I got my new 55g!

[exodus]

Finally got my 55g!

Went to home depot and loaded up on 2x4's, built my stand and then hit walmart for my tank. All-in-all, I'm out $200 and have a bare tank at the moment, but **** is it satisfying.

They didnt have any PFS at Homies so I had to get that at a pool supply store and ended up paying $10/50lb bag.

Everything is setup and running, although the tank water is really cold since I just dragged the hose in from outside. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it filled too, only took about 5 mins.

If you look at the sand from the sides though, you can see some air bubbles under the sand - should I stir it around a bit or will the water work its way into the air pockets?


Now I have to cycle the tank.. I've got my little 10g thats cycled, should I change out the carbon in it and drop the old filter in the 55's HOB? I was also considering scooping some gravel outta the 10g and suspending it in the new tank to try and get stuff jumpstarted, but I suppose it's time for more research.

I really want to plant the tank, but I have no idea if I want to go this route or not. Isnt being indecisive great sometimes?

Anyways, here it is!



Now to work on the stocking list! The best part!

Many thanks to everyone on AA who have helped me get this far.

[Andyvette]

Originally Posted by exodus

1- If you look at the sand from the sides though, you can see some air bubbles under the sand - should I stir it around a bit or will the water work its way into the air pockets?

2- Now I have to cycle the tank.. I've got my little 10g thats cycled, should I change out the carbon in it and drop the old filter in the 55's HOB? I was also considering scooping some gravel outta the 10g and suspending it in the new tank to try and get stuff jumpstarted, but I suppose it's time for more research.

3- I really want to plant the tank, but I have no idea if I want to go this route or not. Isnt being indecisive great sometimes?

I numbered your questions to answer them easier-

1- Yes, stir it... you have to anyways (hopefully you rinsed the sand very well).

2- Put the rocks in some pantyhose or a sock, and run the 10g filter on the back of the 55gal. Remember that even though those have bacteria on them... they need food (Ammonia and Nitrite), so make sure to dose it either with decaying dead shrimp, or pure ammonia

3- Planted tanks are just as easy to maintain as fake planted tanks. If you go low light plants, and have a low wattage light (.75w/gal+ sometimes even less), the plants grow VERY slowly.. You will barely even notice their growth... hell... they might not even grow! Which means- No pruning, maintenance, etc. All you have to do is buy the plants (Anubias, Javas, Hornwort, Crypts), and some fertilizer (seachem flourish), and let nature take its course. Your tank will be almost instantly cycled and the plants will feed on excess ammonia/nitrite/nitrate as well as the biological filters. IMO.... there is no reason NOT to do a planted tank unless you have fish that wont allow it. It is better for the tank, better looking (opinion), and just as easy! In fact... I dont know why people have tanks w/ CO2, CFs, etc.... Why would I want to prune (Just kidding... i know why you do it.... addicts!!!)


HTH,
Andy

[exodus]

Originally Posted by Andyvette

I numbered your questions to answer them easier-

1- Yes, stir it... you have to anyways (hopefully you rinsed the sand very well).

2- Put the rocks in some pantyhose or a sock, and run the 10g filter on the back of the 55gal. Remember that even though those have bacteria on them... they need food (Ammonia and Nitrite), so make sure to dose it either with decaying dead shrimp, or pure ammonia

3- Planted tanks are just as easy to maintain as fake planted tanks. If you go low light plants, and have a low wattage light (.75w/gal+ sometimes even less), the plants grow VERY slowly.. You will barely even notice their growth... hell... they might not even grow! Which means- No pruning, maintenance, etc. All you have to do is buy the plants (Anubias, Javas, Hornwort, Crypts), and some fertilizer (seachem flourish), and let nature take its course. Your tank will be almost instantly cycled and the plants will feed on excess ammonia/nitrite/nitrate as well as the biological filters. IMO.... there is no reason NOT to do a planted tank unless you have fish that wont allow it. It is better for the tank, better looking (opinion), and just as easy! In fact... I dont know why people have tanks w/ CO2, CFs, etc.... Why would I want to prune (Just kidding... i know why you do it.... addicts!!!)


HTH,
Andy

I rinsed the sand, but not really thoroughly. The water I rinsed it in didnt seem to get cloudy, so I thought whatever was left will settle out. Sofar its a bit murky, but not so bad that you can't see what's behind the tank.

