# 20 gallon setup



## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

I know, you get this all the time probably. I tried to do a search, but it timed out on me a couple times, so thought I would just try to post, and avoid the flying food 

In anycase, I am looking to get a 20 gallon aquarium setup. But to be honest, I have no clue on what is needed. Or rather, what brands of equipment. I have seen several 'kit's and such, but wanted to ask first.

I know I need a filtration system, heater, pumps, ect. as I have read a few sites and stuff. But can somebody give me a breakdown of what I need, brands, sizes, ect, for a 20 gallon tank. I am looking at a 20 high. I may possibly et a 29 gallon instead, all depends on how much I need to shell out to get things rolling.

It is going to be a basic tropical tank, with community fish. Probably some tetras, swordtails, mollies, those type of fish.

Thanks in adavance, my appolgies if this is asked all the time. I did try to search!!


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

first and fore most, read the sticky about the nitrogen cycle. that will really help you understand the first set up of a new tank and what to expect. the first month or two are by far the most important, and you dont wanna kill fish. most of the kits come with decent enough equipment. as long as your not over stocking your tank. an upgrade on any of it would be good, but not nessecary. the more the better with filters and heaters and such. but you can over do it too. (but its hard) filters all work pretty much the same and everyone has their personal preferences. heaters are the same, and with both heaters and filters, you get what you pay for, so if you try to cheap out, youll be getting lesser equipment. so... read the topic i mentioned and get back with us with any new questions.


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

Alright, I bookmarked that. That would have been my next question.

I guess the main thing is, I don't really want to buy a kit, as all the places around here are kinda cheesy, and sell kits like Hartz and other companies, which are more mass produced, generally crap. So I would prefer to buy most of the stuff myself, just not sure what is good or not. And at the same time, I don't want to fork out a ton of money on something high grade, that I don't need for a simple family aquarium. I am not getting into this as a hobby, just want to have a nice home aquarium.

Are there some good brand names I can check out for the various equipment, and / or good sights to order stuff from? When it comes to pet stores, all we have around here is a Petco (which I have very bad issues with here), and a small 'ma & pa' shop, which is nice, but they don't havemuch for fish really.


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## craftyflalady (Jan 25, 2006)

The www.thatpetplace.com for supply's. Their prices are good and they ship really fast. The first place I go when I needed it yesterday! ;-) 

As far as name brands, Marineland is a good one to start with. They make several filters and such that are fairly inexpensive but do the job well. When looking for filtration, go as big as you can afford. You can never have enough filtration! So, even for a 20 or 29 gal, if you can get a filter that will filter up to a 55 gal or larger. You won't be sorry. 

Heaters, spend money here if anywhere. The cheap heaters tend to stick or not keep the temps up where they should be. Could kill all your fish. Your better off with a better heater to start. Vista-them and Ebo-jager are good heaters that I personally never had issue with. The ones at walmart are crap. They are truely a waste of money. 

Hope that helped you some. 

Here are a few other sites I order from on a regular basis. 

www.petsolutions.com
www.bigalsonline.com or www.bigalonline.com { can never remember if the s should be there or not} 

Ask as many questions as you like. It's better to be informed going into this hobby rather than getting in and ending up with problems. Nice folks here always willing to help. 

Good Luck 
Kathy


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

Awesome. Thank you very much. I will go and check out those links.

Anybody know how well the Eclipse Filter systems work? I am actually looking at this setup...

http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=7274&Ntt=eclipse&Nao=10&cp=2&=&sku=588342&familyID=8307&

I have found this same setup a few places, all basically the same price, but that fits in my range quite well. Is that a decent setup? I have seen some good reviews on this setup. Then I just need to get the gravel, decorations, and heater mainly.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Eclipse is not exactly what you'd call top-of-the-line.
Actually, I'm not sure if it's even in the right line!
I wouldn't recommend one as your first tank.

Those kits from WalMart are actually quite good, providing quality equipment at the correct size for the tank. What a concept! A 29 kit would run just under a hundred bucks, I think, and have everything but the gravel. You could add another filter to it for some 20 bucks to boost it up a bit. After that, get some "Bio-Spira" or "Stability" ( neither available at WalMart ) to get your tank up & running in a hurry.


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

I was going to suggest a kit from Walmart as well. TOS is right, a 29 gal is $99.00 and it comes with filter and media, heater, hood with florescent lights, and starter food. to me its a wise choice for someone just starting out. Ive been keeping fish for over 20 years and when I need a new tank, I always buy these kits. LOL


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

I guess I will hit walmart later today then  I always only see 10 gallonkits at mine, but I suppose a road trip to a super walmart is not a bad idea, I do have to do a lot of shopping...lol. Alrighty.

Also, TOS, when you say


> You could add another filter to it for some 20 bucks to boost it up a bit.


 Do you mean add another one (so that there are two, or simply upgrade to another better one?


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

add another one so there are 2, also, if you go to buy any equipment at petco, before you leave the house, go to there website, and find what you want and print out the price, also check petsmart and walmart and everything like that, find the cheapest price, print it, and most stores will price match. if the kit doesnt come with it, get a test kit, for ammonia, nitrate and nitrite, that is gonna be a nessecity for your first tank, and the first couple months as you go through the cycle. also, think if you want a background of any kind before you set it up, because its really really hard to get one on a full tank thats pushed up against a wall.


