Well, after hours upon hours of reading from this forum (and some others), I have returned to the world of fishkeeping! I kept various aquariums (as well as a menagerie of other pets) throughout my grade school, junior high school and early high school years, with varying degrees of success. At that time I knew nothing about water chemistry or cycling a tank. I even had a book about fishkeeping which I followed very closely, which never mentioned cycling. It's no small wonder I lost many fish. After five or six years, I'm in my last semester of college, living in an apartment which BEGGED for a tank. 
I set up the 29gal from my previous fishkeeping days.
Hardware:
-Stock hood w/ 20 watt Hagen Power-Glo bulb (18,000k, 80 lux). I'd like so much more light, but that's going to have to wait a little while. I decided to do what I could with what I had in that department. The tank does get some sunlight so we'll see...
-Penguin 170 H.O.B. filter, currently with bio-wheel, but no bio-bag. I'm most likely going to fill it with my own filter media, probably lava rock and sponges.
-Penguin Bio-Wheel Mini, currently with bio-wheel, but no bio-bag. Filled with filter floss to clear my water. I think I'm going to use this much in the same way as the 170. I may end up using one of the filters primarily for mechanical filtration and the other primarily as a growing space for the good bacteria. Haven't decided completely yet.
-Hydor Theo 150w heater. (tank temp = 82F)
Substrate:
-1 bag CaribSea Tahitian black moon sand
-1 bag Flourite
-Both bags evenly mixed. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but I really like it. I wanted a dark substrate to help bring out the colors of the tank's future inhabitants. It looks natural to me, but still dark.
The tank has been filled and running for a couple days. Today I picked up two bunches of wisteria that are now planted in the back corners of the tank. I also got the employee to toss in a bunch of MTS (must be 20 or 25!). I had these little guys in a tank a long time ago, but at that time I had no clue what they were. After everything I've read, I'm excited to have them!
I'm going to follow a cycling plan that was linked by someone at this forum, using a lot of plants to establish the tank and then adding fish slowly later on. I also have Aquarium Pharmaceutical's "Stress Zyme," a product that contains beneficial bacteria that is supposed to aid in the cycling of the tank.
I'm planning to have a bunch of plants in the tank (along with some red and white so-called "zebra rocks" I have from my high-school days) to provide some structure in the tank. I'm still tossing around ideas for stocking. I know I want a pair of Rams. I'm also thinking about 3-4 female bettas and maybe some corys.
The pH of my water here is 7.6. It's a bit higher than I'd like, but everything I've read says most fish will adjust, and a stable pH is better than one that fluctuates because of additives.
Well I guess that's the general info. Without the incredible information I've read on this forum I think I would be so lost! As it is, I'm only a little lost.
But still learning.
Comments, suggestions, criticisms, and ideas are appreciated! Am I making any big mistakes??
I set up the 29gal from my previous fishkeeping days.
Hardware:
-Stock hood w/ 20 watt Hagen Power-Glo bulb (18,000k, 80 lux). I'd like so much more light, but that's going to have to wait a little while. I decided to do what I could with what I had in that department. The tank does get some sunlight so we'll see...
-Penguin 170 H.O.B. filter, currently with bio-wheel, but no bio-bag. I'm most likely going to fill it with my own filter media, probably lava rock and sponges.
-Penguin Bio-Wheel Mini, currently with bio-wheel, but no bio-bag. Filled with filter floss to clear my water. I think I'm going to use this much in the same way as the 170. I may end up using one of the filters primarily for mechanical filtration and the other primarily as a growing space for the good bacteria. Haven't decided completely yet.
-Hydor Theo 150w heater. (tank temp = 82F)
Substrate:
-1 bag CaribSea Tahitian black moon sand
-1 bag Flourite
-Both bags evenly mixed. I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out, but I really like it. I wanted a dark substrate to help bring out the colors of the tank's future inhabitants. It looks natural to me, but still dark.
The tank has been filled and running for a couple days. Today I picked up two bunches of wisteria that are now planted in the back corners of the tank. I also got the employee to toss in a bunch of MTS (must be 20 or 25!). I had these little guys in a tank a long time ago, but at that time I had no clue what they were. After everything I've read, I'm excited to have them!
I'm going to follow a cycling plan that was linked by someone at this forum, using a lot of plants to establish the tank and then adding fish slowly later on. I also have Aquarium Pharmaceutical's "Stress Zyme," a product that contains beneficial bacteria that is supposed to aid in the cycling of the tank.
I'm planning to have a bunch of plants in the tank (along with some red and white so-called "zebra rocks" I have from my high-school days) to provide some structure in the tank. I'm still tossing around ideas for stocking. I know I want a pair of Rams. I'm also thinking about 3-4 female bettas and maybe some corys.
The pH of my water here is 7.6. It's a bit higher than I'd like, but everything I've read says most fish will adjust, and a stable pH is better than one that fluctuates because of additives.
Well I guess that's the general info. Without the incredible information I've read on this forum I think I would be so lost! As it is, I'm only a little lost.
But still learning.Comments, suggestions, criticisms, and ideas are appreciated! Am I making any big mistakes??
