I Love My Girlfriend!

[~Erik3.8.07~]

My girlfriend got me a 40g tank with stand, filter and lid for 50$. But i have no idea what to put in it so any suggestions? I was thinking about gettin a couple of blood parrots or maybe some other cichlids. Maybe it could be one big community tank or i could try saltwater reef tank but i would need to do a lotta research and all. The possibilites are pretty much endless so any ideas of some cool fish i could put in it?

[Rue]

What a good GF!

No one can tell you what to put into your tank...but 40g is a nice size...

What you do prefer? That's the best way to plan...

[Drumachine09]

Congrats on the new tank!


The best part of aquarium keeping is getting a new tank. You get to set stuff up, cycle it, plan it, and stock it. LOTS of fun.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

What a good GF!

No one can tell you what to put into your tank...but 40g is a nice size...

What you do prefer? That's the best way to plan...



well thats kinda my issue. . . i've been thinkin about it for a couple days but im not really sure what i prefer. Kinda just askin around and gettin some ideas so i have a better idea of what i want. Basically its a "what would you do if it was yours" thing

[Mdsuave13]

Congrats on the new tank!


The best part of aquarium keeping is getting a new tank. You get to set stuff up, cycle it, plan it, and stock it. LOTS of fun.

thumbs2: i agree totally on that one..

[Drumachine09]

well thats kinda my issue. . . i've been thinkin about it for a couple days but im not really sure what i prefer. Kinda just askin around and gettin some ideas so i have a better idea of what i want. Basically its a "what would you do if it was yours" thing


You could do a nice planted tank. That would be new and interesting.

A reef tank would be very hard to take care of, not to mention expensive.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

You could do a nice planted tank. That would be new and interesting.

i was thinkin about doin that but having never kept plants before, im not sure if i should plant the big one, or set up the large tank and use my older 10g to play around with until i can make sure i know what im doing and can keep plants alive and healthy

[Rue]

Wellllllll...if it were my tank, I'd get a mudskipper..

[~Erik3.8.07~]

those are actually pretty cool, but i know for a fact i do want fish that swim around. I think i know what im gonna do now. I'm gonna make it a planted community tank with lots of unique and schooling fish. Im gonna do a lot of research and try and make it as close to their natural environment as i can. I'll update as i go along. Cant wait till i get it. This is gonna be so much fun:19:

[Drumachine09]

those are actually pretty cool, but i know for a fact i do want fish that swim around. I think i know what im gonna do now. I'm gonna make it a planted community tank with lots of unique and schooling fish. Im gonna do a lot of research and try and make it as close to their natural environment as i can. I'll update as i go along. Cant wait till i get it. This is gonna be so much fun:19:


Do some research on Biotopes.

[zackish]

My girlfriend would never get me something from a tagsale hahaha
My birthday is in 2 months and she said she is going to get me a 8 or 12 gallon nano-reef. The nano-cube kit ones, I can't wait!

[Rue]

How serious are you about the plants...that's a whole 'nother ballpark...

...not to mention expensive...at least to get going...

[~Erik3.8.07~]

pretty serious, I always see great natural looking tanks online and i always think "thats what i want"

[~Erik3.8.07~]

sweet i just found out its a bowfront tank:19:

[cocoa_pleco]

mudskippers are cool. i really miss mine and havent seen them lately. you could go saltwater. if youre not going reef, its cheap. just some LR, salt, and a hydrometer if you dont want corals.


you could get some african cichlids too, though saltwater would look the coolest

[Drumachine09]

. you could go saltwater. if youre not going reef, its cheap. just some LR, salt, and a hydrometer if you dont want corals.



Even if you do do a FOWLR it will be expenisve. 40+ lbs of live rock is not cheap at all, around 350-400 dollars unless you get a discount.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

how hard is it to maintain saltwater tanks?

