I totally agree. To be honest sitting here typing
up a long reply is pretty hard. you want to give
clear, consise information at the same time not
confusing or discuraging new hobbiest. Anytime you change
the conditions in your tank you are messing with the
natural cycle of the tank. you can have a tank that has
been up and running for years and add some fish and
have a problem. so yes I totally agree with what the
last post said. What I was refering to is that after
about 5 weeks (this isnt set in stone but is a safe
estimate) your tank should be totally cycled enough for you
to add the fish you really want to keep. good luck.

I do totally agree with you that for a new
aquarium people need to figure out what fish is their
favorite, and then all the other fish and decisions revolve
around that. Hopefully, they don't want to put an
arowana in a 10g tank they already bought though.

I've often thought of getting into aquariums
etc.. as a hobby . I realize theres probably alot to
learn , as well as a tonne of work to be done to
maintain an aquarium .I will probably lurk around at the
various messages to get as informed as possible before
taking the plunge .<br><br>take care for now .

I've often thought of getting into aquariums
etc.. as a hobby . I realize theres probably alot to
learn , as well as a tonne of work to be done to
maintain an aquarium .I will probably lurk around at the
various messages to get as informed as possible before
taking the plunge .<br><br>take care for now .

the Wild type, or natural color of a guppy is a
very light green, to me there are a clear fish color.
The males have delicate colors (a few dots, black or
red sometime gold. ) Semifancy guppies sometimes have
exjurated fins. I use to love the stop sword and the
doubble sword type. Personally I don't care as much for
the Veiltail types. Which I agree can be delicate
(unless you get a good trio from a breeder).<br><br>/hds/

Hi! I'm a first timer! Well actually I do have a
small tank (2gallon) in which I saved some Aqua Babies,
and a betta in a bowl at work. (I clean his bowl 2-3
times a week). But I'm looking to start my first big
fish endeavor! Either a 29 gallon or maybe even a 55!
I know that's a huge size difference! But I read
somewhere that bigger is better and errors are more fixable
in bigger tanks. So probably the 55gal. Is it better
to get one of the starter kits they sell at
petsmart? Or get the things I need separately? I don't plan
on doing this for a while, I need to save up money,
plus find the best place for my tank. And I still
can't decide what type of fish I want! But any advice
or suggestions would be welcome:) Thanks.

Hey, how's it going?<br> This is Aquariman. First
of all what type of tank are you setting up? Fresh
or salt? Then it's a matter of preference. Do I want
a UGF, hang-on type, or bio-wheel. You'll get
different responses on filters. Myself I have a 90g with
two 500 gpm Aquaclear filters piped into my UGF. This
particular system works for me. I have had this tank set up
for about two and a half to three years and it's
virtually maintenence free. I also have a 27 hex with the
same type of set up. If you go with undergravel you'll
need about 2" of gravel on top of it. I can't tell you
about bio-wheel filters I've never used one. You can
also use a powerhead with the UGF but you have to
periodically tank it out to clean it. With the hang-on all you
do is change the charcoal and mabe rinse out the
sponge. If you decide on the hang-on type I would
recommend that you get two small ones ( not to small
nothing under a 20-40 ) rather than one big one. Reason
is, if you should have a problem with ammonia, you
can put ammo-chips in one and charcoal in the other.
Or, you can leave one alone and it will become a
bio-filter and change the other normally. You don't need to
have a UGF for hang-ons. It just gives you more
filtration going through the gravel. I hope this helps in
any way, and see what other responses you get before
you buy. Good luck .<br><br><br><br> Aquariman :-)

Hello!<br>I just joined. I'm a little new to
aquariums. I had a small aquarium with just a few fish. Now
I have an 85 gallon tank. We just put it up over
the weekend. My fish looked shocked when we first put
them into this large tank; going from a 1 gallon! But
they seem to really love all the swimming room they
have now.<br>I hope to learn about keeping my fish
alive and happy from all of you!!<br><br>Thanks!

