Total newbie just bought a 90g tank

[Mippymuppett]

Hello all!!! I have 2 small 3g aquariums with a male beta in each and just bought a used 90g tank off of craigslist. The tank I bought was originally a freshwater tank and the previous owner had it converted to saltwater. He had problems with power outages and overflow so as a result I will be using the tank as a freshwater. We have beautiful hardwood floors and overflow would be a disaster.

My question is...what filter should I buy? I was at my LFS and the gentleman there suggested a Fluval 406. Then I started looking at reviews online and now my head is swimming. Some people love one while others have had horrible experiences. I'm not excited about wasting money buying multiple filters because I did not do my research. Does a canister run the risk of over flow? I'm sorry to sound like such a novice, but well, I am.

I plan on having live plants and small community fish up to 2-3 inches. I will start with a school of 5 or 6 and then work my way up to 40.

I was not planning on using any of the previous owner's equipment other than the tank, light, and uv sterilizer. So, I know I will want a 100g filter, a CO2, water test kit and thermometer. What am I missing?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you in advance to all!!

 

[ImACoolguy]

First of all welcome!

Many people, myself included, run 2 or more filters on tanks. Especially large ones like what you have.

The reasoning is simple:
1. Equipment failure. If your only filter broke you would likely need to cycle the tank all over again. Plus you are running a tank with no filter till you can get a new one.
2. More filtration. You can never have too much!

As for type of filter the choice is yours. People with larger fish often prefer canisters to hold all the extra waste. Myself and others prefer HOB(hang on back) for their simplicity and ease of cleaning.

I'd say run x2 Aquaclear 110 and you would be set. And still not near the price of a Fluval canister.

Have you read up on the Nitrogen cycle? It's important you cycle the tank properly or you could see problems in parameters down the road.

I'd suggest getting a liquid test kit now. It's more accurate than test strips and will last a long time. this will help guide you through the cycle and test your water at home if needed.

Hope this helps


Caleb

 

[Mebbid]

First of all welcome!

Many people, myself included, run 2 or more filters on tanks. Especially large ones like what you have.

The reasoning is simple:
1. Equipment failure. If your only filter broke you would likely need to cycle the tank all over again. Plus you are running a tank with no filter till you can get a new one.
2. More filtration. You can never have too much!

As for type of filter the choice is yours. People with larger fish often prefer canisters to hold all the extra waste. Myself and others prefer HOB(hang on back) for their simplicity and ease of cleaning.

I'd say run x2 Aquaclear 110 and you would be set. And still not near the price of a Fluval canister.

Have you read up on the Nitrogen cycle? It's important you cycle the tank properly or you could see problems in parameters down the road.

I'd suggest getting a liquid test kit now. It's more accurate than test strips and will last a long time. this will help guide you through the cycle and test your water at home if needed.

Hope this helps


Caleb

+1 Coolguy said it all.

 

[Mippymuppett]

Thanks for the info Caleb!!!

 

[Mippymuppett]

To Caleb - yes I saw the articles on cycling your tank fishless or fish in. Is this what you meant about nitrogen?

 

[ImACoolguy]

To Caleb - yes I saw the articles on cycling your tank fishless or fish in. Is this what you meant about nitrogen?

Yes it is! Cycling a tank in terms of biology is known as The Nitrogen Cycle. It's important now you choose which type you want to do.

Fish in- this form of cycling involves using fish as the ammonia source obviously. This requires lots of testing and water changes to keep those fish safe but the cycle usually finishes faster.

Fishless- this is my preferred method since to avoid all the water changes. You can use a table shrimp from the grocery store (put it in a pantyhose so it doesn't make a mess of the tank) or use a bottle of 10% ammonia from the hardware store. This method takes a little longer but the end result is a strong bio filter and you can add more fish as once.

Both methods of Fishless also only cost a couple dollars and no need to mess with all those water changes.

The choice is yours though


Caleb

 

[Mebbid]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

 

[Blackin]

I'm a total newbie myself, so take my opinion with a grain of aquarium salt.

I just setup a brand new 40 gallon tank and had it cycled within a week where it was fully converting Ammonia and Nitrites successfully overnight. Literally took right at a week.

I used "DrTim's Aquatics One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria" ($12 on Amazon)
Along with "DrTim's Aquatics Ammonium chloride" ($2 on Amazon)

I washed the tank thoroughly and then added my gravel, then wood, plants, a few decorations and then water. 20ml of Dechlorinator per it's instructions.

My 40 gallon runs a Penn-Plax Cascade 700 canister with the factory media. I'm also running a Aqueon HoB unit with no filter, but instead a big bag of Ceramic ring media. Just for good measure, I've got a double-sponge air filter in there as well.

I turned everything on and then poured the entire 2oz bottle of Dr Tim's into the tank along with 2 drops per gallon of the pure ammonia.

I was doing full water tests for a few days, multiple times a day. I'd add appropriate ammonia daily to keep the ammonia right at 2ppm to feed the bacteria.

At the end of one week, I'd wake up to zero ammonia and almost no Nitrites.

I started adding fish!!

I'll let these more knowledgeable guys and gals pick apart my methods now, but wanted to share my personal recent experience setting up a new tank. I feel it was a rave success.