Posted: 4/24/2009 2:01:54 PM EDT
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how hard is it to maintain a fresh water aquarium?
I know some work is involved, but sometimes I have to disappear for 5-6 days at a time for work. 15 gallon would probably be the best size. |
| A 15 gallon would be VERY easy. But there is stuff to know. Once you know it, it's easy. But you want to get easy breeds of fish, don't get something super hard to care for. The store you go to will know how to set you up. It starts getting hard with the 100 gallons and larger and of course the saltwater set ups. |
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Quoted:
A 15 gallon would be VERY easy. But there is stuff to know. Once you know it, it's easy. But you want to get easy breeds of fish, don't get something super hard to care for. The store you go to will know how to set you up. It starts getting hard with the 100 gallons and larger and of course the saltwater set ups. That really depends on what store. Petsmart, petco, etc isn't gonna be helpful as the majority of those people don't knwo anything about the stuff they sell. A mom and pop fish store might or you could just research it online. Aquariums are a lot of work with smaller ones tending to be more work. I think you would be fine going way for six days at a time as long as you have an automatic feeder. You need to go learn about cycling the tank, partial water changes, PH, nitrates, nitrites, etc. Have fun! |
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Quoted:
how hard is it to maintain a fresh water aquarium? I know some work is involved, but sometimes I have to disappear for 5-6 days at a time for work. 15 gallon would probably be the best size. Start with someone to feed that fish while you're gone. Under gravel filter system with one small power head, the SO says, and a Whisper filter system off the back of the tank. He says you'll never have to change the water, just add for evaporation replacement. The bigger tanks are actually easier to maintain according to him. Are you considering a 15 gallon because of space limits? How many of what fish are you thinking about? He also recommends plants to support a little bio system. His tanks always look great and he's done this for years. 
eta- The reason a smaller tank is more difficult is any temp or other change happens much quicker and can hurt the fish. If you lose heat or A/C while you're gone it might not be pretty.  Fish are very susceptible to sudden environmental changes.
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| RickNC, I'd never heard of auto feeders before. Those are pretty neat. |
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What else would someone do if nobody was available to feed?  I would refrain from having live plants for a person new to this. You have to do weekly water changes especially until the tank is well established. Read all you can and get you a water testing kit. Things have to be just right before adding fish, this is called cycling the tank. Last one I set up I used ammonia to do the cycle. Some people use a few certain hardy fish but most fish tend to die unless the tank is properly cycled before adding them. LIke was mentioned, larger the better.
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Smaller tanks are more sensitive to shifts in water conditions(ammonia/nitrates).
I've got a 55 gallon tank and have anywhere from 3-6 fish in it, other than feeding and adding 5 gallons of water about once a week, it's pretty worry free. Maybe once a month I will clean it with gravel vaccuming. Read up on cycling an aquarium and getting beneficial bacteria established, can take awhile and can kill off some cheap fish in the process but once it's done you are pretty good to go. |
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You are getting some good advice here - and some not so good.
First of all, LARGER aquariums are better than smaller aquariums. The main reason for this is that pH level will not fluctuate as rapidly in a larger tank as it will in a smaller one. Years ago, when I got into the fish hobby, I started out (as most people do) with a small ten gallon tank. I wound up with a 65 gallon tank. Guess which one was easier to maintain in terms of keeping the fish healthy? That's right - the big one. pH levels in closed system aquaria tend to crash (become more acidic) over time. The actual equation involved is a little more complex than that, but in a nutshell that is what happens. You will need to learn about something called "the nitrogen cycle" and make sure you understand it - it is covered in almost every fish keeper's manual you can buy at a pet shops, and I'm sure you can Google it up too. You will want to change approximately 25% of the tank water every week, to keep the pH levels stable and keep the water clean. Also, as another person noted above, overfeeding is a problem. Actually, you cannot overfeed fish (they will stop eating when they are no longer hungry, and will not "eat themselves to death"). However, you CAN overfeed the tank, and cause pollution of the water by having too much uneaten, decaying food laying around in the tank. Going away for a week is not a major problem, but you might want to look into an automatic feeder, or else have a neighbor or friend come feed them every day. Fresh water tanks are much easier to maintain than marine tanks (which are for advanced, expert fish keepers), but remember that the keeping requirements of fresh water fish from Africa are much different than those from Central or South America. (African cichlids require hard water, whereas South American species prefer much softer water). It is a good idea to know what kind of tap water you have in your area before you start. If you live in a hard water area, go with African cichlids and you'll have much more luck. If you live in a soft water area, you will have better luck running a Central or South American species tank. Do not expect to throw African cichlids in with South American species in the same tank water and have good results. You'll just have a lot of dead fish on your hands. Good luck & enjoy. |
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This thread is full of fail.
The best advice here is wrapped up in the omega62 post. Still, in there he recommends African or South American Cichlids for a 15 gal tank. I used to breed/propagate corals to sell and teach people how to maintain aquaria. I prefer salt myself, but whatever. If anyone has a problem that they can't seem to find an answer to, would like some help diagnosing or treating an ailment, or is looking to graduate to a new level of husbandry, feel free to PM me. I would be happy to give you my thoughts on the matter. PS. Friends will overfeed your tank and auto feeders tend to get moisture inside and promote bacterial growth that can really damage your fish. |