I'm planning to set up a 125 gallon tank.  I'm interested in experiences you
folks have had with different filtration systems: what you feel is best and why.
<br>thanx in advance,<br>spanky

Hello Spanky,<br> Aquariman here. I'm not sure
this will answer what your looking for, but I'll try
anyway. I have a 90g with two hang-on filters piped to my
UGF. This works good for me. About four months ago I
bought a 75g salt. It came with a wet-dry filter. I
liked that much better than hang-ons ( appearence wise
only ). The wet-dry is more concealed. Presently, I'm
working on my 250g ( you know how it is when you buy
something used ), which I'm going to use a wet-dry. There
is already a filter there but it's not in to good of
shape, so I'm going to make one out of a 30g. You can
make one of these for under $100.00 easy( depending on
how much you spend for the tank ). With a tank that
size, your going to need something like a wet-dry or
canister filter. Unfortunately, I can't help you with
canister filters. I've never used one. Well,I hope
something I said made some sense to you, GOOD LUCK! and let
us know how your tank is doing and what type of fish
your planning to keep.<br><br><br><br>Aquariman : )

so many possibilities. But it depends on what you
are putting in there.<br><br>But unless your planning
on 200# of live rock you should consider a Biowheel
equipted filter. Either one hooked to a power head, or
perhaps one connected to a canister filter.<br><br>let us
know!

I say "buy whatever is on special".  You could do real well with as little as 2
whisper 300 or penguin 330 type filters, grand total $100.00 at your LFS.  They
all use the same bacteria!

They are all good ideas, do what you like best,
or buy whats on sale, and "study it" so you know its
strengths and weaknesses. I love peoples weird explanations
about how their filter systems is so much better, but
for all the wrong reasons.

I agree with yorfishluvr...do some research, and
buy what best suits your needs. I just set up a 120g
with a Magnum 350 Deluxe canister filter, and I
ABSOLUTELY love it. The tank's been set up for 2 months now,
and the magnum is doing a wonderful job. It's
incredibly easy to clean, and well worth the money I paid
for it. I'm even considering replacing my Penguin 330
and AquaClear 300 that are on my 55g with a magnum
350. Oh, by the way, I am keeping two oscars, two
large fancy plecos, and an albino clown knife in my
120. Good luck, and let us know how it's going!

Hi,<br> I work at Petsmart, and I usually do not
recommend the starter kits, main reason being that the
filter they include in there sucks. Everything else is
good, and the price is good. The heater is the Thermal
brand, very good heater. The filter I recommend is found
at Petsmart only. It is the Proquatics brand. That
is the "store brand", but the filter is actually
made by Hydor, which is a very good company. I had the
120 on my 25g tank and it was awesome, and now I have
my 60g acrylic and I run the 300. My water has never
been anything but crystal clear! I reuse the sponge
part of the cartridge, and replace the carbon. It
works wonderful and everyone I have sold it to so far
loves it too. The 300 is 40 dollars, and the 200 is 30
dollars. Hope that helps!! Just don't go with the Top Fin
filter!<br><br>-T-

Isn't the TOPFIN filter also made in Italy?  and quit perchance, a reboxed clone
of the whisper filters.  Hmmm.  Ever wonder how many filter companies could one
pasta loving country have?

Hey.. I recently just moved.. and decided it was
time to set my aquarium back up.. It is a<br>30 gallon
aquarium.. taller than it is wider.. <br>pretty square
actually.. so here is my challenge<br>because it is so
tall.. I would like fish who dont<br>hide in the rock
and plants and at the bottom all the time.. Here are
the fish/members I would like to have.. and I would
like feedback as to what everyone thinks.. other
suggestions.. i would like alot of color.. movement.. GOLDFISH
are O U T ... they are very dirty.. (to me anyway)...
here is what I would "like" to have..<br><br>angel
fish (some of the yellow and some of those silver and
black striped ones)<br><br>freshwater crab (or
something of the sorts)<br><br>Neons<br><br>and some
Danios.. (I cant remember which one i liked..)<br><br>Any
suggestions/comments are welcome.. Thanks in advance.<br><br>Woody

The angels sound like a great idea, you could
havea few of them in your tank.<br>neons and danios
wouldn't work WITH the angels though, angels are known to
eat neons and the danios are probably too active for
them (might stress them out)<br>although the neons and
danios would be ok with each other.<br>I don't know much
about freshwater crabs.<br>In my 30 gal i have a school
of 6 tiber barbs (3 regular and 3 albino) and they
are constantly moving around the tank at all levels.
i think they are very pretty and colorful fish (the
regular ones are more vibrant than the albino)<br>they
are very active fish and are rumored to nip the fins
of smaller and/or slower fish, but mine leave most
alone (platies, oto cats, all types of catfish)<br>I
hope this helps!<br>and good luck with whatever you
decide on!<br>kelsey

