Finding a Tank

There are a few main components of a setting up a tank that are what I call the "big hitters."  These are the components that in and of themselves most often are the most expensive or are the largest portions of a tank set up.  In my opinion this includes the actual tank, the stand, the filtration and lighting.  As I am collecting all of these over a period of time I felt that the first step was to find a tank.

There are all kinds of tank shapes and sizes as well as glass tanks and acrylic tanks.  I feel like most people start small for their first tank and end up with a 10 Gallon aquarium.  I feel like that size is so limited especially when it comes to stocking the tank with fish!  Many people consider that you should have at least 1 gallon of water per inch of fish (though hobbyists will argue this "number").  That leaves room for between 5 and 8 very small fish.  I wanted to start bigger!  Honestly I wanted a 40 gallon breeder tank because it seemed like a good size but it also has more depth (front to back) than most tanks.  

Because I am on a budget I knew that it may be more cost efficient to buy a used tank instead of a new one from the store so I started my search for  40 gallon breeders on my local craigslist.  There were quite a few tanks out there but mostly not what I was looking for.  Lots of failed 10 gallons tanks, and some other larger tanks that people have had sitting around since the dawn of the dinosaurs!  Most people were trying to sell the whole setup with filters and lights, which for some might be good but not for me as I am looking to get specific equipment and it mostly drove up the price of the tanks that I was looking at.

Finally I spent an afternoon with my dad and I told him of my plans to set up an aquarium (at the time I was still planning on salt water).  I told him of my research and what I was "dreaming" about and a few days to a week later he sends me these pictures that he took next to a dumpster at his apartment complex.

It wasn't the exact tank size and shape I was looking for but it definitely WAS the price I was looking for!  I went that night and picked up this 50 gallon tank and stuffed it into my Prius!

 The Stand is slightly old fasioned but I plan to update it a little but hey a free tank and stand cannot be beat!

As you can see the tank needs a lot of work!  I have had to help several people deal with a limescale build-up on their tanks but this was the worst case I have ever seen. I'm sure that process will end up on another post though.

I am stoked to have the first part of my project out of the way and it didn't cost me anything!  If I was to buy a brand new 50 gallon tank with a stand it would probably cost between $250-350.  Now to clean it up...  :-)

The Beginning

Three years ago I began working at a pet store and was trained in the the care and maintenance of all kinds of animals including dogs, cats, reptiles, small furries, and fish (mainly freshwater).  I had never previously considered owning an aquarium and even though I have now worked around them for several years now I have not yet set one up myself.  I started to find that any time I would visit someone or some place that had an aquarium I would "HAVE" to spend several minutes viewing and admireing each tank for what it had.  I found that every tank was very different from the decorations, to the pumps, to the cleanliness, to the fish and so on and I found what I liked and what I didn't.  Because of my work experience in the aquatics department I have learned all the basics of what it takes to start and maintain aquariums as well as give advice and solutions to customers with questions and I would consider myself an intermediate aquariest from maintaining work tanks, though I have never had my own.

My interest in the hobby has compounded in the last 2 years to the point where I have decided to get one going and begin my own fish tank adventure!  Now to decide what kind of tank I want.  Though I have worked mainly with fresh water, I do have several close friends with salt water aquariums.  I found that I liked the color, personalities, and variety of salt water fish much more than the tiny twitchy tetra's found in most fresh water tanks these days as well as I liked the idea of small corals and the mini ecosystem that you create in a salt tank.  After doing a fair amount of research I knew that I could do it and be successful, but I also learned that my with my current budget and the extra time it would take to maintain (plus my lack of experience in the field) I was only dreaming!!!

But that didn't completely stop me.  I was slightly turned off to fresh water tanks for a while because I didn't think they could ever be as "COOL" as a salt water tank (though many will argue this topic).  The fish just weren't as personable, the decorations not as cool, etc.  But what I needed was to find the right fish and the right decorations in the right way to make a tank that I would not only love designing and creating but one that I would continue to grow in knowledge, experience, and deeper into the hobby.  There are way more interesting freshwater fish than what you will find in a larger corporate chain pet store and much more than "pea" gravel, ugly plastic plants, and pirate sculls to decorate a tank with.

In addition to friends with salt tanks, I also have friends with live planted fresh water tanks.  It was sort of an accident but also semi directed when I started looking online at planted tanks.  I found that "Aquascaping" is a growing hobby amoung aquariests and I found the artistic inspiration I needed for my own fresh water tank!  I wanted to have an entire living ecosystem and not just fish swimming around objects.  This was the perfect solution to my dilemma and I felt that my budget would be "more" allowing towards this direction though it would still be more challenging and expensive than simply keeping fish. 

I felt that this blog would be a perfect way for me dive deeper into the hobby as I learn and share my successes and failiers (hopfully more successes ;-) ) but mostly as a journal to keep record of the entire process as I expect to take my time on each step so that I do it right!

Always open to comments and advice!