upgrading to a 120

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gravereaper0

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Nov 16, 2012
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Well as some of you may know, I got a 20 gallon that's a mess right now. Overstocked, wrong sand, and 2 common Goldie's that will get "huge" along with 2 fancies. And fish keeping is definitely a new hobby of mine that I really enjoy. My solution? Getting a 120 gallon. Its an almost new tank that I found on Craigslist for a very reasonable price.

But I'm not buying anything (other then the tank) untill I got every detail planned out. The only thing I do know right now is that I'll be getting the fluval fx5 for filtration.

As far as substrate goes I'm sticking to sand, but I want the same color n purity that I have now(TOP FIN oolite aragonite sand), and pool filter sand is definitely not it. So what are my options?

I want it moderately planted with plants and moss. Suggestions?

Lighting. I'm not gonna use a hood i like how it looks when its open top. But since I want it planted I know I need light. I've seen lots of led setups but have no clue what's what. I don't want to drill into the wall to hang em so I'm looking for something that will attach itself onto the tank.

I think that's all of it unless I'm missing something, if you guys can think of anything let me know. And would I be overstocking again if I added some angel fish and plecos?
 
Congratulations!! That is awesome. :D

Check out foxtail. It is a favorite of my goldfish because it is so soft.

I am not sure about how much stock you can add, but if you add a pleco I recommend bristlenose. They can have the same temp range as the goldfish and are reputedly the only type that doesn't tend to suck on the goldfish slime coat (terrible).
I have pics of mine in my profile 55g album.
 
Oh! The multicolored one is a calico telescope. The white one is a lionhead. There is also an orange lionhead & an orange butterfly tail telescope.
Sorry for the confusion.
The pleco I mentioned is there too, stuck to a cucumber or leaf depending on the pic.
Foxtail is a plant I have. It has super soft needle shaped leaves. My goldfish love it, it was funny to watch them explore touching it the first time and then get excited. :)
 
I c, I c. Now I can tell who's who except the plants. And what kind of sand is that? Its got the color that I am looking for, but it looks coarse. and is that an orange slice in your tank?
 
gravereaper0 said:
I c, I c. Now I can tell who's who except the plants. And what kind of sand is that? Its got the color that I am looking for, but it looks coarse. and is that an orange slice in your tank?
Click to expand...

Yes, that IS an orange slice! They are messy but fun. You have to spread/tear them a bit so the fish can get ahold of them. Once a week, right before you do your water change is good timing. Mine take a day eating it.

That is pool filter sand. The first time that I bought some it was mixed in color, but this stuff is lighter. I prefer the weightiness of it because it falls down quickly.

I will come back with the plant name for the one that has purple on it. The one that has flat round leaves is pennywort. It floats at the surface and I find that beautiful. They sleep in it sometimes like a bed! I also have Amazon Swords. I planted them around that cave/skull so my goldfish cannot get near the "teeth"... So my pleco would have a cave.
 
Crazy id never think of feeding that to fish. Also I read a lot of planted tanks have cherry shrimp. Can those co exist with Goldie's?

The pennywort will definitely be on my plant list. Is there any difference between it and frogbit?
 
Hi Gravereaper! Congrats on the big, new tank!!! Ok, I would say angels are a no go here. Angels are tropical fish with much different requirements for temp, diet, etc than coldwater fish. Rather than plecos, you may want to consider some loaches instead. Plecos are notorious for snacking on goldies. Some people have gotten lucky and not had any mishaps but it usually ends in a bad situation.

In respect to the shrimp, if your tank is well planted with LOTS of places for them to hide, they will have a better chance of survival. Goldies are equal opportunity omnivores and will try to eat anything that can fit in their mouthes, this includes your plants and shrimp. I have kept ghost shrimp with my guys at different points in time and everything goes well until the goldies miss a meal & their veggies.... lol

I was curious if your looking for a particular color of sand? Pool filter sand generally is in neutral beige/tan shades up to white. Theres also blasting sand which is black.

