TexRex
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I’d like some advice on a few topics. After having a 75-gallon freshwater reef-ready for 13.5 years, I’m planning to upgrade to a 150-gal, freshwater reef tank. I don’t consider myself an aquarium expert at all. I have a company that comes out and cleans it. I have them rearrange the decorations every time so the look changes.
· I’ve always kept community fish, and I’m pretty sure I want to stick with that.
· I’ve never used live plants or coral, and I plan to stick with that as well.
· I’ve wanted a tropical ocean look to it, not a lake or river look, and I plan to stick with that general concept as well.
I’m not much of a photographer, but for reference, below is a pic of what I’ve had.
Tank
The new tank will be 48”x24”x30”; wet-dry filtration system.
To keep the tropical look, I considered sand, but am going with a white, fine rock (much finer than what I have now).
The place I bought originally painted the back blue. The company I’m using this time recommended that the back be painted black. They say that will help the fish bring out more vivid colors. I do like the look of black backgrounds in the store.
Tank Questions:
I’m inclined to have them paint the back black, but any other thoughts on that?
Any other general advice about the tank from what I’ve described?
Decorations
Last time I bought too many decorations. I’m going to buy only 4-5 (depending on size). I’ll have a larger sunken ship, and 2 or 3 pieces of coral at the most. The pic above doesn’t show near all the decorations – just the ones that have been my favorites.
I’ve kept several plastic plants and plan to do that again. I’ll mix the sizes and have a lot of color. With a deeper tank, I’ll have more room for plants, but will keep a proportion similar to the old tank.
Decoration questions:
Is there any type of acrylic or epoxy I could paint the decorations with that would help them last longer? When the tank is cleaned, they typically bleach the decorations to clean them.
Fish
While I want to stick with community fish, I’m considering trying to breed swordtails, plaities, tetras, and possibly clown loaches. I’ve never tried that, but it seems like the first 3 breeding is commonly done.
I expect to have 75-100 inches of fish. I know I could do more, but have never had as many as we could. It seems to keep the tank cleaner.
Fish questions:
Any recommendations on community fish we might breed?
Should we have floating flowers in the top for the little ones to hide in?
We’ve had bad luck keeping any type of Cory cats alive. Recommendations for other catfish that will work well with community fish?
How many catfish should we have in a 150 gal tank?
We have trouble keeping clown loaches alive. Any idea on that?
Is a pleco really necessary?
Lighting
Up to now I’ve had florescent lighting. We will be getting LEDs. They guy at the aquarium place recommended two different types of lights. One is blue and white and the other is blue lights I think. We typically don’t have lights on a high percentage of the time. Our aquarium gets some good natural light, but not direct sunlight.
Lighting questions
Any lighting suggestions?
General questions
Are there good automatic feeders out there that we can us for 10-14 days of vacation?
With our system, will we need to have someone check our water level? In the past I’ve overfilled before we left and it’s been fine. I’m not sure if that will work the same with a 150-gal instead of a 75-gal.
Thanks for any help.
· I’ve always kept community fish, and I’m pretty sure I want to stick with that.
· I’ve never used live plants or coral, and I plan to stick with that as well.
· I’ve wanted a tropical ocean look to it, not a lake or river look, and I plan to stick with that general concept as well.
I’m not much of a photographer, but for reference, below is a pic of what I’ve had.
Tank
The new tank will be 48”x24”x30”; wet-dry filtration system.
To keep the tropical look, I considered sand, but am going with a white, fine rock (much finer than what I have now).
The place I bought originally painted the back blue. The company I’m using this time recommended that the back be painted black. They say that will help the fish bring out more vivid colors. I do like the look of black backgrounds in the store.
Tank Questions:
I’m inclined to have them paint the back black, but any other thoughts on that?
Any other general advice about the tank from what I’ve described?
Decorations
Last time I bought too many decorations. I’m going to buy only 4-5 (depending on size). I’ll have a larger sunken ship, and 2 or 3 pieces of coral at the most. The pic above doesn’t show near all the decorations – just the ones that have been my favorites.
I’ve kept several plastic plants and plan to do that again. I’ll mix the sizes and have a lot of color. With a deeper tank, I’ll have more room for plants, but will keep a proportion similar to the old tank.
Decoration questions:
Is there any type of acrylic or epoxy I could paint the decorations with that would help them last longer? When the tank is cleaned, they typically bleach the decorations to clean them.
Fish
While I want to stick with community fish, I’m considering trying to breed swordtails, plaities, tetras, and possibly clown loaches. I’ve never tried that, but it seems like the first 3 breeding is commonly done.
I expect to have 75-100 inches of fish. I know I could do more, but have never had as many as we could. It seems to keep the tank cleaner.
Fish questions:
Any recommendations on community fish we might breed?
Should we have floating flowers in the top for the little ones to hide in?
We’ve had bad luck keeping any type of Cory cats alive. Recommendations for other catfish that will work well with community fish?
How many catfish should we have in a 150 gal tank?
We have trouble keeping clown loaches alive. Any idea on that?
Is a pleco really necessary?
Lighting
Up to now I’ve had florescent lighting. We will be getting LEDs. They guy at the aquarium place recommended two different types of lights. One is blue and white and the other is blue lights I think. We typically don’t have lights on a high percentage of the time. Our aquarium gets some good natural light, but not direct sunlight.
Lighting questions
Any lighting suggestions?
General questions
Are there good automatic feeders out there that we can us for 10-14 days of vacation?
With our system, will we need to have someone check our water level? In the past I’ve overfilled before we left and it’s been fine. I’m not sure if that will work the same with a 150-gal instead of a 75-gal.
Thanks for any help.
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