Writing an article - Help wanted.

[Sheepsnana]

Hi Guys,

I am wanting to write an article about the various ways to set up a tank. Not quite a do's and dont's, more of a listing the pro's and con's.

However, I don't have anywhere near as much experience as some of the others on this forum.

Here's the jist of my idea:

Substrate: None, a little, lots.

Plants: No real plants, a few real plants, full out planted tank.

Stocking levels: low, high.

Filtration: sponge, internal, canister, trickle.

Cycling: borrowed media, fishless, fish with water changes.

If anyone is willing to help out with a bit of time and typing, and can put up with a few questions, please let me know.

Kind Regards,

John

[Caryl]

Your scope is too broad John. The answers to all those questions will vary widely depending on a lot of other factors. I suggest you narrow it down or the article will take up several magazines on its own!

Check the article we are working on in the fish committee section too as it answers most of the questions you asked in a very basic way.

PS. I appreciate your enthusiasm though and am not meaning to put you off! :bounce:

[Sheepsnana]

Let me give it a shot :slfg:

[Sheepsnana]

If it works out to be too big, I can break it down.

But I am thinking, from the mind of a newbie, they want to know what options they have. I have met a few people lately starting fresh, and they honestly think the only difference in filters is price and branding.

I plan on giving them point notes so that they can start to make an informed decision. If it gets to in-depth, I'll break it down into different articles.

[F15hguy]

so like a beginners pamphlet sorta thing. should be trying to find out what the common questions are, like how big should I start with, are lights necessary, can I keep my goldfish in a 3L vase.....

[Sheepsnana]

Not so much a pamphlet as a "here are your options, now make an informed decision, or look into the options further"

[F15hguy]

lol, If only all the beginners thought that way.

most important thing is to make it sound easy or no one will listen.

make your target market 10yr olds and their parents, If they can get the basics without being scared off then you are onto a winner.

[Sheepsnana]

There were a few people lately ask me about how to set up their own aquariums, it was their questions that prompted me to take this approach rather than the

"here you go, get a 200L - 400L tank, a canister filter with 1000LpH - 2000LpH flow, medium size dark gravel, basic T8 lights, as heavily planted as you can afford, and cycle it using live liquid bacteria and a few fish. Do a water change 25% a week."

Now I plan on saying, if you want a smaller tank, expect problems. Water parametres and spikes, algae blooms, etc. More water = good.

If you want to use a small internal filter, you will get a lot of flow, but not a lot of biological media. A sponge filter takes up more space inside the tank, but has much more bio media. A canister or a sump is the best way to go, it's quiet and it's outside of the tank/display area.

If you want to do a fishless cycle, which to some people is more humane, the you need to find the right type of ammonia. Cloudy ammonia is Cloudy. If you want to do a live fish cycle, keep the water changes up. Be vigilant. If you can get bio media from a friend, GREAT, but keep an eye on it and start stocking slowly.

If you don't want live plants, that's fine, but the more the merrier.

See? Not huge, but I do plan on expanding it a lot.

[Sheepsnana]

lol, If only all the beginners thought that way.

most important thing is to make it sound easy or no one will listen.

make your target market 10yr olds and their parents, If they can get the basics without being scared off then you are onto a winner.

I think we need to stop treating beginners like idiots. Most of the idiots I know think that they know better. If someone is reading my article, it already shows that they are willing to research the best conditions for their new pet. I wish this information had been available to me when I was researching my first tank - it would have saved me $400 or so.

[henward]

I think we need to stop treating beginners like idiots. Most of the idiots I know think that they know better. If someone is reading my article, it already shows that they are willing to research the best conditions for their new pet. I wish this information had been available to me when I was researching my first tank - it would have saved me $400 or so.

everyone has to start somewheer, I remember, when i was in philippines and had my first silver arowana at 6yrs old. I had no idea or understanding of the bio filtration, i thought if the water was dclear, the water was good.

with technology, information comes easy. With information then we can avoid such hassles as wasting money by newbies.

i think articles are great in this regard.

[F15hguy]

Im not implying that beginners are idiots, we all have to start somewhere, but the number of people who I hear say "tropicals are too hard" is amazing, they hear the word ammonia and bacteria and think its all hard science, I find 10year olds are great as they are keen as to learn, its the parents that struggle most of the time, mainly because they get spooked by what sounds difficult but is really easy.

[Joe]

Here's some of my experience...

For newbies, I personally think canister filters are the best to start with for filtration. They are easy to clean and easy to run, and they don't take up any room in the tank. They also have a very large media capacity.

I set up another tank and used an internal filter after I set up my first tank with a canister. Seriously, internal filters are more hassle than they are worth. So difficult to clean - when you take them out of the tank, all the muck drains into the water. They also clog up really easily, have a low media capacity, and overly high flow rates.

My canister filter was cycled on Caryl's tank, and the same day I bought the fish I went and picked up the cycled filter. This way I could instantly set up everything and there was no waiting process. It worked extremely well. I will note that I stocked the tank very lightly at first; only 16 tetras to begin with.

