Just Starting Out, Need Recommendations

[Pellegrino]

I am now the proud owner of an All-Glass 37 gal tank, hood, Penguin 170 and about 33lbs of gravel (what the tank seller had surplus and free). I have made up the following checklist of further items I need to purchase and made some preliminary choices. Anyone care to comment on anything else I need, or on my choices themselves? TIA and I love this forum!

test kits
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19383

magnetic cleaner
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_sku=18629

heater - 200w
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_sku=6645

thermometer
http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=29007

My tank is 30" X 12" X 22" so I am wondering if I need some help with oxygenation. I'm thinking:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=19739

and a couple of decorative air outlets.

Is there anything else I should be aware of before starting a fishless cycle? Of course I'll need some decorations, etc., but as far as I can tell that is up to personal preference. I'm leaving the decision of exactly which fish to get till after I've done the cycle.

 

[Hound]

If you are not going to have live plants in your tank I would say you have all of the basics covered. IMHO the airpump would not be needed. I would question using a penguin 170 filter though. Assuming your looking for a low cost solution I would think something like a aquaclear 300 would be a better filter. If you have a bit more to invest though I would look into a smaller cannister filter such as a Fluval 204 or Filstar xp-1. Cannister filters may be more expensive and a bit harder to set up, but they are also quiter and generally require less maintenance.

 

[anonapersona]

Add a second filter, but keep the penguin going. The Penguin will restart after a power failure where the AC may not. I'm quite a fan of having two different types of filtration -- I've broken too many filters to want to rely on only one.

 

[Pellegrino]

I am a bit limited budget wise, but I guess a second filter would be a wise investment,.. saving money doesn't help when you're killing fish. Should I get another of similar capacity then? Like just a second penguin 170? That would only be $18 at big als, not bad.

 

[Milky]

As far as your heater goes im not
a fan of the glass heaters as they tend
to break way to easily and they look way
to much like something out of the early 70's
fishkeeping guide book. Ive personally banged
my glass heater on the side of the tank while
adjusting it and it broke, was pretty scary.
Now I go streamline with the stealth fully
submersable all plastic shatter proof heater ...
there great and you can put them at the bottom
of the tank under some gravel which takes away
the unsightlyness of having this huge heater stuck
to the side of the tank >..Stealth heaters i highly recomend
them.

 

[sdb]

Ebo Jagers are good heaters, and pratically unbreakable.

I'd suggest a floating thermometer with a suction cup. They're more accurate and moveable. I tried to move my stick on one (like they said you can do) and the whole thing separated. Plus in low light, you can't read those ones, even if you shine a light on it. They only seem to work in daylight. Annoying.

 

[Pellegrino]

I like the idea of being able to put the heater under the gravel at the back of the tank to keep it out of site. What's the common opinion on that? Should I just hide it with some decorations, like plants or something? How hot do these things get? I don't need to worry about melting plastic, right?

Also, I've thought about getting one of the LCD thermometers that have a probe you put down in the water. Seems like it would be nice and unobstrusive... it also apeals to the weather geek in me. This one seems fairly decent and not too expensive.