Is 16G an acceptable size for a beginner?

[bynna]

Hi,

I'm think of getting my first FW tropical tank before Christmas. From what I've read on the web, everybody keeps suggesting buy as biggest tank as you can afford for a beginner. But my problem is I'm living in a small apt which only have enough room for a fairly small tank. Right now I'm leaning towards the waterhome 20 kit which is actually a 16G tank. I know the problem of a small tank is the chemical enviornment fluctuating a lot. But 16G is really the biggest space that I can get in my room. 

So what do you guys think? I really appreciate getting some advices from this knowledgable forum about whether or not I should have confidence to maintain a successful small community 16G tank? Is it really that horrible for a beginner? Thanx.

By the way, another issue bothering me is I may be out of town for 1.5 month or so next year some time. It's kind of hard for me to get somebody taking care of my tank. So i there any solution to maintain the tank in 6 weeks?

[babblefish1960]

If that is the space you have room for, then that is the tank you will work with. And yes, bigger is better, but your waterhome 20 is fine, there is much you can do with that, and it all boils down to what you would like to have as a wet pet?

I use this size for breeding pairs of Apistogramma species and other similar fish.  It is more than adequate for killifish and a lot of the smaller rainbow fish from Australia, and other fish like gudgeons.  African rift lake cichlids such as most any neolamprologus (shell dwellers) would be proud to call that their own turf. And rightly so, it is tons of room for their needs.

Don't despair, and by all means, have a chat about what you would like to have as a fish in your tank, we all love to see someone find that bug within themselves that takes them down that magical road of fish hobbyist.

As for leaving your fish for 6 weeks, that is in fact doable in a number of ways, depending upon the species of fish you select. Not to worry, many of us have helped out others over the years, much the same way that dairy farmers get to have vacations too!

We can bore you with advice regarding that once you have the tank set up and you're committed, then it will make more sense with some experience under your belt.

Welcome to the Ottawa Valley Aquarium Society website by the way, I am sure you will enjoy your journey with us telling you what to do all over the place.

[KatarinaH]

I started off with a 2.5 gallon hexagon. A 16 gallon is still something I wish for. My present tank is a 10.

Any size will do for a starter, the only reason that bigger is recommended is
1 - Easier to maintain water temp
2 - Easier to keep clean
3 - Better Balance (I believe my tank is more graceful then I am at times)
4 - Less chance of developing MTS in the early stages 

As for going away for long periods of time, LPS's sell up to 7 day feeding pellets if you aren't comfortable with someone entering your place every single day.

These forums are a great resource for information and I sorta wish I had them before learning by Trial and error. But I'm sure you'll enjoy your new hobby with such informative guides.

Welcome to the forums
*anxiously awaits intro thread*

[Mettle]

Some sizes are defintely better than others - and I do recommend larger (to an extent) to start - but at the end of the day ANY tank is a good beginner tank as long as you enjoy it and take care of it.

When I worked in a fish room I always recommended people go with bigger tanks to start - within reason, of course (otherwise it's overwhelming) - for those reasons you mentioned. But I think you're 16 gallon tank will be fine. Work with what you have!

Speaking of having... Have you given any thought to the fish you want to keep? If not I'd recommend spending some time in various fish shops and looking around at what interests you. Never impulse buy, however, or 100% trust what they tell you in the store. It's always a good idea to do some research so you don't end up with overly aggressive fish or fish that grow too large. And by the same token so you don't end up avoiding something that interested you that was possible simply because someone fed you the wrong info at the time.

Always feel free to come back to this site with questions...

Cheers.

[babblefish1960]

While we are on the subject, there are a great many really lovely fish that would fit in a tank your size that are often easier to manage and much more forgiving of the learning curve.  They are the live bearers, which represents a large family of fish known for producing live free swimming fry by having the egg development process take place within the body of the female fish.  There are many varieties and types, the most common one being the almighty guppy, or millions fish if you prefer, so named because of the millions of fry they produce in a very short time.  There are also swordtails, endlers and platys, I won't recommend mollies as they are a more brackish fish, harder to keep alive for long.  These are all great fish, and don't really require a heater if your living space is warm enough, and some of the colours and patterns are amazing.  Just another idea thrown your way.

Never, ever, no, nein, nyet, don't do it, refrain from ever using feeder blocks while on vacation or away or whatever, they will kill your fish one way or another.

[KatarinaH]

I won't recommend mollies as they are a more brackish fish, harder to keep alive for long.

Never, ever, no, nein, nyet, don't do it, refrain from ever using feeder blocks while on vacation or away or whatever, they will kill your fish one way or another.

