ATTN: Aquarium Owners
 

I want to have an aquarium in my apartment, yet I know nothing about aquarium ownership.

What are things I should know about? or things I should be aware of? Is aquarium ownership just as easy as buying a tank, fill it up with water? and decorate accordingly? I'm sure it's much more complicated than that.

Another thing is, is aquarium ownership a cost-heavy investment? I mean, I'm not abundant on financial resources, but I was hoping that if I keep my goals about my aquarium modest, my expenses will be modest as well. Is there any truth to it?

Anyways, my goal is to have a nice quaint little aquarium to enhance my apartment. But at the same time, I don't want it too nice that the aquarium maintenance becomes too demanding. I just want to keep it simple and easy to maintain. Is this idea possible?

TIY

it's far more complex than that.

it's a heavy cost investment, and a very heavy time investment.

yeah, you can keep your aquarium cheap, but all aquariums are heavy time investments.

unlike a dog or a cat or whatever, not only do you have to "feed" the fish or provide the correct nutrients to the plants or whatever, lighting, you have to play god.

you have to control every aspect of the mini world. water levels, the water chemical balances, o2/co2 levels, lighting...etc the list goes on.

you'll get algae break outs... etc.

it's a bitch. haha

Well TBH, I'm not really so much into the fish, just mildly. What I want really is to grow plants.

^^^ is the best place.
You'll find all your answers there.

Plants need the right setup.
ie: lights,chemicals,fertilizers,Co2,etc.
It's better to have fish with a planted tanks since their poop acts as a natural fertilizer.

MFK is good too if you're into keeping tanks no smaller then 6' long & 3' wide. LOL
BCA is the best local fish forum IMO, member are very knowledgable,& always willing to help.
If you want to find the best deals on products,livestock,plants,etc BCA is the place to go.

Hey nsmb are you a member there?
PM your SN & I'll do the same.
I don't go there quite as often since I have less time on my hands.

bca is awesome.

plant aquariums are the MOST cost heavy aquariums after reefs i think.

i'll break it down for you.

tank - anywhere from $15-200 (depending on size)
CO2 tank - $150
CO2 regulator - $150
lights (at least 3 watts per gallon) - $50-200 (depending on tank size)
filter - $10-200 (depending on tank size/fish/plants)

this is all inital set up though. other than that you're good.

You can start with a bunch of hardy plants just to get the feel for the game.
Once you get bit buy the bug you'll be spending more on a setup then you would your car.
:D

okay, you should map out how big of a tank you want first and what your goal is.

this is my specs for my planted 33g tank

4lbs of eco complete substrate - $30 each
coralife PC two bulb lights (2x96watts) 220-250$ new
10lb CO2 tank w/regulator about 220-250$
dry fertilizers - $20 (way cheaper then the stuff u get@petstore.. go to a hydro store)

thats just for the plants, this isnt including the cost of the tank and canister filter.

tank/stand - $110 used
canister filter - 100$ or so depends on what u want

so in the end:

33 gallons @ 5.8 watts per gallon (both lights on) or 2.78 wpg (single light on)

$800

not including plants/shrimp/fish :(

so yes initial start up is expensive but the specs above are for a hightech plant set up and most of what i bought was new. its always cheaper to buy things used (www.bcaquaria.com), you can probably shave off about 30-40% of what i paid.

you can always go low-tech easy to care for plants, drop the pressurized CO2 and use a diff method with yeast and sugar and cut a few corners but the way i see it... go big or go home


im also on BCA, same SN here.


edit: IMO anything less then 33g isnt worth the cost of pressurized CO2, even my 33 is kinda small now IMO

oh, i also forgot.. if you want a fish tank, you cant just buy the tank and fish and do it all up in one day. your tank needs to cycle properly try setting up the tank with water a week before and just start off with a couple of fish. if you toss in a ton, i guarantee 75% will die because there will be a huge spike in nitrate and ammonia.

the best is to speed cycle your tank by getting the good bacteria from a filter of an established tank and dump it in your new setup and wait a few days.

I've discovered a few things actually and I plan to take my time on this one. I don't plan to just get a stand + kit all in one go, but slowly build up my set up. I've come to this conclusion recently only because kits are pretty expensive but doesn't really give me a lot of flexibility in the long run.

I'm just on a market for a good stand and a tank and then I'll take it from there.

what exactly are you looking for in terms of size and quality?

i have a very nice 55g oak trim setup.

tank, oak stand, oak canopy
glass top, lights, gravel, heater, w/e decorations i have put away
rena XP 1 or XP 2 canister filter

tank/filter used about 8 months. the price, however, is a bit expensive @$400 but if you saw the oak trim you'd see why. it's quite fancy?

brand new you'd be paying over $500 at like king eds and fyi the lights would be good enough for low tech plants only. PM me for pix, gonna post it on craigslist this weekend and clean it out :)

^^^ Well, considering I'm in a bach pad, and the space in the wall I want to put the aquarium in is only 2 feet in length, I was hoping for a tank around 2 feet in length (the width and height doesnt matter to me). Shopping around, I've seen 14 - 20 gallon tanks that fit these dimensions.

I was thinking if its possible to just have your basic stand, tank, filter set up as a starter?

Anyways, thanks for the help. I will be taking this to bcaquaria as well.

Funny thing is a larger tank say 40 gallons is easier to maintain (depending on your filtration type) than something as small as 14 gallons. Water conditions are less stable when you go this small thus making it harder to maintain. Sure it's easier in regards to cleaning algae on the glass but the water quality, stability, and temperature suffers. Trust me, this is coming from someone who had 3 salt water tanks of various sizes going at the same time.

who needs to clean algae when you have shrimp! :)

if you want some blue gravel i have a ton of it. lol

also have a red sea co2 system if you want it.

shrimp dont clean the algae off the surface of the glass/acrylic.

^
yup snails would do that tho

But make sure you're prepared to find a bunch sooner or later.
If you have a fish who'll eat them then expect the number of snail to skyrocket.
Snails breed like rabbit.

haha i dont mind more apple snails ;)

First question: salt water or fresh?

Yes heavy investment
To start very time consuming.

35g tank to start... $3000, $50 a month after that. (approx)
2-3 hrs a week.
(Ours is saltwater)

I wanted salt but I'm just starting out :(. so planted tank is the goal now.

Anyways, I can't believe how effin' complicated it is and how many things you have to get right to get everything running smoothly. It's almost easier to have a dog instead.

snakes are the easiest pet. they shit once a month, fed once every two weeks and they never need attention or training.

salt is easier to maintain once the set up is correct and self sustaining. fresh water needs to be maintained on a day-to-day basis whereas salt not so much.

No fuckin' way. I'd rather a ghost reside in my apt. :(

I heard the same thing according to my research before jumping into the hobby. However, I really couldn't tell if this was a myth or not because there are a lot of hobbyist with conflicting opinions about the ease of salt vs. fresh.

Nonetheless, though I'd rather have salt, I opted for fresh as the start up costs for fresh is nowhere near the start up costs for salt. (at least for this criteria, there was no conflicting opinions around the net).

^ How big is the tank?