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.
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