eah
Aquarium Advice Freak
Woody83 said:
Good luck with that one! FYI, I paid $100 in Boston for my 55 gallon tank and wood stand. But, $200 is still a lot cheaper than buying new.
Newbie Seeks Your Knowledge (Video & Pics 01/01/07)
- Thread starter Woody83
- Start date
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Good luck with that one! FYI, I paid $100 in Boston for my 55 gallon tank and wood stand. But, $200 is still a lot cheaper than buying new.
Provided our trip to the LFS proves a 30g will fit our desires fish/plant wise, here is my tenative shopping list:
30g tank
Filstar XP 1 (Is this sufficient, or would the XP 2 be better? Any additional media I should buy while at it?)
Hydor ETH 201 In-Line Heater-200 W
Eco Complete substrate
Python
Seachem Prime 250 ml
AP Master Test
Coralife Power Center
Stand will be DiY
Lighting I'm still hung up on, suggestions welcome for the 65w range.
Anything else I should look at while I'm at it?
Thank you.
30g tank
Filstar XP 1 (Is this sufficient, or would the XP 2 be better? Any additional media I should buy while at it?)
Hydor ETH 201 In-Line Heater-200 W
Eco Complete substrate
Python
Seachem Prime 250 ml
AP Master Test
Coralife Power Center
Stand will be DiY
Lighting I'm still hung up on, suggestions welcome for the 65w range.
Anything else I should look at while I'm at it?
Thank you.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
You would be much better off buying everything but the tank and substrate on line. Will save you a good deal of money. I would get the XP2, price difference is not much.
Yeah, tank and substrate will be local purchases. Just about everything else is Big Al's, appears cheapest + one place shipping savings. (Hint to anyone with a coupon that would love to throw it my way.)
XP2 won't be too heavy flow, plant wise?
Thanks, we're getting very excited to get started.
XP2 won't be too heavy flow, plant wise?
Thanks, we're getting very excited to get started.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
xp2 will be just fine. Good luck and have fun.
Will this light work for my proposed set up?
eah
Aquarium Advice Freak
I believe that if you are planning on having plants, you might not want the actinic light. From what I've read actinic is for SW corals, and not as good for FW plants. Hopefully someone with more lighting knowledge will be able to help you out though.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
That fixture, as is will give you 2+ wpg plenty to grow lots of plants. The atnic will make your fish stand out. If you ever decide to go all planted with CO2 etc. All you would need to do is trade out the atnic bulb and you are well over 4 watts a gallon. It is a good solid fixture.
Everything is now ordered or being made to get started. We went to the local fish store & pet smart today to see what kind of fish & plants we like.
Tiger Barbs - They come in so many wonderful different colors.
Fancy Guppy - Those tails!
Angels - There's just pretty.
Ludwiga & Cherry Headge - Guess its the red & green.
Cabomba
I should have some "getting started" pics soon, since they're more fun than words.
A few more questions while we wait:
We saw in the stores that all freshwater fish require some type of salt. Is this true? What kind?
I was impressed with how expansive Pet Smarts fish department is. Granted they all didn't look 100% happy & health, but it's a very clean and informative set up. Has anyone tried the live plants from there? They come in plastic tubes and gel and looked healthy.
A big thanks to you all who have "hand held" me throughout this. I feel more confident with your support rather than some salesman.
Let the waiting game begin...at least I've got a stand to build in the meantime.
Tiger Barbs - They come in so many wonderful different colors.
Fancy Guppy - Those tails!
Angels - There's just pretty.
Ludwiga & Cherry Headge - Guess its the red & green.
Cabomba
I should have some "getting started" pics soon, since they're more fun than words.
A few more questions while we wait:
We saw in the stores that all freshwater fish require some type of salt. Is this true? What kind?
I was impressed with how expansive Pet Smarts fish department is. Granted they all didn't look 100% happy & health, but it's a very clean and informative set up. Has anyone tried the live plants from there? They come in plastic tubes and gel and looked healthy.
