Hey folks I need some quick advice.

[R.B.]

My boy is 3 years old & I want to get him an aquarium.But in all things you get what you pay for & I want yall's advice.Cause I don't know anything about this hobby.

I'm a believer in buying once.So I figured it'd be best to do a little research.But I really don't have time to read a thousand threads & do searches.I apologize cause I'm sure yall get this same question alot.

What I want is a tank 2 feet wide a foot deep & care free.Money's not an object,I just want something that will work for a long time without any skill or knowledge on my part.

Thanks.Any advice on what to stock it with would be great also.& any gizmos that go in the bottom that's pretty cool for a 3 year old.Like the chest that opens etc.

I figure there's got to be better than Wal Mart out there.

 

[Ems]

What do you mean by care free?
If you mean something that doesn't require much work then I don't think fishkeeping would be a good idea.
It takes time, patience and persistence.

 

[R.B.]

I mean really care free.

There's no tank that takes care of it's self ???

Self filtering,ph adjusting,self temp regulating etc ???

 

[Beeker]

If you want something carefree, I suggest instead of getting live fish, get one of those tanks with fake fish and bubbles in it. Live fish require a lot of upkeep.

 

[R.B.]

Darn.

Is it really that involved ???

 

[Ems]

If you want a tank that looks nice, and fish that wont die, then yes.

 

[gonefishin]

What I want is a tank .......... care free..

Don't we all?!!!

Money's not an object,I just want something that will work for a long time without any skill or knowledge on my part.

You will have to hire some one to do the work then. Money's no object? I'll do it for $1,000 an hour

I figure there's got to be better than Wal Mart out there

There is, look in the phone book and find a pet store. Sorry to say, this hobby is a bit more work than you would initially think. If you are still into it, you will need to do some research and some work. The tank you described is only 2 dimensional, but I think you are talking about a 10, or 20 gallon tall. This is a relatively small tank. Go to the species profiles and look at some of the fish there. You will want smallish fish, no bigger than 2-3" full sized. That's a start, but you are no where near ready to get your tank. Read the sticky "cycling" at the top of the newbie page.

 

[Beeker]

Yes. With a live tank you would be cycling the tank for at least a month before getting fish, weekly water changes, almost daily testing of Ph, KH, NH3, NH4, NO2, NO3, etc. Lighting, temperature, etc. It is quite involved. No live animal is carefree. All are very involved but interesting, requiring a lot of love and attention.

 

[gonefishin]

My friend had a tank that was automated. It was hooked into his computer with a program that controlled ph, lighting, temp. feeding, and a lot of other cool stuff. It was actually his dads. I think the initial investment was arround $5, 000 back in the late 80's and this was a 29 gal. Then he had to add all the food, chems, etc to the storage containers every few months, as well as monitor the computer to make sure it was doing what it was suposed to.

 

[the_dougie]

you could use bio-spira to get a kickstart on cycling.

if you dont intend to do live plants you wont need to know everything beeker listed, except maybe Ph. you could use silk plants...or plastic.