need help

hey im going to start kepping bluegill and im going to be get anywere from a 40 gallon to a 55 gallon and im planing on getting a bluegill any tips on what filter i should get and any other thing im forgeting and i have heard that if i only get 1 bluegill that i wont have to clean my tank as often is that true? also when i do need to clean what stuff do i need for the water and any other things im fogeting thanks

try this web site it has helped me allot in the past.

http://jonahsaquariu...te/articles.htm

Sounds like your mind is made up, but if I may make a suggestion - bluegill are really ugly fish in a tank. Even though when you catch them they seem to have good color, those metallic blues and silver don't come through under water. You're going to have basically a white to grey fish most of the time. That said, they are interesting and I do keep a couple myself. If I only had one tank, though, I'd look at some of the more colorful sunfish like Orangespotted or Longears.

A 55 gallon tank should support more than one fish, but you can stick with one if you prefer. Fewer fish does mean less cleaning is required, obviously, but don't let that lead you to neglect the tank. The fish will suffer if you don't do regular water changes.

If this is your first fish tank, you should read up on cycling the tank (ie establishing a colony of bacteria in the filter to break down ammonia and other waste products) before you get any fish for it. Here is one good resource: http://www.aquariuma...ies-103339.html His writing style annoys me somewhat, but the information is good. You can also cycle the tank after getting fish, since the fish will produce ammonia, but if you want to keep the fish healthy this method is buying you daily water changes and way more water testing than you want to do. It's faster and a lot less work to do it the way that article recommends. Liquid test kits are more reliable for this purpose than paper strips.

Setting up a fish tank initially requires the following things:
- A tank. Sounds like you have one in mind.
- A stand. This is technically optional, but it's a lot easier to have the thing elevated.
- Water conditioner. This is a chemical that breaks down chlorine and chloramine (chemicals added to municipal water supplies to kill bacteria, but they will also kill fish). The best brand is Prime by Seachem, but competing products by Aqueon, Amquel and others will also work (Prime is more concentrated, so it lasts longer).
- A filter. There are many options out there. You'll want a pump that runs at least 4 times the volume of the tank an hour, with higher rates being somewhat better up to at least ten times tank volume. This will typically leave you with a filter "rated" by the manufacturer for a larger tank than what you actually have. Nobody knows what the manufacturer ratings are based on, but it's not the health of your fish. Hang-on-back style filters are the simplest model and easiest to clean, but do produce a certain amount of noise due to splashing at the return, so decide if that's a concern. External canister filters perform excellently, but are quite expensive. Undergravel filters are obsolete, hard to clean and less effective.
- Lights. Don't feel obligated to buy the pet store's. Retail price on an aquarium light for a 55 gallon tank is almost $75. You can get an identical or better shop light at Ace/Lowe's/Home Depot for closer to $20.
- Water test kit. This should be a liquid drop test, and should include ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Other things are not needed normally.

You do not need to add any other chemicals, bacteria supplements or fish to the tank until cycling is complete, no matter what the sales people say.

Edited by gzeiger, 06 August 2009 - 10:09 PM.

hey im going to start kepping bluegill and im going to be get anywere from a 40 gallon to a 55 gallon and im planing on getting a bluegill any tips on what filter i should get and any other thing im forgeting and i have heard that if i only get 1 bluegill that i wont have to clean my tank as often is that true? also when i do need to clean what stuff do i need for the water and any other things im fogeting thanks

A pumpkin seed would be a lot prettier than a bluegill...

You do not need to add any other chemicals, bacteria supplements or fish to the tank until cycling is complete, no matter what the sales people say.

I couldn't agree more with the above statement Don't buy any worthless crap like "cycle" or "biozyme" - and if you already have them pour 'em down the sink.

For a 55 gallon, if you want good turn over (and don't want to mess with canister filters) just use an emperor 400 or a large aquaclear, or any larger power filter....should be all you need. Water changes make the bigger difference.

If you are partial to canister filters, I like the old eheims (anything made by eheim is usually of excellent quality), and Rena filstars for the money. The others I have had mixed experience with (including fluvals, via aquas, and magnums).

I have use Seachem's Stability to set up many tanks, most with immediate stocking of fish. I have never had a death using this product or have any of the livestock shown any signs of stress. This is the only startup tyoe product I have used so I can't comment on the other products. Stability does what it promises.