(Part 2) Best products from r/Aquariums

Check out some pictures in my profile of the 10 gallon I have set up. Here's what I would do if I were you. Can you start fresh? Here's what to do:

Buy one 15 pound bag of Seachem Flourite substrate. It comes in many colors, I prefer black. It comes in gravel type and sand type. I personally started w/ gravel type but the sand type is more fun, in my opinion. I added sand on top of my gravel afterwards and it will stay only because I already have plants established. But when I move everyone to a 20long or 29 in the near future, I would just use the sand. Just REMEMBER TO WASH IT THOROUGHLY! It is VERY dusty. But this stuff is worth it, I promise. Your plants will grow 10x better than if you used regular gravel or regular sand. This is the only stuff I'll use for planted tanks. It holds onto some nutrients and helps bring it to plant roots. It's inert, so it won't change your ph. And it NEVER breaks down, unlike most of the other good plant substrates, which have to be replaced every 1-3 years. So it's the best choice imo. It is economical, compared to other plant substrates. It will help you achieve success with your plants.

For plants, I recommend a few basic ones to start out with, bulletproof. You should buy as many plants as you can physically fit in your tank, they will do better that way. You can get the following at most pet stores too. Anubias and java fern have what's called a rhizome and you should superglue it to driftwood, rocks, or decorations. Lots of Youtube vids of this for inspiration. And Amazon sword (echinodorus) a root feeder which won't do as good in gravel, but does awesome in Flourite and looks beautiful when it's grown in. Jungle Val (vallisneria) is a long, grassy looking plant which is a great filler plant. Cryptocorne (wendtii and parva are a couple I love) give some nice variation in heigh and texture. And red dwarf lily, which comes as a bulb, is a beautiful red plant with big drapey leaves and it sends lily pads to the surface. All of these are easy growers. Throw a root tab deep under the substrate every few months (i use 2 broken in half, four pieces, as a 10 gallon isn't very big. Api brand or Flourish tabs are p good)

And the other part of the equation for plants to thrive is light. You can go basic for this or fancy, it doesn't really matter. Just find an LED light between $15-50 that has good reviews and fits your tank, it will probably have enough light for the plants I recommended above. Please get a timer to set your light to be consistent. You can set the timer for 5-8 hours at first so algae doesn't have as much a chance to grow, but if you stuff your aquarium with plants, you will have easier time with that. They will outcompete most algae in the right cases.

You will have to cycle the tank, I hope you know about this but if not please research the nitrogen cycle as it is crucial to the health of your tank. Get an API freshwater master test kit and do frequent water changes if you do fish-in cycle.

For fish, a few you can get at pet stores are:

For a centerpiece fish, imo a betta is the best easy and fun option. Only 1 to a tank. My heart belongs to my female betta Serafina, she is amazing, the queen of her 10 gallon. I would get one with short fins, a king betta, or a female, please, because they do better with the bigger space, the ones with long flowing fins are fighting against the weight of them and can have a hard time in a 10. But a plakat or female will be sharky and awesome to watch. Sometimes they are aggressive to tankmates, but if you set the tank up as thickly planted as i suggest, they usually do quite well with the right tank mates. Usually, this means bottom feeders. You have a few options.

Pygmy corydoras, you can start with 4 and have up to 6 or 7 maximum, start with a lower number and add a few more after a couple weeks if you do the fish-in cycle. They are really fun little fish who are quite active when they are in a proper group, easy to keep, and really fun.

You can do otocinclus instead of corydoras. I would suggest not, because they need a well seasoned tank with a good amount of algae and biofilm and can be challenging to keep. Nevertheless, I have 5 of these in my 10gal and they do awesome. 3 females, 2 males. They are fat, peaceful, happy, and mine have some iridescence to them since they grew up nice and healthy. I love them!

With either betta and corydoras or otocinclus, doesnt matter, you can also have up to 3 mystery snails in your tank if your filtration is really really really good. These guys are a little messy and can get big but they are amazing! Only pick really active ones, if they are all lazy at the store get different ones or wait for another shipment. They have so much character and can get as big as like, a lemon! I have 3 beautiful grey ones in my 10gal, and in my 5.5 gallon amano shrimp and wild female betta tank I have 1 ivory colored and 1 golden colored mysteries. In my Fluval Spec V, I have 1 black mystery snail. They are really really cool and I would be sad to have a tank without them.

And that is a good complete stocking for your tank. I also have red cherry shrimp in my 10, but those can be hard to find. If you want, you can add some of those or amano shrimp.

My 10 gallon is a blast to watch and it's because I set myself up for success from the beginning. I never get bored, it's like a whole ecosystem and there's always something cute or funny going on! My tankmates get along really well, and often hang out together, it is really fascinating.

Too small for a bristlenose, and you want 6 neons (this tank is too small for them as well). I don't know much about kuhli loaches, but this is probably a tight fit for them too.

This is also a very, very heavy stocking for a 13.7 gallon aquarium. As this is your first tank, I highly suggest going for a small stock and getting a feel for it - solving problems with a low bioload is much easier, and will give you much needed practice for when things occur down the road.

I would recommend that you get solely a male betta for now. Your decor choice is good, and I applaud you for going with sand over gravel. It's much better, objectively.

If you can find them at your local fish store (LFS), pick up some Malaysian trumpet snails (MTS). They'll aerate the substrate and cycle waste into the sand, as well as eat uneaten food and decaying plant matter.

In terms of filtration, you could probably get away with an air pump and a sponge. If you have a fair chunk of money to dedicate to this aquarium, my filter of choice for tanks under 15 gallons is the ZooMed 501. If that is outside of your budget, an AquaClear 20 would be great. I would have the outflow disperse over your driftwood to avoid churning up your sand. If you need creative ideas, feel free to post here again and we can help you figure something out. The primary advantage of the canister is that it is dead silent, and comes with a spray bar which greatly helps to disperse the flow (bettas do not appreciate lots of flow in their environment).

I would do your damnedest to keep the tank out of sunlight, as this will contribute to rampant algae problems. It should have a dedicated light. You can purchase a clamp light and 6500K CFL bulb from home depot for about $15 total. Very wise investment, and this allows you to grow plants!

You need to keep the tank (for a Betta) at 78-80F. If your ambient temperature is not this, you will require a heater. My personal favourite heater for small aquariums are manufactured by Hydor. Aim for 50W for the set up. Here is a link to one.

There is a very good link regarding cycling in the sidebar. It can be found here.

While I do not know your water's composition, I would still recommend treating it with SeaChem Prime. This helps out with some heavy metals as well. While I am not sure if it will benefit you, it is fairly cheap and you'll get a ton of uses out of it for the cost. Hopefully someone with a similar water source to yours will chime in, as I myself am on municipal supply and must dechlorinate my water.

Earlier when I mentioned lighting, I mentioned plants. These are a great addition to your aquarium and your fish will appreciate them. For beginner plants, I would recommend looking into Anubias and Java Fern. They do not grow in substrate, but rather on decor and can be fastened to your driftwood with zip ties or string. They absorb nutrients from the water column, helping to clean your tank while providing refuge for your fish. I would also recommend a floating plant, as it will dim the lights and provide your betta with cover. Frogbit is great, and very cheap in my experience. It grows very well. None of these plants require you to do ANYTHING extra aside from get that light I mentioned. There are fancier alternatives, but they are not necessary for this set up with the above plants. I highly recommend setting your lights up on a timer and keeping them on for 8 hours a day. If you notice algae, reduce light.

I hope this helps. If you have anymore questions feel free to let me know. Really great of you to come and ask for advice BEFORE purchasing an animal, kudos to you.

Be sure to check out /r/bettafish and /r/plantedtank. Within you'll find lots of guides and extremely knowledgeable people. I would highly recommend reading the majority of links from the side bar in those two subreddits, as well as this one. There's a trove of information at your disposal. Here's a link to /r/Aquariums' wiki.

Finally, here's a care sheet specifically about Bettas!

Hopefully that wasn't too long winded for you. Best of luck in the hobby.

Equipment: IMO aquaclears are the best HOB filter. Canister filters are a little more expensive and can be a little more difficult than HOBs at first as far as cleaning and setting up. However, they are superior to HOBs in most ways. Eheim and fluval make great canisters, then sunsun have been hit or miss from what I've heard.

I suggest getting two heaters, one on each side of the tank. That way if one fails your fish won't be fried or frozen.

Substrate: pool filter sand is easy and cheap, it can grow plants fine if you use root tabs. You can try the walstad method, which involves putting down a layer of organic potting soil then capping it with sand. It is cheap and very effective for growing plants if done right. The downfall is that it can be messy and its very very hard to rescape. Other options are plant substrates. Eco complete and flourite are two decent substrates for growing plants, moderately priced too. If you have extra money to spend then you can use some type of aquasoil. ADA, Mr. Aqua, ST are all high quality plant substrates, but again pricey.

Lighting: Finnex makes great LEDs for growing plants, a little expensive, but they are very good. For 20" height, the planted+ or original Fugeray should be fine without CO2 and not promote too much algae.

Plants: For plants, you probably won't be able to carpet dwarf baby tears without a strong LED and pressurized CO2. You can do a dwarf hair grass carpet, but it might go slowly without investing in a good light. aquaswap is a great place to buy plants. Butteredscrimp puts out a monthly sale and can help you assemble a plant package. I can vouch for him as being reliable. Just have to give him a price range, some details about your tank such as lighting and size, and some plants you like!

Decorations: Driftwood is a great way to fill space and make your tank feel a little more natural. Spider wood and manzanita are my favorite. Check your LFS to see if they have any pieces you like first. If not, there are several good places you can get driftwood online. Driftwood will release tannins (won't harm fish) into your tank when placed in water and might take a while to sink depending on the piece. I suggest putting it in while your tank is cycling.

You can also go with rocks/stones. They should be scrubbed under hot water before going into the tank. Some rocks can break down and affect your water chemistry. To test if they will you can do the vinegar test. Take the rock and add a few drops of vinegar or a stronger acid. If it fizzles or bubbles then it should not be placed in the tank because it can raise the pH of the water.

Fish: For shrimp amano shrimp are great, they eat hair algae and scavenge leftovers. They won't breed in freshwater though. Red cherry shrimp come in different grades (all very attractive) and are a relatively easy shrimp to keep, they will breed like crazy if provided an adequate environment The babies will be small and can/will be eaten by most fish.

For snails, nerite snails are regarded as some of the best algae eaters, won't reproduce in freshwater, and they are very cool looking. But female snails will leave unattractive, hard to remove, white eggs everywhere. You need a metal blade to scrape them off. u/gastropoid is your go to for snail info.

For a schooling fish you can go big or small. some of my favorite bigger schooling fish include congo tetras and bosemani rainbowfish. There are lots of other good sized rainbowfish if you decide to go that direction. Some popular small schooling fish include harlequin rasboras, neon tetras, cardinal tetras, and rummy nose tetras. Other tetras and rasboras will work too! Some rasboras are tiny though, maxing out at about 1 inch so those are a little less compatible usually. Barbs are another good schooling fish, but they can be nippy and semi-aggressive. Otocinclus are a schooling fish, but they are algae eaters and can be a little sensitive when brought into a new tank.

Fish I would avoid are common plecos, they get massive. And chinese/siamese algae eaters. They are fantastic algae eaters as juveniles, but they become aggressive when they grow up.

final thoughts: if you're going planted, look into EI dosing and root tabs, it will help plants thrive. You said you have experience with freshwater tanks so I assume you know about the nitrogen cycle and fishless cycling. If you don't there is a site under the helpful links tab at the top of the page. Look through the other links there too! great information. Visit plantedtank for more plant info, inspiration, and guides.

Good luck!

Let me give you a pro money saving tip - Dont even bother with the carbon filters. Its a money making scheme for business because it pulls out organics for a couple weeks them stops working which means you ‘have to replace it every month’ when in reality the only thing you need in your filter is 1. sponge/foam 2. filter floss and 3. bio media, like ceramic media i.e. fluval’s biomax. Sponge and floss provide mechanical filtration, bio media provides a big space for bacteria to live on, more surface area for it to live on and colonize on. Carbon is only good for pulling medications out of the water. Skip that step at least, save yourself a couple bucks lol, plus each time youd remove the cartridge you would be throwing away beneficial bacteria that does the work carbon is supposed to do anyway. And the bacteria does it for free, no need to keep buying it every 6-8 weeks right?

For maintenance I recommend doing this:

15-25% water change two times a week - the reason I recommend two times is because in a 2.5 gallon tank the ammonia will build up much faster than lets say a 10 gallon tank, so this means toxic ammonia spikes are more common in smaller tanks. To combat spikes, doing partial water changes more frequently will help the tank process the ammonia easier. Use a gravel vacuum for this, you could probably just vacuum the gravel one time a week and then just use it to get the water out the other water change day. Scrub the sides with a scrubber wouldnt hurt once a week if theres algae.

Once a month, to clean the filter just take out the inserts (so like sponge or floss, or cartridge if you use that - which you can cut the carbon out to save the bacteria) and swish/squeeze them in old tank water during a water change to get the visible gunk off. This way you can avoid rinsing them in tap, as that could kill the bacteria offsetting your nitrogen cycle, and you dont have to replace it completely (which would also offset the cycle).

