Seaclear tanks?

For your first tank I would reccomend glass. Go for one of those top fin kits that petsmart sell as they will provide you with some of the basic stuff you need to get started. They will provide you with:

1 Glass Aquarium
1 Hood with lighting
1 Net
1 Filter (Labeled as a Top Fin but actually is a whisper)
1 Sample of Stress Coat + Stress Zyme (I don't use either of them but you can if you want)
1 Food Sample
1 Heater For Tropical Kit (Go for the Goldfish One and buy a visitherm heater instead if you want tropicals as it will save you a major hassle later on)

You will need to buy an aquarium stand, gravel (If you want but don't spread it more than 1/4" thick for your first tank), some sort of test kit. I like the aquarium pharm master test kit, decorations (ie: Plastic Plants), dechlorinator, correct type of food for the fish you want (tropical or goldfish), a thermometer, a box of aquarium salt.

Take all this home and wash the tank out very well (no soap or detergents). Once you think it is clean wash it again and set it up. Fill it up with water and add dechlorinator. If you want to go tropical, set the heater (I keep mine at 77*) and get the filter running. Start reading up on cycling the tank and types of fish you want to keep paying attention to size and compatibility. I reccomend that you do a fishless cycle. Even though waiting for maybe 3 weeks without fish is going to be tough, it will give you more time for research to make an educated decision and be less tough on your fish when you get them. One benefit is that you could fully stock your tank in one shot when you are done with the fishless cycle. Good luck with your new tank.
 
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I absolutely agree...especially for your first tank, you will run into problems like ich - which the treatment turns everything acrylic into a blue green color - FOREVER. Glass is much better, conducts heat better to hold constant temps. Any of the starter kits like the TopFin at Petsmart or Petco are great. Just be sure they have a heater...some look like they have everything like the filter, etc...but on further inspection don't provide a heater. I started with the Top fin and now I changed my starter tanks to Marineland because they have the better Bio-wheel filters included. Good luck and let this community know anything you need - they are all great here!
 
I agree with the others, but to give another option, you could just buy the tank separated, with your choice of filters, heaters, air pumps if you need one, etc.
I prefer buying my heater separately, since quality is of the essence. But I know people who have had lots of success with the Top Fin kit. So it's all up to you on what you want to go for!
 
Glass is also more scratch resistant and does not have to be fully supported on the bottom allowing you to use the iron aquarium stands if want.

The tropical top fin kit comes with a cheap top fin heater. I reccomend you go with the goldfish top fin kit and buy a visitherm heater. This heater is a lot better and allows you to choose the temperature of the water easily and more accurately. I've never seen my water temperature fluctuate with this heater. I've had an ich outbreak in every new tank I've set up so getting a tank that won't stain is much better if you choose to go the medication route. It just seems like when you first populate your new community tank, one of the fish will bring ich in unnoticed. Ich is a parasitic disease that causes whitespots and the fish will be scratching a lot. If that occurs read the many articles on this forum about treatment and act quickly since ich will not go away by itself.
 
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I use Acrylic tanks and have had no problems at all. they are about 50% lighter than glass and they are MORE insulating than glass. They do scratch easier but are easier to remove the scratch. They are clearer than glass and have no silicone seams to wear out and leak. The only thing about getting it from Petsmart is thet don't stock them they are shipped from the manufacture and it will take up to 3 weeks for delivery. Good luck
 
Something else you may want to consider as this is your first tank...

Get a glass tank...20 Gal or a Tall 25

Go with the Eclipse Hood/Filtration system.

I mention Eclipse as they are more than easy to maintain as everything is contained in the good. My first tank was Eclipse and I swear by them! Extremely low maintainance and good filter flow!

You can pick up a good glass tank, then the eclipse to fit it.

Buy the glass tank at your LFS or where-ever, but make sure you check eBay for a "NEW" Eclipse hood to check pricing values!

You can also buy Eclipse systems directly from Marineland Inc:
http://www.marineland.com/


Good Luck with your first tank!


PEACE!

-TetraFreak
 
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