A big thanks to you all who have "hand held" me throughout this. I feel more confident with your support rather than some salesman.
Let the waiting game begin...at least I've got a stand to build in the meantime.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
Angels and tiger barbs do not mix well, the barbs will nip at the angels fins. Those hedges are not true aquatic plants. They will rot and die if submerged.
We can deal with one or the other on the fish. Interesting on the plants since they were actually submerged and look the healthiest out of any of the others.
Trial & error I guess, part of the fun, with plants at least, no need to send fish to their doom, so thanks for the tip there.
Trial & error I guess, part of the fun, with plants at least, no need to send fish to their doom, so thanks for the tip there.
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
Our local PetSmart had really shaped up over the last few years. I have purchased some plants from them. You really have to know your plants if you want to buy there. Try Plantgeek.net to get an idea of plant requirement & what they look like.
You'll find that the plants are often mis-labeled & mixed up (it happens when you put 20 different plants in the same tank & people rummage through them), do NOT trust Petsmart's labels on plant requirements, and beware of all the land plants they try to pass off as aquatic - all they do is die .... they might look good but that just means they were grown in air & just recently submerged for show.
For non-stem plants - look for presence of strong root systems. Just like buying bedding plants, you are paying for the roots, not the leaves. I've gotton plants that consisted of leaves stuck into pots with minimal roots - needless to say these don't grow well!
One thing - cambomba is listed as difficult in Plantgeek & you need high light & ferts, etc.
Salt for FW fish is not needed - I use it only to treat disease. Some lfs keep all the FW fish in salt because they are crowed & stressed & often has ich or other stuff so they treat with salt as a routine. You do not have to continue that since your tank will be 100 times better than the lfs's (once it is cycled, etc).
You'll find that the plants are often mis-labeled & mixed up (it happens when you put 20 different plants in the same tank & people rummage through them), do NOT trust Petsmart's labels on plant requirements, and beware of all the land plants they try to pass off as aquatic - all they do is die .... they might look good but that just means they were grown in air & just recently submerged for show.
For non-stem plants - look for presence of strong root systems. Just like buying bedding plants, you are paying for the roots, not the leaves. I've gotton plants that consisted of leaves stuck into pots with minimal roots - needless to say these don't grow well!
One thing - cambomba is listed as difficult in Plantgeek & you need high light & ferts, etc.
Salt for FW fish is not needed - I use it only to treat disease. Some lfs keep all the FW fish in salt because they are crowed & stressed & often has ich or other stuff so they treat with salt as a routine. You do not have to continue that since your tank will be 100 times better than the lfs's (once it is cycled, etc).
Almost ready to start the fishless cycle, couple questions.
I threw a few filter pads that came with the XP2 (one black foam & one white floss) into an established/cycled tanks' HOB filter. How long should I leave them in there to get a nice seeding?
Seems there is two ways to go with providing ammonia, straight dosing or the raw shrimp. Any benefits of doing one over the other? It seems the shrimp would require less maintenance than dosing daily as a constant supply would be provided from the shrimp?
As always, thank you in advance.
I threw a few filter pads that came with the XP2 (one black foam & one white floss) into an established/cycled tanks' HOB filter. How long should I leave them in there to get a nice seeding?
Seems there is two ways to go with providing ammonia, straight dosing or the raw shrimp. Any benefits of doing one over the other? It seems the shrimp would require less maintenance than dosing daily as a constant supply would be provided from the shrimp?
As always, thank you in advance.
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
4-6 weeks in an established tank (with sufficient bioload) will seed the filter completely, you can take that & cycle a tank instantly without the work of going fishless. If you want, you can be doubly sure and test the seeded filter in a fishless setup (with added ammonia) for a few days. I keep a couple filter pads in my sump all the time & anytime I need a QT, I pull the pads out and have an instantly cycled tank - never any NH3/NO2 spikes.