When you do water changes, unplug the heater and filter. Heaters are supposed to be fully submerged when they are on, and they can even explode if they arent in water while on. Having the filter off just makes it easier to see and stuff as well. Leave the fish in during water changes, taking them out of the tank can stress them out. Make sure the new dechlorinated water is only 1-2 degrees off at most from the tank water.

This is a good maintenance routine for AFTER the tank is cycled, for now you should be doing daily water changes to make sure there is no ammonia in the tank, the beneficial bacteria hasnt established a stable colony so your tank wont be processing ammonia into nitrites (also toxic) and then those into nitrates (less toxic, but should be removed weekly with water changes)

I recommend using Seachem Prime for your dechlorinater, this stuff detoxes ammonia and nitrite for 24 hours which would be great between water changes while the tank cycles. It only takes 2 drops per gallon, I got my 1.7 ounce for $5 USD, a small 1.7 ounce bottle treats 500 gallons total. So youll have it forever basically.

For test kits, the API master test kit tests pH (which you just want to be stable, the number doesnt matter too much as long as its not too low <6 or too high 8+), and then it tests the important stuff like ammonia, nitrites and nitrate.


Supplies:

API Freshwater Master Test Kit 800-Test Freshwater Aquarium Water master Test Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255NCI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_cEpvDb8R85Q1K

Seachem Prime Fresh and Saltwater Conditioner - Chemical Remover and Detoxifier 100 ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255PFI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_u-kKDbTMV2W8K

Northfin Food Betta Bits 1Mm... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M4Q5DQ4?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

This is the best quality pellet I’ve found, here’s why:

• Nutritious, includes whole ingredients
  
• ⁠No fillers, hormones, or artificial pigments
  
• Packed with proteins, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals
  
• Floating pellets, roughly 1mm (they float for a bit then drop, my bettas chase them down)
  
• Easily digestible to promote optimal nutrient absorption
  
  (This stuff is advertised by seller, but if you read the labels its all good)
  
  Helpful other supplies:
  
  Seachem Stability Fish Tank Stabilizer - For Freshwater and Marine Aquariums 500 ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002APIIW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_k.kKDbDZMVD4J
  
  (Bacteria in a bottle, it can help speed up the cycling process so you wont have to do daily water changes as long, though it wont immediately finish the cycle)
  
  A good How-To-Gravel-Vac video: https://youtu.be/LYv5n0a85OY
  
  PS! So sorry I just threw all this info at you! You can just use it as a sort of guideline to look back on if you dont retain everything first read lol, I sure wouldnt at least. But I think this gives you all the necessary information you need to have a happy healthy fish!

I too suffer from the living in an apartment and trying to keep fish problem, so I feel your pain! Aside from the second tank setup for your other 2 goldies, I highly recommend getting a Python, I didn't even know they existed until I saw one on this subreddit and it blew me away. Before I was doing water changes the same way, except I was using a five gallon bucket from home depot. After you remove water from your tank, dose your tank with Prime (the entire volume of the tank, so however much it says for 30 gallons) and then just add the water back in the way you normally would. I'm not sure if there is a much faster way to do it unfortunately. I know it's a pain, but the water changes are worth it in the long run. Try to change at least 50% once a week, but you can spread it out if you want (think ~25% twice a week). The Aqueon version of the Python is a little bit less expensive, and I'm sure it works about the same. Also in terms of tanks, Petco has a dollar per gallon sale going on right now, but I think it ends today. They usually do them about once every few months, and occasionally Petsmart will do one as well, that's a great way to get cheap tanks.

And you're welcome! Starting out it's overwhelming how much information it seems like you have to process, but it does get easier! I'm still learning things all the time, this subreddit has been a great help as well. Feel free to PM me if you ever have other questions, I'll do my best to help. And in the meantime, if you have any additional questions about goldfish care, Solid Gold Aquatics is a really great resource on youtube, and she has a blog as well. She has a lot of really informative videos on everything from cycling tanks to feeding your fish, her channel has been immensely helpful to me. Good luck!

Bettas can get along with a variety of community fish. Whether an individual betta does is up to the fish--they do have different personalities so while one betta may be mellow and be perfectly fine with tankmates, another may not take too kindly to other fish in his space.

There are a few things you can do to maximize your chances of success in keeping betta with tankmates.

One is to not pick any fish to go in with the betta that are very brightly coloured and/or have long, flowing fins, because the betta is likely to mistake this other fish as another male betta.

The other is to introduce the other fish first; if when putting the betta into his new home, the other fish are already there, he's more likely to just accept their existence, whereas if you try to add new fish to HIS tank once he's already settled in, he'll see them as intruders.

A good bet with bettas are corydoras catfish, in a 10g you could do dwarf or pygmy corydoras which are the smallest species. Since they're bottom-level fish, they won't really intrude much on the betta's space because most bettas are middle to top level fish. One thing to note is that if you get corys you'll also want to do sand substrate, since gravel can damage their barbels.

So here is a list of potential gear, there are a couple of options on some categories:

10 Gallon Standard Tank $10 in-store at Petco (Dollar per Gallon ends the 19th BTW)

AquaClear Hang On Back Filter $28 This is a little pricey, but it's probably the best hang on back filter on the market. It's more powerful than the other ones I've listed. Part of why it's so great is because it's very customizable, you can put your own filter media in if you want (the stuff it comes with is not bad though). Also it's really easy to clean which is a plus.

Aqueon Quietflow Internal Power Filter $14 A lot of people don't like internal filters because it's a bit messier to clean since it's fully submerged; personally I don't mind cleaning it and also because it's totally underwater I find it a lot quieter that most filters which might be a good thing if you're keeping it in your bedroom. I'd suggest not using the little cartridge it comes with and stuffing it with your own biomedia and filter floss, but it's powerful and compact.

Tetra Whisper in Tank Filter $11 This is the only filter here I don't personally own, but I believe a lot of people on /r/bettafish use this one and like it.

Glass Canopy $20 Not necessary, but I think they look nicer than a bulky plastic hood. I do suggest some kind of covering for your tank since bettas are known to jump. It could be something as simple as a big sheet of plastic canvas cut to fit, which is a couple dollars.


So technically the above gear, assuming you buy the most inexpensive filter option, comes to $41 pretax. A little over the $39.99 all in one kit you originally wanted, but you are getting twice the gallonage, and also higher-quality gear--glass tank instead of plastic, and a semi-decent filter. And again, you could go a lot cheaper on the lid if you were so inclined and either save your money or put it towards a more expensive filter.

You'll also need a heater for a betta. I think a lot of fishkeepers have their favourite brands for this kind of thing, Hydor Theo is mine, self-regulating glass heaters are way better than the plastic pad kind without regulators because it turns itself on and off automatically as needed. Also, I would recommend ALWAYS getting a heater that can be adjusted to whatever temperature you need. Treating certain illnesses require you to turn up or down the temperature so that's an invaluable feature IMO. Also the knob on this model (unlike a lot of brands I've tried) is really easy to turn so that's kind of a bonus when your hands are all wet.

I recommend checking out Craigslist if you are interested in a bigger tank and are only put off by the price. Lots of people sell second hand stuff for cheap. I was looking earlier today and saw seventy gallon set up with a stand, filter, and lighting for under a hundred in the Inland Empire.

If you are going small with first use equipment, a 3g is suitable for a single Betta and a non fish companion such as a larger snail or a couple of smaller shrimp (Ghost Shrimp are common and work well, but Cherry Shrimp are prettier if you can find them). I use this tank for a Betta, a large snail, and half a dozen ghost shrimp. The design is quite nice and the included air pump, filter, and lighting is sufficient for a small Betta tank, though you still need to buy gravel and decorations.

You mentioned frogs in your initial post -- African Dwarf Frogs are compatible with a Betta tank, but it can be a pain to feed them because their vision is terrible and a Betta is likely to try eat their food before they find it. If you don't mind that, they are pretty neat.

Bettas are aggressive to their own so you can only keep one per community except for female sorority tanks with 4 or more females. Unfortunately the females have the shorter fins and are less attractive generally. Also you have to avoid placing any fish that a Betta can mistake for a rival in the tank (i.e. fish with bright colors or flowing fins). So it's usually best to stay with non dangerous invertebrate like shrimp and snails in small Betta tanks. If you go for a larger set-up where there is more room, you can get fish like Neon Tetras who may provoke a Betta but can easily run away with enough room (a properly equipped 10g can hold a Betta and a small school of six Neons if you are diligent with weekly maintenance). Proving ample cover in the tank is also useful.

If you stay with going small, a Betta is likely hardy enough to deal with the initial cycle of your tank if want to start right away, just make sure you are diligent with partial water changes every three days while you do the first cycle (I stress it would be safer to do a fishless cycle). These fish are able to put up with being trapped in the small cups at Petco and Petsmart after all, not that they should have to. I would recommend you leave it at just the Betta at first to keep the cycle easier - the toxins from cycling will affect small shrimp and snails faster than it will affect the Betta.

I live in SoCal and my water stays at 74 to 76 without heating (windows closed at night) which is fine for a Betta, so I don't think you need a heater unless it gets very cold in your area at night.

Fake plants are fine, but go for silk versus plastic if you can. It's usually not an issue but plastic can tear up a Betta's fins because they are so ornate. Real plants help with water quality though and usually look prettier. Simple plants like Anarcharis or Amazon Swords should be under $5 at Petco or Petsmart.

Creating bubbles requires an air pump at the very least. You can get one sufficient for up to a 10g for only $7-$10 at Petsmart or Amazon. Creating multiple smaller (prettier) bubbles will require fitting the end of the tubing with an air stone or other bubble accessory (a bubble wand creates a backdrop curtain of bubbles against a wall of the tank for instance). However, Bettas flowing fins make it hard for them to deal with lots of current in the water so if you get a smaller tank you will want to have the bubble output isolated to one area so there's room for the Betta to get away. The same problem exists with filters; in smaller tanks the output can be too strong for a Betta and you may have to construct a "baffle" to break the impact of the filter's current.

One option that works well for small Betta tanks is to use a sponge filter. Sponge filters are powered by the movement of water from your air pump; rising bubbles force water to move and that draws surrounding water through the sponge to replace the rising water. The sponge will mechanically filter your water, and the bacteria for the nitrogen cycle will colonize the sponge to do the biological filtration. Cheap sponge filters go for under five dollars on Amazon, like this one, and they can fulfill your bubbling and filtration at the same time.

I have always used Fluval canister filters, and they work great for me. You should be able to get a nicely over powered one for even less than that. Here's one on amazon. I have two of them, one on a 70 gallon and one on a 55. One is about a year old and the other is about three years old. No broken parts, but the smaller one did start to drip a bit. It just needed a $10 replacement seal and it was as good as new. Honestly, it was my fault for never lubricating it to keep it from drying out. Other than that they work well. I have duckweed in my tanks and it hasn't let any get as far as the impeller, which would be disastrous.

Also, Sunsun is kind of an off brand but very economical. They come with a low powered UV sterilizer built into the canister which is pretty cool. It does have an on/off switch just for the UV, so you can leave it off until you need it to clear up algae or something. They don't come with any media, just some thin foam inserts that aren't good for much, but overall it is a great value. There is also a lot of room in these for custom media, which is nice. The fluvals have baskets as well, but only for half of the canister and the other half you are limited to using foam strips. The Sunsun is nothing but large baskets filling the canister with a hole down the middle for flow and the UV light. Here's a Sunsun on amazon.

I've noticed prices on canister filters go up and down quite a bit on amazon. I was shopping for one a few weeks ago and saw that the largest Sunsun was about $150. I waited a couple days and it went down to $100 and I snagged it. It just got here and the thing is absolutely massive. Lots of room to play with. I haven't started using it yet, so I can't tell you much about the quality and effectiveness, but all of the accessories (pipes, spray bars, etc.) aren't the best quality, but certainly not cheap feeling.

If you want to really have some fun you could easily build your own canister filter. Just get a wet/dry fountain pump and the proper adapters to connect it to some PVC tubing and some flexible tubing to go up to the aquarium. Get some 6" PVC to use as the canister and some large media socks to fill up and drop in. You can get some bulk foam to use for mechanical filtration and wedge those in there as well. Be sure to add stages of mechanical filtration, getting more and more fine as the water progresses. You can get a power head to pull the water back into the aquarium for about the same as the Sunsun or less. This would probably be the best quality of all the options since you could, if you wanted, have a few feet of of the 6" PVC, holding more biological media than any other canister. Also, with this you could customize the amount of flow, which would be nice for the betta.

Before I answer your questions, I want you to know that getting more advanced meaning spending a lot more money and time. A lot us learn by making mistakes, and that's how I started, by making a lot of mistakes.

I don't know what level of planting you want to do. It can be as easy as adding a few amazon swords into your tank right now, or as difficult as buying new light, CO2 equipment, fertilizers, etc.

If you want to save a lot of money from mistakes then here is what you should do:

• Buy a new tank. preferably a big one like a 75G at least since you'll probably want a lot of fish and some of those fish will need a good size tank. I think 75G minimum is the perfect size for beginner as oppose to 55G because of the width. It gives you comfort zone for a lot of fish. Look for it on craiglist first, and be patient. Of course you can get bigger tank if you want
  
  
• You'll need substrates. I personally like Eco-Complete. $22.99 on Amazon. You can also have a layer of sand on top. I use pool filter sand. Something like this
  
  
• You'll need light. 7000k Light is great for plants. LEDs will save you tons of money in the long run. Personally recommend Finnex. They simply have the best LEDs out there. There is a used one on Ebay for very cheap. link I don't know how much I can trust them, I personally would buy a new one if I have the money.
  
