i want to get a big fish tank, 30-50 gallons, what should i know to be ready?

Question

for instance, will the tank get dirtier fast if there are rocks on the bottom? how often will i have to clean it? how would i go about cleaning a tank that size? if i move, will it be easy to move the fish and tank? how many fish could fit in that size tank? are some kinds of fish easier to take care of than others? etc.... i just want to know what i would be getting myself into.

in your opinion what are the prettiest kind of fish?

Answer 1

1. Get a complete tank starter kit, it comes with the tank itself, the hood with lightning, a filter, a heater and sometimes with gravel
Things you will also need include:
a gravel siphon (to clean your tank)
a thermometer to check your temperature
any decorations you want to put in there
an Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kit
live plants are healthy for your tank as well as your fish
not necessary but very helpful a timer for your lights

2. Set your tank up with filter (carbon cartridge needs to be washed through with cold water), heater (needs to be washed of with warm water, gravel (needs to be washed before putting it in) and any decorations you have in mind and a couple of zebra danios (they are very hardy fish), and with all that you can start your cycle
Here is a site that discribes it in detail
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cloudywater.php
Follow above directions and you will be fine

3. you can start adding fish when your ammonia and nitrite levels are at "0", and when you nitrate tests shows a raise in the readings, that's the time you will know that your tank is cycled

4. keep your lights only on for 10-12 hours during the day and turn it off for 12-14 hours at night

5. keep your temperature around 76-82 degrees

6. after you have finished cycling and added fish, do weekly partial waterchanges of 25% with the gravelsiphon

7. Feed your fish only what they will eat in a period of 3-5 min twice a day

8. As for what fish you can put in there, here is what I have
5 rasboras
3 dwarf platies (my own breed, the adults have died)
2 dalmatian mollies (plus 10 fry I just found about 1 week ago)
3 cory cats, pepper corys (they are bottom feeders)
6 zebra danios (they are schooling fish)
1 male betta (just added last week and gets along with all the other fish, doesn't even bother my fry)

9. As for the moving NEVER leave any water in your tank when you move it, because it will break
For your fish, suck out the tank water in 4 5 gallon buckets with the gravel siphon and put your fish in there


Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 2

You may want to read up on aquarium cycling. A properly cycled tank is a lot less maintenance than one that is not. Here's a good link: http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Once your tank is cycled, cleaning will consist of small water changes anywhere from weekly to every couple weeks, whenever needed. Along with changing some water, you'll need to vacuum your gravel, and perhaps give the sides of the tank a scrub. If you have an unsightly algae problem, you can take care of that by getting some algae eating fish or snails.

My favorite kinds of fish, right now anyway (because they're what I have) are Mickey Mouse and sunset wagtail platies and black skirt tetras, and also otocinclus catfish, which are the cutest of algae eaters. They only get to be like an inch and a half long, and they're completely adorable. A school of those would be neat in a tank your size.

Answer 3

No the tank wont get dirtiuer faster do to the rocks. It will get dirtier faster depending on the species of fish you choose, how many fish are in the tank, and how much water your filter turns over per hour. In fact adding more rocks increases surface area and in effect makes the tank appear less dirty. You will have to do weekly maintenence on the tank as far as cleaning and changing the water and you should feed the fish 1-2 times daily but just enough so that al the food you put in will be consumed in 2-4 min. How many fish you put in depends on what fish you get. As far as prettiest fish that is just a metter of opinion. personally i like discus fish for freshwater or african cichlids. for a saltwater tank i cant really pick a favorite i find all of them are amazing in thier own right. I have more expierence with saltwater so my answer is biased towards saltwater tanks. If i kept more freshwater/brackishwater fish im sure my opinion would change. hope this helps and good luck.

Answer 4

The best advice I can give you as a marine keeper is do not start a marine tank unless you can do it with at least 30 gallons, that is the minimum that most fish can be kept, there are few that can go in a 10 gallon such as a fire fish neon goby, well most will be a goby of some sort. The biggest concern is how difficult it can be to keep proper water parameters.

Answer 5

I have a 29 gallon and i clean every weekend like on saturday or sunday. You def. should have rocks on the bottem they make it more attractive and I dont think it will make it dirtier you have to rinse the rocks you buy in tap water to get the dirt out before or else bad stuff will get in the water, and cloudiness. I would say clean it every weekend just to be safe. I just use a regular aquarium vaccum for fish tanks dont know what you would use for one that big maybe same thing? It depends on where you are moving too if its far away it might be difficult but still possible. When you move all you do is place your filter media into a bucket/ or in the tank so they dont dry out and kill the beneficial bacteria, drain about 1/2 of the tanks water out enough so your fish (whichever kind you get) to have enough room to breathe and swim in. It depends on the size of the fish you want to get for your tank that will tell you how many you can get here are the rules: 1 inch of fish per gallon, and 1 inch of fish for every 2 gallons in saltwater. There are def. some easier to take care of fish some are aggressive (tiger barbs, etc.) semi aggressive, and peaceful. In my tank I have some pretty fish (well i think they are) I have 6 Black Skirted Tetras(get 2"), 5 Flame Tetras(get 1.5"), 2 Leopard Danios (about 1.5"). Just research EVERYTHING you can get your hands onto before you tackle a tank that size get books i did about all internet reading on fish thier sizes compatibility. Google works great for this info you could search on: Freshwater fish, Aquarium tank care, anything like that ya know?! You also might want to start out with a smaller tank just to get the feel of it, bigger ones=more cost$$ maybe start with a 20-29 gallon :] i wish you a bunch of luck you will have fun!

Answer 6

Well that really isn't a big tank, but no it will not get dirt faster with rocks at the bottom, what kind of fish are you talking about? many fish grow many lengths.

Also what kind of fish are you looking for? small? big? aggressive?

Do weekly water changes of around 15%, pick up one or two, 6 to 10 gallon buckets.

Answer 7

having a big tank is a good idea .if the power gose out the better your chances are that you fish will be ok.
if you have a problem with your water it dose not kill your fish as fast.
but on the other hand a big tank can be a pain to move .
you also tend to put more fish in a big tank witch mean you also tend to over feed.
so keep this in mind but if you clean your tank every 2 weeks youll be ok

Answer 8

its about 1 inch per 1 gallons of WATER. that means if you can pour a 5 gallon bucket of water in ya get 5 inches of fish.

BG : )))

Answer 9

just get ready to clean!.......ALOT!