Do I want an aquarium?

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Matute
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Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 2:46 pm

Do I want an aquarium?

Post by Matute » Thu May 13, 2010 11:56 am

I am not really an Aquarist but I do enjoy seeing other peoples' fishes at their places. The main reason for me not having fish is that it seems all too complicated: water skimmers, pumps, oxigenizers, water temperature... in terms of simplicity a cat would be ideal, only that a cat doesn't provide the soothing relaxation an aquarium does. So I guess I'm here to let you convince me to take the frist step and get an aquarium of my own instead of anoying friends and relatives by sitting in their living rooms all day and emptying their refrigerators!

Any idea where I can start looking for equipment and prices online?

kimura
Posts: 110
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2006 3:31 pm

Post by kimura » Thu May 13, 2010 3:19 pm

I would take my time and get as much information as possible
before buying anything. Look at all kinds of fish and find the ones
you really want to keep and then build a tank suited for them.
Take your time to fully understand cycling before you start. With
the right planning and preparation your maintenace requirements will
be much lower as well as your frustration.

This is a great site for most of the above information. I always suggest
getting a few opinions to safe guard yourself. Although I would
trust information HERE over any kid making minimum wage at petsmart.

After you find out what you want, I would suggest buying a used tank
from Craigs List or a yard sale. Poor planning will cause people to almost give their tanks away. Of course it depends on what you are going for but you are almost always better off getting a wider tank. A bigger foot
print gives you more surface area on top of the water for gases to exchange. This helps with tank stability, water quality and because of that you can safely stock more fish. I don't like anything less than 18 inches wide if possible. Also the bigger the tank the better, to a point.
For a first tank I wouldnt suggest anything smaller than a 20 gallon and probably nothing bigger than a 75 but this really depends.

For the rest of your equipment I would suggest buying from ebay. Things
like filters, heaters, pumps you can easily purchase around 60 percent of retail if you look patiently. Sand and gravel can be purchased cheaply
at home improvement stores.

Katy
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Location: Vermont, USA

Post by Katy » Thu May 13, 2010 6:40 pm

Agree with starting with Craig's list, but be forewarned, fishkeeping is a slippery slope into multiple-tank madness (from one fish in one tank to 7 tanks ranging from 10 gallons to 120 gallons in 5 months flat....)

andyroo
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Post by andyroo » Thu May 13, 2010 7:24 pm

Matute,
Where are you? This affects what you need in equipment considerations and what fish/creatures will be available both in the shop and in the wild/pond/creek.

No pet is easy- my wife's (*$$%&S) cats will be exhibits a and b there.
I guess if I were just starting out I'd begin at the beginning: scope around and find an aquatic critter that you like (a fish species would be the usual choice, but there are some aquatic frog, snail and shrimp fanatics on this forum) and set up a system around it. But ask first, before you buy it as some things take a lot more care or are "grumpy"...
Choose the animal/plant, ask/learn about it and design the (tank/eco-) system, set up the system, wait for the system to mature.... then buy the critter.
Then buy more compatible critters and make a nice community around your first/favourite(s).
Then get hooked and start the whole process again, and again, and again....
A
"I can eat 50 eggs !"

Diana
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Joined: Wed Jan 04, 2006 1:35 am
Location: Near San Franciso

Post by Diana » Fri May 14, 2010 12:30 pm

Look for a local aquarium club. I would suggest you start with fresh water, it is a bit less complex than a marine aquarium.
There are aquarium clubs or societies almost everywhere. Many of the members are interested in more than one type of aquarium, so even if the club seems like a specialty club (aquatic plants, Cichlids...) that is OK. Go to a few meetings, meet some of the people.
Some clubs have open houses at member's homes where you can see their tanks, ask psecific questions about the set up.

Yes, there are a lot of good questions to ask about getting started. Here is one way to go about it:
Go to some of the local stores and look at the fish. If you see some that you like, write down the names. Then come back here and ask about them.
Do not bother asking the people in the stores. They are often interested only in selling you things, and not interested in helping you learn about the right ways to start an aquarium, and keep the fish healthy and happy.