If you are going from scratch fishless, I would think pure ammonia is the way to go. You have much more controlled over levels so you can optimize bacteria growth, shortening the time you have to wait. Plus, raw shrimp will stink when it rots .... some say they can smell that all over the room ....
If you are going from scratch fishless, I would think pure ammonia is the way to go. You have much more controlled over levels so you can optimize bacteria growth, shortening the time you have to wait. Plus, raw shrimp will stink when it rots .... some say they can smell that all over the room ....
iceywater101
Aquarium Advice Activist
My best advice on stocking your tank would be to skip and guppies. They are livebearers and most of the babies will be eaten, and if they are not your tank will be come over poplulated. I would go with a schooling fish such as tetras, danios, or rasposas. You also may want to consider bottom feeders such as corys, and a few otos for your plants.
Time to bother you all for advice again. After much reading, following is my plan:
1. With stand and tank in place, putting in the eco-complete, decorations, filling with water, adding prime and letting run for a day or two. Do a water test to see what our tap water is like.
2. Grab seed media from established tank (it'll have been in there for 3+ weeks). Squish it around in the tank then place media in bottom section of XP2. Dose ammonia (still trying to find some in the hardware stores). Water test. then continue the testing dosing till cycled.
3. Once cycled, 50% water change at which point I hope to plant. Not sure yet exactly what plants I'll end up with. I'd prefer to get the majority from one place rather than multiple places. About the only definite I would like is E. Triandra for the foreground. A few others I've found that plankgeek shows should be ok with my parameters (30g/65w/no CO2):
Barclaya Longigolia, Crinum Thaianum, Crypt Petchii, Egeria Najas, Hygrophila Difformis, Nymphoides Taiwan and Rotala Rotundifolia.
4. Once planted, let it sit a few days (dosing ammonia if needed) and test water to make sure it's fish ready.
5. As for fish, I'd like the center piece to be a school of 6-8 Tiger Barbs. Based on 7Enigma's first tank I was gonna have 2-4 Otos & 2-4 Corry Catfish. He has mentioned I could consider losing the Corrys (based on his early problems with the barbs aggression) and go with a BN Pleco. Which ever way we go I'll add the Barbs last so hopefully the others can grab some territory.
Are there any other fish compatable with Barbs I could consider?
Any other flaws in my plan?
1. With stand and tank in place, putting in the eco-complete, decorations, filling with water, adding prime and letting run for a day or two. Do a water test to see what our tap water is like.
2. Grab seed media from established tank (it'll have been in there for 3+ weeks). Squish it around in the tank then place media in bottom section of XP2. Dose ammonia (still trying to find some in the hardware stores). Water test. then continue the testing dosing till cycled.
3. Once cycled, 50% water change at which point I hope to plant. Not sure yet exactly what plants I'll end up with. I'd prefer to get the majority from one place rather than multiple places. About the only definite I would like is E. Triandra for the foreground. A few others I've found that plankgeek shows should be ok with my parameters (30g/65w/no CO2):
Barclaya Longigolia, Crinum Thaianum, Crypt Petchii, Egeria Najas, Hygrophila Difformis, Nymphoides Taiwan and Rotala Rotundifolia.
4. Once planted, let it sit a few days (dosing ammonia if needed) and test water to make sure it's fish ready.
5. As for fish, I'd like the center piece to be a school of 6-8 Tiger Barbs. Based on 7Enigma's first tank I was gonna have 2-4 Otos & 2-4 Corry Catfish. He has mentioned I could consider losing the Corrys (based on his early problems with the barbs aggression) and go with a BN Pleco. Which ever way we go I'll add the Barbs last so hopefully the others can grab some territory.
Are there any other fish compatable with Barbs I could consider?
Any other flaws in my plan?
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
I would not do number 3. Once it is cycled, plant it and get the fish. If you add the ammonia with the lights on for your new plants, you are taking a real risk of getting green water.
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