I would take the filter off the 10g and hang it on the 55, but then my other fish would be without a filter which is why I thought about just plopping the 10's old cartridge (i know, i know) into the 55's filter. Its got room in there to drop it in, so why not? I plan on hanging some gravel in there in a sock, no matter what though. As far as a source for ammonia and nitrites - could I sacrifice one of my little penguin tetras to provide that? I really dont want to have to look at decaying shrimp, if possible.

I was also thinking that if I decide to go with a planted tank (I'm going to cycle the tank first, then worry about decorations) that I'd build an easy canopy and put some ODNO lighting in there. 1.5gpw or so should still keep me in the low light range, but give me some growth at the same time.. no?

Stock lighting on the tank is 30w, or .54wpg.. even if I don't go the planted route, I think my fish deserve to be displayed better.

Already on the list of goodies to buy for the tank is a 2nd filter or small powerhead.. you can see the stuff on the opposite end of the filter is fairly stagnant. New filter is preferred, of course.

Anyways, thanks for the reply

[SCFatz]

I'm thinking the way to go would be to run the new filter on the old tank for about a week....Then move it to the new tank.Since your sizing up I don't think it will get you all the way there..but it gives you a head start.

Someone will chime in if I'm way off base (I hope).

[lovemybarbs]

I'm setting up my 55 today too! I am switching from the 29. Same gravel, filter and all the water I can take. I shouldn't have to cycle again.

What kind of HOB did you get? Will the cartridges fit? I think you can float them if they don't.

A sock full of the old gravel is always recommended in here.

How cold is the water? Could that kill the good bacteria? That's just a guess. Maybe not.

[Andyvette]

Originally Posted by exodus

1- I would take the filter off the 10g and hang it on the 55, but then my other fish would be without a filter which is why I thought about just plopping the 10's old cartridge (i know, i know) into the 55's filter. Its got room in there to drop it in, so why not? I plan on hanging some gravel in there in a sock, no matter what though.

2- As far as a source for ammonia and nitrites - could I sacrifice one of my little penguin tetras to provide that? I really dont want to have to look at decaying shrimp, if possible.

3- I was also thinking that if I decide to go with a planted tank (I'm going to cycle the tank first, then worry about decorations) that I'd build an easy canopy and put some ODNO lighting in there. 1.5gpw or so should still keep me in the low light range, but give me some growth at the same time.. no?

1- Dropping the old filter media in the new filter would be fine, and do the same thing as switching the filters... so thats fine.

2- We don't really condone "sacrificing" on the forum But the good news, is there should be enough bacteria on the filter and gravel to handle a few fish. Or you could directly add ammonia to the tank on a daily bases, which would allow you to fully stock your tank with one swoop. Do you plan on adding your fish from the 10 gallon to the 55gallon? Or is it a new stock list? Because if so, you could add all your fish from the 10 gallon over, and should be safe (once it dechlorifies and gravel/filter are running there).

3- The 1.5gpw is fine. My 30 gallon has about 1.2wpg w/ ferts and they grow slowly. The hornwort is what grows quickest, but a once every 2 week pruning is all that needs. Nothing else has needed any cutting back. But again, you would not be sorry doing a planted tank. Start out low light, and if ya love it that much, step it up. Low light is plenty adequate IMO though.

[exodus]

Originally Posted by Andyvette

1- Dropping the old filter media in the new filter would be fine, and do the same thing as switching the filters... so thats fine.

2- We don't really condone "sacrificing" on the forum But the good news, is there should be enough bacteria on the filter and gravel to handle a few fish. Or you could directly add ammonia to the tank on a daily bases, which would allow you to fully stock your tank with one swoop. Do you plan on adding your fish from the 10 gallon to the 55gallon? Or is it a new stock list? Because if so, you could add all your fish from the 10 gallon over, and should be safe (once it dechlorifies and gravel/filter are running there).

3- The 1.5gpw is fine. My 30 gallon has about 1.2wpg w/ ferts and they grow slowly. The hornwort is what grows quickest, but a once every 2 week pruning is all that needs. Nothing else has needed any cutting back. But again, you would not be sorry doing a planted tank. Start out low light, and if ya love it that much, step it up. Low light is plenty adequate IMO though.

I don't plan on adding the fish from the 10g to the new 55. I guess I officially have MTS. I like my 10g

Maybe what I'll do is drop the old filter media in the filter, wait a day or so and check my water params, then add a fish or so and see how everything does. I dont have to worry about waiting for it to dechlorify or anything either, the well water we have is good stuff. Out of the fish in my sig, which would you say would be the hardiest?