  
• You'll need plants. If you live close by Miami, I can give you a few good places to go to. If not your LFS can provide you with these. There is also a seller on Ebay called FishRUs who has some very good plants. You can start with amazon swords, anubias, or whatever plants you want. You'll make mistakes and kill plants, but that's what we humans do. Just make sure you utilize google.
  
  
• You'll need fertilizers. Don't waste your money on Seachem. Read this page Fertilizer can be purchased here
  
  
• You'll need a CO2 system. Aquatek Mini for 87.99 + CO2 tank $26.59. Then go to a local paintball shop and refill your CO2 bottle for $3-4.
  
  
• Water change. You can use Aqueon Water Changer $27.99 you can also buy the 50FT version if you need. You won't regret this buy, trust me.
  
  
• You'll need a filter. Sunsun Canister Pro Kit $97.99 Probably the best canister out there for this price. You can go FX5 if you have the money.
  
  
• Purigen filter media ~$20
  
  
• API Test Kit $22.99
  
  
• There are a wide variety of cichlid. I don't know what you like, but I personally LOVE South America cichlids. These fish are also compatible with your gouramis. You can get a few rams, and 4 angelfish to begin. Discus are beautiful, but don't try it until you feel comfortable with the basics and do enough research. Along with those, you can also get some tetras and corys catfish.

These are all budget friendly:

I don't know what you are using now, but I had Nicrews on my 10s, and I thought the same thing re lighting, so I went for this Full Spectrum, but I have to be honest, I think it's a little dim for anything other than floating plants. It was $29. I'd skip it. This one is on my 29, the 24 inch one. And as that's a deeper tank, it is actually pretty good. But, I believe the plants in here are easy low light, Java Ferns, some Vals, some Sag, some Pogostemon 'octopus' stellatus.

Of all the lights this one actually to me seems the brightest, even though the one I have is the little 11 inch one, perfect for my little 2.5 gallons, almost too bright. While I don't have the larger one of this brand, I think I'd recommend it for the plants, it's only $20 on Amazon. My plants grow gangbusters with it.

If not, the Nicrew would probably be fine if you don't have floating plants that block light. It's like $18.

If, however, you decide to spend more, I have a Current, which for me is High Light lol! I think it's 26 inches. But, I got it for free, and I think they are like $100 give or take.

I also started my first saltwater tank a few weeks ago and I'm 14. Now I went for a nano and it went just fine. First you need to learn about cycling. This is probably the most important thing. Ammonia and nitrite are extremely toxic to fish. There are bacteria colonies that make these into nitrates, the nitrates are only harmful in large quantities. Fish waster produces ammonia, which is transformed into nitrites by bacteria which is transformed into nitrates by bacteria. When you setup your tank, you need to throw a deli shrimp inside to produce ammonia. Then, with testkit you will test the water until you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitirites and less then 20 ppm of nitrates. Nitrates are removed through water changes. You will need ocean salt, RO/DI water, a heater, a hydrometer, a test kit, sand, live rock, a powerhead, and a filter. First you clean up the tank. Then you add sand that has been rinsed. Mix your saltwater and fill the tank about halfway. For a 20 gallon, I would purchase around 30 pounds of live rock. Place the rock in the position you like. The live rock is probably the most important thing in the tank. It houses the bacteria that keeps your fish from dying. This should be done within 2 hours. When satisfied with the placement, fill the tank up. Let it run for a day with the heater, filter and powerhead on. Check for leaks. Also, when making saltwater test it with the hydrometer do the specific gravity is between 1.021 and 1.026. Most fish prefer 1.024. The next day drop in the shrimp ad start testing. It will take around 3 weeks until your tank is ready for fish sometimes longer. The cycling process cannot be rushed. Any fish placed in earlier will DIE. Now, you wait. Also pH can be an issue. Use a marine buffer to take care of this. Algae is a bitch in saltwater and you will need a good cleanup crew. Go to reefcleaners.org and look at their recommendations and go from there. What do you plan on stocking? Use aqadvisor.com to see if you will be okay. Don't buy any products that claim to provide bacteria and shorten the cycle. They don't work and result in dead fish. When you get your fish, use the drip acclimation method for 2 hours before placing them in your tank.
Here's some supplies you will need
http://amzn.com/B000260FUW
Inside the filter, remove the carbon and add this,
http://amzn.com/B0002A5VK2
Also, put pieces of live rock inside the filter.
http://amzn.com/B000256EUS
Use saltwater when doing a water change and use reverse osmosis or distilled water to replace water that has evaporated every 2-3 days. Draw a small line at where the water should be so you know how much to add.
http://amzn.com/B00019JOSO
When measuring salinity, hold the hydrometer and tap it a few times to get rid of bubbles which can affect the results. A refractometer is more accurate but more expensive.
http://amzn.com/B0002A5W9M
This is a pretty good buffer.
You will need around 25-30 pounds of Sand which you can get at your local fish store as well as the live rock.
These are some good heaters
http://www.petmountain.com/product/aquarium-heaters/11442-526438/viaaqua-quartz-heaters.html
http://amzn.com/B001VMSK0I

Order a few of these for accurate temp measurement
http://amzn.com/B008SJ1H7A

This is a good high quality fish food and there is a lot of it for a good price
http://amzn.com/B0002E7ITK

For a background I like all black backgrounds so I got this for my tank
http://amzn.com/B002DWVIBI

I wouldn't suggest doing corals because they are pretty hard and sensitive.

As for lighting, this is pretty good http://amzn.com/B008K37X7C
But I don't know your tank dimensions. Someone else could probably offer better advice on lighting and what powerhead to get. Powerheads are also necessary.

Try to get a glass canopy for your tank. They are pretty useful.

Here's some pictures of my tank, I also did a planted 30 gallon last year when I was 13.

http://imgur.com/WTMuqma

http://imgur.com/AhfkVu2

http://imgur.com/8X69aA1

http://imgur.com/meI9XCH

http://imgur.com/UFGoJYU

http://imgur.com/AN3juZa

My freshwater tank

http://imgur.com/Uvw0iM

http://imgur.com/wbWgKPY

http://imgur.com/jIJs0x5

http://imgur.com/HnkVhau

I also have the Evo saltwater version, only the light and packaging are different.

Last night my low ambient temp indoors was 61.6. My Spec V is has a 25w heater in the main display chamber and the tank was 70.3 when I woke up. The Evo has 50w heater in the pump chamber and got as low as 73.6.

I have an external temperature controller for the heater in the Evo but the heater's internal thermostat always shuts it off. Point is, I think the 50w would possibly work OK if it was allowed to heat up the back chamber enough, but the internal thermostat kicks it off no matter how high I set it. Currently I'd like to get a cobalt neo-therm as a replacement.

I've read of people perforating the tubing in the pump chamber to allow more heat exchange but that will also reduce flow. For my saltwater I want more flow and upgraded the pump, so the perforations would go against my goal but I may end up doing it in the end if I have to add a wave maker.

Inefficiency is my OCD kryptonite, so I can only bring myself to use LEDs. You can get higher output levels with other technologies but your plants and corals can only use so much. People obsess over buying the brightest thing possible then spend another small fortune on a PAR meter to figure out it's way too bright and dial it down to 30%. The plants don't need a wide spectrum of light, so most of what you're after is what it looks like to you. It looks like the the fixture you linked uses standard bulbs so you have a lot of options to test with. I really like the look of the stock light and the plant growth is more than OK for me.

I'm not sure you'd need to mod the tank unless you want one light on each end? The lid is super thin so it will be easy to cut if you need to. I was pricing pieces of glass as a replacement to make it octopus-safe and depending on thickness it's around $13-35 in Seattle. I prefer to run them topless - I don't like the light diffusion of the lid, but the trade-off is evaporation and you might have critters that like to escape.

so many options! :)

You can also get that Tetra kit on Amazon, if you want, OP (same price, but maybe more convenient): http://www.amazon.com/Tetra-29095-Cube-Aquarium-3-Gallon/dp/B008CA7W7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412106897&sr=8-1&keywords=tetra+3+gallon

And, I hate to be a total downer, but a heater and a thermometer are also really needed. Bettas like water between 78 and 82 degrees F. You can buy a cheapo heater, though, at least for now. I have these thermometers and they are good and cheap and work: http://www.amazon.com/HDE-Digital-Fish-Aquarium-Thermometer/dp/B00GR0LKN8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412106999&sr=8-1&keywords=digital+aquarium+thermometer

Also, I would super, super advise switching out that plastic plant with a silk one. Your betta wants somewhere to rest, but plastic plants can snag betta fins. And you do need a dechlorinator if you don't have one. (If you don't have one, I recommend SeaChem Prime, but if you do have one, use whatever you are using.)

So that's more than $30. BUT: it will take you less than an hour a week to take care of the little dude once your cycle finishes, so hopefully that balances out. Please read about cycling in the sidebar if you have not already. You are doing fish-in cycling. Understand what that means and what you need to do to keep your fish safe. I would normally advise buying a test kit, but that will bring you even further over budget and you can bring samples to a pet store and they should test your water for you if you ask. The nitrogen cycle is a great little science lesson if your kid isn't too young, also!

Once your tank is cycled, you will just need to do water changes once a week (drain a percentage of your tank, with 3 gallons you'll probably do something like 50%, honestly, since it is so small and changes are so easy). Temperature match new water using the thermometer, add dechlorinator, and pour the water in. Once a month or so, rinse out your filter media in some tank water (NOT tap water). And obviously feed your fish small amounts every day-ish, keep an eye on the temperature, and try to notice any potential disease issues.

If you do the things I listed above, that's basically the bare bones of betta keeping right there. Everything else is extra. You may want to creep over on /r/plantedtank one day in the future, and you may want to visit /r/bettafish as well, but this should be sufficient to keep your betta healthy.

If you have any questions, let me know.

Wow, thanks for taking the time to provide an in depth answer!

Im currently looking at this Fluval Spec V; though I cant tell if its version 1 or 2 (im thinking its the newer model, since Amazon lets you know if there is a newer version available).

In regards to plants, I have a leaf hammock and a plastic log, and I will be adding more (silk), but wont be ordering from amazon; im also looking to add driftwood and some live plants.

As far as live plants go, I think I understood that its better to cycle without them, as they could alter the process as they feed on ¿nitrate?. So I would add them later on. What do you think?

Id rather go with Seachem Stability, just because of the ease of measurring.

Ive since added Fluval Spec Carbon Filter replacement and Fluval Spec Bio Max.

Read on several websites that the current could be too strong for a betta, and the sponge cover seemed like an easy fix.

For substrate, I will most likely get gravel.; would love to have sand (too hard to care for as a begginer?) or ADA Africana (weight/cost).

Will check at my LFS for quality substrate, but have low expectations.

As for stock, I would like to add shrimp (ghost and/or RCS) but once my tank is established and settled. In reality, I would love to have Khukli Loaches (3) but general consensus is that a 5g is way too small.

Ill be looking into other bottom feeders (fish), but it doesnt seem I will be able to add them to a 5g.

Hows your setup, what do you have?

I have this one. It was $30, but I think it was worth it. It makes my life so much easier (although, it is much easier to use with two people rather than one, one at the sink to turn the water on/off, one at the tank to make sure the fish don't get hurt). I wouldn't necessarily call it a cheap piece of plastic, because it seems pretty well made, and I think it will last me a long time. I don't really know of any way to make a system like this yourself, but if you find one, I'd love to hear about it! Also, for what it's worth, I've only had a tank for about six months, so I'm fairly new at this. Someone more knowledgable than I am might have better advice for you. Good luck!

Alright...time to start typing out this monster.

Ive been reading guides and stuff, but i have a terrible memory when reading things, and theres some stuff i want to double check, etc.

Im looking to set up my old 29 gal tank from when i was a kid (its been empty for 10+ years). My goal is to do a planted tank with primarily tetras and shrimp...maybe a pleco and perhaps another type of schooling fish.

I probably wont be able to start cycling for ~2 weeks or so, though by the time i buy stuff on amazon, etc thats probably a decent timetable.

This light was suggested to me by another user. Should be sufficient for growing plants in a low tech system, right?

Ive seen various numbers for how 'oversized' a filter should be. Right now im kinda looking at these two (1) (2). Any comments on brand? It looks like i can get either one in bigger/smaller sizes. 400gph seems like it might be a bit overkill...but is 250 too low?

Ive read that often the agitation in the surface water by the filter is enough to provide sufficient gasses to the plants/fish...do you think that ill be true in a low tech tank? Would an aerator help? I dont think i'll mind having bubbles coming up in the background if it will, but am i overthinking this?



I wish i had saved more links on substrate and sand and all. Any recommendations for substrate for plants? Would probably like black stuff. I think this is the one i had read about being good?

Thinking about doing a bit of gravel in the tank, but i'd also like to do some sand. Maybe something like 2/3 sand (maybe a couple different types?) and then the rest gravel? Thoughts/concerns?

I thought i had read somewhere that people often use blasting sand (rinsed well)....anyone have comments on that? I could probably get some for cheap from work, though im not sure i want dark sand...


