# Thinking about the Aqueon 16 Bowfront Tank. Need help on fish, plant, ect. choices.



## Fishy:) (Apr 10, 2010)

Alright, so Ive been researching all about tanks these past couple weeks. Literally, like 10 hours of research. Two nights ago, I was on the computer from 5:30-10:00 researching all about tanks and everything. I stumbled upon this 16 gallon tank, when I had been researching for a 10 gallon. Here's the tank and all about it: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3202494. Good filter? Good heater? Good price? I have a five gallon tank, that has a 50 watt heater, but I have ick fish in there that Im trying to cure right now, so I need another heater for my fish Im going to use in my cycle. 

So I LOVE platies, or pretty much livebearers. I have two female platies in my 5 gallon tank(ich victims) and they have been so hardy!!! Im such a newby that Ive accidentaly been "torturing" them. They have been very patient throughout my entire learning experiment and I just really want to give them a stable, safe home. Anyways, to cycle my tank, I want to get another platy and maybe some other cycling fish. Should I add three? Will that cycle the tank in 3 weeks probably? Later on, I plan to add a male platy, but that will be way in the future, after I get good plant cover and such. I may also get some diferent types of fish later on. What would be some good fish to add to my platy tank later in the future? I kind of want to start breeding platies in the future, just a few times though. I dont want way over the top, too many babies, kind of thing. I just want some little platies that will be "home" born. I think that would be awesome!! I know they will keep breeding and having babies, but Ill just let them eat them. I know that probably sounds cruel, but to me, its better than having an overstocked unhealthy tank. What pH and all of that do platies and livebearers like? Do they like their water temp at 78 f?

Alright, so into the plants we go. Ive never tried a planted tank before and need some help. I really like little clover like mosses such as HC. Is this a demanding plant? If so, should I maybe get another type of moss and what would be a good one? I know I need some tall and medium plants, too, so what would be some good ones? I dont want super growers, just some that I have to prune or so once a month at most. I also have to have them fully submerged, because I will have a hood on my aquarium because Cindy Lu, my cat, drinks the water lol I plan on getting Tahitian Moon Black Sand for my tank and I will use jungle labs plant tabs that go in the sand for nutrients. Do they need this? For wood, I want to get some from around my house. Ill boil it until the water stays clear and it sinks. Will plants grow on this after it has been boiled and such? Oh and what about rocks outside? Can I boil these and then add them to the aquarium? do plants grow on rocks? The lighting will be florecent and will be 50 watts. You can check on the site I gave you in the beginning.


Im sooooooooooooo sorry this is so long!!!!! I just have soo many questions!! And ive gotten such mixed reveiws all around the internet. ITS SO CONFUSING!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Fishy:) (Apr 10, 2010)

Please help


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## Torone (Apr 23, 2010)

I too am pretty new. only in the hobby for about 2 weeks now. one thing i remember reading in multiple locations is that you need about 4 or 5 watts of power for every gallon the tank is (i dont recall which one). so that heater seems like it will be too small. However, i know places like mejier or walmart sell ones that are dirt cheap that seem to work well. I wish you luck on finding a good tank, that one seems good except for the heater.

as to your other things i cant really help with platies or live plants, but i have heard that a good way to cycle a tank fast is to cut a little piece of the filter material and put it in the new filter material. However, since you have fish with ich, that might not be a good idea. I would recommend just doing a full fishless cycle (as to the recommendations of the stickies on these forums) or possibly a fish cycle with some zebra danios or something. They are REALLY hardy, from what i've heard.

hope i was somewhat helpful.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Torone has got the right idea. I would buy a 100w heater for that tank, but you could probably get away with the 50w it has included. I dont much like the Aqueon filters, but that is a personal choice. As for the price, I have never found aquarium kits to be a good price, ever. You could get a much lower price with a rectangular 15g and you own heater and filter of choice. Although if you like the bowfront, I'm not sure you have much choice. Many stores don't sell the small bowfronts by themself.

For cycling I would recommend you go buy a fish or two, and also buy some Seachem Stability. Add the fish and follow the directions on the bottle. The bottle of Stability should make it cycle in a week, but if it doesn't work (which it sometimes doesnt), then you just have to do a regular cycle (3 - 6 weeks). 

Most small community fish will work, just make sure you know how many of them you need. Many small fish are schooling or shoaling fish.

If you want to start breeding, realize that a single female livebearer can have 50 to 100 live babies in one spawn. And they will likely spawn every month. In most aquariums the babies get eaten, but if you plan to save them, you could have too many before you know it. 

Dont mess with pH. The chemicals that change pH are worse for the fish than the wrong pH is. 

Platies, like most tropical fish, like their water 78F - 82F.

A good easy moss to start with is Java Moss.
A good plant that would work well in your tank is Amazon Sword. Java fern is another easy one.

Dont put the nutrient tabs for plants in there, you will just get algae. Those are for more advanced growers.

Boiling the wood is a good idea. Plants like java moss will grow on it after that. Rooted plants need to go in the substrate.

DO NOT BOIL ROCKS. You would have a potential bomb in your house. Small pockets of air or moisture get inside the rock at some point, and when you boil them, they expand. The rocks explode. A better idea to sterilize them, is to boil the water, and put the rocks in a colander. Pour the water over the rocks, killing anything on the rocks, but not heating them up. Plants like java moss will grow on these rocks.

I think I answered all the questions in your post. I hope it helps.

Oh and btw, you will never get ONE correct answer on this hobby. This is confusing for new hobbyists, but its true. Every fishkeeper has their own way of doing it. Its your job to pick what works best for you and do that.


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## Fishy:) (Apr 10, 2010)

Ok thanks so much for all the feed back!! I was looking on petsmart and saw the top fin 20 gallon hood and tank combo. It comes with a florecent light, but I dont know how many watts. I tryed to find a 40 watt light(2 watts per gallon) but i couldnt find ANY that would fit my tank. Should I just get a 20 wat or 15 wat? 1 watt per gallon? would that be enough for hc? Oh and lets say I get the top fin 20 gallon tank. how much airline tubing should I get for that? or if I get the 16 gallon tank how much airline tubing? You can look on petsmart for the tanks and such. Ill have a thermometer in the tank so I can check the temp, so with the 50 watt heater, I may adjust it to get the right temp. For example, I may have to bring it to 82 degrees to get 78 degrees or something like that. Anyway, give me your feed back and thanks a bunch!


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## sonicboomer (Apr 5, 2010)

If you want a tank with plants, you will have to get a better light bulb. Most tank kits don't come with adequate lighting for even low light plants. You'd be spending more on fertilizers and additives..

Plus I think you should do a fishless cycle because 1) it's more humane and 2) you won't be left with any fish who have any problems after cycling.


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## Fishy:) (Apr 10, 2010)

I want better lighting, I just cant find any that fit my tank


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## Fishy:) (Apr 10, 2010)

Im actually going to get a 10 gallon tank. Its easier because I can find everything I want for it. Ill have a 15 watt florecent light in there. Anyway, how much airline tubing should I get? 6 feet, 8 feet, or 24 feet for for a ten gallon tank with dimensions of 20"L 10"-12"W 12"H?


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