Hello!

[NetBelleAnie]

Hello there, I'm Stephanie, usually hanging around the internet as NetBelle, Anie or both.  I had some tanks for 10 years, then moved 200 miles away 3 years ago, having to break down my tanks and store them since, with only a 5.5g full of the surviving few plants I wanted to keep.  A month ago I saw this cute little platinum halfmoon male having around Petsmart and thought, you know what, let's start again, scrubbed down my 5.5g and set up things again.  He's tentatively named Opal, but any suggestions, feel free to let me know.  His tankmates are a small mystery snail and 3 ramshorns, who are currently eating the 3 dead plant bulbs I keep hoping will grow.

When looking into info on getting back into the hobby, I stumbled upon Aquarium Co-Op's channel and started watching, remembering breeding guppies and corys, so I'm setting up my 55g again, probably setting up my 10g and 20g as well.  Unfortunately, I realize now that about half my supplies are missing in storage, and with things still packed in that I need to buy some new equipment.  Anyone have any suggestions for heating a 55g?  I know I had a 150w Aqueon Pro on it before, but it's MIA and was thinking of doing 2 100w heaters instead.

My current supplies include a Fluval 406 for bio/mech filtration and a Aquaclear 70 for bio/chem(if needed) with prefilters on both, about 15lbs of old Eco-complete + black sand and 30 of new Fluorite Onyx Sand, 15 lbs of new Eco-complete,  the two sword plants that have lived the last few years in an unfiltered tank, java moss from the same, plus bought some guppy grass, frogbit, an Amazon sword, and some plants from Aquarium co-op which came with duckweed. 

The plants are all in a bucket with a light and sponge filter until the stand gets moved to it's new location and the tank put on top.  They're going through a mini quarantine because I prefer ramshorn to other snails, so I want to see if anything had other snails on it first.  I plan on stocking corys and probably a bristlenose pleco, then having some tetras and probably guppies,  I'm not sure which fish should go in first when I start adding after the setup is complete.  I'm partial to anything albino or nano sized.

 

Anyway, let me know if you got any suggestions or links to read/watch.  Thank you 😄

Edited April 17, 2021 by NetBelleAnie
forgot to mention the snails

[darkG]

The extent to which I thought Opal in the first image was a flower is worrying.

[Colu]

Welcome to the forum nice Betta

[Isaac M]

Hello Stephanie, welcome to the forum! 

As far as a suggestion for the betta name, I think Opal is perfect! The only other jewelry related name I could think of for a white betta is Pearl haha But I personally like Opal a lot better! 

For heating the 55 gallon, it would depend on where you plan to keep the aquarium. I personally do not heat my aquariums as I do not think it is necessary since they are inside my heated house. I have not heated them in 6-7 years now. If you prefer to heat them or would like to learn more, I would recommend you watch Aquarium Co-Op’s Youtube videos on them. Cory made 2 videos called “The Truth About Aquarium Heaters (and Why They Always Break...)” and “YOUR Freshwater Fish Tank Probably Doesn’t Need a Heater!” 

For what fish you should stock the aquarium with first, well assuming you have already cycled the aquarium, I would add the corydoras first as I love corydoras and they are not even a little bit territorial. But really you can add any fish that you may like first, I would just recommend adding the most commonly territorial fish last to reduce any stress or aggression. 

I hope that helps! 

[CalmedByFish]

Welcome! 

Opal seems like the perfect name - and I also thought he was a flower at first!

It sounds like you actually have more experience than I do. But given your preferences for fish, I'll mention the idea of albino cories, pygmy cories, and endlers. (I switched from guppies to endlers.)

[CorydorasEthan]

6 hours ago, NetBelleAnie said:

Hello there, I'm Stephanie, usually hanging around the internet as NetBelle, Anie or both.  I had some tanks for 10 years, then moved 200 miles away 3 years ago, having to break down my tanks and store them since, with only a 5.5g full of the surviving few plants I wanted to keep.  A month ago I saw this cute little platinum halfmoon male having around Petsmart and thought, you know what, let's start again, scrubbed down my 5.5g and set up things again.  He's tentatively named Opal, but any suggestions, feel free to let me know.  His tankmates are a small mystery snail and 3 ramshorns, who are currently eating the 3 dead plant bulbs I keep hoping will grow.

When looking into info on getting back into the hobby, I stumbled upon Aquarium Co-Op's channel and started watching, remembering breeding guppies and corys, so I'm setting up my 55g again, probably setting up my 10g and 20g as well.  Unfortunately, I realize now that about half my supplies are missing in storage, and with things still packed in that I need to buy some new equipment.  Anyone have any suggestions for heating a 55g?  I know I had a 150w Aqueon Pro on it before, but it's MIA and was thinking of doing 2 100w heaters instead.

My current supplies include a Fluval 406 for bio/mech filtration and a Aquaclear 70 for bio/chem(if needed) with prefilters on both, about 15lbs of old Eco-complete + black sand and 30 of new Fluorite Onyx Sand, 15 lbs of new Eco-complete,  the two sword plants that have lived the last few years in an unfiltered tank, java moss from the same, plus bought some guppy grass, frogbit, an Amazon sword, and some plants from Aquarium co-op which came with duckweed. 

The plants are all in a bucket with a light and sponge filter until the stand gets moved to it's new location and the tank put on top.  They're going through a mini quarantine because I prefer ramshorn to other snails, so I want to see if anything had other snails on it first.  I plan on stocking corys and probably a bristlenose pleco, then having some tetras and probably guppies,  I'm not sure which fish should go in first when I start adding after the setup is complete.  I'm partial to anything albino or nano sized.

 

Anyway, let me know if you got any suggestions or links to read/watch.  Thank you 😄

Welcome to the forum! Great looking tank you have there. For your 55 gallon, the fish you listed (Corydoras, bristlenose, tetras, guppies) would work perfectly. The things that @Isaac M and @CalmedByFish recommended are what I would recommend as well. Corydoras are a great choice for any peaceful community. Anyways, I look forward to seeing how your 55 gallon turns out!

[lefty o]

welcome to the herd.

[NetBelleAnie]

Yea, I come near his tank and he gets the fishy zoomies wanting to be fed, making it hard to get a good pic of him. 

My 55 isn't quite set up yet due to needing to move things around (the stand is going where a full shelving unit currently sits), I'm really just planning what is going where in the tank.  I'm thinking both albino cories and pygmy cories.  Considering when I had my albinos breed, about 20 fry got sucked into the 406 filter, where they lived for a month before I cleaned it.  I also love guppies and the variation of colors they come in, I just know if you arn't careful you go from 5 to 50 in a short time frame.

We're starting into summer and with that, my mom will start using the AC more, as in the winter it's usually about 66F but can swing either way by about 5 in the house, while in the summer it is set to 70 but swings 5 again either way, depending on how warm my family feels.  The tank will be in a hallway that used to be a laundry room (the machines moved to a new room but the water is still set up, making water changes a breeze) that doesn't have any air outlets of its own, so it doesn't have much in the way of changing temperatures, except from the connecting bathroom. 

I have a big ol bottle of Fritzzyme 7 for water cycling, and using the changed water from my betta tank will help with the cycling process.

Anyway,, thank you everyone 😄