Ill post the Goldfish 101 guide below. Theres lots of info on goldies in general but pay particular attention to the section on diet/feeding. Remember, its only a 'guide' and nothing is set in stone and that you have done a great job on getting your guys a big tank upgrade!!!

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html
 
I use blasting sand. N its pretty good. Just have to wash it good put in ur tank after washing n nothing floats bc its already all wet. Atleast that was my experince.
 
Thanks jlk. So no go on the angels, but the loaches look just as interesting, especially the clown loach. For the shrimp both the cherry n the ghost seem to be about the same size, so I'd like to stick to cherry. Only question is, how many should I start off with? They're relatively cheap a little over a buck a piece on eBay. Hopefully they won't all get eaten, I got an automatic fish feeder from eheim.

For sand I'm looking for an even very light tan color, almost white.
 
I am certainly not an expert on shrimps! I typically would put 20-30 in and hope that maybe 10 or 15 of the smartest ones would survive the goldies. Which they did for months! Until I had to go out of town...

I am going to try and post an image of the sand in my tanks- if it doesnt work, Ill post the thread its on. Its called 'Mystic White Pool filter sand'. Its not pure white but it has tiny speckles of black & tan in it but you really need to look at it up close to even see it. In the tank with light, it looks off white. Pretty cheap at $11 for 50pds and it does not cloud at all, get sucked into the filters and you can clean it using a gravel vac. :)

Ok- posting image didnt work! Look on pg 7 of this thread
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f19/show-off-your-heavily-planted-tanks-218608-7.html
 
Looks good enough for me and the price is great. This sand won't alter my ph right?

So for my stock I'm looking at:
2 common Goldie's
2 fancies
2 clown loaches

If I went with a school of small fish they would more then likely become lunch right?
 
Its 100% silica sand which is non-reactive in respect to altering your ph. But, I will tell you that for the first few weeks after switching to this stuff, I noticed a slight (.1 to .2) ph increase. I dont know if this was just coincidence or the sand settling in, but it temporary.

Your more than welcome to try some small, coldwater tolerant schools of fish! I know a few members on here keep white clouds or danios with their goldies but you also could try a more pond typical school of fish such as mosquito fish. Theres some others but I am drawing a blank right now! I doubt your slower fancies would get them but the commons may be a different story. Make sure you do your loach research, too- I believe they may need to be kept in small groups but Ill let someone else clarify this. :)
 
Hmmm you're right you need at least 5, and the size that they get to would be too much.
What about the zebra loach? They need to be kept in a school of at least 5 and dont grow past 4", maybe I can get 8-10 of them? But it also says the ph shouldn't get above 7.0

Or a yo-yo loach. Little bit bigger at 6", so 5 of em? Or is that overstocking.

The dwarf loach is also interesting, but then again would they also be considered lunch?
 
gravereaper0 said:
Hmmm you're right you need at least 5, and the size that they get to would be too much.
What about the zebra loach? They need to be kept in a school of at least 5 and dont grow past 4", maybe I can get 8-10 of them? But it also says the ph shouldn't get above 7.0

Or a yo-yo loach. Little bit bigger at 6", so 5 of em? Or is that overstocking.

The dwarf loach is also interesting, but then again would they also be considered lunch?
Click to expand...

Heres a decent link with more loach info. If you scroll to the bottom, theres a link to a loach forum plus a FAQ section on loaches. Dont hesitate to ask in the fw general discuss area for other members experience with different types of loaches and more help! :)

Loaches
 
Another thing I just thought of. The loaches need water flow, and I'm not quite sure if the fluval fx5 will be adequate enough across a six foot tank. Should I look into powerheads?

And I've pretty much gave up on having cherry shrimp, but want some inverts moving about i.e. hammers cobalt blue lobster and assassin snails. Thoughts?
 
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