File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
i want fish, i have had fish, got some bad advice + equipment and failed miserably. will some one tell me how to properly set up my tank (15 gallon)
whats a good filter for the best money (are their any i should stay away from) how do i get a tank to have the necessary bacteria and what not to live, what is easier tropical or fresh, what fish are good for beginners (how many to this 15 gallon tank)
halp!

pic some what related- this was the fail tank
:(
>> Anonymous
they sell aquaculter 10 gallon starter kits at walmart for relatively cheap. they come with a good filter too
what kind of fish are you interested in?
>> Anonymous
aquaculture, sorry! *
>> Anonymous
Some basic info:

Tropical fish are freshwater fish, so there's no huge difference there. The difference is saltwater versus freshwater. Freshwater is easier to maintain, so start with that.

Also for starters, get a larger tank than a 10-gallon. Smaller tanks are harder to keep than larger ones, becasuse if you have a water chemistry problem, it can go from OK to dead fish very quickly. A larger tank will change chemistry much more slowly, which makes it easier for you to identify the problem and fix it.

Setup information is a little long to type in a post, but you can learn a lot from web sites like this:

http://www.fishlore.com/FirstTankSetup.htm

http://www.wikihow.com/Set-up-a-Freshwater-Aquarium
>> Anonymous
I would personally recommend to stay away from undergravel filters. Other than that, I don't think there are huge differences between filters. They're all going to have the same basic deal - intake, propeller, filter media (carbon, etc.), and sometimes a sponge to help build your beneficial bacteria.

The big difference is going to come in when you're actually doing the setup. Let your tank run for at least 24 hours before you bring fish into the equation. Since you have such a small tank, add only a few fish at a time. Don't instantly throw like six fish in there - start off with two. Wait a few days. Let your shit settle out and then add more.

Don't set your tank up where it gets sunlight. Regulate your light properly. This will help prevent green tanks.

Don't get an algae eater. Do the cleaning yourself.

Don't do a full water change once you get shit started - that's like wiping the slate clean and starting from square one.
>> Anonymous
>>247382is right in that tropical fish are freshwater, it just means that they require warm water. Just wanted to clarify that.
>> Anonymous
How do you kill fish?

When I was a wee lad I barely took care of my tank, rarely changed filters, didn't vacuum the gravel, delayed changing the water, overfed my fish, let so much water evaporate that my heater shattered and didn't replace it...and none of my fish died.

I mean, how bad do you have to fuck it up?
>> Anonymous
>>247387

I thought I told you to wait in the truck.

... Don't mind him, Anon.
>> Anonymous
doh! just came home and checked my thread, sorry i meant the difference between tropical fish and gold fish- verry different, the tank i had and failed with was goldfish....

sorry for the super late correction
>> Anonymous
>>247426

Goldfish aren't recommended for beginners as I've read in many places, they must be just extremely cheap to produce commercially and sell for high profits?
>> Anonymous
A bit advanced for OP but for everyone here is a great site on how to start and maintain an aquarium with live plants

http://www.aquariumgarden.com/info.php?doc_base=articles/article_links.php

If you want to stay with fake plants that is fine, there's great bulk deals for fake plants on Ebay (I bought a collection of 20 short to very tall for avg $1.44 each- compare to a petstore $2-$16each)

Also yeah, keep out of direct sunlight to avoid green and black algae (brown algae is alright- you'll need and algae eating fish though) and turn the lights off on a regular schedule like they would have in nature.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/
great information and basics there
>> Anonymous
Its not relevent to OP discussion, but I just want to point out that
>>keep out of direct sunlight to avoid (...) algae
is not always correct. I have a 10g thats has been siting near the window on direct sunlight for 4 month, I believe, and it doesnt have much algae. Well, I do have brush algae, but there is more of it in my bigger tank that is siting deep inside the room. Cant get rid of it.
Anyway, the main point is that if you have lots of fastgrowing plants, light fish load (I have 2 small danios and 2 dario for those 10g), then, I believe, you wont see much algae once the tank setled down.
IIRC, D. Walstad recomends for plants to be exposed to natural light. So if you have good control or somewhat balanced tank, sunlight is not an instakiller.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
A good place to start!
http://www.aquahobby.com/
First read the articles and latter register yourself in the forum
>> Anonymous
>>247440
>>So if you have good control or somewhat balanced tank

That's why I recommended not putting it in the sun. OP screwed up once. Trying to get better and learn more, yes, but uh.. well.. you see what I'm trying to say, right?