Looking for 5 to 6 ft fresh water aquarium.

[Richard Ng]

I am planning to get a 5 to 6 ft bt 1.5 ft Ht and 1.5 ft width fresh water aquarium to grow plants and some small fishes. Also able to view from both sides of aquarium.

I am new to this hobby and would welcome any suggestions on how to get started without incurring too much cost and inconvenience.

Thanks and regards
R Ng

[bossteck]

Hi Richard,

Welcome to the forum.

What sort of plants / fishes do you have in mind?
You seemed pretty certain about the tank size that you want, why is that so?

If you're starting out, my personal advise is to start out with a smaller tank instead of what you have in mind.
Here's why (just my opinion)

You are most likely going to experiment a little, perhaps get several types of plants, different type of soils, most likely, the itchy-hand syndrome will set in and you will find yourself tearing down your tank and re-setting it every 6-12months. (I did that)

Aside from the fact that a smaller tank allows you to do that much easier, it is also going to cost you lesser to maintain. You need less substrate, you find yourself topping up your co2 cylinder less often, it costs lesser to operate the lights.

The trade off is that with a lower water volume, tank conditions may fluctuate more. I suggest, get a 3 footer which is a decent size to start out with.

Not sure what you meant by too much inconvenience though...

[Richard Ng]

Thank you Eric for yr constructive comments and advice.
Reason for big size tank is that I intend to use it as decorative divider or partition between my dining area and hall.
Too much inconvenience means I do not want to change tank water every two months. Someone told me that once properly installed, dont have to change water for 1 to 2 years. Not quite sure if this is true.

Rgds
R Ng

[bryan]

If you even think changing water is a hassle, then maybe this hobby is not for you. A fish tank is not a piece of ornament or furniture, its a life support system. Maintenance of an aquarium need not be long. Lets say 15-30mins, once a week or every 2 weeks depending on what you have in the tank. Other than the water changing, there is quite a bit more to look out for. I suggest you read up on the basics of starting up and maintaning an aquarium before you decide.

[Richard Ng]

I was told by aquarium seller that its not necessary to change water in the tank for 2 years which I find hard to believe. He claims its a balance eco-system betwen aquatic plants and small fishes.
My intention is not to rear mainly fishes but to grow more aquatic plants with some small fishes. If anyone of you who has experience in keeping this kind of aquariums,where you dont have to change water every week or month , I would be happy to hear from you.
Rgds
Ric

[chilla18]

Richard as what Bryan mention, there is maintenance in every fish tank regardless big or small especially in planted tank there is more to maintain like trimming of plants changing of water, dosing of fertilizer, checking and maintaining water parameter and more. If you do want to be tied down by all these than a fish tank is not for you.
There is a lot of information in the internet, Google for it and read up and do more research before you dive into this hobby. Hope you make the right decision.

By the way if you do happen to find any fish tank that does not require maintenance please do let us know I belei ve a lot of us are interested in it.

[Wolfgangs246]

Hi Richard,

I know a lot of people have been telling you that this is a hard hobby to keep. And thats true. But what your aquarium seller told isn't wrong either. the larger the volume of water in a tank, the greater the number of pollutants your tank can manage before the concentration becomes deadly to fish. So yeah assuming you have a large enough volume of water and you have a small number of fish. Your maintenance cycle for that should be pretty low.

But then your other consideration would have to be with a lower fish count, you need to artificially add fertilizers to the tank if you want your plant growth to be vibrant enough to not look sparse. And if you do that then you are adding more potential pollutants to the water which brings you back to the first problem. And just to clarify, the build up of pollutants can only be removed through water changes which usually involve changing anywhere from 20-40% of the entire systems water.

So if you are looking for a maintenance easy solution to get a nice water barrier, I'd suggest you look for one of those contractors that offer a full solution of customized tank, cabinet and maintenance solution. You'll get the space breaker that you like and you can let the contractor manage the monthly maintenance. It won't be cheap but it will be maintenance free.

Sorry if thats not the answer you are looking for. Just my two cents worth with a bit more explanation about why what you are looking for isn't really feasible.

[aquarius]

Having a 5 - 6ft tank will definately cost much more than a smaller tank because the tank and cabinet/stand itself will cost more and you'll also need a filter with a much bigger filtering capacity, more substrate, lighting, more fertilizer due to bigger vol of water etc etc...... But if you're looking for a tank that don't require much maintenance eg. regular trimming of plants, adding of ferts, regular/weekly changing of water, than you should go for a Low-tech non C02 setup. Plants for a low-tech setup are ferns, mosses, crypts and some echinodoras species. Though your variety of plants will be very much lesser but that does not mean that your tank won't look just as nice as a High-tech C02 enriched tank cos in the end it's also about the aquascaping skills.

I suggest you do lots of research first before embarking on the project cos it'll cost you alot of heartache if things don't turn out right or when you have lots of algae issues.

[Richard Ng]

Thank you all for yr invaluable comments.After reading yr inputs, I will have to do more research before I embark on this hobby.
In fact i also visited JJ market in Bangkok couple of weeks ago and after some discussions with the aquarium plant vendors , it appears a tank with CO2 would be more appropriate for the green plants and some small fishes. Of course lighting or number of light tubes should be sufficient so as to enable the plants to photosynthesize. There is no need for oxygen tank as plants may provide oxygen for fishes to survive. Hence , this could be the eco-system i am looking for but believe one may have to top up water occasionally. I am also concern about algae built up and perhaps other related problems that i am not aware.

Just wondering if anyone has this kind of experience in keeping aquatic plants with small fishes.

Thanks again and cheers,
Rrichard

[Shadow]

Actually all planted tank is like that, no longer require external oxygen supply. Regardless, no water changing for 2 years still a challenge, your tank need to be well balance.

You see all rotten plants and fish shit will add ammonia to the water. The filter will convert ammonia into less toxic nitrate. Plants will use all these to grow. However, in the event that plant intake is not as fast as ammonia generated, after a while the build up become toxic to your fauna. This is where changing water is important to reset the whole thing.

Assuming that you can make well balance tank, you still need to consider the other mineral from tap water. Water evaporate will leave the mineral behind and you keep toping it up, after a while the build up may also become toxic.

[aquarius]

Go read up the below thread to have a better understanding of non C02 setups so that you can compare the merits of C02 and non C02 setups and decide which suits your needs and budget. http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...Non-CO2-method

[barmby]

I am new to this hobby and would welcome any suggestions on how to get started without incurring too much cost and inconvenience.

Being new, you need the right equipments to kick start your hobby on the right track which, the ultimate goal is enjoyment. Once you gain momentum, you may want to take challenge to another level by not having certain equipment that help you..

For a 5-6 feet planted tank-
You need a full functional CO2 system (timer controlled)
Good lighting system (timer controlled)
Good cooling system (Thermostat control)
A filtration system with excellent flow rate per hour

And occasional dosing of fertilizer

These systems are recommended with one intention - to grow plant and suppress algae growth without distressing the fishes.