I personally think that fine gravel, about 5-8cm thick, is the best substrate. It looks great, it's easy to grow plants in it, and it is easy to remove if you want to take down the tank. I've found sand is too fine and compacts a lot. It does look cool though.

I definitely think it is best to use real plants. The fish seem so much happier, and look a lot healthier, with plants growing in the tank. The nicest fish I've seen in display tanks have always been in planted tanks.

For lighting, a couple of T8 tubes are bright enough to grow a wide variety of plants in tanks up to 45cm tall. Anything taller, if you want to grow plants that need more light, you will need to use T5's to penetrate the extra depth. I've never had really tall tanks or plants that need lots of light so I haven't had any need for T5's.

"here you go, get a 200L - 400L tank, a canister filter with 1000LpH - 2000LpH flow, medium size dark gravel, basic T8 lights, as heavily planted as you can afford, and cycle it using live liquid bacteria and a few fish. Do a water change 25% a week."

This is probably the best setup for a beginner. However, I do not agree with the common saying "you need a big tank to begin with". My first tank was 80L, and that isn't including gravel and wood. I had loads of success with this tank. I even bred fish in it and made a couple of hundred dollars selling the fry. The tank was 90x30x30cm with about 6cm of dark gravel, loads of plants, bogwood, rocks, a few tetras, a pair of flag cichlids, an Aqua One CF-1000 filter and a single 25w Sunlight flourescent T8.

A lot of people cannot afford, or do not have the room, to buy a tank that holds 200L or more. For beginners, IMO, anything around 100L would be a good size to begin with.

[Sophia]

Sheepsnana, knowing that you think anything small (was it under 100L you said?) is 'cruelty', I think you remain objective about tank sizes since house sizes, budgets, fish preferences and all those things can dictate the size of tank you have, and I don't think saying start at 200L is very encouraging. It's all well and good to say you get problems with water parameters on little tanks but there are also many positives.

[Sheepsnana]

ok ok :nilly: , like I said, I plan on comparing them.

I said anything under 60L is cruel, but I think I'll amend it to 54L (60cm x 30cm x 30cm). But that's is just me.

I am honestly shocked that shops can sell 34L tanks :facepalm:

[SamH]

It's all relative to the fish, a 45x25x25 would be cruel for an oscar yes, not to a batch of day old oscar fry however. And fish such as Bettas are much happier in smaller tanks IME.

[Sheepsnana]

It's all relative to the fish, a 45x25x25 would be cruel for an oscar yes, not to a batch of day old oscar fry however. And fish such as Bettas are much happier in smaller tanks IME.

They shouldn't be keeping fry without a decent sized grow out tank. I have recently discovered that my Gourami don't like my 300L tank, it's too tall for them. They prefer shallower water. So they have a new tank that I will be setting up at some stage... :nilly:

[SamH]

Of course a good fish keeper would have a suitable sized tank for the future but keeping a batch of ANY fry in a tank intended for adult sized fish will result in the fry getting lost and unable to find food.

[Caryl]

You only need a grow out tank if you want to raise the fry. Many don't.

I have seen some spectacular nano tanks that have been well looked after and the time that goes into maintenance to keep the water pristine is considered all part of the fun, not as a difficulty.

[Joe]

Sheepsnana you're saying pretty much that, for example, keeping 30 neons in a 60L tank is cruel? :facepalm:

Like Sam said, it is relative to the size of the fish. Amano has a 30cm cube in his gallery with 20 ember tetras and they are tiny! And they look perfectly happy in the tank. But if he put a pair of Apistos in there then that would be cruel.

See what we're getting at?

[alanmin4304]

With gourami fry you are best with a bare tank, shallow water and warm moist air. Easiest way is to put on a lid and drop the water level while they are young then raise the level as they get bigger. You wiill usually find that no matter how well you feed them they will grow at different rates so you are best to seperate them in to different tanks by size.

[Sheepsnana]

Sheepsnana you're saying pretty much that, for example, keeping 30 neons in a 60L tank is cruel? :facepalm:

In short, Yes.

Like Sam said, it is relative to the size of the fish. Amano has a 30cm cube in his gallery with 20 ember tetras and they are tiny! And they look perfectly happy in the tank. But if he put a pair of Apistos in there then that would be cruel.

See what we're getting at?

I do Joe, I do see that some small fish could be happy in a small tank. But My Personal Opinion is that a minimum tank size should be 54L. (and I wouldn't put more than 15 tetras in there)

Ty for the tip Alan

[SamH]

In all fairness, you did ask for our help and the general consensus is that the minimum size of the tank is all relative to the species, age and health of the fish.

[Joe]

Very well put Sam

[Godly3vil]

You would be better off if you listed all the common tank sizes and the pros and cons of using each one, just because you prefer starting with a larger tank does not mean it is right and the only way someone new to the hobby should go.

[SamH]

You would be better off if you listed all the common tank sizes and the pros and cons of using each one, just because you prefer starting with a larger tank does not mean it is right and the only way someone new to the hobby should go.

Agreed 8)