Best place to get a larger piece of driftwood? Ive looked around online a bit and have seen a ton of different sites and whatever, but was wondering if anyone had a suggestion for where to go. Im probably going to want one big piece, and then i can get smaller pieces from wherever.


I assume when im doing water changes and stuff im going to want to bypass our water softener? Our water is supposed to be pretty hard, do i want to maybe mix softened with unsoftened? (ive seen a lot of stuff about adding minerals to pure RO water, but havent seen much on softeners)




Im sure ill think of more, but this should at least be a good start...

Edit: Best place to get rocks and stuff? I'd like a couple for a natural look, im just not sure where to get them. I could get some red granite around here, but im not sure how that'd work, and it seems like it'd be really heavy...?

First, welcome, I hope you enjoy this subreddit we have. The first thing to know is the nitrogen cycle. You MUST understand this like the back of your hand before getting a fish, otherwise the fish wont be happy, or it might die. Figure out what your tap water is, in terms of pH, and other things in the water. To test this water you will need a test kit. A really high quality and highly recommended one is this. You can also use test strips but I dont know any good ones. Secondly, the smaller aquarium you have, the harder it is to maintain stable parameters. Stable parameters means happy fish. A good small starter aquarium is a 10 gallon for $10 at petco. With a filter, light, HEATER <---(All of these are needed), it should be around $30-$40. Remember, this is a pet, take care of it. Yes, you can buy fish online, I would do some research and see if there are of good quality. Another thing to be aware of is maintenance. Maintenance includes water changes and overall health of the aquarium. Do some research to make sure you have a cycled aquarium (cycling refers to the nitrogen cycle, that needs to be monitored). Aquarium fish cannot live from just straight tap water, which means you need a water dechlorinator such as this. In summary, to keep a fish alive and healthy/happy you need: heater, proper size aquarium, filter, light,water dechlorinator, and basic knowledge of the nitrogen cycle.

1. Stocking is fine as-is, although I suggest that you have more cories (1-2 more) and more loaches (1-2 more as well) as they are very social and look really cool in shoals. Also, dojo loaches get much larger than kuhlis so I'd suggest going with kuhlis. I think most gouramis would do fine, Pearl gouramis are my favorite :D
   
2. If you have the money, get a substrate that is intended for plants such as Flourite Sand or Eco-Complete. You can even use a planted tank substrate, and cover it with normal sand. Black Diamond sand is great (pool filter sand works fine too), just put it in a 5 gallon bucket and rinse it vigorously until the water runs clear. Put the sand in first, and then add the water slowly, pouring it on a plate or your hand so it doesn't kick up the sand.
   
3. You should get special lighting for plants, 6500k CFL Bulbs attached to metal reflectors work great as a budget-friendly option, or you can go with a T5 Fluorescent fixture, or an LED fixture. As far as plants, if you have decent lighting you can have almost anything. Anubias, Crypts, Swords, Java Fern, Java Moss, and Hornwort are all great plants that can be gently pushed into the substrate, or in the case of Anubias, Java Fern/Moss, attached onto a rock or driftwood. Duckweed, Water Lettuce, and Amazon Frogbit are all great floating plants that shade the water, provide hiding places for fish, and reduce nitrates.
   
4. Boil it, then soak until it becomes waterlogged enough to sink.

I'm going to make this list assuming that you have Amazon in your area and that either you or someone you know has Amazon Prime. If not, then think of this as more of a template that you can tweak using what you have available to you:

• Tank: Finnex Rimless - This isn't a prefab as much as it is just a blank slate. 7.5 gallons is ample room for a nice little shrimp colony, the tank itself is quite attractive and Finnex is one of my more favored brands for LEDs.
  
  
• Filtration: Depending on your personal preference, I tried/like both the Tom Mini Filter and Deep Blue Biomaxx Nano. They're both quiet, gentle and have few moving parts for easy maintenance and cleaning. It just depends on whether you like submersible or HOB style filters, though if using the Biomaxx I'd suggest wrapping the intake with coarse filter pads or a sponge.
  
  
• Substrate: Eco-Complete - You'll probably be able to grow just about any plant you desire in this stuff, it's dirt cheap compared to other brands and is just as easy to use as plain old normal gravel. One bag should be all you need.
  
  Hopefully you have Amazon Prime available to you where you are, and if so none of this requires any shipping charge. If you do at most this will cost you $115.79, leaving you lots of money to spend on shrimp and plants! Hope this was helpful to you, best of luck!

Yeah that's the planted + 24/7. Just a heads up I hate them so I'm not going to give a favorable review but some people love it. It does all settings from day to night, turn on and leave it, you're done. I think it's a gimmick. I had one, it died within 4 months due to that feature, got stuck on reds and never was happy to work again. They do have a warranty but I was just done at that point

If you're down for having a shading on one side, do it, I wouldn't say it's inadvisable but I like very high lights and very few shadows in my tanks. You could always upgrade to it one day in the future if you wished.

I run these on 3 of my tanks. They're a good light, I adore them. Another light you could upgrade to.

This light I run on the other 5. It's much cheaper and it's very much a low light on higher tanks. I get better growth out of stuff with the planted+ but with what you want this could work. It's cheap enough you can always try it out and if it's not bright enough for you, you can upgrade.

I have no idea the lifespan honestly. Let me check when I bought my first one. Apparently I got it last year on my birthday lol. A year in it's still going great, everything grows way too fast. I believe it's about five+ years. Honestly it's still as bright as the day I got it a year ago.

Wisteria loves to float. I've let it go like that for weeks and it's happy to just chill and make roots until I decide it's time to plant it.

I would recommend a top like this. I believe 36' is the standard for 20L. Pair it up with a light like this and you're good to go. Big investment but I absolutely love mine. If you're buying a new hood with light included, make sure the light is actually better than what you currently have. I feel like the vast majority of them are pretty dim, though the bulb can be swapped of course.

Ahhh... that makes sense. You did come off as weirdly competent for a newbie. Threw me off for a bit.

> it freaked me out that i shouldnt be monitoring nitro/ph/ on a weekly basis

You definitely can, if you want to. pH is actually something I spend a lot of time looking at in my planted tanks (it's a good way of keeping track of the CO2... tracking trends over the day is useful; since ideally you'd be going for stability). It's not a bad idea to check the nitrate levels once every so often too (although our version of acceptable is quite a bit higher than in saltwater).

> I am only using distilled water to fill/top off

Remineralized, presumably?

> im hoping the tank will be properly cycled before fish are added.

Have you dosed with any ammonia?

> i am looking into this before i overplant my mini-tank too hard

That one kinda sucks a little bit. You don't really have a whole lot of control with that style (the idea on that is you fill the underwater bell with gas and let it diffuse out. It's entirely passive). I had the 88g version of that kit; which has a regulator and is intended to run continuously. It gives you a little bit more control; but what I found with my setup is the needle valve wasn't precise enough to control the small amounts of gas required for a weeny little tank like that. I wound up gassing my shrimp on a couple occasions.

There are better ones out there; I'm not that familiar with them though. My style tends towards dirt tanks (you put potting soil under a sand cap; the idea being that it works as a plant substrate and releases CO2 slowly as it decays).

> What would you do regarding the lighting situation? I am willing to invest a little into a custom fixture that would expand the possibilities of what i create. sitting across the room and looking at my tank i am very excited about my little underwater forest.

I'm probably not the best person to ask that (I'm basically the planted tank version of the Amish). However, I've seen lots of people use these. There's also a fairly nifty LED, also from fluval.

When I had my spec set up as a high tech tank I went with a fairly hideous CFL setup that was meant for a refugium. Now I've got one of these; which works well for a low tech setup.

If you're looking for ideas on what's possible, check out this thread. It's been active for years; there are some pretty cool setups in there.

Heres a good list of plants that you can read up on

Heres another good easy plants list

another list go easy plants/details

Easiest plants - Java moss, Anubias plants, Java Fern

For substrate i'd recommend going for ... 2 routes to use

1. Sand substrate and add flourish tabs
   
   
2. Going substrate that has ferts already - Eco complete add this at the bottom and top it off with some black sand like this
   
   After you do all that and pick up w.e plants you like. You need to buy liquid fertilizers to dose/make your plants healthier.
   
   You can also go the CO2 route but if this is expensive, go for the cheap route and buy Seachem Excel (liquid co2)
   
   

   Lighting:
   

   
   This is the best kind of lighting you can grab
   
   Or this one
   
   I can vouch for the Planted+ I have that and it grows my plants really well/amazing, down side you'll have algae (but thats what algae cleaners are for ;)) Also I use sand + flourish tabs for rooted plants.
   
   

   Tip:
   

   
   Root plants need flourish tabs (if you just go the sandroute) but if you grab the eco complete you wont really need tabs since thats already fertilizers.
   
   Plants that dont need to be buried in the substrate (anubias plants/java fern) youll need liquid ferts
   
   If you do go for anubias/java fern/java moss - buy driftwood and tie them down with some fishing line (they do best when tied to driftwood)

2.5 is going to be a pain down the road honestly... advise going 3-5, some would even say 10.. less water = far faster water parameter swings. My wife and i have over 18 betta now, and we've learned a bunch... so here's my 2 cents. Key items are in bold

going down your list:

• heater: you: hydor slim -
  me:ditch preset heaters like this, you at the VERY least want one that will auto shut off (stick heaters like this stay on at a 'set' temp). Hydor theo and some of the tetras are okay... prefer the theo or cobalt neo therm for them so i can adjust
  
  
• diver dan - just make sure to run fingers and stockings along all the surfaces to see if anything can snag the fish's fins... they're very delicate
  
• betta hammock - love these things, as do the fish... make sure to wash well before popping into the tank with hot water
  
• cichlid stone - be VERY careful to check this for sharp/rough edges, kept looking at these and another variant. they felt like concrete inside and would have mangled the fins
  *light - no experience with these things, a low powered desk lamp could even work, this should be fine
  
• marimo - these don't really do anything other than provide decoration, burp them if they float (gently squeeze), make sure to rotate once in a while to keep the round shape... sometimes carry pest snails
  
• food new life spectrum or omega one betta pellets, avoid flake foods. I feed all of ours the Omega one due to being able to find it easier.
  
• filtration you could do a small bubble filter, for a tank this small... https://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Biochemical-Small-Sized-Filtrator-Percolator/dp/B01GWMD1XM/ref=sr_1_2?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1473967624&sr=1-2&keywords=small+sponge+filter+aquarium
  
  or
  If you end up going to a larger tank - encouraged, look into the deep blue nano https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Blue-Professional-ADB88700-Aquarium/dp/B00BUFTI6Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473967813&sr=8-1&keywords=deep+blue+nano+filter
  
  the aquaclear 20 is a bit too strong for a betta, and it's not worth modding it when you can just get this guy.
  
  walmart and them should have nets so don't bother ordering online, shipping usually makes them cost more than it's worth.
  might also want a bucket for water changing so you're not moving the tank.
  
  ----
  
  suggestions for starting up...
  
  while a betta CAN survive a cycle, it's not nice.
  
  Suggest getting something like poland spring water to fill the tank, and putting in a few drops of prime and stability. popping the live plants in there will also kick start the cycle as well.

If you don't want to go the canister filter method (which I highly recommend) I would go with an aquaclear. They're much better than these, and you can put whatever media you want in there so it's much more versatile than these. I had the penguin 350 and it's ok, but an aquaclear 110 would be your best bet. It's more expensive than these but far far far far better.

http://www.amazon.com/AquaClear-110-Aquarium-Power-Filter/dp/B000260FV6

However, like I said, canister is the way to go. I use one of these on my tank and it's amazing. I used to use ehiems, but these are much cheaper and work just as well http://www.amazon.com/SunSun-HW-302-3-Stage-External-Canister/dp/B00892EN22/ref=sr_1_3?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1426534978&sr=1-3&keywords=sunsun+canister+filter

As someone who loves both aquariums and interior design - please god no. Get a nice coffee table then put a nice rimless tank on top. Look at how pretty this one is. Put in a beautiful betta fish or fill it with shrimp. Good beginner fish.

EDIT: changed suggested tank, this one has a better filtration system. (It's also the same one I have.)

This is the sponge filter I currently have - SPonge

This is what I was looking to get (not at all sure) - FIlter

I forgot the exact name of the catfish but I believe they are Panda Catfish - or look very similar. This is 1 https://imgur.com/OkgmIJj the other one look exactly the same but about half again as big.

​

I hve 2 air pumps. 1 came with the 3 gallon tank set up I got on Amazon - see Here (just realized its a 3 gallon not a 5)

And then I purchased an air pump - Pump

And maybe I got the name wrong for the glofish, the pet store I could swore said neon tetra on the tank but I have those and definitely not that - https://imgur.com/8xNmjPi .EDIT- You can see them better in the OP picture if you click on it. Reason I ask is because my Betta was going after them the first day and they seemed SUPER chill. I haven't seen them try to nip at anything so far. Although its been 3 days. Also the catfish was in the tank w them so I figured they would get a long.

​

OK so the guy in the petstore told me i can have up to 20 fish in the 10 gallon. It's a private store not petco or petsmart/petland etc. Is that not the case then? I don't want to crowd my tank I was just planning on getting 2 more colors of the "Glofish" and that was probably going to be it.

