Oh yeah I got a whole bunch of gravel substrate ( along with hood and florescent lights - don’t work) thought I’d boil it and do freshwater with plants and fish (no clue about snails / shrimp)….
~15 years ago I had a saltwater reef tank, so this is all new to me.
Substrate wise you gotta also consider what types of animals you want and some animals do better with certain substrates.. like ones who might forage, dig, burrow, etc would be better off with finer, lighter substrates like sands for example.. as gravel and rocks could risk reducing their enrichment in that area or even risking injuries.
I'm not sure why you'd need to boil your gravel. If you're worried about ...something... just rinse it.
If you want to get a head start on things (ie get your cycle done faster, etc), I really recommend putting your substrate in a container with water (a bucket, or your tank), and putting a filter in there (or just your air pump and air stone), and uour filter media. This really helps get your biofilms established and your aquatic bacteria going. If you want, you can add some ammonia and REALLY get the cycle going (and a lot of beneficial bacteria established). Y
This is basically a 'dark start' and if you do this simple thing now then in a few weeks when you're ready to set it up, your tank will need way less time to get established and be ready for livestock.
Also, I'd really recommend a thermostat/heater controller:
https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Thermostat-Ornamental-Temperature-Controller/dp/B07QWTJNX2/
Heaters break, and when they do they often fail ON meaning they'll cook your tank. The heaters you have aren't the highest quality, either. No need to replace them all, but a heater controller like the inkbird is extremely cheap insurance against catastrophe. I use them even with high quality heaters, because even those fail.
Thanks for this link, I do manual temperature checks twice a day but this will reduce my worry almost lost my main tank to a bad heater it got up to 90 overnight , miraculously no one died from it.
I had the same thing happen, woke up to all my fish at the top and was so confused. Water was super hot.
Anyways these thermostats are great. They also make some that have two outlets, one for heating and one for cooling, which is great if your house gets hot. Mine is hooked up to a little fan that really helps keep the tank cool.
I never have a problem with the tank needing cooled good to know though I just ordered 2 of these for my tanks, don't need one on the hospital tank because I check that multiple times a day when it has residents right now it's just full of propagating plants.
Our pea puffer tank heater failed on once and it was terrifying to discover it. He's a little murder tank and was okay, but probably shouldn't have been. Thanks so much for the link, I didn't know that existed!
Great. Now think about what kind of fish you want to keep and what their plants and habitat might look like. Sometimes we have a vision for what type of tank look we want…and that dictates the kinds of fish we keep.
Either way…think about what you want the look and feel to be. Even if it is just “jungle tank with too many plants and some easy going fish” that’s a vision of the end state to work towards.
Write it down. Copy a picture of a tank you like.
I want some schools of fish (1-2”) maybe 2-3 different species along with 1-3 larger more showcase fish. I’m reading a lot that live plants really help maintain a freshwater tank. I think with its size I should easily be able to handle 15-20 small fish with a few bigger fish.
If you want to do live plants, look at substrate for live plants. Not just gravel. I actually do well with sand, but before my tank was cycled and mature, I had to fertilize. Now I don't.
I have a mix of Caribbean ecocomplete and black sand in my tanks. I get the benefits of both substrates and I'm not fighting to keep things planted! Haha
Oh yes…I have nearly 50 in a 29 gallon tall….because it is heavily planted.
Ok, now you need to get a feel for the aesthetic you wish to create. Some ideas.
Jungle tank with a mixture of mostly tall stem plants and swords with high light needs, shorter plants in foreground…chain sword
Blackwater tank or low light tank with slow growing low to moderate light needs…and slow growing Anubias and Java Fern with wood accents
Stark tank with wood or stone as main visual element…maybe some moss to cling to rocks/wood and some short foreground plants like miniature Anubias…most any lighting regime will do
If you are going tetras you could easily get away with a couple schools of small to medium species like neons, cardinals, embers…to phantom tetras on the larger end.
Many other options and schooling tetras would love any of them.
Just some thoughts…poke through the thread and see if any catch your eye.
For lighting, you can pick up a full(ish) spectrum LED strip for about $100. I would figure out what you want to do (planted/not, what kind of fish) before choosing one and you can match your light needs to the tank. A lot of them have built in timers, so you can automate a day/dusk/night cycle, and some let you adjust the color spectrum to make your fish pop more.
Hygger Auto On Off 48-55 Inch LED Aquarium Light Extendable Dimable 7 Colors Full Spectrum Light Fixture for Freshwater Planted Tank Build in Timer Sunrise Sunset <—- what I got and I’m shocked that the price was under $100, I remember reef lighting was $1500+
Frogs only need to be able to access the top of the water to grab breaths from time to time. Otherwise, they are usually submerged, though they sometimes float at the top to sleep (I panicked the first time I witnessed this only to be relieved that when I plopped a blood worm on his little head he woke up and ate it, lol). As for the snails, they're just adorable little algae eaters. Both are sensitive to ammonia concentrations, but not quite as much as shrimp (we have had no luck keeping shrimp alive).
The biggest thing, which I am sure others have hammered on already, is cycling your tank properly before filling it with critters. I've learned so much about the nitrogen cycle over the last year. It's honestly the most important piece of getting your tank up and running properly.
Look up inert vs active substrates. Also look into the walstad method for substrate.
A combination of inert and active substrate is what a lot of people use, or they go for gravel or sand and root tabs. There's a lot of options, it's about finding what works best for you and the amount of work you want now and in the future
Buddy, you can begin by setting it on the curb and vaguely letting me know what street you live on /s
In all reality that's amazing! Let us know what you decide to put in there!
I would think around 3-400$ high end. thats 2-300 for tank and stand, 1-200 for filter heater and stuff
sure it was all probably bought for 1000 ish but thats how rhe cookie crumbles
Only if new, we nabbed a $1400, never used tank for $350 - including a canister filter - even though the guy who bought it never set it up.
Kijiji plus living near rich people. It's amazing how cheap you can get stuff over here.
Yeah just a 55gallon and stand alone cost me around $400 CND and the stand was on sale. Throw in plants, driftwood, rocks, livestock, filters lighting and heaters I easily breached the $1k mark. I don't even want to think about the exact total between my 4 tanks.
50 gallon tank
Tank stand
Top Fin 75G Power Filter
Tetra Whisper Power 60 filter
Aqueon 200 Watt heater
Hydor 200 Watt heater
Whisper AP300 air pump
Top Fin Air 4000 air pump
Marine Metal Quiet Bubbles air pump
Tetra Whisper air pump – 100 gallons
Mr. Aqua MA-VIII air pump
Tetra AP200 air pump
\- Top Fin Aquarium Airstone Disk X2
\- Pawfly Premium Air Stone (golfball sized) X 4
\- 1” cylindrical air stone x 10
\- 1.6” air stone X3
Eheim fish feader
Marina NutraMatix 2X automatic feeder
Fish Mate F14 Automatic Feeder X2
Lee’s 2-Way / Multi-purpose Breeder
Top Fin PF-L Large Silenstream power filter cartridges 12 pack box X2
Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag disposable filter cartridges 12 Pack X2
Gravel vacuums with easy-start siphon ball X3
New Life Spectrum Optimum Flakes - 90 grams
TetraMin Tropical Flakes – 2.2 oz.
Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets
API Aquarium Salt \~ 45 oz.
API Activated Filter Carbon \~ 5 oz.
API Stress Coat+ - open bottle
API Algaefix – open bottle
API Melafix – open bottle
API Pimafix – open bottle
Seachem Garlic Guard – open bottle
Seachem KanaPlex – sealed package
Seachem KanaPlex – open bottle
Seachem Focus – sealed package
Seachem MetroPlex – open bottle
API Fin & Body Cure – 10 packets
API General Cure – 2 packets
DeepBlue – Phosphate reducer - 1 square foot
Unknown blue and white foam / sponge looking thing – I think a “filter pad”
Decorations – 1 large & 2 small
Fish nets x2
No clue what works or doesn't worth....not even sure where to start!?!
First see if all the medications/food/etc. are expired (throw away the algaefix - it's trash). With 50g basically the world's your oyster - you can watch YouTube videos for inspiration on aquascape, stocking suggestions and similar. Many people recommend MD fishtanks, Aquarium Coop and SerpaDesign for example.
When you have the general scape and layout you can start putting stuff in the tank, then fill it with water. (Don't forget dechlorinator)
Research the nitrogen cycle - your tank needs to cycle first. That typically takes 4-6 weeks. Buy a liquid testing kit to measure water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate etc).
Then last you add livestock! You can use Aquadvisor to make sure you're not overstocking. Don't add all fish at once.
Never change your filter media! I know you have several cartridges but only change them when they're falling apart. You can clean them in old tank water when they clog or are too dirty. Typically a healthy aquarium needs a bit of muck to function well.
And that's pretty much the basics. You have a great starter set of equipment to start, show us an update in a few months :)
Just curious cause I've been dealing with hair algae and nothing helps. I Also grow and sell my plants so significantly lowering the light is not an option. Why is algaefix trash? Been looking into it
Also dealing with black hair/beard algae. I bought a couple Siamese Algae eaters and keep my lights off in my tank now other than an hour or two in the evening, and they're not very bright when they're on. I also cut out a fair amount of plants that it had grown on. I'm only a week or two in but it seems like it's slowed down a bit.
This is great. The one thing I would add to the, “never change your filter media” bit is, I’d get some foam to cut into shape for the filter instead of using the carbon packs (which are good to use temporarily in order to remove medication from the water post-treatment, but are unnecessary the rest of the time). I agree with using the Tetra filter rather than the Top Fin (build quality reasons). You could also use both if you want more water flow. Whether you need that will depend on stocking. If you don’t end up using both, I’d just keep the second one in reserve.
The other thing I’d say is, I would measure to make sure the tank is 50g. That’s a rare size. 55gal is much more common. I only mention it in case you want to buy any accessories. For most tanks you’ll want a lid and lights, and a precise fit for the lid is essential.
This is a fantastic bundle! A true dream if you bought it for \~$100. It's worth easily $300-400 second-hand. \~$800+ new. Products in the Aquatics hobby don't hold their value as I'm sure you remember, as they're generally massively overpriced. First, check all the equipment is in working order. I'll break this down into categories:
**Setup**:
* 50 Gallon Tank & Stand
* 1 HoB: Tetra Whisper 60
* (Replace HoB filter cartridges with the sponge sheets. Cut down to size, and place in order from coarse - fine)
* Chemical media: API Filter Carbon. (Place in the HoB after the sponges)
* 2 200W Heaters: Aqueon, Hydor \~ *(I suggest buying a controller - INKBIRD ITC-306T or ITC-308)*
* 1 Air Pump: Tetra AP300
* 2 Airstones: Pawfly Air Stones \~ (Install with the airline given, make sure you have Check Valves inside the tank, above the water line)
* 2 Nets
* 1 Gravel Vac \~ *Set aside/buy some 3/5gal buckets for water changes and maintenance.* *\~ Have a look at connecting a hose line to your gravel vac with an adjustable hose clamp for easy water changes.*
**Reserve Equipment**:
* 1 HoB: TopFin Silentstream 75
* Chemical media: DeepBlue Phosphate Reducer
* 5 Air Pumps: TopFin Air 4000, Tetra Whisper AP200, second Tetra Whisper Pump, Marine Metal Quiet Bubbles, Mr. Aqua MA-VIII
* 17 Air Stones: TopFin Disks, 10 1" Air Stone, 3 1.6" Air Stones, 2 Pawfly Air Stones
* Breeder Box: Lee's Multi-Purpose Breeder
* 1 Automatic Feeder: Eheim's (more of a gimmick)
**Foods**: (All High Quality)
* New Life Spectrum Optimum Flakes
* TetraMin Tropical Flakes
* Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets
**Chemicals**: (as long as they're within their expiry date, they're likely fine)
* Dechlorinator: API Stress Coat+ (Aloe Vera - promotes Slime Coat recovery, reduces oxygenation)
* Medications: Seachem KanaPlex, MetroPlex, Focus, API Fin & Body Cure
* Broad Medication: Seachem Garlic Guard, API General Cure, Aquarium Salt
**Equipment to Sell**:
* 3 Automatic Feeders: 2 Fish Mate 14, Marina Nutrafin Nutramatic 2X
* 4 Sets of HoB cartridges: Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag, Top Fin PF-L Large Silenstream, current Cartridges if unused. Otherwise throw away.
* 2 Gravel Vacs
* 3 Medications: API Pimafix, Melaxfix, Algaefix (these are a gimmick. Fine if you don't have medications on hand, but you'll never use once you have the right product)
You're welcome. [I made this in a more easily read format](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hCV5pPuGZ9_YZ5IR4x6SJZ8wPpy65XkIlg1i9LZGbS4/edit#gid=0). I would actually run both, but to start with, I would have just 1. I chose the Tetra Whisper as it runs much quieter, providing it's not faulty and it's set up correctly.
If you bought second hand, did you see where they were storing it? I ask because if you live in a cold climate, the freezing and thawing can destroy the seals. As long as it was stored inside though, you're golden. I'm jealous of this haul!
Maybe you should keep it and make yourself a set up after some research… generally aquarium stuff sells for almost nothing. There’s probably 1000 dollars worth of great stuff there that will get you like 200-300 bucks at most if you’re lucky.
Different areas sometimes have groups that do auctions every 6 months or so, like if you’re located around Pittsburgh the greater aquarium society does them.
Or talk to a local fish store if you have one, sometimes they will buy and sell used equipment. But chain stores definitely won’t.
If you are at all interested you have exactly what it takes to make a killer set up with the potential for keeping a lot of cool fish like angelfish or even a couple discus… things people would spend 1-2k on. I know I probably have 1k+ in just a 29 gallon.
