Got 37 gallon Aqueon setup

K

kahunacohen

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Jan 22, 2014
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Hi, I started keeping fish a year and a half ago, when my kids wanted fish. I started with a top fin 10g tank, made a few mistakes, killed a few fish, but nursed one particular guy, a Dalmatian molley who is still with me. I have him, a few tetras and a algae eater.

I wanted a bigger tank for my living room, and was thinking of a 55g, but never really liked the look of that size tank. It looks too rectangular to me, too boxy. My wife says it looks like we are at a supermarket and we are supposed to pick out some lobsters! I agree. I just don't find that shape attractive.

At the store I saw a 37g, and I like that shape a lot better. I took it home along with a heater, hood, pump etc and stand. It looks very nice, but I haven't cycled it yet. I did open the hood and cut the cutouts out, the other stuff is returnable.

I found out, however, that it really is the same as a 20g tank due to the surface area exposed to the air. Do you think I will regret this size? Will I be able to have any schooling fish? How many smallish community fish will this tank support? The tank is taller than a 55 gallon, so what use is the taller tank? Do the fish go up and down more, and is that more interesting to watch? Why do people choose this size, the 37g, as opposed to other sizes? Is it just a matter of one's space?

A 55g would fit in my space, but again I find the shape too boxy and it might overwhelm the room a bit.

Thanks for making me feel better about my purchase ;)
 
kahunacohen said:
Hi, I started keeping fish a year and a half ago, when my kids wanted fish. I started with a top fin 10g tank, made a few mistakes, killed a few fish, but nursed one particular guy, a Dalmatian molley who is still with me. I have him, a few tetras and a algae eater.

I wanted a bigger tank for my living room, and was thinking of a 55g, but never really liked the look of that size tank. It looks too rectangular to me, too boxy. My wife says it looks like we are at a supermarket and we are supposed to pick out some lobsters! I agree. I just don't find that shape attractive.

At the store I saw a 37g, and I like that shape a lot better. I took it home along with a heater, hood, pump etc and stand. It looks very nice, but I haven't cycled it yet. I did open the hood and cut the cutouts out, the other stuff is returnable.

I found out, however, that it really is the same as a 20g tank due to the surface area exposed to the air. Do you think I will regret this size? Will I be able to have any schooling fish? How many smallish community fish will this tank support? The tank is taller than a 55 gallon, so what use is the taller tank? Do the fish go up and down more, and is that more interesting to watch? Why do people choose this size, the 37g, as opposed to other sizes? Is it just a matter of one's space?

A 55g would fit in my space, but again I find the shape too boxy and it might overwhelm the room a bit.

Thanks for making me feel better about my purchase ;)
Click to expand...

Taller tanks are good in their own ways. You can fill out the tank better with top water fish mid section and bottom dwellers. Also taller tanks are good for tall fish such as angels. Its all personal preference, i prefer longer wider tanks apposed to tall tanks

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What is it 30" wide? Its still big enough that you could do a couple different schooling groups. I prefer width and depth cause it makes scaping it easier, though I prefer 50 or 65 over 55g 36x18 vs 48x12 or a 75g 48x18.
 
TL1000RSquid said:
What is it 30" wide? Its still big enough that you could do a couple different schooling groups. I prefer width and depth cause it makes scaping it easier, though I prefer 50 or 65 over 55g 36x18 vs 48x12 or a 75g 48x18.
Click to expand...

Yes, 37g's are 30x12x22. Just how a 29g is an extra tall 20g, a 37g is an extra tall 29g.

A 37g can be a great tank if you like multiple schools of fish. You could do a school of danios for the top a school of tetras, barbs, or hatchet fish for the middle, and a school of Corydoras for the bottom. You could plant it with taller plants if you get a good t-5 fixture. But whatever you do if you keep the 37 I'd suggest getting a small circulation pump like this 240 gph http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4588+23591&pcatid=23591. It'll help get more water to the surface essentially increasing your surface area of the tank. It'll also help to eliminate "dead spots" on the substrate where poop and other debris tends to collect.

Whichever way you end up going make sure you're going to enjoy it. Nothing worse than setting up a tank then finding out a month or 2 later that you don't like it anymore. And always feel free to ask for more advice. :)

Sent from my SGS4 Active
 
kahuna, don't regret your 37g purchase at all!! Like you say, 20L, 29 and 37's all share the same footprint, just different water volumes. They're nice because they're easy to source lighting, hoods, filtration and stands for (being a standard size). I also like 37's because the top/bottoms are braced so they don't bow. The current $1/gal sale Aqueon or Tetra 20 and 29's bow like crazy with water in them. No center braces on them.

A 37 is perfect for a single angel fish (they like height), 7-8 corys at the bottom and maybe 2 schools of smaller tetras. Platys are always up/down and all over the place too. Lots of choices! 55's are great in regular living spaces IMO, because they can hug the way nicely. Tends to keep them very stable too.
 
Thanks all for your advice. This is a very friendly forum. I just got scared because I read all this stuff about how taller tanks are "bad".

I really do like the look. It's not as boxy.

The store I got it from said I can return it in 7 days, but I took the tags and stickers off the tank already. Do you think they would exchange it still?

Assuming I keep it, though, I got the standard Aqueon floresent hood with it. Can I not have plants with this lighting? Should I exchange it for another hood and lighting system? I got the Marineland 200 Emperor with biowheel too; is that sufficient? Or should I return that and get something else?

Oh, and any advice about the plants? What kind should I get? Which ones are tall and how do you set them up.
 
A lot of the advice on surface area vs. volume goes back more than 50 years before modern filtration even existed. Today's power filters bring water from the bottom to the top at much higher flow rates than was done even 20 years ago. This helps aerate the water so the whole issue with surface area vs. volume is really a nonissue.

If you like the shape keep the tank.

The light that comes with the tank is just a 17 watt T8 lamp and is sufficient for growing most low light plants in a tank that tall. If you wish to grow higher light plants you may want to change the lighting out to something with more intensity. You could also replace the lamp with a lamp better suited to growing live plants like the Aqueon Floramax. Intensity won't really increase a lot but the spectrum will improve for plants.

Andy
 
I'm glad you're liking it here so far. :)

I would imagine they'd still take it back. If you decide to return it just throw the stickers inside the tank if you still have them just to be safe.

The standard lighting kits might be good enough for some low light plants like java fern and Anubias but most other pants will require more light than a t-8 can put out. I'd suggest you check out some of the pictures of planted tanks that members have put up on here and find which pants tickle your fancy. After that you can look up what that plant needs. If it ends up that you need more light I'd suggest this: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+23753&pcatid=23753 It's a dual bulb t-5HO fixture that's expandable if you find that you need even more light. And it's also not terribly expensive.

For filtration I'd vamp it up a little bit. I personally only use AquaClear hob (hang on back) filters. I've had several others but they don't seem to stand up to AquaClear. I'd suggest an AC70 or an AC50 along with that circulation pump I suggested earlier.

These are of course just suggestions and they aren't the cheapest items but I think it's a set up that will serve you well for years.

Sent from my SGS4 Active
 
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