Just got a new tank.

I just found this site after I bought my tank. Please be gentle. I bought a 55 gallon kit from Walmart and I want to make a tank that replicates a freshwater pond in my area. I live in the Northeast, Delaware to be exact. Anyway, I have the tank: 55 gallons, an Aqua-Tech 30-60 bio/power filter. What should I do next. I used to have saltwater tanks in the past, so I'm not completely unfamiliar to some of the practices, but basically I'm a beginner again. Can some one suggest a test kit and anything esle I'd probably need.

Like I said, I have that filter, should I be looking at getting a power head? I seen in another post, that people are creating current in their tanks. How is that done? Is my tank large enough for that. Thanks in advance for the help. Jay

There is much more experienced people here to help you, but I will add before they do that if you are trying to recreate a pond enviroment then you will not need to worry about any kind of currents. Most if not all pond are still bodies of water, as with many lakes. The people that are creating currents are ones that have fish from a fast flowing stream or river.

For a test kit the basics should get you what you need,
pH
ammonia
nitrite
nitrate
hardness (not always necessary)


So thats my 1.5 cents worth

<------This wont stay this way but my post count and member number finally match.

Since you plan on a tank that replicates a pond, I doubt additional flow will be needed or wanted. Many of the tanks with extra flow are designed around stream/riffle fishes.

The first thing I'd do is start a cycle and tell us what fish you have in mind for this tank. Since you've kept fish in the past and saltwater no less, I'm sure you have an idea of the standard test kits needed (nitrate, nitrite & ammonia). pH kits are usually not needed unless you want to keep some of the tannin lowland fish. Basically no special care is required for native fishes aside from the no heater rule and special knowledge of feeding and habits of certain fish. I'm sure you'll get an idea of what fish you want to keep while your tank cycles.

Thanks. I was mostly curious about the current thing. I would love some little bass, but I need to check my state regs. I think the 12" keeper limit would stop that. I'd like bluegills and perch as well. It's been about 6 or 7 years since my last aquariums, so I'm basically starting all over, literally and knowledge wise. I have forgotten alot.

I've had bad luck with small mouth bass (thinking back they might have been over stressed for some reason). I would recommend anything but them, and I think they will probably need a bigger tank than a 55 gallon. People around here say Bluegills are too aggresive for community tanks.

Log perchs with non-aggresive sunfish would be cool.

If you are going with sunfish I would add another filter. Sunfish can be very messy. I would get a Aquaclear 110 or maybe a good canister filter.

If you are going with sunfish I would add another filter. Sunfish can be very messy. I would get a Aquaclear 110 or maybe a good canister filter.

Got it thanks. We used lake water since we live right on a lake. We used actual sand from the lake bottom for half and store bought pebbles for the other half. The water is not muddy at all. It was getting clearer everyday, but it seems like the clearing is slowing down. Its been three days. I can see through the whole tank. The visibility is good, but not crytal clear. Will it ever get crystal clear? Also is an air pump necessary in addition to the filter? Or will adding another power filter, say the Aquaclear 110, do the trick as far as aeration? Thanks again.

Got it thanks. We used lake water since we live right on a lake. We used actual sand from the lake bottom for half and store bought pebbles for the other half. The water is not muddy at all. It was getting clearer everyday, but it seems like the clearing is slowing down. Its been three days. I can see through the whole tank. The visibility is good, but not crytal clear. Will it ever get crystal clear? Also is an air pump necessary in addition to the filter? Or will adding another power filter, say the Aquaclear 110, do the trick as far as aeration? Thanks again.

I don't know why people sometimes think they need to use lake or stream water in an aquarium. That is not necessary, unless for some reason you have bad tap water. You want crystal clear water, use dechlorinated tap water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt (kosher salt with no anti-caking agent, just pure sodium chloride) per 5 gallons of water. Use adequate filtration. Ideally use two filters (2 over the back, 1 over the back and 1 undergravel, 1 over the back and 1 cannister... you get the idea). Clean (but NEVER sterilize) the media at alternate times. And keep the glass clean. Dirty glass can easily make your water look dirty, and your fish don't look good through dirty glass. They don't look good in dirty water, either. Clean water and clean glass, along with good lighting, makes for a beautiful aquarium, and your fish look beautiful. Some people like to let algae, etc., grow on their glass. It does help keep water clean, and some (few) fish like to eat the algae. That's cool. But I think clean glass makes the aquarium so much more appealing, and if you have good biological filtration established in your filters, you don't need the algae.

Unless you are overcrowding the tank, your filters should provide enough aeration. If you overcrowd the tank, to minimize aggression, or just because you like a lot of fish, you may need additional aeration. You will also be doing frequent water changes and filter maintenance.

I don't know why others do it, but I did it in hopes of maintaining the the grass that I took from the same lake. Plus, being an ex-saltwater guy years ago, I can remember having to put certain fish in for awhile (damsels if I remember correctly) so that their waste would help ready the tank. I figured there would already be some good waste in the lake water. I agree clean tanks are beautiful, and hopefully I can get mine right. I all else fails I will start over with tap water. Thanks.

Oh yeah. I got two test kits to compare. One liquid and one strips. Both tests showed the same results, but obviously the strips were quicker and easier. I read here on the posts where the liquid was recommended. Is that personal preference or is there a benefit to the liquid that I haven't found yet? Thanks in advance!!!

Got it thanks. We used lake water since we live right on a lake. We used actual sand from the lake bottom for half and store bought pebbles for the other half. The water is not muddy at all. It was getting clearer everyday, but it seems like the clearing is slowing down. Its been three days. I can see through the whole tank. The visibility is good, but not crytal clear. Will it ever get crystal clear? Also is an air pump necessary in addition to the filter? Or will adding another power filter, say the Aquaclear 110, do the trick as far as aeration? Thanks again.

If it is not clear, then what color is the water, green, white or brown? You could add some filter floss to your filter to help clear up the small particles that are floating around. If it is white then your tank is having a bacteria bloom and it will eventually clear. You said the water has been in the tank for three days but did you add fish to the tank also?

If it is not clear, then what color is the water, green, white or brown? You could add some filter floss to your filter to help clear up the small particles that are floating around. If it is white then your tank is having a bacteria bloom and it will eventually clear. You said the water has been in the tank for three days but did you add fish to the tank also?

There could also be natural tannins or other dissolved minerals in the lake water that will never clear up. I think the best thing to do is use dechlorinated tap water, and just add a couple of fish at a time to build up the filtration capacity (i.e. to "cycle" the filter). Be prepared to do more frequent water changes until your filter is cycled, also.

Apparently it just needed a little more time. The tank is clearing up nicely. There are fish in it. The water had a yellowish tint to it, as it did when we got it from the lake. I thought the filter would help clear it up. It still has a little yellow tint, but with the tank lights of its crystal clear. With the light on, its a little yellow like I said, but alot better than before. I also used some type of clear water treatment after checking my water quality. It seemed to work well. Thanks