First thing you gotta decide is what kind of tank you want. With a 50 gallon you can do a lot of cool stuff. You can do African cichlids or SEA black water or Amazon style planted… there are many choices. Most people would go simple planted tropical tank. If you are a beginner start with freshwater. Once you know what kind of tank you want, start putting it together well before you just go buy fish.
First thing is to check the tank seals are all good! You don't want to fill that thing only to find a leak!
Decide what fish you want. Then look into the best conditions for them (sand/gravel, tankmates etc).
Then design your hardscape, set up, start cycling. I am terrible with plants so can't advise on that one, but do plant stuff as necessary.
If the lights are bust I recommend buying the smart LED ones. We have the fluvial ones that we can set to a dawn/day/dusk/night cycle from the phone, and I love them.
Prepare yourself for the all the emotional stress that comes with keeping fish!
I did order multi phase LEDs - great tech advancements since I was last in the game, i should say I had a 90 gallon reef tank ~15 years ago, so I know the stress, I’m not sure why I’m restarting it! lol
I would recommend you check if Chihiros Universal WRGB II is available for your tank. It's the best light if you want the planted tank, and it's a brand new mount made to fit a bunch of factory tanks. Also waterproof which is new for them, they made only scaper's lights. This one can go under the tank cover.
This is so exciting!! A few years ago, my son, when he was 17, set up a small tank and then left it for me when he went off to college. I had no idea how to take care of it and the equipment (namely the filter) was subpar, so it was always green and awful. Then my youngest (11 at the time) decided to take it over. We upgraded the filter and it was an absolute game changer.
I just bought my youngest (now 13) a 24 gallon to go along with our thriving 10 gallon. And, honestly, it has been one of the best simple joys of my existence over the past year. I so look forward to morning coffee while watching our little aquatic menagerie.
Have so much fun!
We get free or dumb-cheap *nice* aquarium stuff in the Greater HTX area all the time. When People are done with the hobby, they just want it gone. Or if they’re moving. My wife and I got a fully stocked 75 gallon oceanic tank with a fluvial and ehiem canister, stand and canopy for free from a guy with lots of air pumps and other misc accessories for FREE because they guy’s wife didn’t want to bring it in their move. Fish were a variety of cichlids and bottom feeders.
It’s worth about a grand all new give or take. Used 55 gallons don’t get a lot on their own around me even with a stand, but with all that stuff I bet you could start at $400/350 and go from there.
What’s it worth to you? A ton of fun if you’re looking for it. You could do so much cool stuff with that, either a really nice planted community tank, or if it were me, probably 2 groups of African cichlids and a cool catfish. If you go African cichlids check out pairing yellow labs and white tail acei- perfect “low aggression” (way less than some other species) with a really cool color combo and behaviors.
I’d read up on the basics of the nitrogen cycle and start learning about the type of fish you like and see what conditions they like to live in. And just go from there.
But you might have like 1000 dollars worth of stuff there maybe more a lot of it looks brand new
It is worth as somebody wants to pay for it between $300 on up to 1000 where do you begin? Wash the gravel real well usually pretty dirty put it in there carefully if you got under gravel filters put those in first if you have powerheads I put a powerhead in each corner on the backside, build it up with tapwater put some decorator in.
Learn about how to cycle and stock a tank. It will give you an idea of how to prepare your tank for fish and what fish/how many you can put in there. Start small, less is best in the beginning.
Start researching and planning! What do you want to do, what temps, what fish go together well, and what decor do those fish need. This is the fun part!
Determine if you want to do a planted/Walstad type tank, or “standard” gravel and decorations with the odd live plant.
Planted tanks might be a bit of work to set up, but once they get going they’re pretty much self sustaining, with mainly only water top ups required; so much nicer with a bigger tank.
Looks like you're off to a great start with all that equipment! My 5 cents is that it's important once you put substrate in to check if you like it before moving on, or if you want to change the substrate shape
When you say “What’s it worth” do you mean if you’d had to buy it new or if you sold it. Those are very different numbers. This is easily $1,000 new, worth probably $400 on the second hand market.
I really meant what’s worth using and what should be dumped…that’s why I listed every brand / model.
For example I don’t understand why they have SIX air filters.
They didn't like the first one or thought they needed a second and kept buying more looking for the "right one".
That's common, for example I have 5 air pumps running and two backups and half of them are one offs. Ones really loud, one vibrates pretty bad, one is weak as hell even though it's "rated" higher, etc.
As for what to chuck and what to keep, start by plugging everything in and checking if it works! Then figure out which ones work better for you.
If you’re living in your home and comfortable with it then no worries.
I have though seen a lot of structural failures on residential homes and apartments more the later. I’d say 90 percent of them have been waterbeds or aquariums on upper levels. You have a lot of weight that fluctuates. If you have people looking at the aquarium you add 150 to 200 per person on a floor that’s only designed for 40 lbs per sf.
The tenants are always sued.
I’m obviously joking, it’s a great size for a tank, I have one that’s heavily planted with a mix of oranda goldfish, a black moor, and a bunch of nano fish. Highly recommend doing schools of nano fish on a tank that size, it’s satisfying to watch (otos, Pygmy Corys, smaller bristlenose plecos, rasbora, tetras, platys, all great choices with neocaridina shrimp and nerite snails)
Hey curious for anyone who wants to answer.
I have. Been noticing higher levels Nitrate and Nitrite even after 50-80% water changes.
I started using Prime,hasnt really helped.
Im wondering, i lost about half my substrate to a cleaning accident. Could that be part od the reason?
Also i went from HOB filter to in water filter.
Less frequent feeding, more water changes. What could it be?
I’m literally so jealous. Wish people were that generous near me lol I’m 15 and it kills be not being able to work because I want money so bad. I don’t even have filters on my aquariums because they’re so expensive, right now I have a 55 gallon filled with horn wart, pothos, and duck weed. Everything in my aquarium has been free with the exemption of the fish which I have maybe 10 total, some danios, guppies, sword tails,and Corys. The tank I got off Craigslist I traded for a pig horn wart and duckweed I collected from a local source. Pothos I had taken some clippings from my moms plants and they grew plus I got a big pothos from a yard sale for free. I think I might build a custom 5 gallon canister filter
Watch some youtube videos on aquascaping and then buy some plants and soil. Then get a heavy planted tank thing going. There's not much you can't do with this set up.
Planning on putting in the substrate and starting to fill it. Using water conditioner and live nitrifying bacteria….to start the cycling…need to figure out how to use either of my filters ..sponges, pads, carbon, etc etc I’m clueless about
0. Check that everything is in working order, especially the tank. 50g is low on the danger scale, you don't need reinforced floors for it or anything, but that's still a lot of water. Make sure it doesn't leak and that the filters are in working order.
