Setting up a 20 gallon tank, need suggestions...

Im setting up a 20 gallon fresh water fish tank outside, any suggestions for a newbie? I live in San Diego, so i figure its not gonna get too cold outside for my tropical fish and plants, plus the aqua heater should maintain the temps without too much fluctuation. What kind of filter should i get? undergravel or regular penguin biowheel and why? What type of lights-lid cover should i get, i plan on having lots of plants, driftwood. I was at PETCO today, and wow they have lots of colorful gravel, it hurt my eyes it was so schocking makes me wonder if its ok for the fish and plants, by the way they had sand, is it best to have sand or gravel, and also how do I root the plants from the pots to get them to grow? Should i get an either a good air pump with airline tubing, or a powerhead that pumps at least 3 times as much water per hour as the size of the aquarium?

Suggest me some fish also please, I currently have a pleco and a striped raphael catfish in my 5 gallon fish tank, and i plan on transfering them into the 20 gallon tank when i get it.

Milky said:

Hey paintchip nice to meet you and guess what im glad to hear that
your putting your tanks outdoors because my tanks are out doors also at least now im not the only person I know who has em
like this I had to put em outside cuz the humidity and heat that the
tanks were causing in my room was giving me heat rashes very painfull.. Ill help you out the best that i can,
ive had my tanks outdoors now for almost 6 months
and this is the first winter with em outside but i do
have my heaters in them and at night time in the
bitter cold the temp is good at around 74 to 76 degrees
it getts warmer during the day reaching around 85 degrees.
As far as lighting goes one of the advantages of having the
tanks outdoors is that they dont need any lighting so you can
save a bundle not needing any lighting you will need a tank lid
though. i have a well planted discus tank and the plants seem to doing ok
in partial sunlight its not direct sunlight as the tanks are
on the deck.. well good luck keep us posteed on what you decide
to do

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kewl, thats a plus to know that the heater should do its job keeping the water constant 72-78 F at night.

Swimfins said:

Fish tanks outside.....all year round? Lol I wouldn't of thunk.

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Yah, ima have it ouside my padio door, its a window screendoor, so u can see the tank behind the door, its a nice view, especially if its at night and u can see all your fishies swimming around under the lights of the fish tank, its gonna be sitting in the view of kitchen table inside the house, so you can see the fish tank sitting on the table outside, from inside.

ok, ive done some research and heres what im going to get:

20 gallon fish tank

power head

submersible heater + thermometer

fluorescent lighting

20lb of gravel

mechanical filter

driftwood + plants

Anything else i should know? or get, i know im forgetting something, and also, is there really good brand for the parts? or should i just get whaeverbrand is there, since theyre alll gonna be the same and do the same thing...

Im still kinda skeptical on the type of aeration/filtration. I just cant decide on whether to get a UGF+Powerhead, or a good air pump with airline tubing, or just a powerhead that pumps at least 3 times as much water per hour as the size of the aquarium, or a powerhead and a mechanical filter such as a penguin biowheel.

Please help me decide, this is all kinda new to me, ive done some research and still cant decide.


Edit: Aright i have done more research and have decided on this:

20 gallon fish tank

Powerhead or an Airstone+Airpump

submersible heater + thermometer

fluorescent lighting

20lb of gravel

mechanical filter

driftwood + plants

My question is, Would a powerhead be an overkill for aeration since im going to be using a biowheel mechanical filter that aerates the water a little bit. If yes, then I should just go fo the airstone+airpump.


Here are the sources i looked at:

Aeration - http://www.bestfish.com/tips/070899.html

UGF - http://www.bestfish.com/ug.html

Aeration backup - http://www.bestfish.com/tips/042398.html

Biowheel powerfilter - http://www.****************/information/equipment_1.htm#4

Aquarium Basics - http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/information/freshwater.htm#setup