New 63 Gallon Aquarium

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

yudhas

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Apr 22, 2014
Messages
50
Location
Colombia
Hi Guys,

I'm new to the forum. I use to have a freshwater tank back when I was in school for a couple of years but then stopped for reasons I can't remember. Now I'm back trying to have a new tank. After doing some research I was going to try a saltwater tank but then after going to my local shop, in turns out here in Colombia that it is illegal to have a saltwater tank. I'm not sure why, so anyways I decided to go for freshwater.

After doing some careful research I've decided to go for a 63 gallon tank (in cm 100x40x60). The tank will be heavily planted and there will be some currents. I was thinking of having the following fishes:

8 Zebra Danios
8 Glowlight Danios/Pearl Danios (depends on LFS stock)
10 Tiger Barbs
5 Corydoras
1 Red Tail Shark/Rainbow Shark (depends on LFS stock)

I think that's a good combination, but I'm not too sure about the shark. Should I go for something less aggressive for the bottom level or the shark is fine? Is it ok to mix the corys with the shark? What sort of substrate would be best for this tank?

Finally I will start with just one heater, but I have been reading that having two heaters is much better. If I start with one and put a second heater later on, do I set the second heater at the same temperature as the first one or I have to lower the first heater and slowly heat the second?

Thanks
 
I'm not sure about the sharks and corys but the shark can be quite aggressive but they are normally fine. If you have corys definitely a fine substrate like sand or fine gravel so it doesn't hurt their whiskers. Most heaters will turn of when they are at the right temperature so just set them both at the temperature you want and you will be fine. Hope this helps.
 
Is it ok if I mix flourite about 1 inch deep and on top of it will be about 2 inch deep gravel?
 
I found a used 75 gallon tank at my LFS. It's actually still being used to house a big fish and the owner is selling it to for a very good price (including the stand, sand, and filter). Is that a good idea or not? Do I still need to do an entire cycle or will there be enough bacteria in there?
 
There should be enough bacteria in there. So it sounds like you just have to make it look how you want to then you can add fish without waiting for a cycle.
 
I keep albino corys with my rainbow shark and there isn't a problem :) he occasionally chases my cherry barbs but do any damage just chases them away from 'his space'
 
There should be enough bacteria in there. So it sounds like you just have to make it look how you want to then you can add fish without waiting for a cycle.

So should I clean the tank with bleach to sterilize it? or should I leave it as it is? and when I get it to my place just quickly refill it with water?
 
I wouldn't clean it out with bleach in case there is still some in their. Just clean it with a damp cloth. Then I would add the gravel, water and ornaments. Leave it a 2 days and test the water. If ammonia and nitrite are 0 then the tank has cycled. If this has happened then you can add your fish. Hope this helps.
 
What about driftwood and plants. I just bought some of them from my lfs and they were already in their tanks for sometime. Can I put them straight in? or I should wash them first with hot water?

I'm thinking I can use the bacterias already present in those to help with cycling of my tank.

Thanks
 
You might just want to give both a quick rinse so no debris that can rot is left on them but otherwise it's all good.
 
Well this is my tank. It's no longer a 63 or 75 gallon, but an 85 gallon. Measurement is, in cm 120x60x45 (in inch 48x24x18). I'm currently running 2x150w heater and two filters. One of the filter is rated at 380GPH, the other one I'm not too sure. Although I'm gonna replace the other one in a few weeks as it seems to be old. I also haven't installed the lights and hood yet, that's coming on around tuesday or wednesday. However, chances are I'm going to switch to LEDs as the tank will be heavily planted.

I'm planning to add a few more rocks and a lot more plants. Under the gravel is about 1 to 1.5inch of onyx sand. I've put some Prime to dechlorinate the water and if all the equipment is functioning well, tonight I'm going to start cycling it.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_2910.jpg
    IMG_2910.jpg
    256.9 KB · Views: 86
The onyx sand I found here is a bit expensive. A bag of 7.7lbs is almost $30 and they had only two bags left. I wanted at least four, but i think I'm gonna put at least one more bag in once they get more shipment. I'm gonna put it in the hill at the back of the aquarium.

Another problem that I face here in Colombia is many of them don't even stock ammonia in the pet shops or hardware stores. And I had to go through a few chemical shops before finding one that is pure ammonia. They are the ones for cleaning lab equipments, so the strength is about 30%. Is that ok or not? I can't find like the ace hardware ones where is only 10%.

Testing kits are also close to impossible to find. The only one they got is for pH. After going through at least 6 shops I found one that have a test kit for ammonia. I still havent found any for Nitrite or Nitrate. The good news is that I'm traveling to San Francisco next week for a week, so hopefully I can find the stuff there.
 
I've added more plants, driftwood, and rocks. I've started the cycling, I don't have an exact test kit for ammonia. It's just a color comparison test kit, so far is reading at 4-5ppm according to the color. Hopefully I can get the master kit when I'm over at the US.
 

Attachments

  • Aquarium (28042014).jpg
    Aquarium (28042014).jpg
    248.4 KB · Views: 81
  • Aquarium 2 (28042014).jpg
    Aquarium 2 (28042014).jpg
    259.2 KB · Views: 76
I have a problem with the water temperature. Here where I live the temperature is constant throughout the year at about 80-82. Sometimes it can get hotter or colder. During the night it gets slightly colder, maybe around 77. The problem is my water stays around 81. At first I thought is because of the heater, but then I turned it off. It went down to about 79 but then it stays there.

I know with some of the fish I like to keep that the temperature will be fine, but I've read that zebra danios likes it cooler. They say around 75. Will it be ok for the danios at higher temp?
 
Well an update of the status of my tank. I installed my hood/canopy on Wednesday and I got a T5 21W 6500K fluorescent in there. I probably will add some more lights. What sort of color combination suggestion is good for my plants?

Still cycling the tank and did a test today and showed ammonia dropped to 2ppm, nitrite increased to 0.25ppm. So everything is all good.

However, I found that my pH to dropped for some reason. From 7.2 to 6.6. Is that ok? Do I need to increase it again as I'm fishless cycling at the moment?
 

Attachments

  • Aquarium 3 (01052014).jpg
    Aquarium 3 (01052014).jpg
    256.5 KB · Views: 74
Thanks for the help dude. So I replaced my T5 6500K for a 10000K and I also installed a purple T5 25000K. Put them on a timer from 10AM until 8PM. This morning ammonia went down to 0.25ppm so I re-dosed it to 4ppm. My pH continued to go down, now is 6.3. Nitrite went up to 0.50ppm. I checked my KH to see what my buffer is, in turns out it is only around 2.2 degrees (40ppm). I guess thats why my pH is going down easily as there is no buffer.

I'm leaving for a week and my girlfriend is going to take care of it for that time (I just hope she doesn't mess it up). A question: I can see that my water is slowly evaporating, should I top it off? If I do top it off, should I put Seachem Prime on the top off? I know that Prime kinda binds the ammonia, so will that affect my cycle?

Or I should just wait next week when I come back to do a water change? When I do a water change during cycling, should I put Prime?

Thanks
 

Attachments

  • Aquarium 4 (02052014).jpg
    Aquarium 4 (02052014).jpg
    261.1 KB · Views: 95
  • Aquarium 5 (02052014).jpg
    Aquarium 5 (02052014).jpg
    267.6 KB · Views: 60
Back
Top Bottom