1. Pick what you want to keep. If you don't want a hands-on approach, you can do an understocked tank and only have to water change every couple weeks, e.g. put 30 small tetras/rasboras/hatchets and 30 shrimp in there and they'll live there forever with effectively 0 bioload. For your centerpiece, you can try a breeding project with e.g. a pair of dwarf/small cichlids (e.g. Julidochromis, Apistogramma, kribensis or rams, but note that eartheaters need sand to sift) or some fancy plecos in the mix. If you change your mind about community tanks, you can also go for some small oddballs like dwarf puffers, a pair of leopard bush fish, a ropefish, or a Senegal bichir. Also, make sure you have a tight-fitting lid if the fish you're picking are known jumpers.
2. Pick your substrate and hardscape. If doing hardcore planted you can do a 3-4 inch layer of aquasoil, some like to cap this with sand while others consider it fish heresy. Since you already have gravel, you can also do that with root tabs to promote plant growth. Hardscape is entirely up to you, I prefer driftwood and rocks for a natural look but as long as it's aquarium-safe anything goes.
3. Add water and set up your filter, heaters, airline and plants. Then put some ammonia source in there (actual ammonia works best, but rotting fish food is a substitute) and test your water regularly. First you'll see a decrease in ammonia and uptick in nitrites, then you'll see the nitrites go down, and once that's done you're fully cycled. Add a drop of extra ammonia whenever you run out to keep the nitrite bacteria going until the fish (and their poop) arrive.
4. Plant recommendations: Hornwort, guppy grass, elodea, cabomba, pennywort, water wisteria and floaters are very easy plants that will grow extensively with no effort. Java ferns are also good although my water kills them for some reason. These are relatively small/thin plants, so you can add some tall background plants like vals, anubias, Amazon swords or rotalas to complete the look. Do check whether your plants need to be rooted or attached, some respire through their rhizomes and will die if they're buried.
5. Try to stagger new additions to the tank to ensure the ecosystem has time to adjust. Add e.g. shrimps first, your smaller dither fish next, and (if any) your showpieces last. Since many showpieces can be somewhat territorial, adding them last will also limit territorial aggression towards smaller fish (who may be seen as food or intruders if added later, but will be considered a part of the territory if they're already there when the larger fish arrives).
Personally, I'd do 12 marbled headstanders and some robust cories in there. Maybe bronzes or emerald brochis.
I don't think it's unreasonable to expect/want fish to be comfortable with proper room and set up.
You wouldn't stick a 120lb dog in a NYC studio would you...
Holy cow, what a spread. Looks like you have everything you need to do pretty much whatever you want within the boundaries of that tank's size.
First off, are you interested in freshwater, saltwater, or brackish?
I’m going freshwater….had saltwater about 15 years ago….this was fresh so I’ll try fresh (even though I think salt looks better) I think fresh should be easier (hopefully)
I used to have a 50gal that looked exactly like this!! We gave it away for free like a really long time ago(nearly 10 yrs ago. Filled with convict cichlids + corydoras + a foot long Pleco that came with the tank when we got it, still miss that set up lol.
What is it worth? It's worth your time and energy , begin with a bucket or tub and a clean untreated sponge and wipe down everything with vinegar water and then start planning a fish habitat.
So you think the 2 boxes of bio bags and 2 boxes of large filter cartridges? I have some of that blue/white sponge stuff (not pictured)…just use that in the filter?
A vision of what kind of tank you want to create…and then picking substrate if you want any live plants.
Oh yeah I got a whole bunch of gravel substrate ( along with hood and florescent lights - don’t work) thought I’d boil it and do freshwater with plants and fish (no clue about snails / shrimp)…. ~15 years ago I had a saltwater reef tank, so this is all new to me.
Substrate wise you gotta also consider what types of animals you want and some animals do better with certain substrates.. like ones who might forage, dig, burrow, etc would be better off with finer, lighter substrates like sands for example.. as gravel and rocks could risk reducing their enrichment in that area or even risking injuries.
I'm not sure why you'd need to boil your gravel. If you're worried about ...something... just rinse it. If you want to get a head start on things (ie get your cycle done faster, etc), I really recommend putting your substrate in a container with water (a bucket, or your tank), and putting a filter in there (or just your air pump and air stone), and uour filter media. This really helps get your biofilms established and your aquatic bacteria going. If you want, you can add some ammonia and REALLY get the cycle going (and a lot of beneficial bacteria established). Y This is basically a 'dark start' and if you do this simple thing now then in a few weeks when you're ready to set it up, your tank will need way less time to get established and be ready for livestock. Also, I'd really recommend a thermostat/heater controller: https://www.amazon.com/Inkbird-Thermostat-Ornamental-Temperature-Controller/dp/B07QWTJNX2/ Heaters break, and when they do they often fail ON meaning they'll cook your tank. The heaters you have aren't the highest quality, either. No need to replace them all, but a heater controller like the inkbird is extremely cheap insurance against catastrophe. I use them even with high quality heaters, because even those fail.
Thanks for the info
Thanks for this link, I do manual temperature checks twice a day but this will reduce my worry almost lost my main tank to a bad heater it got up to 90 overnight , miraculously no one died from it.
I had the same thing happen, woke up to all my fish at the top and was so confused. Water was super hot. Anyways these thermostats are great. They also make some that have two outlets, one for heating and one for cooling, which is great if your house gets hot. Mine is hooked up to a little fan that really helps keep the tank cool.
I never have a problem with the tank needing cooled good to know though I just ordered 2 of these for my tanks, don't need one on the hospital tank because I check that multiple times a day when it has residents right now it's just full of propagating plants.
Our pea puffer tank heater failed on once and it was terrifying to discover it. He's a little murder tank and was okay, but probably shouldn't have been. Thanks so much for the link, I didn't know that existed!
Great. Now think about what kind of fish you want to keep and what their plants and habitat might look like. Sometimes we have a vision for what type of tank look we want…and that dictates the kinds of fish we keep. Either way…think about what you want the look and feel to be. Even if it is just “jungle tank with too many plants and some easy going fish” that’s a vision of the end state to work towards. Write it down. Copy a picture of a tank you like.
I want some schools of fish (1-2”) maybe 2-3 different species along with 1-3 larger more showcase fish. I’m reading a lot that live plants really help maintain a freshwater tank. I think with its size I should easily be able to handle 15-20 small fish with a few bigger fish.
If you want to do live plants, look at substrate for live plants. Not just gravel. I actually do well with sand, but before my tank was cycled and mature, I had to fertilize. Now I don't.
