What to buy?

[SunniFlorida]

I currently have an Eclipes 5gal aquarium, with one lone chinese algea eater (he's about 2 years old now). I'd like a larger tank in the 20-ish to 30-ish gallon mode, but I'm not sure what to get. My friend says that Eclipes is the best. Before I make any investments on my new passion, I'd love to have opinions on which filtration systems the best, and what's the best set up for ease of maintenace. My hope is that I'll have a nice little freshwater community to enjoy. I have very little knowledge of this hobby, but I'm eager to learn!

Thanks!

 

[kevinn2003]

I would say get a top fin starter 29 gallon kit. Its about 50 dollars and comes with everything youll need.

 

[val]

Welcome...

Sunni, to Aquaria Central, home of the most helpful fishkeepers on the internet

The rule you should follow when buying a tank is to get the biggest tank you can afford, or if you are starting out, the biggest tank you can fit into your room. I would recommend that you get started with a 29g or 37g tank. The bigger the water capacity, the more stable your tank will be in terms of water quality. Everybody here has a favorite filter. For a smaller tank, and around here, a 29 or 37g tank is considered small, a hang on back filter (also called a power filter) makes a good, convenient and inexpensive filter. I've only just started using Aqua Clears, but I'm now a fan. Easy to set up, easy to clean and maintain, and very good bang for the buck. An AC 300 should do you just fine, but you may get advice to get a bigger filter, so an AC 400 would be the next step up.

Save your 5g tank for a quarantine or hospital tank. Believe me, it will come in handy at some point, if this bug does bite you.

when you're ready to start setting up the tank, let us know.

Val