# Large aquarium advice



## tams (Apr 6, 2016)

I have an empty area in my living room that just screams "AQUARIUM!!!" The area is big enough to fit anything from a 10 gallon to a 60 gallon tank. This doesn't mean that I am definitely getting a tank though because my parents aren't big on keeping a huge aquarium in the living room. This is just a post asking advice for the aquarium such as types of filters, plants, substrates and fish I should get and how I should decorate the aquarium. If I'm getting a tank on the bigger side [29-60 gallons], I want to get a couple schooling fish. If not, just suggest fish that you think would fit best. Anything out of the ordinary is cool too. Things like clams, crayfish, and other inverts don't scare me. I also already know about the nitrogen cycle, which is why I want to get my tank over the summer, so I can do a fishless cycle for the first couple of months. 

A little background about the area I want to put my tank:
There is an outlet that I can put a power bar if needed.
It's near a window, but because of the angle of my house relative to the sun, the tank would never get a lick of sunlight ever. 
It's also near a heater, but we're stingy here when it comes to heat so I'm not worried about boiling my fish.
My living room is the hotspot for activity so any fish that like to be in the center of all the action won't miss a beat!

So advice I'm looking for:
What kind of fish should I get? [Schooling, shoaling, or otherwise]
What's the best substrate? [In relation to the types of fish and plants]
The lowest maintenance plants to keep [I already know about java fern and anacharis and those types of LM plants]
What type of filter would be best? [HOB filters, submersible, sponge?]
Should I go cold or tropical, fresh or saltwater? [Personally, I kind of want to stick with tropical fresh, but if there are LM saltwater fish that you think might work, don't be afraid to suggest!!]
Anything else you might want to suggest?

And as always, bigger is always better, but bigger always means pricier. There's a few tanks I found online that already come with a filter and such for around $100-$200. If anyone knows where to get bigger tanks for cheap that would be awesome!!

*
For those too lazy to read all of that:
I just need general advice for a large tank.
*

Much appreciated!!
-tams


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## dengveevi (Aug 30, 2015)

Take advantage of the $1 per gallon sale at your Petco. Totally worth it. Filters go by gallons so after you figure out which tank size, you can purchase your filter and heater. Some of the Aqueon tanks come with a rebate form to get money back for a filter so look at the tanks with an attachment.


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## Rennie Sky (Feb 27, 2016)

I started to type a long response, but realized this should really be in the Other Fish area, since it doesn't sound like you're looking to include a Betta. If you are then it should probably be in the Compatibility area. Maybe a mod could move it for you?


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## tams (Apr 6, 2016)

dengveevi said:


> Take advantage of the $1 per gallon sale at your Petco. Totally worth it. Filters go by gallons so after you figure out which tank size, you can purchase your filter and heater. Some of the Aqueon tanks come with a rebate form to get money back for a filter so look at the tanks with an attachment.


I have a actually have a tab open for the $1/gallon Petco sale right now lol. There's 2-3 weeks left, I think. I'm definitely going to take advantage of it and either buy a 29 gallon and 2-3 10 gallon tanks or 2 20 gallon tanks. The 10 gallons will either be for breeding or other fish that aren't bettas. I'm also most likely going to go with sponge filters for the 10s just because of the affordability.


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## tams (Apr 6, 2016)

Rennie Sky said:


> I started to type a long response, but realized this should really be in the Other Fish area, since it doesn't sound like you're looking to include a Betta. If you are then it should probably be in the Compatibility area. Maybe a mod could move it for you?


True. I wasn't sure where to really put this thread since everything about it is just stuff in general. I definitely think the larger tank is going to house fish that aren't Bettas, unless I house a sorority.


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## dengveevi (Aug 30, 2015)

So what type of fish are you interested in?

I have a tank with fancy guppies, neon tetras, a bumblebee goby because he didn't get along with my pea puffer even though they were housed in the same tank at the fish store, some otos, shrimp and snails. I'm planning on adding cherry barbs or panda cories too. Luckily for me, I have a betta in that tank that gets along with all of my schooling fish and leaves them alone. 

