My hobby of fishkeeping began back in 1987. A large fishbowl and goldfish were some of the first things I bought with money from my paper route.

Over time I moved to a 10 gallon aquarium and then a 20 gallon before settling on my current 30 gallon aquarium in 1999. I would like to go larger but I am space limited so a larger tank would need to have the same 36x12 footprint or close to it. 36x16 is about the limit but I need room behind the tank for equipment.

My current population consists of a mix of the following

• Black Skirt Tetra (Gymnocorymbus ternetzi)
• Blue Gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus)
• Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi)
• YoYo Loach (Botia almorhae)

Filteration is provided by three filters. I have two Fluval C3 box filters hang off the back. Each is rated at 153 gallons per hour. In addition, I have a Fluval 207 canister filter. This is rated at 121 gallons per hour. Together, I have 427 gallons per hour of filtration-far more the rule of thumb 150 gph that a tank my size requires,

A 30 gallon tank requires a heater of between 100 and 150 watts depending on how far above ambient room temperature the water needs to be warmed. I have a Fluval E100. A heater from Petco serves as a combination backup and auxillary heater. It is set a few degrees lower than the E100 and only appears to turn on during water changes.