Jim, First tank size advice for tropical fresh water

[andyjim]

Hi. This is my first forum posting of any kind which will be fun (or frustrating)!
I've not got an aquarium at all yet and i'm searching for some advice on a) some decent beginners book on the subject and b) some advice on size. I'm going for a quite heavily planted community tank. I eventually want to introduce 2 or 3 shoals of small fish plus some individual species. I'm going to go up to 36 or 40 inches long and 12 inches wide but i'm wondering if 18 inches is deep enough to allow different species to live at their different levels. Any input would be great, i've still yet to decide on filtration so members views on that would be gratefully received! Cheers, Jim

[ScottishFish]

Welcome to the forum

[Honey Badger 1]

Hi and welcome! This link will explain most of the basics including filtration;
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/ebook.html . If that's not enough here is a good book list to search through; http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=16081.
As far as the size of tank, I am an advocate of buying the biggest tank you have room for and can afford to maintain. Personally I like the wider tanks because I think they are easier to scape, however, it's best to research the type of fish you want and see what their requirements are before you decide on the tank. For small schoaling fish 18 inches high is probably fine.

[CrunchyLeaf]

Welcome to the forum!

It is my understanding that you want a wider tank than it is tall. Even though fish exist in different levels of the tank, they will take advantage of a tank's "footprint" more than it's height. So if you have the choice between a long shallow tank or a tall fat tank, go with the long, shallow one.

I found the free aquarium Ebook to be extremely helpful.

After you decide which tank you want, the first thing you need to decide is how you are going to cycle your tank. You can cycle it with or without fish. Cycling is the process of growing beneficial bacteria that will eat up the dangerous ammonia and nitrites that are produced by the fish waste in your tank. There are pros and cons to both, but I think you'll find that most here recommend fishless cycling. In the long run the benefits of this method are greater.
Link to Fishless Cycling: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ead.php?t=5640
Link to Cycling with Fish: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=36492

Hope some of this helps. There's a lot more for you to learn and know, but there are some basic things you can start with and move onto other topics once you've got things further along.

[andyjim]

Many thanks. For a long time I thought i'd go to 24" but now I've seen them they seem awfull large and boxey and look hard to plant. Thanks for your response