New tank

So, as per my forum beginner intro:

I currently have a very small tank(16L). It started out with 3 Red-eyed Tetras (very hardy fish I might add). I recently move the 3 to a larger tank(32L) which I pick up somewhere. I stocked that tank with a few Zebra Danios (4), Tiger Barbs (4) & a Red-finned Shark. Unfortunately that tank had an encounter with a stone fruit bowl and is now cracked. I think the glass is a little on the thin side in any case. Anyway, all the fish are in the 16L tank again (is this overstocked? Doesn't seem to be). I would like a larger tank, so that I can be a little creative :bigsmile: My plan is for a 54L tank, dimensions 60x30x30cm.

That is the basis...here my questions:

1.) Is it cheaper to build or buy a tank of this size?
2.) What can I expect to pay for the glass (3 or 4mm thick)
3.) I have a small corner filter at the moment. What would be the ideal filter for a 54L tank? A larger corner filter, or an under-gravel filter, or something else?
4.) I would like to add a light? What do I look for here?

Thanks for your time :bigsmile:

 

Hi DesertConvert and welcome.

Don't worry about your fish all being in that little tank. As long as it is only temporary and find a tank in the next month or two. Do water changes frequently though.

When making a tank, keep in mind that it takes time, space and money. If you mess up once you have to start again and that costs you even more. However, if you were to buy a tank of the same size you wouldn't only be saving time and money but you would be getting a tank that you know has been professionally tested for leaks and is totally leak proof.

If the tank you buy/make is a standard size, you can buy a canopy with a light fitting and then buy a light of your choice(because you get lights that bring out certain aspects in your tank like fish or plants) and then you have lighting.

Hope that helps,
SAMollyBreeder

 

Thanks. I think if the price difference between buying the glass etc. separately & buying a completed tank is great enough, I will try my hand at building it myself (I think I'm enough of a perfectionist that it will work ). Then again, if there is not much difference, then I'll probably just buy it, and do some post-purchase mods (my creative juices are flowing merrily along at the moment - so many ideas, I hope I have the patience!)

I've done quite a bit of Googling & YouTubing and have a pretty good idea of how I would like my tank to look. Just need to sort out the finer details. I certainly want to try live plants. As excited as I am though, I'm going to take it slow. Build/Buy new tank, make a pretty 3D background, pop-in some plants & stabilise tank, add fish. Sounds quite simple really

 

Hi man , I would recommend that you BUY a new tank .....there are also some good places that will build you a tank ,I know of someone in Pretoria central.
Filter wise get a good powerhead that's rated at abut 300l/h for the tank volume you mentioned .I would forget about corner
Filters and undergravel filters period .
Also get a light! 2 small 30w bulbs in the right Kelvin will make the tank look so much beter ,a natural look is always
Beter when it comes to lighting in my opinion ....also consider going CFL instead of tubes its really inexpensive
And worth it !

Cheers

 

Thanks for the reply. Just ordered my glass on Friday, so I will be building myself. It will probably not end up being the prettiest tank, but it will be functional I'll keep your other advice on equipment in mind, though my tank dimensions have increased to 900 x 400 x 300 (LxWxH) - 100L. Lighting is definitely on the cards!

 

OK, so I've been looking around at filters...crazy. Just too much for a newbie to take in in such a short period. What are the pro's & cons of the different filters? I'm looking mainly at the HOB filters, but powerheads & internal power filters could also do the trick. I would prefer something that is less invasive, so I'm tending towards the HOB filter. What in your opinion would be the main benefits of the other two types over the HOB?