Well, after living vicariously by reading through this thread and many like it on aquahobby and other boards, I don't think I can resist much longer. I've been interested in setting up an aquarium for awhile, but have been putting it off since I knew I'd be moving across country. Well, now I've moved and I'm getting excited about it again. I have a 75gal that has formerly been used to house pet gerbils...but I think it may be time to use it as intended. Should I do anything besides scrub down the tank to prepare for the change-over? Here's the look I'm going for: 75G planted tank Clean the hell out of it and make sure it fills up and won't leak. I'd keep freshwater in it for a few days just to make sure. What are you considering keeping in the 75g? Are you going to do CO2 injection? What kind of lighting?

Well, what to stock is still very much a work in progress. My current rough ideas are: German Blue Ram and Red Line Torpedo Barbs would be the main attractions. Some SAE's for algae cleanup or some type of pleco that won't grow to gigantic proportions. Some pretty tetras like red phantoms, cardinals, or emperors I like the look of some of the killifish, but haven't read anything about them yet. As for lighting and filtration and all that, who knows! I'll have to figure out what type of lighting I'll need to get the wattages required to get a pretty planted tank up and running. I'm going to be doing lots of reading on substrates, DIY CO2, filtration, and lighting here in the next few weeks. The project will probably start in earnest at the beginning of next month.

Well, what to stock is still very much a work in progress. My current rough ideas are: German Blue Ram and Red Line Torpedo Barbs would be the main attractions. Some SAE's for algae cleanup or some type of pleco that won't grow to gigantic proportions. Some pretty tetras like red phantoms, cardinals, or emperors I'd suggest a bristlenose plec, they're active, cool looking, and most of them are excellent algae eaters. The other common small plecs aren't - clown plecs eat wood, rubbernose only eat a few types of algae, and zebra plecs are more carniverous (and ridiculously expensive - spectacular fish, though, if you can find one). I like the look of some of the killifish, but haven't read anything about them yet. The ones you're most likely to find on sale are blue panchax and golden wonders. Blue panchax have a bit of a chip on their shoulder but are fine with most robust or semi aggressive fish, and golden wonders are ideal community fish. The pretty ones are mostly annuals - they don't live more than a few months and their breeding is fairly involved, so they're rarely sold in stores, but you can usually get them from your state's killifish association. Whatever species you get, read up first - some are very small and would be eaten by the roselines (assuming you mean denisoni barbs), and some are mean as hell for their size and really don't mix with other species well. As for lighting and filtration and all that, who knows! I'll have to figure out what type of lighting I'll need to get the wattages required to get a pretty planted tank up and running. Don't stick with standard lighting. Bare minimum is really a multi-bar florescent. Get some T5 lights at least, but for a first planted tank, I don't recommend high output T5's - it'll limit your plant picks a bit, but the brighter the lights, the more ferts you'll have to dump in and the more carefully you'll have to balance them to avoid growing an algae farm. Personally, I've had the most controllable results using standard output T5's and the flourish line with the EI method, Excell organic carbon in place of CO2 injection - CO2 injection mucks with your pH, first time I set it up I crashed the tank twice because I didn't realize just how much it could shift the pH. There's plenty of benefits of injection over excell, but it's a bit easier to manage, and it has the added benefit that quite a few forms of algae can't utilize it effectively, and it's even harmful to some of the more persistent and evil types like staghorn algae. Oh, and stay away from yeast based CO2. It works fine, yeah, but when you have to clean it out and changet he yeast packet, the stink is the worst thing I have ever smelled.

Man, I would love to set up a starter 10 gallon tank but even that seems overwhelming. Plants would be great, but apparently add a good deal of complexity. As a very rough guess, any ideas on the total cost of an adequately equipped 10 gallon tank? Not more than $50 I hope?

Easily under $50 if you hit up the used stuff - don't get the starter kits you see in stores, they usually come with woefully inadequate filters and you can piece together a kit with better parts for about the same price anyway. I'd budget $75, though, and invest the extra in an API freshwater test kit. Water tests and water changes are really all there is to freshwater - almost everything that's likely to go wrong can be diagnosed with water tests, and no matter what's wrong, the solution usually is or at least involves increased water changes. There are some plants that don't add a terrible amount of work - java ferns and java moss will grow almost any conditions and don't need anything beyond a reasonable stock of fish and regular water changes. Anubias will usually stand up to the same conditions.

Man, I would love to set up a starter 10 gallon tank but even that seems overwhelming. Plants would be great, but apparently add a good deal of complexity. As a very rough guess, any ideas on the total cost of an adequately equipped 10 gallon tank? Not more than $50 I hope? Anubias are great low maintenance plants that are hard to screw up. they grow slow but steadily and are fine with your standard light that comes with a 10g. make sure you research and get fish that are small enough for your 10g. Bettas are great and good with most other fish as long as they are too big to eat . I also really like my ruby/ember tetras - very small and cute. I would recommend some snails and otos for algae cleanup. And if you find pygmy cory cats they are the cutest. you can find a tank on craigslist or at garage sales for pretty cheap if you scope it out regularly. the fish and supplies will be the biggest cost. start small and add a new fish or two every month or whatever and you'll spread some of the costs out too.

i agree with Med... i have been doing the slow build with my 40 and it has been a work in progress since the end of March.(i just don't do the plants.... my own personal lack of patience and goodwill toward greenery.lol) got the tank and stand off of Craigslist... and bought the rest of what i needed gradually. made some mistakes along the way, but i am getting there. next project i am going small...i really want to do some ghost shrimp... they are so cool to watch.