that's a little short sighted.<br><br>Filtration
should generally be tailored to the fish and the
environment your trying to create.<br><br>When your talking
10 gallon aquarium then the 3 standard 'power'
filter choices have little difference. When you move up
to a 15 or 20 then your choices become more
clear.<br><br><br>But a 55 can hold a lot more and lot bigger fish.
Thus you have to consider a great many factors. How
big are the fish. How many fish are you getting. What
kind of fish. Do they produce a lot of waste. do they
eat 'live' food? Can they exist in a 'big water' rush
(ie:strong water). <br><br>My advice is that reguardless of
if you go for a canister or just a powerhead that
adding a biowheel will increase the biological activity
and thus give an added measure of safety.<br><br>If I
were, and I soon am, setting up a fish mostly marine
tank of about 55 gallons I would go with either a
Penguin 330 or even better a Emperior 400, as the basis
of my filtration. I would likely add a pair of power
heads with sponge filters on either opposite corners.
<br><br>For a freshwater I would likely go with a Emperor 240
and a Fluval Canister (202 or 303 depending on fish)
then hook it's output to a Biowheel pro.<br><br>Unless
I was working on a small fish community (neons,
various tetras, etc) then I would use a pair of Penguin
125's and a bubble wall for additional water movement.
Then fill the tank with Sag's or Val's ...<br><br>I'm
setting up a 55 salt and a 55 fresh aquarium(s). The 55
is setup with some live rock, a pair of Biowheel
pro'330. (BTW, Biowheel prow's are only $20 pluss
shipping). <br><br>hope this helps.

Italy does seem to produce a great many aquarium
products.<br><br>Tetra for example and Aqua Systems produce a great many
of their products.<br><br>I guess they don't have a
standard wage law. <br><br>most of the products are first
rate IMHO

Except for the neons, Your angels will eventually
eat them, the others sound fine.<br><br>However
angels and Zebra's are fairly drab in color (sorry, and
I have 3 pairs of angels and have sold thousands).
They are friendly and make great community tank fish
(giving that both will eat very small fish). The angel,
when cared for will grow to atleast 5''. <br>in
general there are 3 zones in a tanK:<br><br>I would
suggest adding a bit of color. Consider:<br>{top
zone}<br>Guppies, Veiltails or common tail. they come in gold, half
black, etc.<br>Platies, dozens of different
colors<br>also Hatchets (they jump) <br><br>for mid tank fish
Barbs are active and colorful.<br>Cherry Barbs are
fairly peaceful in schoals (4 to 6)<br>Tiger Barbs are
less peaceful, can grow large, but are very colorful
and active.<br>others include Anaboids (also
Gourmi's) The are also upper level. <br>The Pear Gourami
(my favorate) is very colorful but grows large. Dwarf
Gorami (males are very colorful), Honey Dwarf's (a bit
small). Ofcourse the Betta.<br><br>For lower zone fish.
<br><br>Clown Loaches are colorful, some are shy
thou.<br>Catfish of the Corydoras genus are colorful. Panda Cory's
are becoming common. Some say the Kuli Loach is
getting scarce but it's colorful and in a community tank
can often be seen. <br><br>be careful not to
overcrowd. I suggest a regional tank with lots of plants.
And fewer fish. <br><br>I wish you luck.

I don't like to give shortsighted information,
especially overly specific advice. What if they live in
Taiwan and all those brands you mentioned arren't
available? What if they change their tank over in 6 months?
What if a fluval 303 is 169.00 and a penguin 330 is on
sale for 39.99 what if the penguin 330 is 69.99. ITS
CALLED ECONOMICS!!!

It is neither wise and often incorrect to give
new aquarium folks "specific" advice. We should teach
them general principles, like we do with children.
That way they can learn. And when they cant' find a
fluval 304 or a bio wheel pro, they won't freak out and
think all is lost cause someone told them they need to
get a fluval 304 and a biowheel pro. THESE FILTERS
ALL USE THE SAME BENEFICIAL BACTERIA. some are easier
to clean, some hang on the side better, some are
better for goldfish, some are union made in America.
Some are easy to get parts for, some have cheaper
replacement pads. Some are on special, some are overpriced,
some last 20 years, some are good for 5 years... think
about that when you choose a filter next time.

