FWIW, I do not use an UGF with my current tank. I have kept fish off and on for almost 19 years (since I was about 10). I'm currently running a 35 gal with the maximum fish load. I use an Eheim Pro canister filter, which I clean maybe 3x annually, and I change 30% water about every week or two. I test the water parameters monthly and have had no trouble. The tank has a stock fluorescent light (in other words the tank has less than 1 watt/gallon, low lighting) but I'm able to keep live plants: java fern (very very easy once they attach to a rock or piece of wood) and floating anacharis (I expected it to die, I bought it cause "important" people were visiting; it keeps growing and growing and growing) so I think you could consider giving live plants a try--the "easy" plants (ie: low light requirements) are not really any work at all. I think if my anacharis was planted it would die but it is successful because it is so close to the light source. I do have one silk plant, a tall red and green hygrophila, because I started out with silk plants and I can't bear to pull this last one out. If you go with the silk, get the ones with the heavy resin bases, much sturdier and easier to deal with. My tank does not have the typical inch or two of gravel covering the bottom, instead it is decorated with wood, about ten 1-3 inch rocks and several java ferns. I siphon under the driftwood, rocks, little gravel "piles" (I have about a cup of white gravel on the bottom for interest), the plants...anywhere debris collects. I run an air pump because my tank shape does not allow for the canister spray bar to agitate the surface (it's a hex tank ). That is the purpose of the bubbles, to agitate the surface and allow oxygen to dissolve into the water. I have no experience with an elephant nose but I looked it up in my Innes(1966 edition, I'm sure fishkeeping has come a long way since then). Says they can reach 9 inches and can be agressive toward smaller fish. Should be kept in large, well-planted tank. I tend to go with "majority rule"; since most sites you read did not recommend this fish, you probably should look for something else. Example of what Innes recommends for a larger community tank: 2 "Blue Acara" cichlids or 4 scalare (as the larger fish).

How about diatoms that attach to my acrylic tank (brown spots and streaks).. I have to do a hard cleaning each week when I do my water changes to clean it off the front of my tank... weird as it seems to not affect the back and side walls and only the front.. the scrubber magnets arent strong enough to remove the growth.. it takes me about an hour each week to do the water exchange and cleaning of the front.. not to mention my clown bites me constantly while I am scrubbing.. my wife thinks its funny but that little suckers bite hurts.. he actually jumped out of the tank yesterday trying to attack me..