[cocoa_pleco]

without corals its easy, and with corals its medium. if youve never had saltwater before you have some learning, but you'll get the hang of it. my 10g salt is bare with just a few odd crustaceans, and its that way so that the people taking care of my tanks when im away dont have lots of work, buy my 33g salt is a full reef with all the corals, shrimp, fish, etc. ive sunk about 1100$ on it so far. all i do for maintenance is a 30% water change 1-2 times a week. get good lighting so that the corals are really happy. i upgraded mine with a huge T-5 reflector thing and my corals are always out to the fullest. im in the process of salt tank 3 now, and its going to have hard to keep corals

[cocoa_pleco]

and a tip, with LR, you should have 1-1.5 lbs/gallon. any less looks stupid. for a 40g, youre looking average 320$-400$. but, i have away out of it for you. go on local ads and look for people tearing down salt tanks. in edmonton, theres at least 2 ads running for people who are taking their salt tanks down and have beautiful LR for 1$-5$/lb. they usually put 10lb minimum though.

[~Erik3.8.07~]

hmmm . . . well maybe i'll wait till im a little more experienced and have a little more money to start a saltwater tank. Wouldnt want any poor fish to suffer cause i dont exactly know what im doing yet. So freshwater it is

thx for the advice cocoa and everybody else too

[cocoa_pleco]

GOOD job on admitting you wouldnt be able to upkeep for a salt tank. thats the worse problem some people have with salt tanks. they start then they dont have the money, and things suffer because of them

[~Erik3.8.07~]

thats why i like to ask a lotta questions before i start anything that major. Want to make sure i can finish what i start and not have to quit half way cause i cant afford it

[cocoa_pleco]

anyway, good job. for large tanks i like community tanks. as long as you have a good filter, you can always add the odd new fish without doing damage to the bio system

[Rue]

I think I had a post go AWOL...

I just wanted to mention that I did equal research on both planted tanks (Plan A) and SW tanks (Plan E)...

...and I went SW...

[~Erik3.8.07~]

thats what im gonna be up doin the rest of the night i think. I wont even have the tank for a couple days and got plenty of time to do my homework and think about it

[cocoa_pleco]

i find planted tanks to be harder than salt tanks. thats just my opinion though

[zackish]

i find planted tanks to be harder than salt tanks. thats just my opinion though

From my interactions with others a planted tank is harder than a salt tank but they say reef tanks are the hardest.
If you choose to do a planted tank I would say get a corallife lighting system. I am assuming a 40 gal takes like a 36" light which would be 80 or 90 watts. You can find freshwater compact flourescent strip lights on the net. You will also need a good filter (canister reccommended). A 36" light I think is going to run you around $90 and a canister filter can go from $80+. To me that isn't that much money but idk what it is to you. I am doing the planted tank route on my 29g and so far it's coming out good except I don't have fish in it yet because I had a false alarm on my cycle but that's a different story. Tomorow night I am ordering a Rena xP2 canister filter and some mounting brackets for it as well as a corallife 65watt compact flourescent lighting fixture. For only $150.00 that doesn't sound bad seeing as though it will pretty much complete the technical needs of my tank.

[cocoa_pleco]

as long as you have good lighting and a good skimmer reefs are less work than plants. corals dont need CO2 or any of those setups. the only thing that is close to a CO2 system for salt tanks is a sump and you dont NEED sumps, theyre optional.

[zackish]

what kind of fish do you have in your saltwater cocoa?
When I get my nano reef I wana pygmy angel and a tomato clown.

I don't know anythign about saltwater aquarium fish though so are those even compatible in a 12 gallon nano-cube?

[cocoa_pleco]

my micro just has a few shrimp and 10lbs LR, and my 33g has 35 lbs LR, a fireshrimp, one-stripe damsel, a LR chunk with 30 mushrooms, and a hammerhead coral. the 20g long is gonna have 25lbs LR, a bunch of hard to keep corals, scooter blenny, shrimp, and perecula clown. a 12g is limiting. one of the clowns that dont mind small tanks are perecula clowns. however, the pygmy angel requires at least a 30g. in a 12g, 12 lbs LR, a shrimp (if you want corals, a reef safe one. my fireshrimp harms nothing and was only 20 bucks), perecula clown, and maybe 2 hermit crabs would work. some easy corals too like zoolanthids and mushrooms too. saltwater tanks cannot be stocked much. they require more space that FW tanks

[Drumachine09]

as long as you have good lighting and a good skimmer reefs are less work than plants. corals dont need CO2 or any of those setups. the only thing that is close to a CO2 system for salt tanks is a sump and you dont NEED sumps, theyre optional.



c02 isnt required for planted tanks either. It helps, but so do sumps.