​

Thanks!!

not soon soon. there is a high chance they might but they might not, if you can see if you can take them back or give them to a friend that has a cycled tank if possible till your tank cycles, if you can't and you want to give them the best chance of survival, you will have to test ammonia the water daily and if the ammonia is above 0.25ppm do a 50% water change. then just test nitrite every 2-4 days. your goal is to:

1. keep ammonia nitrite at 0ppm or close to it
   
2. nitrate under 30ppm
   
3. do all of that while keeping your new little friends alive.
   all of that will take awhile to do and don't be to shocked if a couple die.
   it will also help if I know what filter you have. you might also want to pick up a heater

Put an ad in your local classifieds saying you're looking for aquarium plant trimmings. A lot of people throw their's out and would be more than happy to give a few away.

You can also get a timer for your lights for like $4 at walmart and I think around the same at home depot/lowes. Makes life a lot easier.

The picture you have is of the light housing, I'm curious as to which bulb you have in it. Some say you want at least 1-1.5 watts per gallon, but for what you're doing I'd say just find a plant-growing bulb that will fit your housing. Or if you want to do it right, I definitely recommend finnex planted+ lights though a lot of beginners don't want to drop ~$100 on a light.

One more thing that will be a lot easier to do now compared to later: put a 1 to 1.5 inch layer of miraclegro organic potting mix below your gravel. Your plants will grow like crazy after that and the right light.

I have smaller aquaclears that I love, they have the advantage of being easy to clean (no cracking open a pressurized canister) so I find I do it more. I have this sunsun that I run on my winter goldfish tank that I like and you could probably get away with just one on a lower bioload community tank. Again the disadvantage of any canister is taking it apart to clean but honestly it's not that hard, especially if you aren't running it on a super high bioload fish like me so it needs to be cleaned once a week.

Yes, I just stick the vacuum down about a half inch or so and then lift it back out if I notice an accumulation of detritus anywhere. Very rarely does much sand get taken up by it. I use this guy and it's made water changes and fills a real breeze on a larger tank.

As for the grungry sand, I suppose everyone has there own ways they prefer for keeping things clean. What works well for me is the high water flow from my filter which helps a lot with keeping the detritus stay suspended in the water column to get filtered out. The CAE does the rest at stirring it all up. He has definitely helped a lot with tank cleanliness, though no one else here seems to like them. Overall, it works pretty well in my tank. Good luck and can't wait to see how it turns out!

It sounds like your on the right path. I would dose prime on days your not water changing tho just to detoxify the ammonia. Would also pick up some kind of bacteria in a bottle I’ve had great success with tetra safe start plus another option is seachem stability

Good luck

Sunlight will lead to algae. I would try to get something like this as having a light over your tank will bring out their best colors.

Also, try your hand at some very hardy plants, like a cryptocoryne or a marino moss ball. Gives tanks a more natural feel.

Definitely be looking in to canister filters. You would probably do best with having two large-ish canister filters, sorry I don't have any brand recommendations.

Substrate: Since you're planning to do a planted tank I would definitely recommend this one. It is really good for plants and super good quality, not to mention I personally think it looks really amazing (depends what kind of look you want for your tank)

Plants: Again these really depend on what kind of look you're going for but I'll just give you some of the common low tech ones that always look killer in a tank

- Back of tank: Vallisineria, Amazon sword, Java fern, water wisteria and Ludwigia Repens

- Middle-ish of tank: Pygmy Chain Sword, anubia and anubia nana (keep in mind anubia needs to
be attached to an ornament/stone/driftwood not planted in gravel)

-Front of tank, completely optional but some small patched of carpeting plants often look nice:
Dwarf baby tears, java moss and dwarf hairgrass

Fish: Look everybody has different taste in fish, for me I really like Australian rainbows, tiger barbs,
golden blue rams, koi angelfish, fantail goldfish. If you reply back with some fish you personally like
the look of I might be able to help you come up with a stocking list

Small Whisper air pump was the quietest from the six kinds I tried. They came with the tank kits, 3 of them were bearable, one too loud.

HOB filters, even with adjustable flow, have too strong flow problem. Azoo Mignon 60 (the same is sold as Aquarium Masters Mini filter, Deep Blue Biomaxx Nano) has the slowest flow and is adjustable, but it has not too much space for a filter media, basically you will use it for mechanical filtration and keep ceramic or stone biomedia somewhere in the tank. I'm using this on the 2.5 gal long shrimp tanks, original filter media removed, and instead of it using piece of gutter guard (or anything else inert, stiff, with large holes) holding cut to size piece of filter floss, replaced as soon as it dirties a bit. But it could be reused by rinsing it in the old tank water, removed at the time of cleaning.

Filter should be positioned in the tank the way that betta has its peaceful place for the rest and swimming. Try placing it in the middle or on the side and see what will be more acceptable for a fish.

Do not rely on filter for cleaning water, it's more for water movement for a heater. Waste and not eaten food have to be removed manually, as soon as possible.

HOB filters could vibrate. In this case make sure that the lid is set right, not sideway, and add a narrow piece of rubber-like shelf liner from dollar store between filer and tank. For other than this filters, that are larger and could vibrate more, adding folded sandwich plastic bag under the lid helps.

I'm using Marina Slim S-10 HOB filter on 3 gal half-moon (square proportions, more or less) tanks, taller than yours, it has pump inside, not outside the tank, it takes valuable space from the fish. Vibrates more (dampening lid vibration by sandwich bag, slightly lifting pump's tube and using rubber insert between filter and tank helps) and flow has to be baffled by tieing bag with biomedia to the outflow (plastic water baffle can't be used, sharp ends), but it has plenty of space for any custom media, including biomedia, after filter floss.

Cartridges are rather not rip off, manufacturers also have to make a living somehow, we have to make informed choices and buy what is better suitable for out needs. Users with a lot of money to burn and no time can buy and replace cartridges, while real life folks could choose making custom DIY media (mechanical, following by chemical, followed by ceramic biomedia). If, because of uninformed purchase, they got a filter with a thin cartridge, using gutter guard with thinner layer of filter floss (mechanical filter media) is all they could do, maybe add carbon inside filter floss, and keep porous rocks or ceramic biomedia in the tank.

First-timer in over his head here. Could use an assist with setup. The ultimate goal is setting up something my (soon-to-be) 2 year old daughter will enjoy watching.

Planning on purchasing:

Tank & Stand: Aqueon 45G tank ensemble - $250

Light: LED - Included with tank

Filter: MarineLand Penguin 200 Power Wheel - $21

Heater: Orlushy Submersible Aquarium Heater 150W - $18

Python: Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Maintenance System - $40, 24 inch adapter - $10, [hook] (https://smile.amazon.com/Python-Spill-Aquarium-Gravel-24-Inch/dp/B004PBHX4G/ref=pd_bxgy_199_img_2/146-3053739-1242457?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B004PBHX4G&pd_rd_r=42a7c2bc-877d-414d-b0c9-2960fa629e40&pd_rd_w=q7tkK&pd_rd_wg=fjx36&pf_rd_p=a2006322-0bc0-4db9-a08e-d168c18ce6f0&pf_rd_r=ZE4SB0SAMR7BKXT7Z4QW&psc=1&refRID=ZE4SB0SAMR7BKXT7Z4QW) - $20, and this adapter for my non-threaded faucet - $12

Conditioner: [API Water Conditioner] (https://smile.amazon.com/API-CONDITIONER-Aquarium-Conditioner-16-Ounce/dp/B004LO9KSY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2SD31AR7OVW3V&keywords=water+conditioner+aquarium&qid=1567987105&s=gateway&sprefix=water+condition%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-3) - $7

Bacteria: [API Quick Start] (https://smile.amazon.com/API-CONDITIONER-Aquarium-Conditioner-16-Ounce/dp/B004LO9KSY/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2SD31AR7OVW3V&keywords=water+conditioner+aquarium&qid=1567987105&s=gateway&sprefix=water+condition%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-3) - $4

Test Kits: [API 5-in-1 Test Strips] (https://smile.amazon.com/5-IN-1-AQ-Test-Strips-100CT/dp/B077YS7Y4Y/ref=sr_1_3?crid=VPPBFJ1NJSMG&keywords=api%2Btest%2Bkit&qid=1567987538&s=gateway&sprefix=api%2Btest%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-3&th=1) - $26

That takes me up to $408. That leaves me about $100-150 in the budget my wife gave me to get decorations and the fish themselves. (It was supposed to be $500, but we always go slightly over budget)

Any recommendations on large and colorful fish that could attract and keep a toddler's attention? Preferably peaceful.

Any other recommended tweaks to the build? I haven't purchased anything yet, so I'm willing to completely scrap this and start over if somebody has a better idea of how to use the money.

I'm a little late but I'm a huge fan of this filter. It's tiny yet powerful with a controllable flow. I have mine on a custom tank that's really small(maybe 2 gallons, more like 1.5) and the water is crystal clear, though I did add my own media.

Thank you for the great reply! :) I know already I will feel sorry for the baby fish and the eggs, but nature and its course etc :)

So if one keeps the fry and grows them up... What do you do then? Can someone sell to a store if they're pretty? Not like I'm interested in breeding, just curious.

As for the filter, I was thinking of this one.
What do you think?

No problem. Give these threads a read and you will understand PAR sufficiently link 1 link 2

At 10000K you're a bit high for most freshwater purposes. Although it is far worse to be low than high. If you can, aim for around 7000K.

That par is low for plants at your substrate. You want to be at least 30 par at your substrate. This would explain some of your algae problems, as insufficient light can cause algae the same as too much light. Insufficient light leads to an imbalance of nutrients where your plants won't be able to take full advantage of nutrients, which is where opportunistic algae will gladly step in.

I have a finnex planted+ 24/7 on my 10 gallon. The nice thing about that one is the intensity is adjustable. Note that you'll probably need a different length and that generally PAR will increase with length since more bulbs are added.

I just put a finnex fugeray on a 55 gallon, but it is really too early to give an accurate statement to its quality since I haven't had it very long and my tank is not yet established. I basically got it because I was satisfied with my other finnex product. So far it looks extremely bright so I think it will do.

And finally I should just reiterate, you will probably have to drop a chunk of change on a quality light. There are many LEDs out there that look bright to us but don't have sufficient penetration for plants. Yet marketers will gladly tell you they are. Make sure you find those readings otherwise don't bother!

I'm two weeks in to my switch from a HOB to a Sunsun canister and I have no clue how I survived without the Sunsun. I love it. It's virtually silent, moved much more water, better flow... I adore it. Very easy to put together(Aside from the pipes, I had to stare at them for a couple minutes and try to find my center of peace). Make sure that you trim your hoses appropriately, though. It makes priming seriously easy.

This is the one I got. Pretty basic, but a great price for what you get! I have it in my 20 tall.

Awesome thank you for the help.

Im thinking of switching out my filter and purchasing this one:

http://www.amazon.com/AquaClear-70-Power-Filter-Listed/dp/B000260FUW/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1457978000&sr=1-1&keywords=aquaclear

It appears as though this one makes it easier to install the 3 different types of filters rather than the current filter I own.

Can I go ahead and make the switch or is there something I should know? Thanks!

If you really want a 3-gallon betta tank, this is a much better option. It's a minimal and attractive tank. It's easier to clean since there's no bulky-plant-thing on top. There is also more room to decorate and thus more room for your fish to play and hide.

Plus if you want to grow kitchen herbs and stuff, just get potting soil and put pots on a sunny windowsill. Soil is cheap and pots are cheap. You don't need an overpriced sub-optimal aquarium to grow basil, rosemary, peppermint, etc.

If you can get her to upgrade to even a 2.5G, then you can use this little internal with relative ease. You can probably get a 2.5G that has a similar footprint to a 1G, just more height, and would allow a bit more space for the linked filter and a heater (examples: my favourite, a 3G or something like this or this).

If you can't, you might be able to fit the above filter into a 1G with the alternate outflow attachment (it comes with a spraybar and just a little nozzle). I've set up that filter and a heater in a 1G cube as a temporary QT before and didn't even leave it as a 1 week QT because it left too little room for anything else/stable parameters.

I have a Penguin 350 filling in on a 55 gallon tank with a Red-ear slider in it, since my canister bit the dust about a week ago. It's pretty old, but it's a workhorse. It really moves a considerable amount of water, and keeps the turtle tank pretty clean which is impressive because even one turtle generates substantially more waste than a whole aquarium of fish.

I was actually considering buying another Penguin 350 filter just to have on hand since Amazon dropped the price down this week...

Nicrews are pretty good for the money. I've got one on a 20 long that grows high light plants. Sponge filters are also pretty good.

I don't know about filters. I've got a DIY canister on my 20, but it cost about as much to make as the cheapest store bought model and one of those might be a bit much for a 5 gallon. Plus you need to put the pump somewhere. If you want to look into DIY filters, here is the instructions on the canister I have. That guy has a ton of DIY filter tutorials too. Something like this would probably be better for a smaller tank.

Do you think you could sneak in a 3 gallon?

I kept a betta in this tank with some success. The filter it comes with unfortunately has a high failure rate, but it worked well while it worked, and you can always upgrade to a better one.