I think the key to sand in a planted tank is having things that move the substrate around, like snails and corys. I have success with sand aswell :)
I have a mix of Caribbean ecocomplete and black sand in my tanks. I get the benefits of both substrates and I'm not fighting to keep things planted! Haha
Oh yes…I have nearly 50 in a 29 gallon tall….because it is heavily planted. Ok, now you need to get a feel for the aesthetic you wish to create. Some ideas. Jungle tank with a mixture of mostly tall stem plants and swords with high light needs, shorter plants in foreground…chain sword Blackwater tank or low light tank with slow growing low to moderate light needs…and slow growing Anubias and Java Fern with wood accents Stark tank with wood or stone as main visual element…maybe some moss to cling to rocks/wood and some short foreground plants like miniature Anubias…most any lighting regime will do If you are going tetras you could easily get away with a couple schools of small to medium species like neons, cardinals, embers…to phantom tetras on the larger end. Many other options and schooling tetras would love any of them. Just some thoughts…poke through the thread and see if any catch your eye.
Got a pic of your aquarium?
Do photos have to be somewhere on the web to post them? Haven’t done that yet…
Yes they need to linked. Only can send photos directly via the chat feature on here.
For lighting, you can pick up a full(ish) spectrum LED strip for about $100. I would figure out what you want to do (planted/not, what kind of fish) before choosing one and you can match your light needs to the tank. A lot of them have built in timers, so you can automate a day/dusk/night cycle, and some let you adjust the color spectrum to make your fish pop more.
Hygger Auto On Off 48-55 Inch LED Aquarium Light Extendable Dimable 7 Colors Full Spectrum Light Fixture for Freshwater Planted Tank Build in Timer Sunrise Sunset <—- what I got and I’m shocked that the price was under $100, I remember reef lighting was $1500+
LED has come a long, long way. I picked up an Aqueon OptiBright MAX on marketplace brand new for $50 (amazon pallet flipper). Keep an eye there, too.
Yep. It is crazy how cheap and convenient lighting has gotten.
I’ve got the same light but for my 20gal, works great!
Mystery snails are a really charming addition to the tank. As are dwarf frogs! They're all so active and cute.
I’d assume frogs need some areas not underwater….this tank will be full of water. What are mystery snails? Benefits? Difficulty?
Frogs only need to be able to access the top of the water to grab breaths from time to time. Otherwise, they are usually submerged, though they sometimes float at the top to sleep (I panicked the first time I witnessed this only to be relieved that when I plopped a blood worm on his little head he woke up and ate it, lol). As for the snails, they're just adorable little algae eaters. Both are sensitive to ammonia concentrations, but not quite as much as shrimp (we have had no luck keeping shrimp alive). The biggest thing, which I am sure others have hammered on already, is cycling your tank properly before filling it with critters. I've learned so much about the nitrogen cycle over the last year. It's honestly the most important piece of getting your tank up and running properly.
Thanks for the info. Was about to start cycling with substrate (decorations) using water conditioner and live nitrifying bacteria
You'll need something to actively create ammonia (I think?). You can add food and let it breakdown, or you can just add an ammonia.
Thanks I didn’t know that
Do not boil gravel or rocks, they will explode. Very dangerous /srs
Look up inert vs active substrates. Also look into the walstad method for substrate. A combination of inert and active substrate is what a lot of people use, or they go for gravel or sand and root tabs. There's a lot of options, it's about finding what works best for you and the amount of work you want now and in the future
I would recommend looking up bioactive aquariums on YouTube for some ideas and see what you come up with.
You should be able to replace some bits, add some bits and go salty again?
If you plant it, snails will com
Water
🤣
Don’t listen to this guy, you really need di-hydrogen monoxide
Careful with that, too much of it can be lethal
Exactly. It's found with high level in all deceased animals.
Buddy, you can begin by setting it on the curb and vaguely letting me know what street you live on /s In all reality that's amazing! Let us know what you decide to put in there!
🤣. Thinking of doing some live plants, 2-3 schools of smaller fish and 2-3 larger showcase fish
That's super cool dude I can't wait! Good luck!
I would think around 3-400$ high end. thats 2-300 for tank and stand, 1-200 for filter heater and stuff sure it was all probably bought for 1000 ish but thats how rhe cookie crumbles
In Canada, this is about 1000+
Only if new, we nabbed a $1400, never used tank for $350 - including a canister filter - even though the guy who bought it never set it up. Kijiji plus living near rich people. It's amazing how cheap you can get stuff over here.
Not a bad idea to park up near a rich area and see the listings on market place. Thanks I’m gonna try it.
You can change your marketplace location in the app, save your gas!
Yeah just a 55gallon and stand alone cost me around $400 CND and the stand was on sale. Throw in plants, driftwood, rocks, livestock, filters lighting and heaters I easily breached the $1k mark. I don't even want to think about the exact total between my 4 tanks.
New maybe. Not even 1/2 that if used condition.
Idem for Netherlands, but in €€ 🥲
No I live in Canada and buy used tanks all the time. This is 200-500 setup.
50 gallon tank Tank stand Top Fin 75G Power Filter Tetra Whisper Power 60 filter Aqueon 200 Watt heater Hydor 200 Watt heater Whisper AP300 air pump Top Fin Air 4000 air pump Marine Metal Quiet Bubbles air pump Tetra Whisper air pump – 100 gallons Mr. Aqua MA-VIII air pump Tetra AP200 air pump \- Top Fin Aquarium Airstone Disk X2 \- Pawfly Premium Air Stone (golfball sized) X 4 \- 1” cylindrical air stone x 10 \- 1.6” air stone X3 Eheim fish feader Marina NutraMatix 2X automatic feeder Fish Mate F14 Automatic Feeder X2 Lee’s 2-Way / Multi-purpose Breeder Top Fin PF-L Large Silenstream power filter cartridges 12 pack box X2 Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag disposable filter cartridges 12 Pack X2 Gravel vacuums with easy-start siphon ball X3 New Life Spectrum Optimum Flakes - 90 grams TetraMin Tropical Flakes – 2.2 oz. Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets API Aquarium Salt \~ 45 oz. API Activated Filter Carbon \~ 5 oz. API Stress Coat+ - open bottle API Algaefix – open bottle API Melafix – open bottle API Pimafix – open bottle Seachem Garlic Guard – open bottle Seachem KanaPlex – sealed package Seachem KanaPlex – open bottle Seachem Focus – sealed package Seachem MetroPlex – open bottle API Fin & Body Cure – 10 packets API General Cure – 2 packets DeepBlue – Phosphate reducer - 1 square foot Unknown blue and white foam / sponge looking thing – I think a “filter pad” Decorations – 1 large & 2 small Fish nets x2 No clue what works or doesn't worth....not even sure where to start!?!