Would only like to add that the tank of course will be in your care, lol. (I have an extensive background and too many links so you can email me at sherryazure@yahoo.com if desired) but mainly read up on cycling and maturing a tank before the fish are added. FYI: It is always better to buy a heater for a small tank UNDER watted as they can and do break, overheat. 50 is way to much for a six gallon and 25 would have been perfect (never trust sales people). If it is a great quality should be ok just have it at slightly under where you want temp. (I have dozens of tanks and many therms and all read differently!) Sorry but one should NEVER carry a tank with water in it.. stress not only for tank but for fish. Not a toy and the spot should be chosen for security (ie won't be run into, knocked over, and level table (never near heater or window, but indirect light ok). While small they do stress and break. RE going back and forth, slow down lol, (this post is old but still responding for future readers) plan and do it one step at a time. Do not add fish until all is done and tank has set a bit and matured. Plants are like fish, they need chlorinated water and heat unless cold water plants which those are not, and none live in freezing temps (the cell walls will break down). See below on amount of sand, really not needed unless you have rooted plants which are not always good for beginners (again need to know requirements of, light requirements, fertilizers so on)... get some bunch like anacharis, float them or leave some with weights on... and research plants for later as your knowledge and experience grow. Sand becomes nasty if there are not strong root growth to uptake the poo (and other stuff).. it becomes a breeding ground for "negative" bacteria is too deep and gravel vacuuming not done. a fine layer is perfect for growing good bugs which keep the water cycled. .......................... Then depending on the size (your original size is indeed too small for any amount of any sized goldfish)six is great) of your aquarium you select your fish and that will also affect the type of filtration, heater and water qualities ph, hardness so on. Example: You would not want a betta in a set up with the filtration as mentioned in above posts - the fins would eventually get shredded. A small box filter with valves set on low would be more adequate. Lots of plants as they love to sit on them, hide under then so on (one betta per tank). Cooler temp, small school of fish such as white cloud mountain minnow would be perfect for that size. (they come from Chinese mountain streams.) I would do species only for such a small tank and beginner to boot. White clouds are great beginner fish and there are other small schooling fish but you have to be careful as that tank is too small for more then say 6 really small fish. Priscella tetra is another good choice for beginners. (that was before I read the last post) with six gallon you can add a few more fish, some bottom catfish such as cory catfish which also like to school. See, what fish you plan to get informs you as to your tank set up (after you read up on which are good for beginners) and again sales people (at least hear in NYC) can sale you things that grow huge, or say goldfish with tropical so it is up to you do do resaerch. ........................................... I would also consider plants such as Anubias which are low light easy to care for if they can be found. If not even the beginner Anacharis (not sure how to spell) and other easy to care for beginner plants will help greatly with water quality, security of fish (they hate bare tanks with lights a glare (instinct is to be secure from being eaten) and be careful of being sold land plants as aquarium. Sand is not really needed for bunch plants (Anubias have rizomes and it is never to be planted) but a 1/3 inch layer will help to cultivate the "bugs" bio bacteria which is part of a mature cycled tank and the sand will allow a culture there as well. With no experience in cycling the beginner reason for dead fish is that reason. Adding too many fish in an uncylcled tank. (over feeding, wrong maintenance so on). If you can get filter floss from an (healthy) established tank that will help greatly (put a bit in your filter). Add a few fish after a week or so with plants so on maturing a bit. This gives the "bugs ie organisms) time to establish. The plants will help as well. (Look up ammonia poisoning in fish as it is a really painful way to go, burns the delicate gills.) When you add the fish, do so slowly... any ph difference of a small increment can cause shock and death (as well as temperature change of a small increment)... (There are a great many good beginner books on this, most of mine are from the 50's on up, lol and still serve me well without all the high tech stuff). I lower the lights to avoid stress, put new fish (I always get tons more water from the store) in quarantine tank with filter, heater, towel over end so low light (they are super stressed from bagging (I bag my own and never dump them in - scoop) and transport and stress results in lower immunity and disease)... I put lid on tank (or grid) and slowly with small airline tubing with knot in it trickle new water into the quarantine. Just a little for first day (again depends on ph of your water and stores)...slowly take out some and dribble in new and over time they will be acclimated and you can also watch for disease outbreak. Soft silk plants will greatly add to there comfort. A bare tank is a huge stress for fish. Well there is much more, feeding (eyes are usually size of stomach and do not overfeed) a few flakes (rotate with frozen or live, can learn about this later) twice a day. (smaller faster fish smaller more frequent feeding a few flakes each - that's it). they will nibble on bugs that grow on plants as well (algaes as well) to supplement diet. Again, as a child I went to the library and read for months and set up tank and waited for it to mature before even considering adding fish. This is the number one reason for fish dying or getting sick. And as your child grows older this is a great tool for educational purposes. Good luck and be careful of getting hooked! (it is a habit that can last a lifetime, lol) Best Sherry

I would use a medium and small gravel mixture, such as mostly pea gravel with something penny sized mixed in. My 50 gallon tank has a mostly sand and small gravel bottom, with some larger rocks scattered around. I have mainly java fern in my tank, which won't grow in sand, so I have them attached to a large piece of bogwood. If you have a loose gravel, the java fern should grow well on it, and the variable gravel size will provide hiding places for fry. Some bogwood and flat stone caves might be good to have on the bottom for plants such as java fern and java moss and again for fry to hide under.I would suggest using natural river gravel, which you may be able to buy at a home improvement or gardening store, or even collect from a river yourself (just wash it well either way to remove dust and other undesirable particles). Don't bother buying gravel at a pet store, for it is often coated with a resin, which will cause the gravel to have no buffering capacity, plus it is usually more expensive. Mollies tend to like hard water, so it will be useful to have a substrate that can buffer the pH to keep it from getting too acidic. I'd suggest running the filter for a week or so to remove any leftover gravel dust that doesn't settle, though it's probably not dangerous for the fish (just what I'd do in my own tank). Oh, and watch out if you collect river gravel. If the river is polluted it won't be worth collecting from, and you may get some aquatic insects with it if it's a clean river. They might be interesting to watch and won't harm your adult fish, but some predatory ones may like to snack on fry!