what do i need to start a 10 gallon freshwater fish tank?
by Aquaboy on Thursday, May 6th, 2010 | 4 Comments
i want to get a fish tank in my room just to have and for something to look at and i want it to be tropical with some tropical fish. what do i need? thanks
Other articles you might like;
- Is These Pellets Healthy + More Qs-?
- Would This Hurt The Guppy Fry?
- 90g Reef Aquarium Setup Day 5
- Ideas On Fish For Freshwater Community Aquarium?
- Work Experience Melbourne 2011?
tank,heater,filter,air pump,10lbs. gravel,decor. and fish
tank, stand, decor, sand, light, hood, high quality food, net, declorinater, other chemicals for aquariums, heater, air fump, filter, ect. get 5 guppies, OR 3 platies 3 coolie loaches OR 3 mollies 3 platies, ect. cycle the tank first, just google aquarium cycle.
Get all the necessities, (pump, filter, bubbles, aquarium salt, etc..) and the you should get at least one live plant, a snail, and of course, the fish
(I love Plecostomus, but I’m not so sure about how well they would do in a ten gallon tank. Of course, the fish will only grow to the size of the tank it is in, but they can get up to eighteen inches and a ten gallon aquarium may be a tight squeeze) As a rule of thumb, one gllon per inch. So, if a fish get up to two inches long, you would only be able to get about five of them for a ten gallon tank.
-Tetras are a lot of fun to have, they come in several varieties and they are small enough to where you can have several in a ten gallon tank. If you wanted a tank of just tetras, you could get up to about five of them and it be within your limits.
-Zebra Danios are very easy fish to care for. They get to be about two inches, and whats the rule? One gallon per inch, right? so you can have about five of these guys in you tank
-Guppies are also great fish. They are wonderfully colored, and easy to care for
You, again, can have about five of them to a ten gallon tank.
A 10g is really a small tank. So you’re remarkably limited to what can properly live in there! Tetras, Zebras, and other small fish generally need 15-20g because they are active swimmers needing room the 10g simply can’t provide. This guide is a great resource for stocking a tank, however if you get a 20g I can’t suggest Zebra Danios more. Awesome fish! 1 inch per gallon is utter BS, you need to consider a lot of factors when selecting fish. Keep in mind too that almost every fish at the fish store is a baby and some of those cute little guys grow up to over a foot long. Fish do not grow to the size of the tank so they will of course be really bad idea to get (They stunt, then die because their organs are crushing themselves), so research carefully before you buy!
This is insanely important! Failure to cycle a tank means you stand a large risk of losing fish.
As for what you need the basic must haves would be a 10g tank, enough gravel (About 10lbs would give you a fair amount), a heater since you want warmer water fish, and a filter. The good news is that several department stores carry kits that include all of the above (sometimes even with a hood). That’s the absolute bare minimum equipment, though it is HIGHLY recommended that you buy a proper 10g tank stand, a tight fitting hood to prevent escapees from drying up on your floor, and water conditioner. Less necessary but a good idea are live plants, I highly suggest some Java Ferns as they are almost indestructible and will in conjunction with your filter help keep your water clean. Java Ferns also have low light demands so you don’t need much in the way of lighting (though a proper live plant setup will definitely help).
Be warned, those kits are generally filled with the cheapest possible parts. So you likely will have to upgrade at some point to better gear if it breaks, or just plain sucks.