra
X-Ray Pristella Tetra
"Glo-Fish” Danio
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[/FONT]Kuhli Loach
(I found these and thought they were awwweeesoomme)[FONT=&quot]
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DieselJunki

The Tomboy
Aug 20, 2009
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If you have any other fish that you think would go better or think I might like please feel free to make any fish suggestions. I know I probably didn't look at all of the freshwater fish I'm able to keep.
 
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