Fresh Start After Many Years

[tolga]

hi all

 

been years since i had a tank . just recovered from a nasty messy divorce about 4 years ago and I've finally landed back on my feet once again.

i really missed this hobby and would like to get my feet wet again lol and I'm looking at a eco tank setup if possible, but if need be, a filter powered tank is ok.

would like to setup a betta with some betta friendly community fish tank near my bed. I've seen a few betta Nano tank setup ups at a fish shop and was thrown back with the pricing and they were generally around the 12 L capacity and thought, wow, that's small and be a challenge to keep the water parameters in check along with the GH and nutrient levels for the plants.

saw a new tank, i think about 50L capacity at the store and I'm tempted to buy that, get some frost tint to stick on the back, a good light, heater and filter costing around the $350 mark

I'm open for suggestions and after some good deals, if any, in this group.

I'm also considering a HOB filter or a  mini canister filter for the setup, mainly for the quietness .

fish I'm thinking of raising in the tank (well not all, but considering only a few species of):

• betta
• Nano chilli tetra's
• Otto
• guppies
•  

 

I'm after some if those Indian almond leaves for treating the tank also

[GardenStateGoldfish]

I’d make the substrate much deeper, it makes the tanks much easier to manage, welcome back to the hobby, I think you will find it will bring a lot of serenity, I would do a mini hob over a canister on a tank of that size, it’s just much easier to manage. Make guppies can actually be aggressive towards a better an vice versa rather than guppies I would do platties or something that doesn’t look as Berta e as the guppies. 

[PedroPete]

Hi there! Great community to join as you re-enter the hobby 🙂 

If you travel often / have a lot of evaporation / have frequent power outages, I would recommend a sponge filter or a canister filter over an HOB (although I did just pick up a small Marina HOB for my dad's tank that has the pump underwater [self priming]). Also a sponge filter would not produce much flow, which could be nice for your betta.

I think your 50 L tank would look really cool with a betta and EITHER a school of chili rasboras / exclamation point rasboras / celestial pearl danios / eyespot rasboras OR a school of pygmy corydoras.

For your clean up crew, I would skip the Otocinclus and go with nerite snails and amano shrimp.

You'll want to stock a lot of plants, especially if you want to get rid of the filter at some point. Have you considered lighting yet? 

Finally, some aquascapers on Youtube that have great simple designs for bettas / betta communities / nano tanks: MD Fish Tanks, TheCineScaper, and MJ Aquascaping.

[Gator]

@tolga; I went through an extremely nasty and extremely bitter divorce in 1989, I decided that I'd never get married again. I've had three opportunities with three different women since, but I decided to stay true to my promise to myself, maybe if I find the right woman (?).

My ex liked my aquariums before we got married, she thought they were beautiful. After we got married, she learned that those tanks didn't look beautiful by themselves, and she got jealous to the point of sabotaging my tanks. She medicated my Betta tanks when it didn't need to be medicated, and with an overdose of so many meds that they died. She put Kitty litter in a tank that had an UGF that turned the water grey. My ex hated my tanks at the end, but at the hearing for the Final Dissolution of Marriage, she asked for, and got my tanks. I thanked her for the divorce though I wanted it.

In '94, I thought that one bad apple doesn't spoil the whole barrel, so I started dating again, she is a woman who at the time was breeding, raising, and selling Discus to the same LFS where I sold Bettas. That ended when I learned that she was an alcoholic and would drink and drive, not a person for a non-drinker like me.

My ex harassed each of the next two girlfriends and me until I'd tell them that for their safety, maybe we should split up. My ex actually did me a favor with each, but my ex was harassing me to the point that I relocated here, but her harassment didn't stop until 12-20-2019 when she passed away due to Bile Duct Cancer. 

The first three fish you mention are all soft, blackwater fish and the Guppies are hardwater fish.

Go with the canister filter, preferably one that is rated for a tank twice as large as the one you buy.

If you decide to use any backing on your tank, consider a light blue spray paint. Start by using painters' tape and a sheet of newspaper to cover any areas you don't want to paint. Clean the glass with Windex and again with rubbing alcohol, when using the rubbing alcohol, use a clean cloth to rub the alcohol off, don't use paper towels. 

Hold the spray paint 14 inches away from the area to be painted and spray side to side first then top to bottom, repeat the side to side again and then the top to bottom again. I did this with a mirror effects paint to create a mirror on the back of a 29 G cube tank and I love it, but I'd never put a Betta in it because the Betta would probably kill himself fighting his mirror image.

You've joined a great forum you're going to love it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Sincerely

Gator

[Bev C]

Welcome to the forum and back to the hobby ,, you will enjoy the forum and Aquarium Co-op youtube channel  all the members are wonderful so many helpful people  

a divorce my thoughts are with you it is not easy to get back on your feet ,, been there ..  swore i would never remarry ,.. after what my ex ..put me through.that was some years back 

Sorry I do not have much advice but wanted to welcome you to the forum best wishes 

[tolga]

On 1/1/2022 at 4:59 PM, GardenStateGoldfish said:

I’d make the substrate much deeper, it makes the tanks much easier to manage, welcome back to the hobby, I think you will find it will bring a lot of serenity, I would do a mini hob over a canister on a tank of that size, it’s just much easier to manage. Make guppies can actually be aggressive towards a better an vice versa rather than guppies I would do platties or something that doesn’t look as Berta e as the guppies. 

Thanks. What about afew nano chilli / normal rosbora Terra's .?

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@tolgaWelcome to our community. May you find healing and peace.

As for this potential setup so much will depend on the personality of your betta. Some are docile, some are downright mean, others are in between - one day a gent another a homicidal maniac.

I would put the tetras or rasboras in first and let them settle in. They will need sight breaks and places to hide from the betta. Corkscrew valisineria, wisteria, baby tears, larger cryptcoryne species like spiralis and big anubias like coffefolia or barterii can provide cover and the betta will appreciate it as well. Pieces of wood that are more vertical along with rocks that can distract the betta. The more entertained they are by their environment the less they pay attention. The larger the tank the better as well - 60 L would be ideal for the kind of setup you mentioned. 

Get a fancy betta - veil tail, or half/full moon etc they are slower swimmers, a plakat or alien betta is fast and if they get a hunting instinct for your small schooling fish watch out. I think if you go with amano shrimp make sure they are large, small ones will just be killed and played with by the betta potentially. Nerites can work as they don't have antennae that the betta could grab. If you do decide to put otos in wait for 3 months or so that way there is enough biofilm, algae and other material for them. Often they will not eat commercially prepared foods. 

This will be fun. For many of us the creation is the best part. I make the maintenance and the husbandry part of my meditation practice. Have fun and enjoy the ride!

[tolga]

Awesome 👌 info. Thanks 👍