Alternatively, if you can get a filter to fit the 2.5 gallon, it would make a huge difference for a fish in terms of water quality. It's just that most filters are probably going to be too bulky for that small a tank and too quick of a flow for betta or other small fish. Maybe a sponge filter? I've never used one before but I've heard them recommended a lot for smaller betta tanks.

Hey, thanks for replying.

The betta I'm caring for now has a lot of personality...he loves to pace the front of the 10g, weaving through the plants. I guess each one is different, but maybe something like this tank would encourage that behavior. I really want a very small footprint though, which is what attracted me to the compact cube design. I just worry that there's not enough space for really swimming in it, you know?

New person here replying.

1. Use clear ammonia. No scented or colored ones. Ammonia is usually sold in a 10% ammonia 90% water sort of solution. You probably won't be able to find 100% ammonia. You don't need it anyway. All the cycling guides assume the common household ammonia.
   
   
2. I believe Bio-Spira is only for saltwater tanks. My cousin used a nutrafin (I think) when he did his first tank, I don't think it did anything. Skip the bottled bacteria.
   
   
3. The amount of ammonia you need to add varies on the size of your tank, but the time between redosing is usually about every other day. On the initial dosing you want to get the ammonia in your tank to read about 3 ppm. No more then 4 ppm though. If you hit more then 4 ppm do a large water change to lower it. You want to redose the ammonia when it gets down to 1 ppm, which should take about 2 days. So if you dose on a Friday and come back Sunday night or Monday morning I think you'll be fine.
   
   
4. Once your tank is cycled, you should be doing weekly water changes of about 20%. That is the general rule, but it can change depending on your stock (fish) and filtration. Here's a quick rundown of how the cycle works in a fully cycled tank:
   
   a. Fish eat foot, produce poop, and poop has ammonia in it. Ammonia is bad.
   
   b. Bacteria in your tank will consume the ammonia, but as a byproduct produce NitrItes. Which are also bad for fish.
   
   c. Another bacteria is going to consume the NitrItes, but as a byproduct produces NitrAtes. NitrAtes are tolerated a lot better by fish then Ammonia or NitrItes. Fish can handle about 40ppm of NitrAtes safely.
   
   Therefore, when your nitrAtes hit 40ppm you should be doing a water change. If you have great filtration, lots of plants, little fish, it may take you 2 weeks to hit that number. Your weekly water changes would only have to be done bi-weekly. If you have "ok" filtration, messy fish and not a lot of plants, it may only take 5 days.
   
   Daily testing after your tank is cycled is still required to see how long it takes your tank to go over 40 ppm Nitrates. AND you still need to test afterwards to make sure the amount of water you changed is enough to lower the Nitrates to a safe level. If 20% isn't enough, then you may need to do 35% weekly water changes. It really depends on your setup. We can't know for sure until your tank has been fully set up.
   
   As far as how to do water changes, you should really invest in a water changer. It hooks up to your faucet and lets you pour water directly into the tank. Way easier then using numerous jugs or buckets. Regarding temperature and dechlorinator, you should just "eyeball" the temp with your hand. You are doing a 20%-35% water change, so the temperature shouldn't be swinging more then 1 or 2 degrees. Your fish should be able to handle it. I would suggest doing the water change directly into the tank and then dosing with the dechlorinator for the full amount of water in the tank. Ex. If your tank is 55 gallons, but your only changing about 15 gallons or so, you should dose the tank for all 55 gallons. Dechlorinator is fairly cheap, so while it does waste a bit, its probably not worth your time to be doing 5 gallon buckets at a time and waiting. Your fish will be absolutly fine with chlorinated water for a few minutes. It's not an instant death. Just get it done within half an hour of adding in the new water.
   
   Buy this: http://www.amazon.com/API-Freshwater-Master-Test-Kit/dp/B000255NCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347985506&sr=8-1&keywords=api+testing+kit
   It's the API master test kit. Pretty much the standard in water testing. Don't get any paper strips, they suck. Your LFS should carry them if you can't order online or want them fast.
   
   You should also get this: http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Water-Changer-Feet/dp/B000YAJKL6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347985595&sr=8-1&keywords=water+changer
   
   It makes water changes SO much easier. Suck water out of the tank directly into your sink, and refill directly from faucet to tank. Such a time saver. There are other brands and lengths, so you may want to double check what you need/like first before ordering. LFS will carry this, but a lot more expensive IME. Might want to order this online and do it the hard way while you wait.

Asta 20 - Dimmable LED (Planted Version) https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07236CXBQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_I.hQBbA46X1P2

Really love this little light. Super bright, nice and compact, and it comes with different lenses that angle the light differently.

I use this. It's a very nice color and my guppies have been loving it, it is for planted tanks though. My plants have been loving it aswell. If you'd like me to send you pictures of my setup I can.

It's not the best quality, so you will probably have to replace parts of it over time, but it's a good starter kit.

If you want to get some slightly higher quality gear for a comparable price, I recommend:

• get a standard 20 gallon tank at the dollar per gallon sale ($20)
  
• filter: Aquaclear 30 ($30)
  
• heater: Hydor 50W($20)
  
• lights: Nicrew LED 20-27"($30)
  
  Boom, that's $100 and you get pretty much everything that's included in the kit but it will last longer. I don't think the light will let you grow much more than low-light plants, but it probably won't be worse than the light that comes with the kit.

Not sure if this really applies but I save soooo much time now doing water changes by using a gravel vacuum that attaches to a faucet. I hate to think of how long I was using a bucket.

Another neat thing is Amazon has some useful aquarium supplies in bulk for cheap. I bought a bunch of suction cups, check valves, and airline connectors because I always seem to need them.

And lastly, check out AquaBid.com! I just discovered it and found a couple of sellers with a huge variety of live plants for cheap and very reasonable shipping.

Not OP but I bought this light for my 3 gal planted tank and was super happy with it.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07236CXBQ/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1525467626&sr=1

I love it, but I will caution you with the decorations. I had a similar one to the ball one (only in pink), and I took it out because I was worried it would tear mine's fins. It's really rough, and those flow-y fins are super fragile. I stuck to silk or natural plants. I don't think it'll go with your decor, but I got mine a floating betta log and it's his favorite thing ever.

For filters I'd go with two Fluval FX6's or two SunSun HW-304B's. Either of those will give you at least 8x overturn per hour. Or you could drill it and do a sump system.

The cheapest substrate would be sand from a local hardware store. My favorite so far is a pure white sand in 50 lb. white paper bags from Menards. Other people prefer black blasting sand, play sand, or pool sand. All work equally as well. As cichlids require hard water, you could use aragonite sand to help buffer the water, but a tank that size needs around 200 lbs. of sand and would get expensive quickly. There's also contractor's sand that is actually small pebbles. You can always go with the chunky gravel sold in pet stores. Or, if you're planting your tank, you could go with a dirted tank topped with sand or small gravel.

Throw in some cichlid stones, driftwood, or rocks to spruce up the decor a bit. Good luck!

heater

Light

Test kit Don't get strips, they're inaccurate.


Dechlorinator seems they have the wrong title up but that's what you want. There are other brands as well.

Gravel vac


For substrate, you can just get some play sand since it's really cheap, just have to rinse a few times until the water runs clear.


For plants, aquabid.com has cheap packages and you can check out r/aquaswap.


Read this to learn how to cycle.

Here is the easiest way to cycle.

I am running a Sun Sun HW-304B in a 55 gal and its been going strong for over a year, friend of mine has 3 of the same filter with no issues and he got his first 2 years before me. I don't know if it will last as long as an Eheim but it keeps my tank clean through overstocking and light maintenance schedules when i get busy. At the price i dont know if you can really do better unless you spend at least twice as much.

Cool. Maybe getting a sponge filter is good since it's good to learn other filtering options. It seems like sponge filters need some air pump and airline (please correct me if I am mistaken).

Would the following, airline and pump, be the only additional things I need?
https://www.amazon.com/Penn-Plax-Aquariums-Flexible-Standard/dp/B0002563MW/ref=pd_bxgy_199_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0V8RYSC7JNHZTRN6D913

https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-77851-Whisper-Pump-10-Gallon/dp/B0009YJ4N6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511318178&sr=8-3&keywords=air+pump+fish

I would suggest the Aqueon, or better yet get an AquaClear. Actually, for a 75 I would suggest getting a SunSun 304B canister. You'll thank me later.

But yeah, for a 75, you're looking at 650+ pounds. More with rocks and substrate. So you're going to need a heavy duty stand that distributes the weight evenly across the floor- i.e. not on 4 legs.

If you dont give a shit about how it looks, just a simple wall of cinder blocks with some joined 2x4s on top would work and be cheap. If you do care, you're gonna want to not skimp on your stand. Order a high quality stand from Petco, Petsmart, or another online retailer.

You can have the best fish tank in the world but if you put it on a wonky stand, you might as well just spill the tank over yourself and get it over with.

I've been looking at this light ( seen a lot of success with it on insta )

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07236CXBQ/

What i'm really looking for with this is being able to have some success with carpeting plants and possibly growth coming out of the tank depending on what I put in there

You can change the water quickly and easily with one of these http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Water-Changer-Feet/dp/B000YAJKL6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1409009786&sr=8-1&keywords=aquarium+water+changer

It hooks up to your faucet and uses a venturi to suck the water out of the tank. Turn a valve to fill the tank. Done.

If you are cheap like me you can make your own out of a water bed water changer and some hardware store fittings and garden hose. Works great!

I bought this one http://www.amazon.com/Rps-dfk-Waterbed-Drain-fill/dp/B000FT2PUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-1&keywords=waterbed++drain+fill

This one has a better picture http://www.amazon.com/Waterbed-Mattress-Fill-Drain-Kit/dp/B001QTMTNA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409009927&sr=8-3&keywords=waterbed++drain+fill

I actually will support SunSun- good quality for cheap. This one is great for your tank, I just ordered one too

K man, I got the Marineland penguin 350. I'm about as frugal as they come. I got 5 cories, a bristlenose pleco, 8 cherry barbs, 8 cardinal tetras, 8 Rummy nose tetras, and an apisto, and it's been great.

Marineland Penguin Power Filter, 50 to 70-Gallon, 350 GPH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009IMDQM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_g3k6Cb1M3QRTZ

Just gotta make sure your water is filled up pretty high. Then it's quiet.

Thank you for the very detailed response!

So far I have only bought a Fluval 25W heater. I am planning to put this in the pump compartment. I hope it will be sufficient. Otherwise I will upgrade to a 50W compact heater. The ambient temperature in my basement can drop to 60F when we are at work on a cold day. 25W might end up being insufficient.

I am waiting for the Spec V to go on sale here in Canada.

You are right about modding the tank. That is a big part of the experience. I would like to buy the upgraded 3rd party media basket but it runs close to $50. I think I will run it with the stock filter except I will swap out the charcoal media out for ceramic on day 1.

My biggest question right now is about lighting. I have been looking at purchasing two Fluval PCL13s. Do you have any experience with that light by any chance? Or should I get the LED light by Fluval? I am not looking forward to cutting pieces out of the lid to make the light fit. But I don't believe there is any way around that...

The SunSun Filters seem to be the best bang for your buck but I never had them. I have had a fluval 405 for years and I love it but the next one will be a sunsun its half the price.

Sunsun 302

I've heard nothing but good things about finnex lights. I was also in the market for an led strip and researched for a couple days before purchasing one. I went with the finnex planted it has a 24/7 day/night cycle which is awesome in my book.
Heres a link if you're interested:
https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Planted-Automated-Aquarium-Controller/dp/B00U0HMWLI/ref=s9_simh_gw_g199_i1_r?_encoding=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=61C6JK3C2YA922GZZ7ZT&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=a6aaf593-1ba4-4f4e-bdcc-0febe090b8ed&pf_rd_i=desktop

350$ is more then enough, for a 5 gallon tank. The bigger the tank the less the water quality fluctuates which makes it better for the fish and easier for you to look after. I would advise getting a 5gallon over the 2 gallon.

Read this: http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles_51/fishless-cycling-article.htm

and this: http://www.firsttankguide.net/fishlesscycle.php

These 2 links are the most important part of keeping an aquarium. Please read at least one of them before you buy any fish!!!

Keep in mind you can buy most of this stuff used on craigslist for 1/3 of the price, but I'll link you some options for new 5 gallon tanks.

http://www.amazon.com/Marina-Style-Glass-Aquarium-Kit/dp/B0035HBFWM/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1412914315&sr=1-4&keywords=5+gallon+aquarium

http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-5-Gallon-Black/dp/B0089E5VLC/ref=sr_1_20?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1412914315&sr=1-20&keywords=5+gallon+aquarium

You will probably need a heater -30$, gavel vacuum -15$, water conditioner -20$, nutrafin or api master test kit -40$. ( I recommend nutrafin over api, if your city's tap water contains chloramine)


Things you can keep in a 5 gallon:

Option 1:

• Siamese fighting fish
  
• 2 nerite snails or 5 amano shrimp( make sure they are over 1/2 when you add them)
  
  
  Option 2:
  
  
• 15 cherry shrimp
  
• 3 nerite snails
  
  
  Option 3:
  
  
• 5 Boraras brigittae they get (.7 inches)
  
• 7 cherry shrimp
  
  Here is some info on boras brigittae: http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/boraras-brigittae/
  
  
  
  

Several questions about my 55(ish) gallon freshwater tank:

1. I have a marineland filter ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009IMDQM). Right now, it is just using the intake it came with. I am considering getting an under-gravel filter (I was thinking this one? https://www.amazon.com/Undergravel-Filteration-Bottom-Circular-Aquarium/dp/B00ZUIRGOU ) Would it be possible to connect that setup to my current filter? How would I do that?
   
