My very own 75g stocking / build thread!

[MartinBlank]

FINALLY some pictures

I apologize it took so darn long. Been a busy, busy, busy summer.

 

[agp]

Looks nice, but I would put more plants and sand.

 

[MartinBlank]

Really? That is 100 lbs of sand in there. Roughly 2-4 inches deep depending on the "dunes" effect of the area you are in. The tank sits down in the stand a few inches as well...

My daughter (6) actually said there were too many plants last night LOL.

 

[Aquarium1]

Lol, you should show her some of the planted tanks on Google with plants covering almost if not every inch of the tank lol.

 

[agp]

Oh alright, if it's 2-4 inches deep then it should be good. From the pics I thought it was just ~1 inch deep.

 

[MartinBlank]

The issue I ran into with plants is the filter returns from my aquaclears push almost any plants straight downward. That is why you have those two areas with few plants or only short plants.

So the middle area is heavily planted (behind the ship / air stones) and the four corners all have differing amounts of plants.

*shrug* I am going to leave it as is now.

So my mind has been going back to stocking. Earlier in this thread I had been thinking about:

8 white Clouds
8 Cherry Barbs
10 Panda Corys
5 Oto Cats
8 Neon Dwarf Rainbows
6 Boesemani Rainbows
3 Red Mickey Mouse Swordtails

I have since changed my mind on the Boesemani rainbows. I think they get a bit to large (for a schooling fish). I have also cut the Otos.

My latest idea:
8 white Clouds
8 Cherry Barbs
10 Panda Corys
8 Neon Dwarf Rainbows
3 Red Mickey Mouse Swordtails
And....

I am back to thinking about either Angels or Dwarf Gourami.

Do Gouramis stick to the lower half of the tank? I will have a ton of activity in the middle and top areas of my tank, but only the Corys on the bottom... Angels will obviously go where they choose... but do Gouramis stick to a certain region?

Thanks

 

[beauxarts]

My two Gouramis are all over the tank. They don't seem to stick to one area.

But this maybe unique to my tank.

 

[MartinBlank]

Hmmm. Ok thanks.

Gouramis will of course be much smaller than Angels. And I could possibly get away with both. I will have to check the ph of the water. My water out of the tap is at a ph of 7.7 (and I have read that Angels prefer below 7) but the driftwood in there might lower the PH a bit (and no I won't be using PH down or anything like that, if I don't think the fish are compatible I just won't get the fish )

If I did go with Angels... would you recommend a pair? a single? 3? I know they start out small, but they get about 6 inches right? Angels are also a bit appealling for Swordtail fry control

 

[MartinBlank]

How about inverts? Perhaps add some Angels and some inverts (or will the Angels simply eat the inverts).

More Corys perhaps (different type) then? perhaps 2 schools of 8 maybe? or would that be overdoing it?

or do you think the bottom region of the tank is fine....?

 

[mwe_ch]

3 Red Mickey Mouse Swordtails

Are you planning on getting all females or 2 females and one male? If the latter, they WILL breed and your stocking levels will change. If the former, make sure they are all about the same size. I have female swordtails and the larger one chases after the other (who shrank after having fry).

-M

 

[MartinBlank]

Are you planning on getting all females or 2 females and one male? If the latter, they WILL breed and your stocking levels will change. If the former, make sure they are all about the same size. I have female swordtails and the larger one chases after the other (who shrank after having fry).

-M

Yes, I know the swordtails are livebearers... one of the reasons I like the idea of a few Angels in there to take care of the fry...

 

[BigJim]

I like your stocking list. Don't underestimate those rainbows when it comes to eating fry. One of my big males choked down a big waxworm I dropped in for the catfish.

 

[MartinBlank]

Thanks!

So are you liking it more with a pair of angels or without?

 

[BigJim]

I have a feeling that your white clouds and cherry barbs might end up as angel snacks.

 

[MartinBlank]

Very good point. I think I will stick with what I have planned out..

 

[MartinBlank]

Ok so I hadn't treated my tank with prime in a long time and had added some decorations as well as topped off the water a couple times since the last time I treated.

So I dosed some prime (enough for the whole tank). I am assuming I should wait a couple days to begin my fishless cycle? Or do you think it is ok to add my seeded filter media, bag of substrate and some ammonia to the tank now? I don't want the bacteria to starve if the prime has all the ammonia tied up you know?

 

[krap101]

If you add enough ammonia, the prime in the tank will eventually all be used up, so go ahead. The bacteria can survive awhile (I'm guessing somewhere from 3 days to a week) without ammonia, so if you have a test kit lying around somewhere, just try to keep your ammonia between 3-5 ppm and you'll do fine.

 

[MartinBlank]

Ok, bio-bag full of seeded substrate added... seeded filter media added.... temp pushed up to 86... Ace ammonia added (I hope not to much).. I will check again on Tuesday....

Wish me luck!!

 

[MartinBlank]

Not to ask a completely silly question... but are heater wattages cumulative? Like for instance if I needed a 200 watt heater for a fish tank, could I use a pair of 100 watt heaters instead? Or a pair of 150 watt heaters to match a 300 watt?

 

[Aquarium1]

Yes. In fact its usually better, that way if one fails, you have a back up. And if, heaven forbid, one gets stuck in the on position, it won't heat up the tank as much or as quickly as one with more wattage.