So, after a disaster on my part a few weeks ago, my tank is finally back to fully stocked. My 10g: Fauna: 6 Black Neon Tetras (now 5 one got filtered) 3 Amano Shrimp Flora: Dwarf Sag. Anubias Nana Java Moss (which I can't seem to keep alive, I don't know why) Baby Tears Limnophilia sessiliflora (Ambulia) The Whole Tank: Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Whole Tank looking through: Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Black neon school: Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Shrimp Party: Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler

There are some plants that don't add a terrible amount of work - java ferns and java moss will grow almost any conditions and don't need anything beyond a reasonable stock of fish and regular water changes. Anubias will usually stand up to the same conditions. Well I was thinking about the cycling process. It seems to take quite a bit longer with plants, and I also wasn't clear on the effect of cycling and having fish live in the tank without plants for a while, and adding the plants in later. Can I just add them, or would I have to remove the fish to rebalance the tank?

There are some plants that don't add a terrible amount of work - java ferns and java moss will grow almost any conditions and don't need anything beyond a reasonable stock of fish and regular water changes. Anubias will usually stand up to the same conditions. Well I was thinking about the cycling process. It seems to take quite a bit longer with plants, and I also wasn't clear on the effect of cycling and having fish live in the tank without plants for a while, and adding the plants in later. Can I just add them, or would I have to remove the fish to rebalance the tank? I believe it actually goes quicker. My 10g only took about a week and a half. If you buy plants from your LFS likely they will have the beneficial bacteria already growing on them. If you do want to cycle without plants, you wouldn't have to remove the fish to put the plants in, once the tank is cycled it will stay this way, unless you do something drastic. (like cleaning your filter with tap water, or removing all of your gravel).

Plants also absorb ammonia. There's a cycling method called a 'Silent Cycle', which I wouldn't recommend as you really need to know what you're doing to make it work, but a silent cycle is a cycle with plants. If your tank is heavily planted then the plants absorb enough ammonia to make the cycling invisible. It takes a lot of plants to make it work, though. I'm thinking about doing a little betta tank. I don't want to set my 55g back up since moving it is a bitch with live fish, but a little 10 would be neat, I think. Hmmm.

Plants do help with a cycle, and they ease the effects on fish by removing ammonia (gill damage from ammonia is generally permanent, nitrite and nitrate damage is minor and heals quickly if they're not killed by it). They'll also grow better during the cycle than you'll ever see again, since it's the rare time that there's excess nitrogen in the water. Stem plants are best - throw a crap ton of pond weed or hornwort in the tank, since it's dirt cheap and will grow quickly. You can replace it with nicer plants after the tank's more stable. I always recommend fishless cycling these days - you can grow a fully established biofilter without fish at all by using another ammonia source. Most controllable way is a pure household ammonia solution (no dyes, no scents, and not the stuff that makes suds), but you can use frozen meat (shrimp works best, any shellfish will decay very quickly in warm water), and one of the first guys who first came up with fishless cycling used his own urine the first time. Fishless cycling is also pretty much ideal for starting plants out, too - by the end of the cycle (2-4 weeks) it'll look like a good 4-6 months of growth.

Been lurking this thread for a while. The girlfriend and I inherited a 30 gallon some time ago. We started with some really ugly neon gravel and plastic plants. After falling in love with the hobby ( and fish ) we have gotten to this We had to get rid of three of the fish (( two Tinfoil Barbs and the other Guarami )) as they were getting too large for the tank. the Kissing Guarami you see there is the last of our original fish that we inherited. In addition you may be able to make out the 6 Bousemani Rainbows. Overall its a great hobby. We have decided if/when we move in together we will be getting a 55 gallon. Oh, and the plants are all real I'm not having any of that plastic crap for my little guys. Only the best!

very niiice! i always admire people who can do the real green! i can not... yet. maybe next tank! i have a kissing gourami... how big was the one you took out of the tank?

I'm thinking about doing a little betta tank. I don't want to set my 55g back up since moving it is a bitch with live fish, but a little 10 would be neat, I think. Hmmm. hmmm, indeed. depending on.. if you just want a betta only, you can go smaller to a 2, 3 or 5 gallon. if you are going with another idea, a male betta can be a community fish with certain others really well. (a school of harlequin rasboras or zebra danios or certain tetras for example) ... just warning you though.. bettas are the 'shelter dogs' of the aquatic world.... once you rescue your first one from its little cup, you will want to do it again. these fish are very human responsive... of course, it could all be gratitude for the rescue from the tiny cup! incidentally, if you had told me a year ago that i would be extolling the virtues of a siamese fighting fish, i would have laughed my ass off and would have offered to buy you another shot... lil Lorna(she is only just over an inch long!) thinks everyone should have at least one...betta, that is!