Mollies are what NetCop started off with they seem to be thriving in fresh water. But yeah, he's wishing he started with something else instead.

I didn't know about the feeder blocks though. Why would they kill the fish?

[beowulf]

I didn't know about the feeder blocks though. Why would they kill the fish?

I tried one once years ago and unless they have really changed from 10+ years ago all they end up doing is polluting your water.

[Vizerdrix]

Another good idea if you want to minimize the amount of work for you is to let some of your tap water age for a bit in a large container, then have it tested at your local shop.  This will give you an idea of it's parameters, and what fishes would be easier to keep without having to do to many alterations to the water specs.  Many a person has not thought of this, and ended up with fish dying because they did not know that they needed soft or hard water, etc.

Where are you located?  I'm sure that once you are ready, someone will be happy to help you cycle your tank quickly with a used sponge or media.

Welcome to the group!

[Brine]

My first tank was a 15G kit from SuperPet. It was a good place to start. I learned as I went...killed a few fish, learned a few lessons, did some research, joined KWAS and the rest is history...

[renadia]

Hi and welcome,

We have a 10 gal in my sons room and it's just great It has a frog, snails, shrimps clams guppies, neon, red barb and cardinals and a colli loach. They are all small so they fit in, filtration is very important and plants help with maintaining a good water quality and use Prime, I have been Prime brainwashed    it works!

What I did and still do is read the treads and when someone talks about a fish I google them. I get to see what the fish looks like and learn what care they need to survive. I also look at the fish other members have on their profiles and goodles those to 

[bynna]

WOW, i didn't expect so many responses in a day. You guys are awesome. Thanks for all the advices here

Actually I just ordered a book "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" from Amazon. Hopefully it'll arrive before I start the set up. And today I checked a pet store, really love the mollies there. I guess I'll start to do a lot of researches soon. But speacking of choosing "wet pets", I have another question: are snails and shrimps applied to the "one inch of fish per gallon" rule? And how do you measure the length of a snail?

[babblefish1960]

Snails and shrimps don't apply to that one inch per gallon rule as much, neither too do corydoras species to some extent, they all tend to provide more load reduction in clean up than they do in providing load themselves.  Just don't go over board, everyone needs some sort of space.

[rockgarden]

A long time ago before global warming was ever a topic and I was much younger, a 20 gallon tank was considered a LARGE aquarium.

Leaving healthy well-fed fish in an established aquarium for a week without food will usually have no adverse consequences.  Six weeks without food and you will likely still have some survivors.  It might be gruesome but the ones that die will be food for the others. The biggest killer of tropical fish is overheating and over feeding so keep that in mind at all times.

Ron

[Laura]

I have another question: are snails and shrimps applied to the "one inch of fish per gallon" rule? And how do you measure the length of a snail?

Bioload (the strain put on water quality based on how much an organism poops) can be a couple of gallons for many applesnails, and easily 5 gallons for a big cana snail.  This doesn't really apply for snails that stay small like pond and malaysian trumpet snails.

Shrimp are very low bioload, but many need very high water quality.

You can have lots of fun with 15 gallons, but you are best off not overstocking the tank.  When you find some critters you like, feel free to post them and all sorts of folks will wade in with tips on what goes well together and if they're adequate for your space.

There are a few posts here on stocking a 10 gallon.  Your extra 5 gallons opens up your options somewhat, but the posts may give you some ideas (search '10 gallons' in the freshwater discussions folder).

[woof99]

Hi there and welcome to OVAS, the poeple here are great and have helped me many times.
I just wanted to mention that I had to leave for a few months as well and I had a family member take care of the tank at their place.  I move the tank, it took a lot of planning and care but it ended up being a lot easier to do than to get someone to come in.  Mine was a 25g tank, so the 16 g will be even easier to move.  Just had to empty 50 % of the tank into several containers and placed fish in bags with more water.  Moved the tank empty, I was worried of causing a leak.
It worked great.  Added fresh water in new place and fish did great.  The family member wasn't as religious of doing water changes as I am, but everyone survived.
Cheers!

[Fishnut]

My first tank when I was a kid was a 20 gallon.  I used to play in the pond on our property (we lived in the booneys at the time) so I put minnows and newts in it.  Eventually I got into the tropicals and my first fish was a golden angel fish!  They're still my favourite.

My living room tank is a 27 Gallon tank.  I have it LOADED with plants and a variety of fish.  It's my favourite tank, even though it's not my largest.  Here's potentially what a tank like that can look like with some extra lighting:

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