2. So when I replace the filter, I would probably completely overhaul the tank. I currently only have 2 5 gallon buckets; I was thinking that I'd fill those from the existing water and put the fish (I have about 20 guppies, tetras, and other small community fish) into one of the buckets. Would it be safe to have those fish in that bucket for 2-3 days while I let the temperature adjust with the new water? And would adding the 10 gallons of old water to 45 gallons of new (RO filtered) water with some bacteria starter and conditioner be OK?
   
3. I plan to wash the gravel and decorations, clean the tank, rearrange the plants, put in the under-gravel filter, and better position the air stone (a 12 inch bar). Is there anything else I should consider doing at this time?
   
   Note: my biggest problems right now are filthy gravel and a high alkaline and PH that I can't lower.

I have the stock light that came with the tank and this. That is dwarf hair grass, and the fluval light seems to be strong enough to grow it. Also, thank you. :)

I had a Used XP-L,, in my experience.. the best bang for your buck filter is this one..

http://www.amazon.com/SunSun-China-HW-304B-External-Canister-Sterilizer/dp/B008986EQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449086307&sr=8-1&keywords=sunsun

i one one running close to 3 years and still going strong.

I used only ZooMed's, it is not marked as betta safe, and even if it was, it should be true: it will not kill betta... See reviews on Amazon for both: logs and betta hammocks.

That's good to hear, so they're the same as the SunSun models?
I found this:
http://www.amazon.com/SunSun-HW-304B-External-Canister-Sterilizer/dp/B008986EQO/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

It appears to have a higher flow rate than the Penn Plax Cascade's in
my price range. Seems like a good deal

You are going to need to up your filtration if you plan to get more fish (it would make sense with more space) I would reccomend 2 of these! http://www.amazon.com/SunSun-HW-304B-External-Canister-Sterilizer/dp/B008986EQO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394340840&sr=8-1&keywords=sunsun
That is what i have on my 125 and they are awesome for a fairly good price.

+2 for the Fugeray (mine's the 16") - it rests well right over the opening in the lid.

http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-FugeRay-Planted-Aquarium-Moonlights/dp/B00GH9HSC6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417812192&sr=8-1&keywords=Finnex+FugeRay+Planted%2B+Aquarium+LED+Light+Plus+Moonlights

I felt a little silly at first spending so much on a light (I'm still new to all of this) but good lawdy there's a huge difference in the quality of light between what came with the V and the Fugeray. I'm still cycling but the plants are off to the races under the new lighting.

Well, at a certain size people start recommending a sump/refugium. A sump of 20 gallons is a so much more capacity for filtration than a HOB could ever be. But they are more difficult to setup.

If I were going to use a HOB for a tank that large, I might just use two of these
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000260FUW/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_m8Ovxb3MWMDGV

"But why?" you might ask. Two reasons. First it meets the capacity requirements in excess of 40 gallons and better circulates the tank. Second it provides redundancy in case one filter goes down. Another filter you might look at is sponge filters for power outages. Can be used on a battery operated pump and simple to use
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051XIN78/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_YaPvxbRNYX7J2

You might go the route of canister filter.
This actually doesn't meet the requirements of circulating your total volume ten times in an hour, so be aware of that. A 100 gallon tank might use two of these. Again redundancy is a beautiful thing.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015JMQRNC/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_QdPvxbAH4274M

I was able to snag an aquarium friendly sponge from the PetCo by me. Yeah just stay away from the carbon lol. If one day you need carbon you can throw a little bit of carbon in a stocking in the filter.

Here is the [light I used] (https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Planted-Automated-Aquarium-Controller/dp/B00U0HMWLI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484759496&sr=8-1&keywords=finnex+planted+plus+24+7).

Interesting. Right now my Betta tank is a pure substrate of black Flourite which the LFS told me was the best for planted tanks.

That tank's about a year old and I've since learned that you're better off mixing the substrate, so my 25g is a mix of black flourite and then some regular stone substrate, I'm not sure if it has a special name.

Am I SOL with that kind of setup unless I resort to CO2 or fertilizers? A total substrate change would be a pretty big job at this point, but if that's what it takes maybe an experiment in the 6g would be a place to start.

Here's a pic of my substrate in the 25g: http://imgur.com/BolXo6o

Two questions:

What scissors do you guys use to trim plants in the aquarium? I have a 10 gallon with some dwarf sag that I desperately need to tame down.

Also, what heater would you guys recommend for a 10 gallon? I had this one about a year or two ago but was curious which ones you guys liked.

It looks like it's under a different name now but it's the Asta 20 from Amazon. Kessil knockoff? Maybe. But good light for cheap.

Hm. After 8 months, a cycle should be established, unless you added a BUNCH of new fish all of a sudden or added new chemicals. What kind of filter do you have? If you have filters with cartridges, those can be responsible for mini cycle crashes after you replace them, because you basically throw a lot of your nitrifying bateria out with them. Ideally you should have a 3 stage filtration filter with bio media (bio media doesn't get replaced or cleaned, it just hosts bacteria.) I highly recomment AquaClear hang-on filters

I recommend some real plants too. They consume the nitrates produced after the bacteria consumes ammonia.

The filter's good! It'd be too stressful to forgo the filter and have to do 100% water changes to keep up.

Awww, pretty! :] Look here or here for the betta log. There are tons of places to find them, though.

FIRST OF ALL: Good on you getting a proper tank for your betta!

Here's what I would do with this tank. Take what you want from it.

Lighting: Finnex Stingray Aquarium LED Light, 20-Inch https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NAFQ6FK/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_QuphybE4CPE6A

I'd get a timer for the light and set it for 8 hours a day.

Substrate: Flourite Black, 7 kg / 15.4 lbs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0019J0ISU/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_nxphybZM3Y2ZD

And add plants. I think moss would be a nice plant to add with that light as well. Maybe every now and then dose some ferts. I think I see a box to which is a filter. So I'll leave out my filter of choice.

If this were my tank for a betta I'd do this (:

Craigslist probably has a good amount of tank options especially in the bay area. San Francisco water should be fairly clean, test it to find out what it is out of tap most people will just use a de-chlorinator water conditioner
or you can get a reverse osmosis machine (RO/DO)

I have found that petco and petsmart actually have decent tank stands and some tanks but just google search aquarium stores in your area here is one but its concord I do not know where in the bay area you are so that may be a long drive.

You may find bowfronts are what you would like if you want depth, otherwise I would just call up places in the area for square acrylic tanks.

I've stopped using aquarium gravel because of this. It may be they are eating the paint off or the paint may be just flaking off.

Before you just "get sand" make sure you know what type it is, some can affect your PH. Natural small stones are a favorite by me. If you want to stay with black, this is an option, and works well with planted tanks.

http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Planted-Automated-Aquarium-Controller/dp/B00U0HMWLI

Really good light but the 24/7 is that it goes through a light cycle, sunrise day sunset night and so on, and it's really pretty to look at when you wake up in the morning and it's a sunrise in your tank.

No problem! I'm sure your betta will make it fine through the cycle with some of the old substrate. Betta are pretty tough. Just make sure to do small water changes everyday to keep ammonia and nitrite down.

I got the log off Amazon. My betta uses it often so it was certainly money well spent. If you decide to get it, consider adding this to the cart as well. It is what most people use to test their water and is much more reliable than strips. You can find both the log and the kit at Petsmart but I find that it's cheaper to buy on Amazon.

Right now the ammonia is down to 1 ppm- maybe a little over 1 but not as high as 2. That's a great sign.

Maybe I do need a second filter. I'm using this one:

MarineLand Penguin Power Filter, 50 to 70-Gallon, 350 GPH https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009IMDQM/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_PizLBb1DFEXS2

I think thats fair! This is the one I got This is the original then yeah?

That filter is rated for aquariums up to 25 gallons.


You said "4ft" tank, so I assume it's a 55g?

You typically want to OVER filter a goldfish tank. They are dirty fish. I don't think adding a sponge filter will be enough to give you Adequate filtration for them.

You would be better off saving up and getting a HOB filter. Maybe check out some of the cyber Monday sales. This one here would work and is pretty cheap right now, there are tons if other good deals going on as well.

In the mean time, just up the frequency of water changes to keep them healthy. If it's just the 2 goldfish, a 30 - 40%
partial once a week should be do it , but you can just test your water to figure out exactly how much/often it's needed.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0191EWII2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_82WyKjnWP6HSc. I got this one and works awesome on my tanks 1 fresh 1 salt and is extremely cheap

well if you the cash one of the best led fixtures right now would be this

The crowd favorite seems to be the Fluval Spec V which has a good light and filter. You would just need a heater and substrate.

The reason I'm building my own is because I have specific space requirements and a canister filter that I want to accommodate for. The cost of the glass was only $40 so it made total sense for me.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GH9HURE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1426797270&sr=8-1&keywords=finnex&dpPl=1&dpID=31MmMuKXM9L&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

I know it's still out of budget but it's like $10 more! I run these in multiple tanks. It's beyond worth the money!

Petco currently has a $1 per gallon sale up to 29 gallons, I believe. If you wanted a bigger aquarium now'd be a good time to get a bigger aquarium. Your choice of fish is very limited with a 5 gallon. You can either get a betta or some shrimps.

Take your time and do research. No need to rush. It's always better to do your research and go to a pet store knowing what you want rather than impulsively buying anything. Most pet store staff also generally don't know much more than the average person about fish so take anything they say with a grain of salt.

EDIT: You need an airpump, not an air stone for the sponge filter! That's a really big mistake I made.

These are what I ordered for my 20 gallon aquarium, the size of the air pump is what matters so get a 10 gallon air pump for your 5 gallon aquarium unless you decide to upgrade. I'm also on a budget so these seem to be the best items for those on a budget

Sponge filter:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0051XIN78/ref=psdcmw_2975472011_t2_B005VAFGKI

Air pump:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0009YJ4N6/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I35X82DPLWBEQ2&colid=74EPT83Y85GU&th=1&psc=1

Air tubing:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002563MW/ref=pd_aw_fbt_199_img_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=C7MX7DQQ39GFPW8XDMM3

Hmm, quite the predicament. Here is a solution that might work for you (this is for the goldfish)- go to a local hardware store or tractor supply or landscape store and try to find an all purpose tub, storage tote, or practically any large container, somewhere around 30-50 gallons. Most of these tubs are fish safe, and are very cheap. For filtration use a large sponge filter and pump which are a very cheap and a effective alternative to normal filters. I wouldn’t worry about heat at the moment as this is meant to be temporary, and goldfish can handle it briefly. I wouldn’t but any decorations or substrate in the tub, just leave it bare. This setup is actually widely used in the goldfish hobby, so it’s a great choice.
Here’s the supplies list on amazon for your convenience, but keep in mind you could also go and look for these products cheaper elsewhere and don’t have to be the exact ones

Sponge filter-
Bacto-Surge High Density Foam Filter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GOFPX9I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_D0G6AbC8B1HRS

Pump-
VicTsing 80 GPH (300L/H, 4W) Submersible Water Pump For Pond, Aquarium, Fish Tank Fountain Water Pump Hydroponics with 5.9ft (1.8M) Power Cord https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EWENKXO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_J2G6Ab01249QW

Air tube-
Penn Plax Airline Tubing for Aquariums –Clear and Flexible Resists Kinking, 25 Feet Standard https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002563MW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_l3G6AbXFY7BEV

Plastic Tub-
Rubbermaid Commercial FG424300BLA Structural Foam Stock Tank, 50 Gallon Capacity https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NPBLAU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_U5G6Ab4CHSP90

Cycling biology-
Fluval Biological Enhancer for Aquarium, 8.4-Ounce https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FPIZ8Y0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_26G6AbAR5QBRK

I bought an Aqueon water changer. I don't have enough water pressure at my kitchen sink to use it just yet. The previous owner had a reverse osmosis system under there that is mucking things up.

Anyhow, I cut the hose at about 8 feet to use manually for now (I'll splice it back together once I resolve my water pressure situation). It cleans my gravel fast enough in that I don't have enough water removed from the tank by the time the gravel has been cleaned, so it does a good job (it's only a 40 gallon tall though).

From what I've read, you can pre-treat your tank with enough for the entire tank, and then figure out what temperature your tap water should be based on trial and error, and then you just vacuum the gravel and replace the water with the same device without using any buckets.

It's probably the best bang for your buck at $25. You could splurge more and go with the Python or better, but from the reviews I've read, the Aqueon is good enough.

