02-17-2007, 05:15 AM
If you want to treat it like a hobby a 28 gallon tank is really a good size. Large enough to get a good variety of fish but small enough that maintenance isn't too bad. All of my tanks came from penny style papers and were bought very cheaply and upgraded as I could afford to. I'll recommend a few things.
1) get far more filtration than you think you need. The tank will look better, the fish will be happier, and there won't be crap all over the bottom. I ran dual filters.
2) get far more rock than you think you need, I like about 3 inches.
3) all that extra rock will let you put in live plants which the fish will really respond to. Try putting in a live plant and a fake plant and see where the fish go.
4) buy a dual bulb hood and put plant lights in it. On my 28 I had a dual bulb hood plus a single, so I had 3x the normal amount of light, my plants grew like crazy.
5) when you start the tank put the junk fish in at first and be patient for a few weeks. They will probably die while the water becomes what they want. Even after that take it easy on the exotics, they tend not to last.
I didn't do all of this at one time as it is kind of expensive. Half the fun is doing it one step at a time anyway. Good luck and post some pics of whatever you get. I'll try to find mine also.
Dave
1) get far more filtration than you think you need. The tank will look better, the fish will be happier, and there won't be crap all over the bottom. I ran dual filters.
2) get far more rock than you think you need, I like about 3 inches.
3) all that extra rock will let you put in live plants which the fish will really respond to. Try putting in a live plant and a fake plant and see where the fish go.
4) buy a dual bulb hood and put plant lights in it. On my 28 I had a dual bulb hood plus a single, so I had 3x the normal amount of light, my plants grew like crazy.
5) when you start the tank put the junk fish in at first and be patient for a few weeks. They will probably die while the water becomes what they want. Even after that take it easy on the exotics, they tend not to last.
I didn't do all of this at one time as it is kind of expensive. Half the fun is doing it one step at a time anyway. Good luck and post some pics of whatever you get. I'll try to find mine also.
Dave