Medophine... you are the invertebrate expert... are there any saltwater snails that can live in freshwater? i doubt it, but i was curious.... saw the coolest snail at a Petco today while i was looking at clearance stuff.

What kind of snail was it? I highly doubt any could make the switch, but stranger things have happened. Snails are really really sensitive to changes in stuff - they die quick in saltwater tanks if stuff fluctuates too much. BUT, at the same time, while no one would ever tell you to do it - it all depends on if you want to try. I always have felt that if you read up on it and see if it's done before, as long as you're not treating it like a mad scientist and torturing your animals, it's not cruel to try stuff out. I had a blue damsel - a saltwater fish - living in a freshwater tank for a year and a half (until a tankmate ate him). A lot of people would say I was a terrible person and blah blah, but I read about how hardy they were, and when it came down to it, we were out of places to put him and I figured we'd give it a shot and see what happened. He was fat, happy, showed no distress and it was a good time. So if you look up and see what people say about the snail, you may be able to gradually acclimate it.

very niiice! i always admire people who can do the real green! i can not... yet. maybe next tank! i have a kissing gourami... how big was the one you took out of the tank? The one we took out was about the same size. Maybe a little larger. After we gave away the Barbs they started getting aggresive with each other, so that was another deciding factor. My girlfriend was so sad when we gave him/her up. She must have hugged that bag with watery eyes for 20 minutes before we took it to the local fish store. The plants are not difficult at all. We dont have a CO2 system so we use a supplement each day when we feed the fish. That along with a vitamin supplement twice a week keeps everything looking good. The large fir style plant in the rear is growing insanely fast as we have had to cut it back about twice a week since planting it. Another thing; depending on your fish, keeping real plants can be an issue. Our barbs would not stop picking the things apart. And when you have two 5 inch fish who dont know when to stop you will find yourself hard pressed to keep live stuff in the tank.

When (fresh) water turns green, what's usually the culprit? I've had a 30 gallon tank for about 3 months now and only recently the water started to get very murky, to the point of not being able to see through to the other side. There's not much in the way of algae buildup (no more than usual) and I'm good about keeping up with water changes and such.

I'm thinking about doing a little betta tank. I don't want to set my 55g back up since moving it is a bitch with live fish, but a little 10 would be neat, I think. Hmmm. hmmm, indeed. depending on.. if you just want a betta only, you can go smaller to a 2, 3 or 5 gallon. if you are going with another idea, a male betta can be a community fish with certain others really well. (a school of harlequin rasboras or zebra danios or certain tetras for example) ... just warning you though.. bettas are the 'shelter dogs' of the aquatic world.... once you rescue your first one from its little cup, you will want to do it again. these fish are very human responsive... of course, it could all be gratitude for the rescue from the tiny cup! incidentally, if you had told me a year ago that i would be extolling the virtues of a siamese fighting fish, i would have laughed my ass off and would have offered to buy you another shot... If you had told me a year ago that'd I'd be considering a betta talk I'd have called you mad. Mostly I want to play with a densely planted tank with co2 injection. A lone betta would be fine because the aquarium would be mostly about the plants.

When (fresh) water turns green, what's usually the culprit? I've had a 30 gallon tank for about 3 months now and only recently the water started to get very murky, to the point of not being able to see through to the other side. There's not much in the way of algae buildup (no more than usual) and I'm good about keeping up with water changes and such. Green water is usually just excess light. If you're lighting the tank, reduce the lighting period or brightness, and if it's in an area where it might get direct sunlight, try blacking out the side(s) that are getting the light. If it's unplanted you can just leave it unlit except when you're actually looking at the fish. Most fish have excellent eyesight and other senses and need very little light themselves. How much/often are you changing water, and are you cleaning the gravel while you do it? Ammonia/nitrate/phosphorus in the water can contribute, but light is usually the main problem with green water. All things failing, you can get a UV sterilizer, they'll wipe out even the worst green water in a couple days. You'll need a canister filter for most models, but there are ones that you can just run with a powerhead. They also help fighting some other nasty algae like black brush, since it'll kill the free floating spores and partially control its spread.

The tank never gets DIRECT sunlight, but it gets a fair amount of morning light from the window in the dining room (about 15 feet away). I had been changing a little over 4 gallons (filtered + some tap) per week, with gravel cleaning, but I bought another 5-gallon jug and have been doing about 9 gallons (filtered water) for the past two weeks, since the murkiness wasn't going away. Maybe I'll do a water test when I get home tonight.

Water changes should be ~25% - 30% every week, so it sounds like you may not have been doing enough water changes. 10 gallons a week sounds like a good amount for your aquarium.

nerite snails are the only snails I've read about that do both saltwater and freshwater

nerite snails are the only snails I've read about that do both saltwater and freshwater the snail i was enthralled with was a nerite, actually. i will read up and think upon this...