This is a copy/paste from another thread I did on this tank:

Hey!
So I was in your boat 3 months ago and with the help of some local saltwater guys I got my tank up and running. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT9FtqEUfgE[1] (looks a lot different now since i did some rescaping... I'll put a new video up soon)
Anywhosel... Don't go cheap... With anything... If you have to buy one piece at a time until you've got all your pieces do that. What I have:

Tank: http://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-5-Gallon-Black/dp/B0089E5VLC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392354430&sr=8-1&keywords=fluval+spec+5[2]

Lights: http://www.amazon.com/Current-USA-Marine-Aquarium-24-Inch/dp/B00GFTK7CQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1392354461&sr=8-4&keywords=orbit+usa+lights[3]

Pump: http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Mini-Jet-Powerhead-VERSION-Misc/dp/B009LN1HWW/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1392354739&sr=1-1&keywords=mini+jet+606[4]

Powerhead: http://www.amazon.com/EcoTech-Marine-VorTech-Propeller-Aquarium/dp/B003HLO636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392354535&sr=8-1&keywords=vortech+mp10[5]

Gravity Tester: http://www.amazon.com/Salinity-Refractometer-Aquarium-Seawater-Agriculture/dp/B005ES6MOQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1392354641&sr=1-1&keywords=Refractometer[6]

Glass Cleaner: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0061PIRGW/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=20GUT5T0T21NZ&coliid=I1FAC5MICMTB5T[7]

I had freshwater fish before the saltwater and it's wayyy more maintenance but way more fun. You will want to abandon the freshwater the moment you get the saltwater up and running.

IF you plan on getting root tabs I'd recommend finding someone on a forum selling osmocote root pellets, they're a lot cheaper and a lot less mess than say flourish root tabs. If you have shrimp and you are dosing nutrients, be it EI or other ferts like the picture you posted be careful with how much iron you dose because it can kill shrimp, same with copper.

I used this light on my 2.5 gallon and it worked pretty well, it should work fine for a 5 gallon as well.

If I may make a recommendation; buy some of that stuff from amazon. You'll save some money. These are Amazon's prices:

• Aquaclear 50 - $29.60
  
  
• API master test kit - $23.99
  
• Tetra whisper (20gal) - $10.99
  
• 25 feet airline tubing - $5.24
  
  etc
  

First of all thanks for the response.

Some of that article was a bit technical for my current understanding, but I think I see what they mean about hitting ranges that are beneficial for photosynthesis but not as much for algea - and the fact that visible light doesn't equate to a plants needs.

I took a look at the brand you mentioned and found one that specifically calls out the 660nm PAR.

http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-FugeRay-Planted-Aquarium-Moonlights/dp/B00GH9HURE

Do you think the light above may suit my current needs? (36'')

I had a 29 gal high (18 inches tall, about 16" with substrate) I was using 4 cfls with no reflector and it was fine. Later I upgraded to a finnix planted+ (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GH9HSC6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and noticed a huge boost in growth. It costs about $90 for the 30" version, the one I bought. I really like it and can recommend it enough, but I do realize it can be out of some peoples price range.

You might want to look into buying less dilute conditioner – Aquasafe uses 50ml to treat 100l, API uses 5ml to treat 114l.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/API-Tap-Water-Conditioner-473ml/dp/B004LO9KSY/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1463399045&sr=1-1&keywords=api+tap+water+conditioner

not sure where you're getting your prices. I got two decently reviewed powerheads for $14, a skimmer for $100, $40 for 10lbs of live rock and another $60 for 20lbs of non-live rock.
And then i got your basic run of the mill filter for $30

Got pretty much all of this on amazon. I'm sure the local fish shops would charge up the a$$ for this stuff... Do you think I need any other filtering other than what i'm linking to below?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009IMDQM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Coralife-05271-Super-Skimmer-65-Gallon/dp/B000BJNL6A/ref=sr_1_22?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1480323303&sr=1-22&keywords=saltwater+sump

Being a maker, I know it's hard to hear, but you're better off just buying something made for a planted tank. You really have to worry that the LEDs are in PAR range and cheapo high-wattage LEDs are often outright lies (see). I have a Finnex Planted Plus and it's great, but most importantly of all, it Just Works.

Until all that came out was clear water at least 3 times? Because It took me way more than 3 to get clear water .


EDIT. How I did it was.

5g bucket, about 1/6 full of gravel, add water as I stir, pour water out. repeat until water comes out clear a minimum of 3 times. Repeat until it's all done. This is my gravel not sure if it makes a difference.

Air pump Air line Filter

Sponge filters really are the best when it comes to shrimp tanks. I would only do a betta if you added a fish, but you also run the risk of the betta eating the shrimp. Ghost shrimp or neocaridina would be great.

Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!

Here are your smile-ified links:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0191EWII2/

---

^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot

I use these. If you got two, you could have a ton of fish and still maitina great water quality. http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Penguin-Power-Filter-70-Gallon/dp/B0009IMDQM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418408571&sr=8-1&keywords=350+penguin

An LED fixture would replace the fluorescent fixture. The upfront cost is quickly offset by savings on electricity and replacement bulbs. If your tank is 24" deep or less, I would suggest these. If you need a light brighter than the sun for a very deep tank then you may look at this instead - be careful though, the brightness on the Ray2 can overwhelm many plants.

try this
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0191EWII2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_Q4SFzbGZVASP7
i just ordered the larger size for my new 20 long and its great. much more affordable too

These Lumini Asta 20 lights are great for nano tanks. You might be able to get away with one light depending you your tank's dimensions and your plants' light requirements. If you need high light, get two.

Get this. it's dimmable and mine works great.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07236CXBQ/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have the three stage version of This on my 55 gallon tank. They are super cheap and get the job done quietly. The 4 stage should be plenty for 75 gal.

If you want something cheap, grab this light.

Otherwise I really like finnex lights. The stingray should work fine for a low-tech tank.

I haven't used it personally, but I've heard good things about the Finnex Planted + 24/7 : https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U0HMWLI/ref=asc_df_B00U0HN1DG5419634/?tag=hyprod-20&creative=394997&creativeASIN=B00U0HN1DG&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167154348866&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3111673664299888318&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012430&hvtargid=pla-305313603279&th=1&psc=1

Low light plants

Really nice light (assuming this is a 29 gallon?)

OK Light

Ahh okay, be careful with used tanks. Inspect the seals and make sure they're all intact and not coming off. Ideally, the guy would fill it to show that it still holds water too.

A drop checker is an indicator of how much CO2 is in the tank. Here's an explanation of how they work:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/26-planted-tank-faq/136571-~explanation-how-drop-checker-works~.html

I'm not sure how well this one would work on a 20g long (the output might be too strong), but it's certainly a cheaper option:

https://www.amazon.com/SunSun-HW-302-3-Stage-External-Canister/dp/B00892EN22

Mine loves this

Kind of like the Fluval Spec V idea?

I'd get a Fluval Spec V. It's a 5 gallon all in one. It will be good for a single betta.

​

https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-5-Gallon-Black/dp/B0089E5VLC/ref=sr_1_2?gclid=CjwKCAjw04vpBRB3EiwA0Iieasb_yECQmx7hihQMBdHwNu5-gb419jVAYSHApZGrpSVqXhK68zMAHBoC5YgQAvD_BwE&hvadid=178532195030&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1014221&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t1&hvqmt=b&hvrand=8640727061942101560&hvtargid=kwd-69101103695&hydadcr=16135_9891773&keywords=fluval+spec+v+aquarium+kit+5-gallon&qid=1562629939&s=gateway&sr=8-2

Pythons are an aquarium owner's dream! Worth every penny. Here's the one I have.

I actually just purchased this

I hope this is better!

I got this for my 5.5 gallon. Works good so far. https://www.amazon.com/Hydor-Submersible-Glass-Aquarium-Heater/dp/B00061UQ6G

https://smile.amazon.com/Fluval-Spec-Aquarium-5-Gallon-Black/dp/B0089E5VLC

Be patient and you can find them for less, I got mine for around $50, and it's the new version not the old version, the only real difference is the light is much better on the new one. If it comes in a white box it's the old version, black box is the new version, so if you find one locally that is how to tell.

I hear bettas are a good fish for fish bowl, dosent even have to be a fish bowl get one of those small aquarium at wal-mart or so like these, these still give the ecosystem as a big fish tank compressed 10x small and tidy.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004QSV8XK/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1396561296&sr=8-2&pi=SX200_QL40

Or any fluorescent desk lamp should be fine as long as you have fairly low light plants. :)

Keep in mind that 15W CFL will produce much more light than a 15W incandescent.

My 5gal has a Fluval PCL13 that works like a charm. It's not a full hood, but it looks rather stylish.

Filter http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008986EQO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421121421&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=31fg9kdaJ9L&ref=plSrch

1st level http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B50UPE0

Put this on top of the other floss http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002HBLUE

2nd level http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002Z7VAK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421121104&sr=8-1

3rd level http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000R31KH2

With http://www.amazon.comgp/aw/d/B0006JLVUI inside of http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002X6F7AW put on top of the other media

4th level 2 packs of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NRVLIU

Here is my layout, if I were to redo it I would have made the last 3 eheim pro. For the media I would have used the floss it came with at the bottom just rip it vertically, then foam, then the fine floss.

Overall I rate it 4.5 out of 5, sometimes it is hard to prime.

This one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0191EWII2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7I1lzbDRETJ8A

If yeah, what size?

Ah just airline tubing, like this

Ugg yeah I know! I remembered that after set up and I just didn't have it in me to do anything about it. Survival of the fittest this winter - I'll correct it for next time.

I do have the plants planted in this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0019J0ISU?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Would you suggest the Python brand itself over say, the Aqueon water changing system? The look pretty much the same but Aqueon is $27.99 vs $39.99. Or does it not really matter?

http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Water-Changer-Feet/dp/B000YAJKL6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1419183036&sr=8-3&keywords=python+water+changer

Sorry your NatGeo ones keep breaking. :( This is the filter I have, SunSun HW-302

I know it's the "cheaper" brand, but mine has been running since September 2013 and I haven't had any problems with it. It still runs quiet, doesn't leak, and simple to assemble. My only complaint was that the instructions that it came with were not for the model I bought, so I had to find a YouTube video to figure it out because it was my first canister filter, haha

Were you monitoring the ammonia levels while you did it?

Im not sure why your levels are so wonky either, like others said it doesnt sound over stocked..i have a tank with 2 adult axies and my levels have never gotten that high!

Im not sure how your filter looks, but you should try the HOBs that are 3 parts that can be changed/rinsed independently. One of those parts you can even change to be absorbing excess ammonia (what i do for my axies)

Ammonia piece: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003025AVO/ref=sxl1?qid=1465797788&sr=1&refinements=p_89%3AFluval&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65

The type of filter it fits in: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000260FUW/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1465797869&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=Fluval+HOB&dpPl=1&dpID=41Rr1kpTVOL&ref=plSrch

this just to make sure nothing is there that shouldn’t be.

99% sure it was this one: Nicrew LED Aquarium Hood Lighting Fish Tank Light for Freshwater and Saltwater, Blue and White Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0191EWII2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YFiCxb3YJHNTV (on mobile, sorry)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0027ITKBS/ref=pd_aw_sim_199_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=BZB4SV63TNRGAHYRCDMD


Yep.

Filter
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008986EQO/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421121421&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=31fg9kdaJ9L&ref=plSrch

1st level
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B50UPE0

Put this on top of the other floss
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002HBLUE

2nd level
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0002Z7VAK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1421121104&sr=8-1

3rd level
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000R31KH2

With http://www.amazon.comgp/aw/d/B0006JLVUI inside of http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002X6F7AW put on top of the other media

4th level
2 packs of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NRVLIU

http://smile.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Water-Changer-Feet/dp/B000YAJKL6/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1422713821&sr=8-16&keywords=tank+cleaning+pump There is this, I have it and it works well. Haven't had any issues so far.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0191EWII2/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1538367765&sr=8-4&keywords=fish%2Btank%2Blight&dpPl=1&dpID=41N2Hjf5VxL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1 and would this light work for that tank and lid as well

This is true. The only reason I ask is because the Sun Sun canisters come with a UV sterilizer in them. I guess a bucket, motor and UV light is hard to screw up. Was thinking about getting the 5 stage for my 55. the 304B

Here's the Amazon price history.

amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Planted-Automated-Aquarium-Controller/dp/B00U0HMWLI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1537453976&sr=8-3&keywords=finnex+planted+plus+24+7+cc

Finnex is the way to go. You won't regret getting one of these.

These fake ones are fantastic

If you don't feel like spending $40 on one, there's always the Aqueon brand alternative that does the same thing. It's over $10 cheaper on Amazon, and per the reviews it's actually more durable. I don't know enough about the products to speak for those reviews, but that's what they say.

Here it is

If you do not already own one of these you should buy it now. That is a big tank so I understand that changing the water is a pain.

http://www.amazon.com/Aqueon-Aquarium-Water-Changer-Feet/dp/B000YAJKL6

Super easy water changes with no buckets and no water leaking.

You'll need the sponge some airline tubing and an air pump.
Then just hook it up. Different sponge being used by same concept

I live in New Zealand if I buy this and this will they work in my electrical wall sockets?

Here is the mobile version of your link

using microbes in a bottle speeds up the process! https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-116012300-Stability-500ml/dp/B0002APIIW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520274423&sr=8-1&keywords=seachem+stability

I think I do! It doesn't say Theo on the box, but this is the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00061UQ6G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'll keep an eye on my parameters (as always), but I also have a Penguin 350 that I got with my tank that hasn't been used yet.


Though, I have been thinking of upgrading to a canister.

Aqueon water changer I can change about 40 gallons a week from my 4 tanks in less than in hour.

Beta log: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0027ITKBS/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa_HzTVAbSXTKKHK