Another thing I thought of that may or may not work (someone please let me know on this one) - could I put the old filter from my 10 on my 55g for maybe half a day or so, then transfer the fish from the 10g to cycle the new tank with? Then when I'm done cycling, put all the old guys and their filter back in the 10. Bad idea?

Not to mention, the heater brought the tank from slightly under 50* to 78* overnight. Not bad for a kit.

[Andyvette]

You dont have to worry about hardiness. Your 10gal filter/rocks/etc are the bioload for as many fish as you have in the 10gal. So if you moved the filter over, with the new filter, and ran it... it would still have enough bacteria for the 10gal worth of fish. So you can just put them all in there w/ the 10gal filter and it will be cycled. Its when you add more fish to the 55gal that it has to add more bacteria to battle the increased ammonia from the new fish. So you can bring them over, and maybe add a couple fish to the 55gal that you plan on stocking. Everyone 1 fish you add, take away 1 fish and puttem back in the 10gal

[exodus]

Alright. So maybe I'll move all the fish into the 55 and hang the filter on there until the new filter can get itself established.

Today I went out to the LFS and got a turquoise gourami to help the new tank cycle, it seem to be pretty happy and they were 50% off. I also headed up to petco and got some live plants, a wysteria, amazon sword and another unidentified plant.

I also added some Crystal Clear to the new 55, water isnt the slightest bit murky anymore.

If the water in the 10g just sits stagnant with the light off for awhile, i wont have any algae esplosions or anything, will I?

[Andyvette]

Originally Posted by exodus

If the water in the 10g just sits stagnant with the light off for awhile, i wont have any algae esplosions or anything, will I?

No, you won't.
I expect to see new pics soon

[exodus]

Well, we got it done! The pleco was a pain to catch, but I got him finally. They seem to love their temporary home, but seem quite confused with all the space!

Should I leave the airstone in my 10g on while its empty, or just let it sit? I think I might use this opportunity to change the substrate in it to sand, as I still have some left..

Anyways, thank you for the help and here are pics!



The new tank, happy and... happy.



And my new shy gourami. I think he's lonely, but I plan to have gourami's in the 55 once the filter gets established so he wont be alone for too long.

[SCFatz]

I think I might use this opportunity to change the substrate in it to sand, as I still have some left..

Now would be a great time for it...You'll have a seeded filter to move back to the tank when ever you get ready to populate it again so no worries.

[RoK]

Originally Posted by exodus

And my new shy gourami. I think he's lonely, but I plan to have gourami's in the 55 once the filter gets established so he wont be alone for too long.

Looks actually like a 'she' to me. You will have to keep an eye on them, when you get more. Gouramis can get a bit rowdy with each other. You should add the rest of the ones you want at the same time so that there isn't already established territories.

[exodus]

Originally Posted by RoK

Looks actually like a 'she' to me. You will have to keep an eye on them, when you get more. Gouramis can get a bit rowdy with each other. You should add the rest of the ones you want at the same time so that there isn't already established territories.

Yeah, I've read all about that. If I get more, I plan on going by the 2 females per male ratio, which seems to work from what I've read.

Thats interesting you say that its a female, the tank was explicitly marked as a male. I'll have to look into that, thanks for pointing that out.

Stratford eh? I'm in Redding.

[RoK]

Males have a longer pointed dorsal fin, while the females have a shorter rounded one. I can't really tell from the pic if it's rounded or pointed but it looked fairly short. That's why I'm guessing female. A pic with the dorsal flared out would help to sex the fish.

[exodus]

Originally Posted by RoK

Males have a longer pointed dorsal fin, while the females have a shorter rounded one. I can't really tell from the pic if it's rounded or pointed but it looked fairly short. That's why I'm guessing female. A pic with the dorsal flared out would help to sex the fish.

I'll try to coax him/her down and get a picture.

[Andyvette]

Originally Posted by exodus

Should I leave the airstone in my 10g on while its empty, or just let it sit? I think I might use this opportunity to change the substrate in it to sand, as I still have some left..

Tank looks awesome exodus.... you did a great job! Once you get a few more plants in there, and maybe some driftwood (or slates, or whatever you are doing for cover), the gourami will be much less shy It is awesome, and 55gal is definately one of my favorite sizes. HUGE upgrade from the 10g huh

I don't know about the airstone... .I wouldnt think it would matter to tell ya the truth, but a 2nd opinion hopefully comes through on that question. And yes, changing to sand now would be ideal (less stress on fish, and MUCH easier), and would also give you more gravel for a sock in the 55 gal