You just need to read up about each fish species before purchasing. Some are more territorial than others and can hurt your other fish. Bumble bee gobies are territorial but my tank has enough space for him to call shots on certain spots without other fishes evading his space. 

Plants are also recommended for community tanks and hiding spots. If you're planning to add decor, make sure you check all the edges so there are no sharp edges and some decor has paint that will leak off into the tank so beware of that also.


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## tams (Apr 6, 2016)

dengveevi said:


> So what type of fish are you interested in?
> 
> I have a tank with fancy guppies, neon tetras, a bumblebee goby because he didn't get along with my pea puffer even though they were housed in the same tank at the fish store, some otos, shrimp and snails. I'm planning on adding cherry barbs or panda cories too. Luckily for me, I have a betta in that tank that gets along with all of my schooling fish and leaves them alone.
> 
> ...



Personally, I was drifting towards a betta sorority, but after reading a few threads decided against it. I like schooling fish, tetras, barbs, cories, you name it. Obviously, I'm most likely going to start with only one school of fish at first, so I can avoid having to do mini cycles later on. I was thinking an average size of around 5-7 per school. I've read that 12 fish is ideal, but I want to be able to have more than 2 schools of fish (if I get a 29 gallon, at least). I'm avoiding any large waste producers. I might consider a freshwater puffer, but my LPS (which is a petco in a completely different town lol) doesn't carry puffers. I'm also against ordering fish online. The list of reasons why is too long to put here. 

The inverts have also caught my eye. I don't know why, but I really want to have a freshwater clam or two in my tank. So I guess that is a priority. 

I also want to plant my tank. Basic low maintenance plants like amazon swords and anacharis. Any plants that won't require any special lighting or CO2. Plants that require ferts are fine. As far as decorations go, I might end up making my own out of PVC. I can get a ton for cheap where I live and I won't have a problem acquiring aquarium-safe silicone or paints. 

Also, going back to freshwater inverts, if I get mostly fast swimming top surface fish, would they stand a chance against a crayfish? Just wondering. If not, I'll either not get it or keep it in a separate tank.


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## Rennie Sky (Feb 27, 2016)

I would get the 29 or a 20 long. The length is the same, so good for shoaling fish. The 29 is just taller. I like Cory for the bottom, but if you're into inverts, go for it. I'm not experienced with them. 

I'm currently planning a 20 long with a Betta, but a lot of the same fish, particularly the micro/nano shoaling fish would be great without a Betta. With smaller shoalers you can get more per type. 

I've gotten lists from several of our experience members. Again, all pretty peaceful since I plan to add a Betta. 

I'll just share my list.Some are common, I put them at the start, others less so and often smaller giving you room for bigger shoals.

Rasbora:
Harlequin
Espei
Chili
Neon Blue or Neon Green ( hard to acclimate, but hardy afterwards)


TetraThis excludes the nippiest, though some neon can be)
Neon
Cardinal
Rummy Nose
Ember
Espei (they get called tetra and rasbora, go figure)
Green Fire
Glowlight
Jelly Bean
Ruby

Other options: 
Scarlet Bad is (Dario Dario)
Peacock Gudgian
Pretty much any Cory in groups of 6+

Hope that gives you some ideas. Sorry0 to lazy to type scientific names, but all of those will pull up the right fish in Google.


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## dengveevi (Aug 30, 2015)

Puffers are extremely territorial and ideally should be a species only tank. One pea puffer needs 10 gal of space so I'm not sure how much the bigger ones needs. I know pea puffers get along with otos though. Well, not really; they just leave each other alone.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Cories! They can go in anything from a 20 to 100+ gallons! Only thing is, they need sand. 

So cute.


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## Rennie Sky (Feb 27, 2016)

ThatFishThough said:


> Cories! They can go in anything from a 20 to 100+ gallons! Only thing is, they need sand.
> 
> So cute.


One of my very favorite fish too! There is very little in the world cuter than a cory conga line! And they just add so much movement and interest.


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Hehe.

I think it'd be fun to breed Cories; I think I have 4 males and a female. I'm not sure though.