I need information on lobsters. I just included a
small red lobster in my 55-gal. Some of the occupants
included are:<br>2 gouramys<br>7 zebras<br>3 black tailed
mollies<br>1 angel<br>1 pleco<br><br>Now my questions
are:<br><br>How is the sex determined?<br>What are their
behavioral habits?<br>Can I have more than one?<br><br>Any
additional info would be appreciated. There have been no
problems so far. The lobster stays really active and loves
to eat the frozen cubes of brine shrimp mixed
diet.<br><br>Thanks!

it is a crawfish really.  they eat anything, including slow dumb bottom fish. 
farmers give them rice straw, sure you can have more than one,

Does it have pincers? If so watch out it will eat
anything in your tank that it can grab hold of. They are
good garbage cleaners, but are really a pain in the
arse if you have valuable fish in the tank.

read the id of the poster I guess would give you
an Idea where they are.<br><br>I work with several
International societies. While there are definately price
differences. Chances are the products I suggest will be
readily available. Many people think of anywhere outside
of the US as primative backward societies. Let me
assure you most are not. While keeping fish does not
have to be an expensive endenvor, Here in the US one
can set up a fine aquarium (for more hardy fish) for
about $25 (with a little ingenunity and some DIY it is
possible to spend even less). <br><br>When branching to
the more demanding fish, one must begin to consider
other alternatives. One should not 'buy what it on
sale' but buy what is needed for the job. It might be
possible to use 'what is on sale'. But usually 'what is on
sale' is something that other hobbyists did not want or
is last years technology. While that might be fine
for hardy less demanding fish. It was my impression
the person asking for comments wanted to go beyond
the run of the mill guppys and neon tetras.<br><br>
Heck I keep most of my guppies in tanks with just
sponge filters, I do regular water changes and use cheep
(visitherm) heaters. The tanks have some plants and some
decorations but each setup cost under $20 (most of that for
the heater). <br><br>My advices is, as always, based
on my experences and are more like 'check out' this
or that. In the end it is the needs of the fish and
the desires of the hobbyist. <br><br>But in any
event, buying 'what is on sale' is definately more
problematic then 'buy the best you can afford' - that meets
your needs. <br><br>I mean 'Wild color' angels are
usually cheeper then Golden Viels. But if you really want
the golden veils buy them (heck if you have to buy 5
veils rather then 6 or 7 wild colors) <br><br>or if
your setting up an aquarium. It is much better to get
a 30 and equipt it properly then a 40 and
skimp.<br><br>that is in personal opinion based on my experences.
Once you gain experence they you can experment on the
cheeper end.

>It is neither wise and often incorrect to
give >new aquarium folks "specific" advice. We
should >teach them general principles, like we do
with >children.<br><br>i agree with only that
general Principles should be part of ones advice. But it
is in my opinion equally inportant to show specific
instruction. I mean one can explain what chicken soup is but
unless one includes a recipe it's not going to be of
much help.<br>--------------------<br><br>And when
they cant' find a fluval 304 or a bio wheel pro, they
won't freak out and think all is lost cause someone
told them they need to get a fluval 304 and a biowheel
pro<br>---------<br><br>These are both very widely available items.
<br><br>------------------<br>THESE FILTERS ALL USE THE SAME BENEFICIAL
BACTERIA.<br>------------<br>Just some do it better then others. Some produce
such
an oxygen rich environment that the
'nitrosoma/nitrobacter' bacteria are far more available per square inch
then others. A Biowheel 170 filters more ammonia to
nitrAte then a 30 gallon ugf with 3'' of gravel. And does
it in 1/4 the space. Does it out of the water
column. A Canister filter while providing some biological
filtration is far better at mechanical filtration. When
combined with a biowheel pro the best of both worlds is
achieved.<br><br><br>----------<br> some are easier to clean, some hang on the
side
better, some are better for goldfish, some are union made
in America. Some are easy to get parts for, some
have cheaper replacement pads. Some are on special,
some are overpriced, some last 20 years, some are good
for 5 years... think about --that when you choose a
filter next time. <br>-----------<br>I fail to see the
point. One relates from ones experence. Then select the
right tool for the job. Spending a little more for the
right tool makes the project more successful. After all
one can dig a swimming pool with a spoon but wouldn't
a back hoe be more efficient.

I guess you see my point! All these filters are
good quality, there are some "cheapo" chinese brands
or some new kid on the block american ones. But do
you know how many times I have heard someone say the
reason their fish died is caause some fish expert said
they had the wrong kind of filter? If they follow the
general rule of thumb of 5 to 10 tank turnovers per hour,
I am 99% percent confident their filter brand won't
kill the fish. Back hoes are great for digging pools,
but in other regions they still use shovels, so it
would be wrong to tell someone they "need a backhoe" to
dig a hole.

Actually it's possible they did have the wrong
filter. But it's far more likely they simply didn't
properly care for the filter (and fish) they had. Even
when the equipment isn't perfect, if the fishowner
stays on top of things they aren't going to lose fish.