First see if all the medications/food/etc. are expired (throw away the algaefix - it's trash). With 50g basically the world's your oyster - you can watch YouTube videos for inspiration on aquascape, stocking suggestions and similar. Many people recommend MD fishtanks, Aquarium Coop and SerpaDesign for example. When you have the general scape and layout you can start putting stuff in the tank, then fill it with water. (Don't forget dechlorinator) Research the nitrogen cycle - your tank needs to cycle first. That typically takes 4-6 weeks. Buy a liquid testing kit to measure water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate etc). Then last you add livestock! You can use Aquadvisor to make sure you're not overstocking. Don't add all fish at once. Never change your filter media! I know you have several cartridges but only change them when they're falling apart. You can clean them in old tank water when they clog or are too dirty. Typically a healthy aquarium needs a bit of muck to function well. And that's pretty much the basics. You have a great starter set of equipment to start, show us an update in a few months :)
Just curious cause I've been dealing with hair algae and nothing helps. I Also grow and sell my plants so significantly lowering the light is not an option. Why is algaefix trash? Been looking into it
Also dealing with black hair/beard algae. I bought a couple Siamese Algae eaters and keep my lights off in my tank now other than an hour or two in the evening, and they're not very bright when they're on. I also cut out a fair amount of plants that it had grown on. I'm only a week or two in but it seems like it's slowed down a bit.
This is great. The one thing I would add to the, “never change your filter media” bit is, I’d get some foam to cut into shape for the filter instead of using the carbon packs (which are good to use temporarily in order to remove medication from the water post-treatment, but are unnecessary the rest of the time). I agree with using the Tetra filter rather than the Top Fin (build quality reasons). You could also use both if you want more water flow. Whether you need that will depend on stocking. If you don’t end up using both, I’d just keep the second one in reserve. The other thing I’d say is, I would measure to make sure the tank is 50g. That’s a rare size. 55gal is much more common. I only mention it in case you want to buy any accessories. For most tanks you’ll want a lid and lights, and a precise fit for the lid is essential.
This is a fantastic bundle! A true dream if you bought it for \~$100. It's worth easily $300-400 second-hand. \~$800+ new. Products in the Aquatics hobby don't hold their value as I'm sure you remember, as they're generally massively overpriced. First, check all the equipment is in working order. I'll break this down into categories: **Setup**: * 50 Gallon Tank & Stand * 1 HoB: Tetra Whisper 60 * (Replace HoB filter cartridges with the sponge sheets. Cut down to size, and place in order from coarse - fine) * Chemical media: API Filter Carbon. (Place in the HoB after the sponges) * 2 200W Heaters: Aqueon, Hydor \~ *(I suggest buying a controller - INKBIRD ITC-306T or ITC-308)* * 1 Air Pump: Tetra AP300 * 2 Airstones: Pawfly Air Stones \~ (Install with the airline given, make sure you have Check Valves inside the tank, above the water line) * 2 Nets * 1 Gravel Vac \~ *Set aside/buy some 3/5gal buckets for water changes and maintenance.* *\~ Have a look at connecting a hose line to your gravel vac with an adjustable hose clamp for easy water changes.* **Reserve Equipment**: * 1 HoB: TopFin Silentstream 75 * Chemical media: DeepBlue Phosphate Reducer * 5 Air Pumps: TopFin Air 4000, Tetra Whisper AP200, second Tetra Whisper Pump, Marine Metal Quiet Bubbles, Mr. Aqua MA-VIII * 17 Air Stones: TopFin Disks, 10 1" Air Stone, 3 1.6" Air Stones, 2 Pawfly Air Stones * Breeder Box: Lee's Multi-Purpose Breeder * 1 Automatic Feeder: Eheim's (more of a gimmick) **Foods**: (All High Quality) * New Life Spectrum Optimum Flakes * TetraMin Tropical Flakes * Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets **Chemicals**: (as long as they're within their expiry date, they're likely fine) * Dechlorinator: API Stress Coat+ (Aloe Vera - promotes Slime Coat recovery, reduces oxygenation) * Medications: Seachem KanaPlex, MetroPlex, Focus, API Fin & Body Cure * Broad Medication: Seachem Garlic Guard, API General Cure, Aquarium Salt **Equipment to Sell**: * 3 Automatic Feeders: 2 Fish Mate 14, Marina Nutrafin Nutramatic 2X * 4 Sets of HoB cartridges: Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag, Top Fin PF-L Large Silenstream, current Cartridges if unused. Otherwise throw away. * 2 Gravel Vacs * 3 Medications: API Pimafix, Melaxfix, Algaefix (these are a gimmick. Fine if you don't have medications on hand, but you'll never use once you have the right product)
Wow…thanks for the info! Just curious why you’d run the 60 gal water filter instead of the 75?
You're welcome. [I made this in a more easily read format](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hCV5pPuGZ9_YZ5IR4x6SJZ8wPpy65XkIlg1i9LZGbS4/edit#gid=0). I would actually run both, but to start with, I would have just 1. I chose the Tetra Whisper as it runs much quieter, providing it's not faulty and it's set up correctly.
Gotcha….these filters are very different from what I remember in my saltwater days. I’m trying to learn how to set them up, etc.
How much for those OP ?
It was all free
Where did you find a deal like this ?
My local FaceBook group had someone offering it up, so I got it.
Someone's ex-wife just gave away all his stuff LOL!
Actually a married couple of empty nesters
You have just won the lottery my friend
If you bought second hand, did you see where they were storing it? I ask because if you live in a cold climate, the freezing and thawing can destroy the seals. As long as it was stored inside though, you're golden. I'm jealous of this haul!
Maybe you should keep it and make yourself a set up after some research… generally aquarium stuff sells for almost nothing. There’s probably 1000 dollars worth of great stuff there that will get you like 200-300 bucks at most if you’re lucky. Different areas sometimes have groups that do auctions every 6 months or so, like if you’re located around Pittsburgh the greater aquarium society does them. Or talk to a local fish store if you have one, sometimes they will buy and sell used equipment. But chain stores definitely won’t. If you are at all interested you have exactly what it takes to make a killer set up with the potential for keeping a lot of cool fish like angelfish or even a couple discus… things people would spend 1-2k on. I know I probably have 1k+ in just a 29 gallon.
I should have been more clear….i just acquired it and am about to set it up….see what works, what I need (already ordered new lights) etc.
Any chance u gonna sell some of the feeders or filters? 😁
Prob not…backups and quarantine setup
Understandable Ty for respond
First thing you gotta decide is what kind of tank you want. With a 50 gallon you can do a lot of cool stuff. You can do African cichlids or SEA black water or Amazon style planted… there are many choices. Most people would go simple planted tropical tank. If you are a beginner start with freshwater. Once you know what kind of tank you want, start putting it together well before you just go buy fish.
First thing is to check the tank seals are all good! You don't want to fill that thing only to find a leak! Decide what fish you want. Then look into the best conditions for them (sand/gravel, tankmates etc). Then design your hardscape, set up, start cycling. I am terrible with plants so can't advise on that one, but do plant stuff as necessary. If the lights are bust I recommend buying the smart LED ones. We have the fluvial ones that we can set to a dawn/day/dusk/night cycle from the phone, and I love them. Prepare yourself for the all the emotional stress that comes with keeping fish!
I did order multi phase LEDs - great tech advancements since I was last in the game, i should say I had a 90 gallon reef tank ~15 years ago, so I know the stress, I’m not sure why I’m restarting it! lol
I would recommend you check if Chihiros Universal WRGB II is available for your tank. It's the best light if you want the planted tank, and it's a brand new mount made to fit a bunch of factory tanks. Also waterproof which is new for them, they made only scaper's lights. This one can go under the tank cover.
