Hello, New to forum......

[branch office]

I am planning to start an aquarium. I have not had tropical fish since I was a teenager, many, many years ago. Looking in the pet stores I see a lot has changed. I would like to get back to live bearers, guppies etc. I don't know what size tank to start with and what type of filter, heaters, etc to purchase. I am the type of person who would rather buy quality products. Any help or suggestions of what to get, where to buy would be helpful.
Thanks
Bob

[jeffs99dime]

I am planning to start an aquarium. I have not had tropical fish since I was a teenager, many, many years ago. Looking in the pet stores I see a lot has changed. I would like to get back to live bearers, guppies etc. I don't know what size tank to start with and what type of filter, heaters, etc to purchase. I am the type of person who would rather buy quality products. Any help or suggestions of what to get, where to buy would be helpful.
Thanks
Bob

good thinking!! welcome to A.C.- you'll find this a very informative, helpful, site. the people here are cool too!--jeff

[Lady Hobbs]

Welcome. A good start would be to read up before buying anything. Another good idea would be to cycle the tank the Fishless Cycling Method before getting any fish at all.

You can read about Fishless Cycling anywhere online at hundreds of sites and will also get help here.

I also suggest reading the e-book that was put together by the site manager in the left column. If you have dialup, it may take a while to load up for you but give it a few minutes and you'll find a very nice book there to read for free.

[Severus]

Welcome to AC. Like everyone else said there is tons of good info and just look around

[kimmers318]

Research and learning how to cycle your tank are definitely very important issues at this stage for you. You will be surprised at how much information there is out there. Fishless cycling is well worth the time it takes having to wait for your fish and your fish will thank you for it.
My personal recommendation on tank sizes is that around 30 gal is a great size to start with. Small (10g or so) are usually much harder to keep stable because there is less water to dilute any problems that may arise, not giving you much time to head it off. 30 gal tanks don't take up much room, offer quite a bit of space for a variety of community fish and are easy to handle. My personal favorite of my tanks is my eclipse 29 gal show tank. I also have 5 gal eclipse corner/bowfront tank. Alot of recommendations are to filter with a filter rated for twice the size of the tank, which is a good recommendation, and I use it on tanks that have separate filters (or close to it) but the eclipse's come with a filter unit installed in the hood for easy access, and I have had good success with both my tanks. They have the biowheel which IMO greatly adds to the success of these easy to use tank kits.