TropicalIce
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hello Everyone
I apologize if this is long winded but I must say thank you to everyone who is consistently giving advice to people new to the hobby and even seasoned veterans. I have been following posts for months now and I have finally decided to make a thread of my own concerning my tank as well as offer some advice on what has worked for me and what hasn't.
First off I love biology and all things science so it's kinda crazy that I'm just now getting involved, or should I say hooked on aquarium fish. It has almost become an obsession! I started out with a 55 gallon aquarium and before I could even put any fish into it I went out a bought a 125 gallon aquarium along with a small 10 gallon. Now I came across a few posts on live bacteria to cycle an aquarium and so far I haven't seen any testimonies on a product that actually worked for someone. I've seen it from biospira to one and done but I'm hoping to be the first one here to say "TLC Start Smart Complete" is the real deal. I have an old aquarium store near the house that I have been visisting every other day called Azalea Aquariums. This guy has been around for about 40 years and come to find out he helped design and engineer the marineland c series no bypass filters. He's a bit of an old head and even biased towards certain products. He even called the fluval fx5 garbage but he's the only one I've heard call it that! Anyways, he carries the live bacteria TLC Smart Start Complete and insisted that I buy it. I was very skeptical but he put his hands firmly on the counter and pretty much laid it out like this. "I've been doing this for 40 years, If it's in my store it's because I use it and it works. I use this on all my tanks and if it doesn't work for you bring it back and I'll give you your money back". SOLD. The bottle says to give the tank 24 hours before adding fish but the old man said to give it 3 days. No joke guys, my Aquarium was cycled in 1 week. Zero ammonia, 0 nitrite, 2 ppm nitrate with 30 fish (Small Tropical Fish). Months later, no added chemical maintenance except for the weekly water change and the tank has been perfect. If you buy this and try it out please let me know if you get the same results. I've used it on my 55 Gallon, my 10 Gallon and my 125 Gallon with the same results.
Enough Splurging here, The real reason I wanted to create a new thread was to see what you guys think about the mix of fish I have in my tank. I went a little crazy and I couldn't stop buying fish every time I walked into the store. It's addictive!! But I put a freeze on my buying habits to get some advice...
I have a 125 Gallon Tank w/
Tetra EX70 Filter (HOB)
Rena Filstar XP3
Aquaclear 70 Powerhead filter
Aquaclear 50 Powerhead
Lightly planted tank - Amazon Swords, Anubis, etc (Hardy Plants)
72" T8 Light Fixture
48" Dual T5HO Light Fixture (6500K, Floral)
As far as the fish... ::deep breathe::
2 Veil Angels
4 Clown Loaches
3 Peppered Cory
3 Dwarf Gouramis
5 Ghost Catfish
1 Dalmation Molly
1 Cream-cycle Molly
1 Sunburst Platy
1 Pleco
2 Lyretail Swords
9 Red Tetras
1 Rainbow Shark
5 Boesemani Rainbows
I know that my pleco and loaches are going to get big but do you think 125 is large enough and does this combination with this size tank pushing any boundaries? I'm thinking about getting a larger tank down (down down) the road.. 300 maybe. Also for the size tank and filters is this too many fish?? My water paremeters for the past 3 months have been very steady and I don't really have a lot of large fish except for the loaches, pleco, and maybe the shark. (They are all babies right now) None of them are full grown.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 1ppm
In Between Soft & Hard Water
PH - 7.2
Temperature 80 degrees
I apologize if this is long winded but I must say thank you to everyone who is consistently giving advice to people new to the hobby and even seasoned veterans. I have been following posts for months now and I have finally decided to make a thread of my own concerning my tank as well as offer some advice on what has worked for me and what hasn't.
First off I love biology and all things science so it's kinda crazy that I'm just now getting involved, or should I say hooked on aquarium fish. It has almost become an obsession! I started out with a 55 gallon aquarium and before I could even put any fish into it I went out a bought a 125 gallon aquarium along with a small 10 gallon. Now I came across a few posts on live bacteria to cycle an aquarium and so far I haven't seen any testimonies on a product that actually worked for someone. I've seen it from biospira to one and done but I'm hoping to be the first one here to say "TLC Start Smart Complete" is the real deal. I have an old aquarium store near the house that I have been visisting every other day called Azalea Aquariums. This guy has been around for about 40 years and come to find out he helped design and engineer the marineland c series no bypass filters. He's a bit of an old head and even biased towards certain products. He even called the fluval fx5 garbage but he's the only one I've heard call it that! Anyways, he carries the live bacteria TLC Smart Start Complete and insisted that I buy it. I was very skeptical but he put his hands firmly on the counter and pretty much laid it out like this. "I've been doing this for 40 years, If it's in my store it's because I use it and it works. I use this on all my tanks and if it doesn't work for you bring it back and I'll give you your money back". SOLD. The bottle says to give the tank 24 hours before adding fish but the old man said to give it 3 days. No joke guys, my Aquarium was cycled in 1 week. Zero ammonia, 0 nitrite, 2 ppm nitrate with 30 fish (Small Tropical Fish). Months later, no added chemical maintenance except for the weekly water change and the tank has been perfect. If you buy this and try it out please let me know if you get the same results. I've used it on my 55 Gallon, my 10 Gallon and my 125 Gallon with the same results.
Enough Splurging here, The real reason I wanted to create a new thread was to see what you guys think about the mix of fish I have in my tank. I went a little crazy and I couldn't stop buying fish every time I walked into the store. It's addictive!! But I put a freeze on my buying habits to get some advice...
I have a 125 Gallon Tank w/
Tetra EX70 Filter (HOB)
Rena Filstar XP3
Aquaclear 70 Powerhead filter
Aquaclear 50 Powerhead
Lightly planted tank - Amazon Swords, Anubis, etc (Hardy Plants)
72" T8 Light Fixture
48" Dual T5HO Light Fixture (6500K, Floral)
As far as the fish... ::deep breathe::
2 Veil Angels
4 Clown Loaches
3 Peppered Cory
3 Dwarf Gouramis
5 Ghost Catfish
1 Dalmation Molly
1 Cream-cycle Molly
1 Sunburst Platy
1 Pleco
2 Lyretail Swords
9 Red Tetras
1 Rainbow Shark
5 Boesemani Rainbows
I know that my pleco and loaches are going to get big but do you think 125 is large enough and does this combination with this size tank pushing any boundaries? I'm thinking about getting a larger tank down (down down) the road.. 300 maybe. Also for the size tank and filters is this too many fish?? My water paremeters for the past 3 months have been very steady and I don't really have a lot of large fish except for the loaches, pleco, and maybe the shark. (They are all babies right now) None of them are full grown.
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 1ppm
In Between Soft & Hard Water
PH - 7.2
Temperature 80 degrees