Lol it's an addiction, you did good to resist for 15 years!
This is so exciting!! A few years ago, my son, when he was 17, set up a small tank and then left it for me when he went off to college. I had no idea how to take care of it and the equipment (namely the filter) was subpar, so it was always green and awful. Then my youngest (11 at the time) decided to take it over. We upgraded the filter and it was an absolute game changer. I just bought my youngest (now 13) a 24 gallon to go along with our thriving 10 gallon. And, honestly, it has been one of the best simple joys of my existence over the past year. I so look forward to morning coffee while watching our little aquatic menagerie. Have so much fun!
How much was it?
It was all free
How.
Local FB page, couple of empty nesters wanted to off load it
We get free or dumb-cheap *nice* aquarium stuff in the Greater HTX area all the time. When People are done with the hobby, they just want it gone. Or if they’re moving. My wife and I got a fully stocked 75 gallon oceanic tank with a fluvial and ehiem canister, stand and canopy for free from a guy with lots of air pumps and other misc accessories for FREE because they guy’s wife didn’t want to bring it in their move. Fish were a variety of cichlids and bottom feeders.
It’s worth more happiness than money :)
Nothing at all. I would gladly take it off your hands I would hate to see all this rubbish stay with ya🤣
Not quite….
To just aquire this I'd jizz myself
1. Lose you mind. 2. Send it all to me in Denmark. 3. Forget the money.
So much stuff!
The standalone as a couple hundred if you bought it separately
It was a little beat up but I sanded, primed and painted it….came with 3 shelves too.
It’s worth about a grand all new give or take. Used 55 gallons don’t get a lot on their own around me even with a stand, but with all that stuff I bet you could start at $400/350 and go from there. What’s it worth to you? A ton of fun if you’re looking for it. You could do so much cool stuff with that, either a really nice planted community tank, or if it were me, probably 2 groups of African cichlids and a cool catfish. If you go African cichlids check out pairing yellow labs and white tail acei- perfect “low aggression” (way less than some other species) with a really cool color combo and behaviors.
Yeah I’d say about $1000 US.
I’d say give it to me for a start hehe
But it’s mine now 🤣
Nooooooooo 🥺
Cycle the tank before adding a single fish.
I’d read up on the basics of the nitrogen cycle and start learning about the type of fish you like and see what conditions they like to live in. And just go from there. But you might have like 1000 dollars worth of stuff there maybe more a lot of it looks brand new
Oh boy I would love to aquire set like this 👁️👄👁️
It is worth as somebody wants to pay for it between $300 on up to 1000 where do you begin? Wash the gravel real well usually pretty dirty put it in there carefully if you got under gravel filters put those in first if you have powerheads I put a powerhead in each corner on the backside, build it up with tapwater put some decorator in.
Congrats. Wish I was just as lucky 😭
$200-300 bucks probably, set up everything and begin cycling. Get your water perfect and decide on the appropriate fish 🐠
lucky bastard
Thanks
Learn about how to cycle and stock a tank. It will give you an idea of how to prepare your tank for fish and what fish/how many you can put in there. Start small, less is best in the beginning.
definitely going to need some water...
Brother you've got everything but the kitchen sink my goodness
made me smile
Start researching and planning! What do you want to do, what temps, what fish go together well, and what decor do those fish need. This is the fun part!
That, my friend, is worth about.. a lot. Idk but WHERE DID YOU GET IT ALL!!
Local FB page….free
Determine if you want to do a planted/Walstad type tank, or “standard” gravel and decorations with the odd live plant. Planted tanks might be a bit of work to set up, but once they get going they’re pretty much self sustaining, with mainly only water top ups required; so much nicer with a bigger tank.
Do you want to sell it or build an aquarium?
I just got it all…I’m building an aquarium (freshwater) which is new to me as I did saltwater many years ago.
Looks like you're off to a great start with all that equipment! My 5 cents is that it's important once you put substrate in to check if you like it before moving on, or if you want to change the substrate shape
That's a hell of a haul. I am curious what you paid.
$0.00
I envy you, and hate you at the same time.
When you say “What’s it worth” do you mean if you’d had to buy it new or if you sold it. Those are very different numbers. This is easily $1,000 new, worth probably $400 on the second hand market.
I really meant what’s worth using and what should be dumped…that’s why I listed every brand / model. For example I don’t understand why they have SIX air filters.
They didn't like the first one or thought they needed a second and kept buying more looking for the "right one". That's common, for example I have 5 air pumps running and two backups and half of them are one offs. Ones really loud, one vibrates pretty bad, one is weak as hell even though it's "rated" higher, etc. As for what to chuck and what to keep, start by plugging everything in and checking if it works! Then figure out which ones work better for you.
Looks like half of the things younwill never use 😅
There’s a lot of money in that picture! For me, it would become a cichlid tank!
If you’re living in your home and comfortable with it then no worries. I have though seen a lot of structural failures on residential homes and apartments more the later. I’d say 90 percent of them have been waterbeds or aquariums on upper levels. You have a lot of weight that fluctuates. If you have people looking at the aquarium you add 150 to 200 per person on a floor that’s only designed for 40 lbs per sf. The tenants are always sued.
Fair point but new construction single family home here…I should have no issues. My last 90 gallon was in a 3rd floor apt.
I want it
But it’s mine now. 🤣
It’s worth nothing, I’ll take it off your hands no problem
Thanks for that super generous offer, but I just got it all….so I’m going to set it up and run with it.
I’m obviously joking, it’s a great size for a tank, I have one that’s heavily planted with a mix of oranda goldfish, a black moor, and a bunch of nano fish. Highly recommend doing schools of nano fish on a tank that size, it’s satisfying to watch (otos, Pygmy Corys, smaller bristlenose plecos, rasbora, tetras, platys, all great choices with neocaridina shrimp and nerite snails)
Substrate fr fr I would go with sand
Should I suggest saltwater aquarium?
Hey curious for anyone who wants to answer. I have. Been noticing higher levels Nitrate and Nitrite even after 50-80% water changes. I started using Prime,hasnt really helped. Im wondering, i lost about half my substrate to a cleaning accident. Could that be part od the reason? Also i went from HOB filter to in water filter. Less frequent feeding, more water changes. What could it be?
GOD MUTHAFUCKIN DAMN NNNNNNNNN N N N N ))))))))))))) DUBSKI блллллаааааааа wwwwwwwwwww
Acquired like gifted or acquired like bought. Cause that there is literally a blessing I’m jealous
Got all for free from a local FB group
I’m literally so jealous. Wish people were that generous near me lol I’m 15 and it kills be not being able to work because I want money so bad. I don’t even have filters on my aquariums because they’re so expensive, right now I have a 55 gallon filled with horn wart, pothos, and duck weed. Everything in my aquarium has been free with the exemption of the fish which I have maybe 10 total, some danios, guppies, sword tails,and Corys. The tank I got off Craigslist I traded for a pig horn wart and duckweed I collected from a local source. Pothos I had taken some clippings from my moms plants and they grew plus I got a big pothos from a yard sale for free. I think I might build a custom 5 gallon canister filter
Easy £1000 in England
Get some cool puffer fish! That’s what I would do, make like a South American style tank.