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Ha! Excellent advice on the test kits & the background.

Yes, I did mean add another one so there would be two. That way you can clean one while letting the other keep working, and then next month clean the other one instead.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

FYI there is also a sticky on many different online stores, wouldnt hurt to browse them, look for something a store near you has, and talk them into matching the price, the large stores like petco have such a high markup usually, that they dont mind comming down to meet their competitors.


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

Yeah, I hit walmart and checked out what they had, and then petco, and a few other stores in the plaza. Ended up ketting a 29 gallon setup with all the needed equipment, and a nice stand for 170$ I ordered another power filter, and some decorations as well this evening, so once I get all my stuff all setup, I will start the cycle.

I have been checking out the gouramis, and think I will have some of them, and probably some clown loaches. Not to sure otherwise yet though.

It is generally 1" of fish / gallon of water right? So I could have around 29" worth of fish comfortably?


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

thats a very strange a loose rule, you cant have a 29" fish in that tank, so the rule doesnt really apply, you could possibly keep 29 1" fish in it, but that might be just a little cramped depending on the fish, get your test kit and check your water ph. dont try to use buffers because those rarely work well, best thing is to buy fish that are suited for your specific water untill you get a little more experienced with it all. have you decided on fish-in or fishless cycling?

and gouramis are great fish... but most prefer to be alone. i think some of the dwarfs can be kept in small groups, not sure though. and the loaches you mentioned do best in groups and a group really wont work in a tank that size, maybe look around a little more and find some smaller loaches if you like them.


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

I will be doing a fishless cycling. That seamed more reasonable to me. I have to pick up some ammonia, and hope to start the cycling on wed or thurs when I have the day off and can get all the stuff setup.

Oh geez, I did not notice till just now that the clown loaches get fairly big. I will have to keep looking around as well. The rainbows look nice too. The only stores around here that have a decent selection of fish is petco, and a smaller LFS, but neither have a real big selection. I'll have to stop by and check what they have then sit down and decide.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Tribal, you will need to be able to perform tests on your water during the nitrogen cycle. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits are available at your fish shop. Don't get paper strip kits, get the liquid type. While you are at it, also get test kits for PH and hardness. You are on your way. Good luck.


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

Ha, I was just looking through kits online and was gonna ask about which type, paper or liquid. Guess that answers that. Thanks.


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## leveldrummer (May 27, 2005)

i gotta say tribal, your doing so much better than i did with my first tank, your on your way to being a great and responsible fish keeper, kudos.


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

Thanks.

Though I made a mistake already...lol

I got everything setup today, got out of work early. I got my kits and all, and the ammonia for the fishless cycle. I went to add ammonia, and I had a small cup with a dropper...and I dropped the cup. So now my ammonia is like 8ppm or more....lol.

So, will it balance itself back out, in that I just wait some time and the ammonia will decrease, or do I need to change the water.

Hopefully I don't need to change the water, as I don't have a bucket yet and had to use a 2qt apple juice container...which took forever, heh.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

LOL. Sounds like me. Unfortunately, you need to change water. You need ammonia down to about 3 ppm. High levels of ammonia are toxic even to the bacteria you are trying to cultivate. ..... Back to the juice container. Like I tell my son all the time..... It builds character.


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

More character it is then...just call me juice boy. Ah well.


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## Tribal (Mar 4, 2006)

OK, several new questions for all you helpful fishy guru's.

1st, I plan on having a planted tank. I have been reading up on it a bit, and will likely be picking up the CO2 dispenser equipment and such. But first I was curious if I could go ahead and put plants in the aquarium while it is cycling (fishless cycle). Will this speed up or slow down the process? The local LFS has plants in there tanks that are already all cycled and stuff, so the plants probably caria some of the bacteria already, or no?

2nd, when cycling, the stickied thread about it mentioned having the ammonia at 3.0. Is 2.0 ok? The only reason I ask, is because the ammonia kit I have, goes from 2.0 to 4.0 on the color chart, and the difference between the two is rather difficult to see. I know I am not at 4.0, and it is much closer to the 2.0 color..hitting between the two is a bit difficult.

And lastly, Killifish. Does anybody have some links for good info on these fish, or more info they can offer? I tested my water ph last night, and it was at 6.9. I have been looking at the clown, patrizi, and golden lyretail. Most of the time I am seeing them for sail, they are in pairs. I am assuming this is a male and female pair? Do the various different killifish get along? Say having a pair of each of those above?

If that is all ok, then I am thinking perhaps the killi, some rainbows (probably Boesemani, though I like the threadfin & celebes, but my ph is a bit high for those I think), and some gold algea eaters. Granted this seems to change everyday, and I have quite some time to decide. But anyway, that is where I stand.

I really like the dwarf gouramis as well, and a lot of sites say they are good starter fish, some say peaceful, some say semi aggressive. Comments I have read state they are aggressive....so I have no clue about those. Any suggestions?

Thanks for everything, you guys have been a HUGE help.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

A planted tank may not need to be cycled at all. Plants consume the ammonia. The key is to have lots of fast growing, health plants, so make sure you check with the plant people ( Simpte, Old salt. there are others ), about the type of plants, light requirements, etc.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

You can get a bucket at walmart or home depot for ~$5


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