With planted tanks, you dont need to worry about salinity, and all you have to do is dose ferts. With Salt, you have to monitor calcium, phosphates, copper, and the like, along with the traditional PH, nitrates/ites, and ammonia. You may perceive them as being less work, but according to how serious you are about the hobby, Salt is alot more work.

[cocoa_pleco]

well, i guess they both have their differences and ups and downs

[Lady Hobbs]

Planted tanks should have 3 watts per gallon (or more) unless you want low lighted plants and then should have around 2 watts. I'm personally struggling with my 2 watts now. Plants aren't looking that great. If you go with 3 watts you have to have co2 which is easy enough with the DYI system. The cost of the lights is the main problem.

[Lady Hobbs]

Gez. I'd get a boyfriend if I thought it would get me a new fish tank but my luck he'd want to talk about his by-pass, his hemorrhoids, his Medicare and his aches and pains.

[Rue]

Tsk...you need a YOUNGER boyfriend...think outside the box Hobbs!

A properly planted tank also needs a substrate heater. In nature the substrate always remains a tad warmer than the water around it (with variability of course).

So:

Substrate heater
Proper substrate
CO2 tank
Filtration
Lights

[Rue]

...
When I get my nano reef I wana pygmy angel and a tomato clown.

I don't know anythign about saltwater aquarium fish though so are those even compatible in a 12 gallon nano-cube?

...nope...I'm researching livestock now...you can't do it...

I wanted tomato clowns too...I like them a lot...but my LFS guy said they need more room and can be more aggressive...

...and any of the pygmy angels need more space...

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, the pygmys are min. 30g

[zackish]

my micro just has a few shrimp and 10lbs LR, and my 33g has 35 lbs LR, a fireshrimp, one-stripe damsel, a LR chunk with 30 mushrooms, and a hammerhead coral. the 20g long is gonna have 25lbs LR, a bunch of hard to keep corals, scooter blenny, shrimp, and perecula clown. a 12g is limiting. one of the clowns that dont mind small tanks are perecula clowns. however, the pygmy angel requires at least a 30g. in a 12g, 12 lbs LR, a shrimp (if you want corals, a reef safe one. my fireshrimp harms nothing and was only 20 bucks), perecula clown, and maybe 2 hermit crabs would work. some easy corals too like zoolanthids and mushrooms too. saltwater tanks cannot be stocked much. they require more space that FW tanks

Can they be stocked a lot with corals?
And don't reef tanks need a lot of phosphates and calcium?

[cocoa_pleco]

the more corals, the more lighting. my lfs has a 300g tank where they sell all their corals from. it has about 500 corals and the lighting is one of those 5000$ halide ones. once you get into more corals, you may need more liquid supplements since they have to share them.

[Zerileous]

its not just volume of coral either, but type is an important factor.
soft corals such as star polyps, zooanthids, mushrooms, and leathers will all do well enough with a nano-cubes stock lighting. Stony corals (SPS and LPS) and clams will require more intense and expensive lighting systems.

for stocking, after the cycle you want to add a clean up crew of a few snails and a few hermit crabs. goin slow and keeping the boiload from spiking is going to be your biggest concern when stocking. Salt ecosystems are more fragile than freshwater from what I understand.

[cocoa_pleco]

and corals need powerheads too. in micro reefs, powerheads are bulky so you get limited to a few corals. most corals need powerheads to bring them food and brush off debris off them like natural ocean current. my hammerhead coral would die if it wasnt for my powerheads

[zackish]

its not just volume of coral either, but type is an important factor.
soft corals such as star polyps, zooanthids, mushrooms, and leathers will all do well enough with a nano-cubes stock lighting. Stony corals (SPS and LPS) and clams will require more intense and expensive lighting systems.

for stocking, after the cycle you want to add a clean up crew of a few snails and a few hermit crabs. goin slow and keeping the boiload from spiking is going to be your biggest concern when stocking. Salt ecosystems are more fragile than freshwater from what I understand.

So corals are just as sensitive to ammonia and nitrites as fish are?

[cocoa_pleco]

even more sensitive to it in some cases