((I know, 6+. The LFS only had 5. :3))


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## tams (Apr 6, 2016)

Thank you all for the advice!!
I've been thinking about it for a few days now and I've decided to go with 1 20 gallon tank, and a couple 5/10 gallon tanks. If I'm lucky, I might get a 40 gallon tank. I'm also sticking with sponge filters, though I may get a canister filter for the 20 gallon depending on the types of fish I get.

The smaller 5 gallon tanks will most likely be either quarantine tanks or tanks to grow plants and maybe even fry. What kind of fry you ask? I'm still thinking about that. Maybe guppies or bettas. Still not sure about the 10 gallons though, but I want some on hand in case I think of anything. 

In the main 20 gallon, I want to get schooling fish like tetras and cories. Would those two species clash in any way? I know cories are more bottom dwelling and tetras usually stay near the middle of the tank, but I just want to make sure. I'm also going to fulfill my weird dream of having a freshwater clam and try to keep one of those in my tank, if my pet store sells them at least. 

Also, I will make an attempt to plant a small tank with no fish, just to get a feel for what I'm doing. I'm not the best at plant keeping, I am not even able to keep a cactus alive for more than a week  We'll just see how that works out. 

Thanks again for all of the advice!! I might want to keep the thread open in case I have more questions, but for the most part, I seem to have everything I need by way of what I want. All I can say for now is wish me luck and I hope I won't have to bury too many fishies once I establish my tanks!!


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## ThatFishThough (Jan 15, 2016)

Haha, good luck!

((Don't worry, cacti are actually pretty hard to keep. Just the right amount of water, so and so sunlight, this type of sand, etc. etc. I got one of mine to bloom once, then it literally just died.))


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

What are your water parameters? Eg KH GH PH? Without knowing these its pointless recommending fish


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## tams (Apr 6, 2016)

NickAu said:


> What are your water parameters? Eg KH GH PH? Without knowing these its pointless recommending fish



Well that's the thing lol. I don't even have the tanks yet. I'm going to try to convince my mom to let me buy a few tanks and even then, I probably won't be able to set up a single one of those tanks because my dad isn't keen on keeping them. Even though I would be doing all of the work [i.e. cleaning, feeding, checking parameters, etc.], he's against keeping more than one fish tank in the house currently. If I am successful at convincing him to let me run another tank or two in the living room, I will most likely have to wait to the summer before I can get anything set up. 
For the most part, I was just looking for suggestions for any bomb-proof tropical freshwater fish, schooling or nonschooling it doesn't really matter. I have a list that I have saved of fish I might get, but I would be adding each school one at a time, once a month or every two months after the tank has cycled. I get very paranoid about possible ammonia spikes or disrupting the nitrogen cycle altogether.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

I meant water parameters of the water straight from your tap, You should be able to find this out on you water suppliers web site.

This is important contrary to what some members here tell you, Some hard water fish do not do well in soft water, and some soft water fish do not do well in hard water.


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## tams (Apr 6, 2016)

NickAu said:


> I meant water parameters of the water straight from your tap, You should be able to find this out on you water suppliers web site.
> 
> This is important contrary to what some members here tell you, Some hard water fish do not do well in soft water, and some soft water fish do not do well in hard water.



Oh ok. I'm not sure if I can do that because my water comes from a well. All I know about our water is the pH, which is 7.6 ppm or even above. I've done multiple tests and it is consistent. You'd think my fish would have been long dead or even shown signs of sickness already, but he's been going strong for almost a month in his tank. I know high pH greatly reduces betta's immune systems, which is why I've been carefully monitoring him for a while. Especially when he ripped a hole on his dorsal fin from this plant that came with the tank. But his fins are all healed now and he's doing great!!


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## cousiniguana (Apr 3, 2014)

If he's against many tanks, what about a gib 55 or 60 gallon? The footprint is not all that much bigger than some smaller tanks.


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## brownmane (Jan 7, 2011)

Just putting my suggestion for practicality...remember that you need to know how much weight the floor can support. I don't remember how you calculate the weight of the water in a tank, but a 60 gallon be heavier than the floor could take and cause damage.


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## NickAu (Sep 28, 2015)

> I don't remember how you calculate the weight of the water in a tank,


Its 1 kg to 1 liter ( 2.20462 pounds ) _60_ gal = 227.1247 _kg_


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