There is a lot of information at Fish Geeks about both fresh and salt water aquariums, about starting and maintaining tanks, and some specialty fish, too.
http://www.aquaria.info/index.php?name= ... forum&f=71
38 tanks, 2 ponds over 4000 liters of water to keep clean and fresh.

Happy fish keeping!

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Keith Wolcott
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Location: Charleston, Illinois USA

Post by Keith Wolcott » Fri May 14, 2010 2:23 pm

I would like to convince you not to take the first step towards getting an aquarium unless you are really, really sure that you are willing to do the work required to learn about all of the things that you need to know in order to be successful and that you are willing to do the regular maintenance work that is required after you get everything set up. Peacefully sitting and watching the fish is quite relaxing and rewarding and I do a bit of it each day, but each day there is also something to learn about and some task that needs to be done (change water, clean glass, trim plants, etc, etc.).

Think carefully before starting this project.

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chefkeith
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Post by chefkeith » Fri May 14, 2010 9:14 pm

Fish keeping can be very challenging.

My advise for someone starting out is to go with a species only set-up. Avoid the common community fish set-up until you have had some success and have become advanced in the fish keeping methods.

Before you buy fish, buy the tank and all the equipment and do a fishless cycle. This could take for up to a month. Read up about fishless cycling.

When you are ready to buy fish, stock the tank once. Get all fish at the same time from same fish store, from same tank. You should want to buy one school of fish that were already living together.

I give this advise so that you can hopefully avoid all the water quality problems new tanks have and so that you might avoid diseases/parasites outbreaks that are caused by cross contamination.

Once you master taking care of one fish species, then you can start thinking about a community aquarium.

Mary3
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Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:13 pm
Location: Luxor, Egypt

Post by Mary3 » Sat May 15, 2010 5:20 am

Single species tanks can be very rewarding. I had 7 tanks in UK, then moved to Egypt. I have a very basic tank now, as I can't get everything there. I have 9 tiger barbs in 35g tank. The water there is 6.8Ph with buffering of 3 to 4, so I have chosen fish for the water. I had to get test kits from UK before I could do anything. Frozen fish food still comes from UK, one of the reasons I am back in UK at moment!!

andyroo
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Post by andyroo » Sat May 15, 2010 9:41 am

Choose a fish species and call us back. Doesn't have to be "the one" but it'll give us a starting point, and will give us an idea of what you are looking for/who you are.
Or,
Choose a tank (the amount of space you want to dedicate, or the tank your neighbour is selling) and call us back.
That's the start. We'll help you build your system based on (one of) those starting points, but otherwise we're sort of grasping around.

I guess the point of the Keiths' posts is that an aquarium is not "set and forget", and fish are alive and shouldn't be seen as disposable or as decoration- they are pets (friends/family members), as a cat or a dog or a tortoise is a pet, with all the requisite responsibilities.
I'd NEVER want to scare you off keeping (fish) because it's wonderful, but just make sure you've decided that this is what you'd like, ie: you can/will dedicate every second Saturday morning to getting your forearms wet.
(and have fun)
A
"I can eat 50 eggs !"

Matute
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 2:46 pm

Post by Matute » Thu May 20, 2010 2:21 pm

Thanks for your help! A cat... or a Fish... the doubt remains....

For what I've learned until now, FW is definitely easier and less expensive but ultimately you get more variety and fun from SW... of course whit a cat you wouldn't care about FW or SW...

One of the things that everyone agrees is that apart from the tank the second most important appliance id the filter. How often does a filter have to be updated/changed, there are so many brands and prices...I checked the AquaClear filters that someone recommended and also I found this one and wanted to know your opinion:

http://fishpetlove.com/index.php?main_p ... ts_id=5775

This fishpetlove.com has different brands from fosterandsmithaquatics.com and other well known stores but it seems to me they are overall cheaper.

Please let me know, I do not want to be buying stuff from 50 different places.

In terms of the species of fish ot seems that cichlids are the most resilient, so unless someone has a different opinion I will go with them.

I hope they don't look too tasty for a cat... :)

Thanks!

andyroo
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Post by andyroo » Thu May 20, 2010 2:42 pm

Hold on, salt-water is more interesting???
I find freshwater to seem, well, brighter/smarter and more friendly. Freshwater also has a lot of forms and swimming methods that you really don't see in the sea: knife-fish and arawana, for example. More graceful. I'd admit the colours in the sea are a little more vigorous, but if colour is the goal you'll not be limited in freshwater, particularly with Cichlids.

For gear, you tend to get what you pay for: "mean man go to market two time". If you don't mind this and don't mind a little "tinkering", then go for the cheep. Otherwise spend a few bucks on a reputable brand (well worth it).

The amount of filtration depends on the amount of fish you've got- an understocked tank takes less filtration, a well-populated tank or one with bigger fish takes a little more. If you start cheep with only a couple of fish in a good-sized tank you can get a handle on the basics, then move up from there. Rule of thumb though: over-filter if you can.
You're changing water every 2 weeks or so. You clean the filter at the same time. Get a water-tester for Ph, nutrients etc.
A
"I can eat 50 eggs !"

Matute
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 2:46 pm

Post by Matute » Wed Jun 02, 2010 12:13 pm

Thanks for the Reply Andyroo.

For what I've seen I think that I would like to go SW becuase of the colors and contrasts...but SW seems easier to handle for someone that's starting.

Personally, even if it is more expensive i rather get everything new, specially the tank, from my friends I've learned of 2 good brands Penecort and TruVu. Are these good? do you know of other brands i can look up.. and also stands, any idea on that also?

I would like one day to have a tubular tank like this one:

fishpetlove.com => see the tubular tank in the back?

i know it can be expensive but I've seen there are smaller versions.

I think I am going with a 40 gln tank [tubular if i can find something affordable] with Cichlids. I will prefer SW but will probably go FW.

Any other must have equipment I will need for both SW or FW?

Thanks!

andyroo
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Post by andyroo » Wed Jun 02, 2010 1:49 pm

groovy.
Ultimately- decide to do it, and do it. Fresh water or salt water, it's all just a matter of learning, and that information is thick on the ground (net) in the modern world and a lot of pet-shops provide beginner courses. Buy a couple of books before you start buying equipment or fish. If you go with what you like best you'll be better motivated to keep it perfect.
Tubular tends to be acrylic rather then glass. A little more expensive and takes slightly different maintenance, but won't leak and looks fantastic.

I make my own tanks, or at least have since early University. No idea about pre-fab tank-makers, though I'll assume that one is as good as another as it's all just glass and glue.

40 gallon reef (salt water) system with some propagated coral and little bright gobies and damsels sounds lovely.
"I can eat 50 eggs !"

Matute
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 2:46 pm

Post by Matute » Mon Jun 07, 2010 1:56 pm

Thanks again!

Ok Tubular is out of the question, seems that they tend to be tall which is herd for mater chages and things of that sort, additionally not to much rooms for the fish... so I'm goint rectangular... basic is best I guess.

Andyroo... you make your own tanks! i guess it is MUSH cheaper or not? I undertand that its only glass and silicone... buta what do you use for the base? I'll probably make my own tank!!!!

Let me know.

By the way check this out:

http://fishpetlove.com/FishPetLove-Jingle

It's funny how some companies try to cut on their advertsing budget!!

andyroo
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Post by andyroo » Mon Jun 07, 2010 2:29 pm

Not that much cheeper and a monstrous headache and takes some practice and a meticulous cutter-man who knows what you're up to. I do because I live on a rock where you pay 4x the rate and I have to fit my hobby into the spaces in our little apartment.
It's much easier and safer to buy it, even if it's a second-hand tank.
A
"I can eat 50 eggs !"

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