Shopping for First Tank

Cedar, I think that I am kinda partial to the Penguin hang-off-the back filters, w/ the biowheel. They seem to have a good reputation along with being fairly simple. No Co2. I'm keeping this simple.

I had similar feelings about the schooling fish. I knew that I wouldn't have enough room for decent sized schools of all the fish so I will probably stick with the Cardinal or Head and Taillight Tetras. The danios are a little active for me.

The rainbow fish on the otherhand were reccomended to keep in 2's so I would still like to hear other opinons on this.

Does anyone else think that the Betta and Gourami will cause a situation? The Honey Gourami were described as very docile and perfect for community tanks so I was hoping that they would kinda steer clear of the Betta.

I was hoping for 3-4 Corys to make a small group as well. If theres room. This is probably going to start looking like a 33 or so long tank. I might be able to get a good deal on something used and a bit bigger although. Maybe a 55, ;) . Keep the opinons comming guys. Also, please reccomend some more filters.
 
Ok, I did some searching and I don't know if the hanging filter will be a good idea or not because it might cause too much surface turbulance and release the small amounts of CO2 I acctually have.

And I'm going to just go with the Betta instead of the Gourami. There are doccumented cases of them not getting along well. I don't really know why maybe the Gourami are too active or to big for a Betta to feel comfortable about.

So any more opinoins on fish choices or ideas about what equipment or anything I should get? I'm gonna check into this package deal one more time tomorrow just to see what brand of filter it is and etc.
 
I'm currently using the HOB filter on my 29 gal. that came with the cheapo package deal. It's kinda soon to tell, but my plants seem to be doing well under my new 40 watt lighting. Much better than they did under half the wattage! I just read an excellent tip posted by Richer in the plants forum. He said to slip a sponge over the outflow part of the filter to reduce surface agitation. I think I'll give that a try, it's an excellent idea.

I think a betta, a school or two of tetras, and some small cories would make a great tank.

I'm in the middle of trying to decide which fish to stock my tank with. Right now I have two red honey gouramis and they are doing great. I have no shortage of ideas, it's narrowing down my choices that's tough ;)
 
Hows that cheap HOB filter you're using working out? Thats kinda why I was straying away from the package deal I was offered because I didn't wanna just end up with a stores overstock. I'm getting the tank this week though. My last question is just a debate I'm having with myself on weather or not to do fishless cycling or just cycle with one of my schools of tetras. Comments?
 
Don't go with a packaged deal if you can help it. That's what I did for my little ten gallon and it was a big pain in the rear.

I ended up taking the hood/light back as there was no glass between the water and the lights and getting a really nice one for free from the store (Petcetera). The kit came with an undergravel filter which I didn't use and bought a HOB style.

The heater just bought it last week so I replaced it with a better style for $30.00. Good thing it wasn't a cold day or my fish might have been history.

I could have saved myself money by buying everything separately, but hey, what does a newbie know?

I'm sure the manager at Petcetera never wants to see my face again after all of this.

Just my two cents.
 
The filter seems to be doing it's job quite well so far. The water is clear, and now my ammonia and nitrite levels are down to zero. I think the extra lighting for the plants helped with this as well.

I'd have to agree that it would be better in the long run to buy the supplies yourself, instead of going for the package deal. If you have the funds for it, buying the higher quality equipment would be worth it.

One advantage of doing a planted tank is that the ammonia and nitrite spikes involved with the cycling prcess are greatly reduced. So, once your plants get established you could start slowly adding fish. Good lighting plays an important role here, as I discovered the hard way. With 20 watts, my plants were dying and decaying........adding to the ammonia instead of reducing it. Doing daily water changes kept my fish happy until I got on the right track. Now everything seems to be just fine.
 
Originally posted by Gotcha38
Ok, I did some searching and I don't know if the hanging filter will be a good idea or not because it might cause too much surface turbulance and release the small amounts of CO2 I acctually have.
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Gotcha, this is really a function of water level. If you are diligent about keeping your tank's water level high enough, it will cut down on surface disturbance. Its only when the water level gets low that the HOB filter starts acting like a waterfall and causes a lot of disturbance.

Tom
 
Wow, today was a real eye opener. The first shop I went to is billed as a complete fish supply store. They were "susposed" to have everything, but today man a different store blew that one out of the water.This place was awesome. They had everything! I got to see some different sized tanks and stuff, and a huge assortment of fish. They had alot of different substrates but no Eco-Complete.

Shopping arround the 30 gal Long tanks were $70. I forget what brand they were. A decent stand was $129 ( Waaaaay more than what I bargained for.), and the tops they offered for it were $43. How do these prices sound? I'm going to get my penguin filter from BigAl's, maybe a stand too. I saw the 55 Gals and I alllllmost decided on getting one of those but I just think that the expense would be way to much for me to cover. I'm doing some calculating and I'll decide.
 
Originally posted by Gotcha38
I saw the 55 Gals and I alllllmost decided on getting one of those but I just think that the expense would be way to much for me to cover. I'm doing some calculating and I'll decide.
Click to expand...

There's always the classifieds :D . If you are sure you want in on this hobby and its not just a passing craze to you, get the biggest tank you can. It will be easier to care for (more water volume=more stbale water chemistry) and leave you more options/room for fish.

If you shop used tanks, stands, and hoods you can find some very decent deals.
 
I'm scanning the classifieds but there hasn't been a single thing offered for sale. So the prices the store had sound reasonable or am I just being a tight wad?
 
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