Todd C.

Thanks Andy, I do have Styrofoam boxes available to use I will have to keep one or 2 in the truck when I head into the cities, I never thought about using them for that.

Thanks CalmedByFish, Yes I can order stuff online but there is also a petsmart in a close by town, about 20 mins away. and I am about 1 1/2 from Minneapolis and have had good luck with 2 of the local fish stores there only thing I am worried about is the transport time if I buy fish in Minneapolis.

Also when I ordered the heater I thought it would be much smaller, so I have a smaller one on order and will be using the current one for the 55gal when I start setting that one up.

xXInkedPhoenixX I like your tank pics they look good but I am more of a natural looking plant tank, that's what I used to have and I like the look, so I will be planting in the substrate, on logs and floating plants, with the hardness of my water, which is mostly calcium if the faucets in my home are any indication, i don't see adding to much in the way of fertilizer for the plants, what I would like to find is some kind of lily pad plant so the betta can float under it and I like the thought of floating lily pads rather then the stem ones.

xXInkedPhoenixxX asked for pics, and since I didn't have any at the time I could not post but I took one of the tank setup I have so far, one live plant and a Betta whom I call Charlie (as he is my chicken of the sea), it has been a couple of weeks since starting up and I am hoping Charlie will help the cycle, cycle as it were, so far water is very hard GH is at 300ppm, and PH is testing at 8.4 not sure how much I trust the tetras 6in1 strips though and since I am on a limited budget at the moment can't afford an API test kit yet. Although Charlie seems to be doing well with the water conditions, I have some wood and more plants on order should be here next week. he will have tank mates when/if the water stabilizes, or if it stays the same I plan on getting some guppies and an algae eater. And thank you for the welcome to the forum.

Hey Folks, Getting back into fish after being out for about 30 years and starting up a new tank again, lots of stuff has changed I have noticed. I am in a totally different area since the last time I had a tank, still city water but I live in a very small town pop. under 100. I am glad to find so many people in the fish community. Todd