my first aquarium

[miquelon]

I just bought a used tank, I'm going to set it up for my kid (age2). I'm just going to have a coldwater tank, I want to start off slow and easy.  I would like to have live plants though (do I really need to get a full spectrum bulb?).

It is 40 gallons and I think it came from walmart (I paid $75).  The lady I bought it from had algae problems.  The filter is an aqua-tech (regent) -- could it be that this filter isn't good enough?  I don't really want to spend extra money if it isn't essential (I still need to buy gravel etc.)

I found a site that recommended things to put in a tank for kids.  What do you guys think of the list?
-white clouds
-freshwater crab
-ghost shrimp
-aquatic  snail
-goldfish

[RoxyDog]

hi. 

you might be able to find gravel on here much cheaper. post a want ad and see!

take a peek in the canopy and see what wattage the bulb is (I'm going to guess it's a fluorescent tube over 40gals) and you might see the "K" rating on it too...tell us those two things if you can. 

you can fit 3-4 goldfish in that tank b/c @ full size they sould have @ least 10gals each, but I wouldn't put them "with" the shrimps and/or crabs and/or white clouds.  and goldies and snails CAN work, it just doesn't always.  if you go with goldfish, check out "koko's goldfish world (I think that's the site). 

[charlie]

Hi , welcome to Ovas & the hobby. I would recommend that you check out the articles section ( the left side of the page),
There is some good reading, such as the -general information,tank set up, tank maintenance etc. this would better prepare you before you make your decision on gravel & livestock.
Regards & good luck .


Articles
     African Cichlids
     Breeding
     Do-It-Yourself
     Equipment
     Food
     General Information
     Health & Diseases
     Plants - General
     SA/CA Cichlids
     Tank Setup
     Tank Maintenance
     Tips and Tricks

[miquelon]

Thanks, I've checked out those things, and koko's goldfish world.  very helpful.  I think I'll just stick with goldfish and plants.

As for my bulb it says "eclipse natural daylight F15T8" and the sticker on the canopy says "120VAC, 60Hz, 17W"

[BigDaddy]

Are you sure it was 40 gallons and not 40 litres?  Walmart doesn't sell a 40 gallon tank.

[RoxyDog]

As for my bulb it says "eclipse natural daylight F15T8" and the sticker on the canopy says "120VAC, 60Hz, 17W"

it only holds one bulb? and it's 17watts?  I'm inclined to ask the same question as BigDaddy...as one 17w bulb over 40gals would be not so good....

[PoisonJello]

walmart does sell a 40g tank, its a cube 20x18x24

[miquelon]

Thanks for raising that important question.  The lady said it was 40G but I just measured it and it is 24X16X12 so that seems more like 20G. 

I guess I didn't get the good deal I had thought. 
Thanks for not letting that slip by, I would have bought more fish than it could hold.

It comes with the aqua-tech 20-40 filter and, from what I've now read, it seems like I should buy a bio-wheel to add to it.

[BigDaddy]

And goldfish are probably no longer a viable option ...

[miquelon]

Okay, so I'm pretty disheartened. 

Do you have any suggestions on what I should populate this tank with?
Anything from that original list above?

[sniggir]

yea you could do a planted tank with shrimp and cardnal's that would be nice and like 3 different types of snails..... make sure they arethe kind that don't eat plants.....lol
have fun and be carefull that is how I started and over the past year i have had up two 5 tanks up at the same time the worst it got was 125 gal, 160 gal, 29 gal, 20 gal, 50 gal... but I have cut back well for a little while..I am putting a tank in my 6 month olds room soon heheh and a 65 on the main floor.... ahhhhhh well congrats on the tank have fun and welcome to OVAS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Quatro]

If you still want to do a cold water tank, I say go with the White Cloud Minnows.  In addition, add some cherry shrimp, a mystery snail, a betta, maybe a few zebra danios.  I'm not a plant person but I think java fern would be your best bet in a cold tank.

[kennyman]

Just a note of caution on the Fresh water Crab. Many times stores refer to the Asian Red Claw Crab as a Fresh Water Crab. It is not a fresh water crab, it is a brackish water crab that inhabits mangrove mud flats around Hong Kong. It is best to stay away from invertebrates like this in the beginning and if you do decide to try some at some point remember to provide them with something to crawl up out of the water. They must get air once in while.

And Welcome to OVAS! 

[Laura]

Welcome,
Some of the platys are cold water sp, and some corydoras do okay in cooler temps. Depending on how cold your tank gets, you have wider options if the tank doesn't drop below 20C/72F degrees.

Assuming you have an unheated tank, and the temp drops below 72 in the evenings, I would go with a trio of corydoras catfish (check the sp - I think it's the aneus who are okay in cooler temps), platys, white clouds +/or danios in a planted tank with ghost shrimp (which in my opinion are very underated).

Note - when I say planted tank, it would have to be very low light plants - Java moss, java fern, some anubias do fine with low light - you just won't be able to pop anything in there, but it can still look very nice.

Make sure your tank is well cycled, shrimp don't do well othewise.

IMO don't get the goldfish in that sort of space, it would get too big for your tank and you'll be grossly limiting your options, and having to do lots of waterchanges.

When you set up, the easiest way of cycling your tank is to get a used filter sponge from an established tank.  Sounds gross but it does the trick, and there's probably someone nearby who'll give you one if you ask nicely

[miquelon]

Thanks for your advice everyone.  I see that even with a smaller tank I can still have a great variety of species to choose from.   
I look forward to choosing some soon.  Next I need to go buy new parts for the filter and get it running...finish cleaning the algae off the tank...get some gravel...a light timer...but eventually some fish.

Thanks especially, for specific suggestions on what to put together in my tank.
I'm excited to get going.

[KLKelly]

Look into fishless cycling also.  It will probably save the fish from going through this gruelling process - many fish don't make it through it.  I don't like putting fish in a tank just to cycle it either because it is so hard on them.  Some people might be willing to donate some of their media from their filter to help others out in instantly cycling their tanks (sometimes it doesn't work).  And invest in test kits - a master test kit if you can.  I have the mardel ammonia and PH alert cards on my small tanks and I love them.