Log of a future (ok...quite far in the future) 50 gallon!

[fishygurl]

OK, im planning to set up a 50 in my room, becasue ive had problems with my 24, and once i get it under control, i want to start again but do it right. This 50 is going to be planted, so im going to make a similar thread in the planted forum. For the filter im thinking RENA XP3....Thats rated for a 175 I think, but i want to overfilter. Im not usre if i need any airation as ive only used HOB filters so far, which aerate the tank by themselves. Could someone fill me in on this? For a heater, either two 100 watts or two 150's. What do you think? Now, for the fun part. What fish? Im thinking lots of tetras but im not sure if i should do 1 big school of tetras or 3 smaller ones. So, heres a few ideas:

20 cardinal tetras
6 peppered corie
2 clown plecos
6 mabye some hatchets? Other suggestions for the suface would be helpful.....
6 leopard danios
I dont think thats overstocked....but i dont really know.



Idea 2
12 Cardinals
12 serpae tetra (i love these guys....)
1 clown pleco
3 yoyo loaches
6 danios

One more question for now....this a long wayin the future, but is there a way to jumpstart a huge canister form a tiny 20 gallon? Like putting a bit of the canister media in the the 20's HOB?

 

[hashbaz]

Re: Log of a future (ok...quite far in the future) 50 gallon

One more question for now....this a long wayin the future, but is there a way to jumpstart a huge canister form a tiny 20 gallon? Like putting a bit of the canister media in the the 20's HOB?

Yes this will help "jumpstart" the cycle on the new filter.

Or you could connect the canister to a bucket of water and do a normal fishless cycle. I have never hears of anyone trying this sort of thing, but I want to try it in the near future.

I think that with this technique you would have to add ammonia a lot more often because of the smallness of the bucket compared to the tank you want to put the filter on.

 

[fishygurl]

Ya, i was planning on doing an fishless cycle, just wondering hwo to speed it along with material from the other tank...
Thanks

 

[Codefox]

Just a thought...maybe consider doing a theme tank? Try going with fish all from the same habitat.

 

[hc8719]

careful with the 20 cardinals, they are imo very fragile fish compared to their neon cousins, and at $4 a peice, your at an $80 loss

there is some rumor that cardinals secrete something that attracts other cardinals, but in a tank, the secretions get too strong and kill the cardinals. someone posted not too long ago, that he got like 12 cardinals and they all died off in a week or so.

in my experience, neons are very hardy, and ive heard cardinals will school with them, so 5 cardinals and 10 neons is possible

 

[fishygurl]

A theme tank is a good idea, i ocnsidered it, but i have limited resources as for LFS's and they dont stock much...But i might try! As for the cardinals, I was kind of considering getting less, but hata rumors a bit far out....

 

[JustOneMore20]

Get the cardinals...they are hardier IMO than neons and not as weak. They are also much prettier.

You can do a South American theme tank. I think your first stocking idea would be SA if you drop the danios. I'd also lower the number of cardinals slightly...to maybe 14-16. You could even go so far as to have SA plants. Check out tropica.com and go to advanced search...then pick South America for the continent and it will list SA plants. Some may be hard to find, but with high light, you will certainly have alot of options.

 

[fishygurl]

OK...mixed cardinal opinions....I had heard that they were hardier too...Anyone else hve an opinion on that?

 

[severum mama]

In my experience they are not hardier than neons. I haven't had a lot of success with either species, even though I added them to an established tank, and my pH at the time was 7.0 (not perfect, but should have been pretty good for them). I just decided to not keep either species anymore- there are so many other cool species that I would rather have that tend to have better survival rates for me. Black neons are supposed to be hardier, and glowlights are tough as nails. If you can find green fire tetras, they seem pretty hardy too. I like them a lot because they are much more unique IMO.

Bottom line: if you want to try neons or cardinals, go for it! Just make sure the tank is cycled and acclimate them slowly. Hopefully you have better luck with them than I ever did.

 

[hc8719]

i cant find a single link about cardinals being hardier, someone give me a link

 

[dskidmore]

Re: Log of a future (ok...quite far in the future) 50 gallon

For the filter im thinking RENA XP3....Thats rated for a 175 I think, but i want to overfilter.

I personally am a fan of underfiltering planted tanks, but it's a choice. The Rena has a pretty good reputation.

Im not usre if i need any airation as ive only used HOB filters so far, which aerate the tank by themselves. Could someone fill me in on this?

The plants should provide all the needed oxygen. If this is going to be a medium to high light tank, you'll want to inject CO2, and areation will be counterproductive, letting the CO2 back out.

For a heater, either two 100 watts or two 150's.

When using two lower powered heaters, be careful to either spread them way apart, or calibrate them to be exactly in sync. Otherwise one heater is going to do most of the work.

 

[JustOneMore20]

i cant find a single link about cardinals being hardier, someone give me a link

I don't have a link...I'm just going by what experienced people have told me on other forums. You will always have someone saying either of the 2 are hardier. There are weak batches of both. IMO neons are just weak...maybe not too sensitive, but they are pretty weak. I've had mine die from various diseases and I will not buy any more. Cardinals are rare in my area and pretty expensive for tetras.

IMO give it a try with the cardinals. Only add a small group at a time to make sure you don't get a weak batch. If all goes well, slowly bring the school up to the number you want. I'd make sure the tank is cycled.

My neons did live in my 10g with about 2-3ppm of ammonia for about a week. So mine weren't sensitive at all. I have never kept cardinals though, so can't really compare the 2. I just go by what experienced people have told me.

 

[hc8719]

i havent kept cardinals either, as they are kinda pricey, a school of 5 for me would cost $20 + tax

the weaker batch theory is a good one, im sure someone somewhere interbred neons

 

[fishygurl]

I actually have 2 neons in my rescued tank which are both perfectly happy.... I also had one that lived for 2 years in a 2 gallon hex with no filter and a corie.....It was in their right from the beginning....I didnt know anything abotu cycle, but hey, i was 5....So...my point..Right. Mabye it is just the batch. Or luck.