Hello!

[Scooterlindy]

Hello! I have had aquariums for 7ish years and 2 years ago I started planted tanks. I currently have 4 tanks - a 40 gallon with your typical petsmart fish (most are the original fish I had 7 years ago). A 10 gallon with a beta and some nitrile snails, a 10 gallon "nano" tank with shrimp and Rasboras and a 6 gallon that is at my office and just finished cycling. I got into the hobby accidentally- my dad had a fish tank at his office, he retired and started traveling and I inherited his last fish - a tetra named Stewart. And so my love of aquariums started! I never thought I'd love having a fish tank, but 4 tanks later and I can't imagine not having them!

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

 

[emeraldking]

Welcome to TFF indeed...
Well, if you never thought loving fishkeeping while you've got 4 tanks now... What number of tanks will the future bring...?

 

[Scooterlindy]

Welcome to TFF indeed...
Well, if you never thought loving fishkeeping while you've got 4 tanks now... What number of tanks will the future bring...?

I'm officially out of space in my current home. So if I want more, I'll need a bigger house! Or at least one with better wall space!!

 

[Colin_T]

multi tier stands, get 2 or 3 tier stands and you can double or triple the number of tanks and not use anymore floor space

 

[Scooterlindy]

multi tier stands, get 2 or 3 tier stands and you can double or triple the number of tanks and not use anymore floor space

I have two large, active dogs. I'd have to find some pretty sturdy stands to not worry. Currently my 10 gallons are in built in bookcases beside my fireplace and the 40 gallon is in an armoire that is very well built and tucked away in an alcove. But I appreciate the support on feeding my habit!!!

 

[FishGuyBri]

Hello! I have had aquariums for 7ish years and 2 years ago I started planted tanks. I currently have 4 tanks - a 40 gallon with your typical petsmart fish (most are the original fish I had 7 years ago). A 10 gallon with a beta and some nitrile snails, a 10 gallon "nano" tank with shrimp and Rasboras and a 6 gallon that is at my office and just finished cycling. I got into the hobby accidentally- my dad had a fish tank at his office, he retired and started traveling and I inherited his last fish - a tetra named Stewart. And so my love of aquariums started! I never thought I'd love having a fish tank, but 4 tanks later and I can't imagine not having them!

Welcome! You can never have one! I've switched from salt to fresh so many times and somehow I ended up with 7 tanks... Now I want to start a planted tank but want to start very small. Any recommendations for a first timer wanting to do a 10-20 gallon planted to just try it out? filter, lights, etc.? I've never kept any plant living before, hoping that doesn't cross into submerged plants!

 

[Scooterlindy]

Welcome! You can never have one! I've switched from salt to fresh so many times and somehow I ended up with 7 tanks... Now I want to start a planted tank but want to start very small. Any recommendations for a first timer wanting to do a 10-20 gallon planted to just try it out? filter, lights, etc.? I've never kept any plant living before, hoping that doesn't cross into submerged plants!

So I started with plants because I was having issues with my water being cloudy in my 40 gallon. I try hard not to use a bunch of chemicals unless I have to but water changes and a new HOB filter weren't cutting it, so I found a local guy who was starting a small store (previously only petsmart and petco were available) and talked to him and he recommended some plants. I was really hesitant because my setups aren't hi tech and I have no desire to go to hi tech. But he recommended plants in the sword family and assured me I didn't need to change my current low tech setup. I still stick with low tech plants - ones that don't need special lights or supplementation and I've been pretty successful and my tanks stay extremely stable. I get everything from aquaticarts.com. I've never had anything arrive dead or issues with quality - occasionally a snail sneaks through but I ordered from a different online retailer one time and ended up with a snail disaster and am still paying for that mistake - I didn't dip the plants as well as I should have, but that's on me. All the plant descriptions for aquaticarts explain if they're beginner friendly. I did switch to biochemical sponge filters in all my tanks- I like that you can add media to the "cups" for a happy home for bacteria without the irritation of a HOB filter. And I have bubblers in all my tanks, but my lights are all the ones that come built into the tank lids. I occasionally add seachem flourish tabs but honestly, I stink at remembering I need to do it. I also mixed in some seachem black clay gravel with my original substrate - some people hate this brand/type because it can cloud the water but my sponge filters clear it up in a day. I did find if you put a layer of it down and then top with substrate, the clouding is less, so I did that when setting up my new office tank. When I first started into tanks, I preferred a "clean" look- ie fake plants and decorations just so and I would switch decor depending on the season, but as I've gotten more into it and realized there's a healthier way to keep the fish and it's pretty simple to add plants, I've stopped going with what I prefer and doing what makes my fish happy. I absolutely love the moss trees and "floating" moss balls from aquaticarts and my shrimp particularly love them. My 40 gallon has been planted the longest and I can barely see the substrate in it anymore and I hardly every see my cory cats anymore - my original sword plants and some moss mats have taken over. And I've got a bunch of hornwort floating at the top for any babies to hide in. The 10 gallon I've had set up longest is just now really starting to get good coverage and growth and my newest 10 gallon is starting to show little pops of growth. My office tank just finished cycling and the plants in there all look healthy and ready to welcome some fish. Maybe if I added strong lights or got a little more hi tech, the growth would happen faster but my water parameters stay stable, my plants don't die and my fish are happy, so I stick with what I know.

 

[MonsieurLaGrenuoille]

Very welcome from Berlin!

 

[The603]

Welcome to the forum.