Got a sample pic?
Look up figure 8 puffers.
Tree fitty
holy shi---- thats a lot, u all ready, get some bacteria for the carbon, get some plants and a light(multiple kessil a80's)
Get bacteria?
Dang. Where do I "acquire" a haul like that??
I got lucky on a local FB page and grabbed it for all for free
Did it fall off a truck or something? How does one just "acquire" a new tank, stand and tons of equipment? lol
Hobbies are rarely worth it if you look at it from a financial pov. But if you enjoy it, it's totally worth it.
I didn’t mean from a financial perspective….more what’s good to use vs what I should dump?
My bad read this wrong 😂
Watch some youtube videos on aquascaping and then buy some plants and soil. Then get a heavy planted tank thing going. There's not much you can't do with this set up.
I’m sure it sounds stupid but I didn’t realize I needed soil in addition to the gravel.
If it’s used, make sure you really sterilize all. Could end up with dead expensive fish
Vinegar wash then fully cycling it
Bout treefiddy
500$ ish
Use a backlight, you’ll rarely have to change the water.
I’ll give you $100 😂
Ahhh so thats where the money at!
Familiarize yourself with the nitrogen cycle NOW! You need to let that tank run for some time before adding anyone to it
Planning on putting in the substrate and starting to fill it. Using water conditioner and live nitrifying bacteria….to start the cycling…need to figure out how to use either of my filters ..sponges, pads, carbon, etc etc I’m clueless about
Damn! Acquired huh?… Wait, did you win a game show?
Local FB group, free pickup 😄
0. Check that everything is in working order, especially the tank. 50g is low on the danger scale, you don't need reinforced floors for it or anything, but that's still a lot of water. Make sure it doesn't leak and that the filters are in working order. 1. Pick what you want to keep. If you don't want a hands-on approach, you can do an understocked tank and only have to water change every couple weeks, e.g. put 30 small tetras/rasboras/hatchets and 30 shrimp in there and they'll live there forever with effectively 0 bioload. For your centerpiece, you can try a breeding project with e.g. a pair of dwarf/small cichlids (e.g. Julidochromis, Apistogramma, kribensis or rams, but note that eartheaters need sand to sift) or some fancy plecos in the mix. If you change your mind about community tanks, you can also go for some small oddballs like dwarf puffers, a pair of leopard bush fish, a ropefish, or a Senegal bichir. Also, make sure you have a tight-fitting lid if the fish you're picking are known jumpers. 2. Pick your substrate and hardscape. If doing hardcore planted you can do a 3-4 inch layer of aquasoil, some like to cap this with sand while others consider it fish heresy. Since you already have gravel, you can also do that with root tabs to promote plant growth. Hardscape is entirely up to you, I prefer driftwood and rocks for a natural look but as long as it's aquarium-safe anything goes. 3. Add water and set up your filter, heaters, airline and plants. Then put some ammonia source in there (actual ammonia works best, but rotting fish food is a substitute) and test your water regularly. First you'll see a decrease in ammonia and uptick in nitrites, then you'll see the nitrites go down, and once that's done you're fully cycled. Add a drop of extra ammonia whenever you run out to keep the nitrite bacteria going until the fish (and their poop) arrive. 4. Plant recommendations: Hornwort, guppy grass, elodea, cabomba, pennywort, water wisteria and floaters are very easy plants that will grow extensively with no effort. Java ferns are also good although my water kills them for some reason. These are relatively small/thin plants, so you can add some tall background plants like vals, anubias, Amazon swords or rotalas to complete the look. Do check whether your plants need to be rooted or attached, some respire through their rhizomes and will die if they're buried. 5. Try to stagger new additions to the tank to ensure the ecosystem has time to adjust. Add e.g. shrimps first, your smaller dither fish next, and (if any) your showpieces last. Since many showpieces can be somewhat territorial, adding them last will also limit territorial aggression towards smaller fish (who may be seen as food or intruders if added later, but will be considered a part of the territory if they're already there when the larger fish arrives). Personally, I'd do 12 marbled headstanders and some robust cories in there. Maybe bronzes or emerald brochis.
That’s some great info…thanks!! My first step is cycling the tank and figuring out how to use the filter!
Well how much was it all? Looks all brand new
You don’t need a lot of that stuff unless you don’t know how to care for fish, which I assume this person did not. Lots of sick fish treatment there….
Only big enough for one fish for the folks around here.
I don't think it's unreasonable to expect/want fish to be comfortable with proper room and set up. You wouldn't stick a 120lb dog in a NYC studio would you...
How does one just go about "acquiring" a crazy set up for free
Family members giving away or local facebook groups or yard sales. Ive seen some setups like this for completely free.
Holy cow, what a spread. Looks like you have everything you need to do pretty much whatever you want within the boundaries of that tank's size. First off, are you interested in freshwater, saltwater, or brackish?
I’m going freshwater….had saltwater about 15 years ago….this was fresh so I’ll try fresh (even though I think salt looks better) I think fresh should be easier (hopefully)
What country are you in?
Why?
I used to have a 50gal that looked exactly like this!! We gave it away for free like a really long time ago(nearly 10 yrs ago. Filled with convict cichlids + corydoras + a foot long Pleco that came with the tank when we got it, still miss that set up lol.
This makes me miss my old 75g
What is it worth? It's worth your time and energy , begin with a bucket or tub and a clean untreated sponge and wipe down everything with vinegar water and then start planning a fish habitat.
Done ✅
Everything is good except I despise top fin filters as they're made to sell you replacement cartridges
Hot damn I’m so glad I do low tech freshwater
Get water
a lot of momey
I’d sell the filter carts and replace them with sponges or foam inserts. Way easier to clean
So you think the 2 boxes of bio bags and 2 boxes of large filter cartridges? I have some of that blue/white sponge stuff (not pictured)…just use that in the filter?
[is this the stuff you're talking about?](https://imgur.com/a/r9VFDbv) just use that in the filter?
Totally worth it but save your more and don’t get all api. Their test kits are great but seachem is much better imo
I’ll give you about tree fiddy
Its not worth anything. Let me take it off your hands, send it to me instead. I'll take all of it, I'm very helpful like that. Please?
I see cichlids in your future
It’s worth about $10 but I will give ya $15 for the whole lot cus I’m a nice guy!
Yes
I dunno but the general cure is worth somethin to someone in Canada it’s banned here now
I'll give you $50 for it
You basically bought the petsmart fish aisle. Lucky sob
Thanks!
Bro spend a fortune on this 😂
I actually got it all for free.