The perfect fish only tank setup for starter

[Rbishop]

You don't need the reactor...control algae by controlling nutrients and lighting.

Water changes are all you really need to keep the fish healthy along with a varied diet.

You tank size is way too small to really worry about having fish at all levels.

 

[elementkid65]

Took the words right out of my mouth lupin.
You don't need a medicine chest or anything. Frequent water changes is the only way to keep you fish in good health. Clean water = healthy fish = better immune systems = less chance of contracting diseases. On top of that, the only chemical that you should be adding to your water on a regular basis is dechlorinator. Everything else should be temporary if even used at all. The osmotic pressure from the total dissolved solids (TDS) of adding chemicals and other things in your tank is not good for the fish. It will most likely do more harm than good. So keep chemicals and medication usage at a minimal. I don't think I've had any disease outbreaks in over 6 years, no chemicals, just weekly water changes.

Also I wouldnt worry too much about snails. I'm too lazy to keep live plants, as most of my fish tear them up and uproot them so I've never kept any and never once did I find a single snail in any of my tanks.

Btw, I don't think just because someone has been keeping fish for a long time means they know what they're doing. I have friends who are relatively new to the hobby (less than 2 years) who practice better fishkeeping habbits than some other people I know who have been keeping fish for 20+ years.

True!

i have been keeping fish for a year, started from scratch, and now i am breeding about 15 species of fish (my sig has a few of my african colonies). which takes effort time and patience, i have my 12 tank breeding set up, 5 fry tanks and 2 displays (one is in my signiture). i am trying to breed other fish as well!

while i know people who have kept tanks for over 6 years and know what water changes are but have no clue with most other things.

i remember when i was asking questions in june/july 2007, and now i grow up colonies/ pairs, breed them, raise fry, sell fry, buy and sell fish for profit, and enjoy them!

guess how old i am :eek3:...........15

not hard if you have dedication

 

[Cory Keeper]

I think no matter what you do, your still gonna have algae, not much you can do about that. And plants are not hard at all. Java Ferns, Java Moss, Anubias, Vals, Wisteria (Hygrophila Difformis) and most crypts are very very easy to keep, CO2 is not even required. All thats needed is enough light. And with enough fish, no ferts would be needed either.

 

[Dwarf Puffers]

I'm not mistaken with the name. Here it is. The name is still being argued. Someone wanted to rename it as Turboschistura shanensis because they are found in Shanan river system and not the Arakan river system.

Is it just me, or do those loaches have the exact coloration pattern of males and females, with the same stripe down their side as cherry barbs?

 

[nsamuel]

Just a suggestion: shrimp tend to be fascinating to a kid, and cherry shrimp are easy to keep. When you come back and can quarantine them, African Dwarf frogs are adorable, as long as you are not overstocked at that point, and make great bottom dwellers.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=545

Thanks a bunch SchizotypalVamp, Good suggestions. Kids do love to see shrimp and frogs. So, i will add these later. Hopefully the red/cherry shrimps will peacefully coexist with my fish (which will be around 2" or less). And thanks to the other person who suggested gobys. And lupin is great comments too. I am going through the fish atlas to decide on these and browse the other popular thread that has livestock discussion.

The next comment i want from you expert guys is substrate suggestion. I have spent countless hours searching and researching the substrates out there. Carribsea makes good ones, and seachem is good for planted tanks. For various reasons that you experts are familiar with, I have decided on a substrate 1mm - 5mm size. I am thinking of a darker substrate, either towards black grit/pebbles or dark brown or maybe a mix of both. My tank is acrylic with black background. The lighting is flourascent 20W penn plax. I also have to consider that the bottom dwellers have to be happy with substrate and not get scratches from it. Estes make substrate that are coated with clear non-toxic so that the substrate does not affect water. I do not need the expensive planted tank substrates.

And i found nice river stone in 3-6mm size in local landscaping company. I love the color and the price is great. I ran the vinegar test on it and it does not make bubbles or fizz. But, it makes faint noise when i put my ears close to them, which means the vinegar is reacting with it though not much. I am thinking of running a ph/KH/GH test on this substrate with deionized water and letting it sit for about a week. I dont want sand in the substrate because its acrylic tank and will get scratched easily. I welcome any ideas other than the caribsea & Estes that i am considering as alternatives. Even seachem Onyx raises ph of deionized water to 7.4 so should i be so worried about this nice river pebbles i have found ?

Finally one comment to some of the other commentators......Dont be thinking that i am a naive teenager trying to build yet another newbie tank. I have spent practically over 1000 hours reading through all that on the web. I asked for comments of people i respect, because of their experience and knowledge. If you have not run tanks for over 6yrs, dont even pass a critical comment on my setups. comments like "algae can not be prevented in a freshwater tank" are foolish. Phosphate is a limiting factor and a nutrient, just like light. One of these days, you might be reading the articles that i will publish

 

[jm1212]

AquaQuartz has worked very well with my plants. it is white though, and i am not sure if you would want the contrast with your background.

 

[Cory Keeper]

Phosphates is only one if the nutrients for algae, look, I meant it. There is no way you can control algae, except with a scrub brush. I never said anything about being naive, either, and neither did anyone else.

 

[Lupin]

Is it just me, or do those loaches have the exact coloration pattern of males and females, with the same stripe down their side as cherry barbs?

So observant. Yes, I notice that too. Males do have deep cherry red coloration.

 

[SchizotypalVamp]

Ecocomplete and flourite are considered the best for planted tanks, I believe. If you are not planting the tank, pool filter sand will work with rinsing. I have to agree that it is more cost efficent, better looking, and better for the animals to put in hornwort, water sprite (if you're willing to trim, eventually), crypts, anubias, java fern, and moss. When I switched to my current tank I didn't realize that the bulb that came with it was incandescent. I had a crypt wendtii, anubias barterii, and java moss flourish under 3 wpg incandescent in ecocomplete. My java moss and moss ball stayed the same. I'm not sure what the bacopa was doing, as it has refused to root for the most part. The crypt does seem happier in 2.5 wpg fluorescent. However, people have had success growing anubias, java moss, java fern, water sprite, and hornwort in less than 1 wpg.

 

[Hollygirl]

I think it is great that you are researching and getting everything prepared before getting started, but if you over think your aquarium you will miss the best part - and that is learning by trial and error. The reason you are going to get so many opinions here at AC is because all of us have learned different things through keeping our aquariums. I have White Clouds which are listed everywhere as "peaceful schooling fish". I have one White Cloud that hardly ever swims with the others and is the pushiest little thing. Many aquarists successfully keep large snails with Bettas. My female Betta apparently missed that class as she was constantly picking at the snails I purchased for her tank and I finally removed them. Choose fish that appeal to your little girl, and yes prepare, but most of all have fun. Fishkeeping has got to be one of the best hobbies around. :grinyes: