Hello everyone. Brand Newbie here.

[jczinger]

First, let me tell you a bit about what I have and why. Currently I have a ten gal FW and a 20 gal FW. Both are empty and waiting to be set up. I am coming here to find out what and how to do things so that I have many years of enjoyment from my new friends. ( The fish)

Speaking of which, I am leaning toward a community tank, stocked with Cory's, Swordtails, Tetra's of some kind and something else that is attracive and relatively hardy. I am sure that I will be making some mistakes as this is a learning period for me. I want to make these mistakes so that I may learn from them and be able to pass it along. However, I don't want to hurt my fish, or possible kill them, in the process.

Any suggestions from the members on how and what I need to be doing to start with would be helpful.

Thank you,
Jc

[Lady Hobbs]

Welcome aboard. On the left side in the idex column, you will find a FREE ebook that is an excellent source of information. Takes a few minutes to load up with dialup but is well worth the wait. It was written by the site manager, William, and I think you will find it very informative.

Quick tips:
Always decholorinate the water. Start with a very few fish so your tank will "cycle" or better yet, do a "fishless cycle." There are a million articles on the web to see how this is done.
Adding too many fish at once will cause your tank to have too much ammonia from the fish and you will loose them all so please read up on cycling. And buy a test kit (not the strips) for checking water. Master test kits can be very expensive if purchased at the wrong places. I get mine from PetSmart for $14. I've also seen them for up to $44 which is a ridiculous price when those for $14 work the same.

You have picked a nice variety for small tanks. Make sure you don't end up with fish that will become huge and huge pleco's. Make sure you know how big the fish will get and what fish are compatible.

There will be lots of help here on the forum but read up on the cycling, the fishless cycling and then come back with more question.

Welcome aboard.

[kimmers318]

I heartily second the info given to you by Hobbs! Cycling will be the most important aspect of setting up your tank...do it wrong, disaster awaits....do it right and you will have happy healthy fish! My personal suggestion would be to start 1 tank first....get it happy and healthy and the second will be much easier to start, especially since you will have a source of bacteria to use to jumpstart by aquiring it from the first tank :). Beware though, that since you plan on stocking both tanks, not having one as quarantine tank, you will run the risk of introducing disease as you introduce fish, so you could still expect some issues. My personal recommendation would be to cycle the 20 gal first....figure out what fish you want in it and start with a group, say the tetras. Let it get nice and healthy....jumpstart the 10 gal, and get the second fish you want for 20 gal, use the 10 as a quarantine for a couple of weeks to make sure new purchases are healthy before adding them to the 20 gal. Once your 20 gal is finished being stocked you can stock the 10 gal. That gives you at least a short term quarantine tank to avoid problems with anything going into the 20 gal.

[jczinger]

Actually, I was planning to start both at the same time. Giving them both time to get going and cycling. Getting something (a fish) very hardy to help both with the cycling part. Then using the ten as a quarintine tank for the twenty. That is until the twenty is stocked with the few fish that I want to have, maybe ten. after using the ten as a hospital tank if need be, keeping it stocked with a couple of cory's or alge eaters to help with the cleaning and to kind of keep it going.

What are your thoughts on this plan?

[kimmers318]

After having cycled with fish....fishless cycling....and then jumpstart cycling or "cloning" I don't care for cycling with "hardy" fish. I have seen the long term affects my danio's suffered, but ultimately the choice is yours. Another consideration on cycling with hardy fish is that unless they are fish you wish to keep after the cycling.....what will you do with them then? If you don't wish to have them as permanent residents is it fair to them?

Cycling both tanks at once is and can be a good way to go the way you plan on doing things. I am understanding you will cycle both....add to the 20 gal and the 10 gal fish that you ultimately plan on keeping in the 20 gal. This allows group 1 for 20 gal to be watched for disease etc. and also allows the 2nd group you wish to put into 20 gal to be Q'd in 10 gal awaiting their turn to go into 20 gal when they have been proven healthy. Once 20 gal is fully stocked you can work on finishing off the 10 gal as you said. Sounds like a great plan and hopefully you will end up with 2 beautiful tanks! Keep us posted and we will enjoy following your experiences. Of course.....we will also love pics when you are done. :)