20gal upgrade

[ilovemydragongoby]

We are currently looking around for a larger tank to move my fish to! Very excited, I've been moving alot of stuff around in the house today trying to figure out where to put one. We are trying to find some where between an 80-100gal it will be the home of my black ghost knife, barbs, otos and mollies.

I was looking at a used 100 gal but it has an overflow...not sure if i'm ready to make that big of a jump with the plumbing and stuff. do i need an overflow with a freshwater, i thought it was just for saltwater. i'm still new to this lol

the guy who is selling it said he'll give me the pump with it, and i can use the 20gal as a sump. no idea how to do that?

this is the current stock list of 20gal that will be move to the bigger tank:
1 black ghost knife
6 albino cherry barbs
4 mollies
3 otos

any suggestions for more stock would be appreciated! i love more ideas!

 

[supradupafast]

Hehe... Don't tell me you're from Ottawa.. I am also looking at a similar set-up but not sure I want the overflow - sump set-up...

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

lol no i'm from winnipeg

 

[supradupafast]

As for using the Sump in a FW tank, not really something you need. The reason why SW tanks use these types of setups is so they can hide all their components such as their skimmer & Heater. These go in the Sump and do not show on your main Tank.
It's a lil' different with FW set-up since we use Filters and not skimmers. It can still be done but not something I would personally do or recommend.

 

[Crepe]

Sumps are cool. 'nough said.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

so would you say that i should just keep looking for a different tank...one without a built in overflow?

 

[supradupafast]

IMO, if you're planning on staying FW 20G, I'd look for a standard tank with HOB or Can Filtration.
BTW, are you looking for a Standard 20G or long 20G?

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

IMO, if you're planning on staying FW 20G, I'd look for a standard tank with HOB or Can Filtration.
BTW, are you looking for a Standard 20G or long 20G?

the fish on that list are currently in a standard 20gal, they will all be moved to a larger tank once i find it and it cycles.


i was researching some info on bgks and after seeing what other people have stocked with theirs this is a list of possible tank mates for the ghost knife.

-discus
-silverdollars
-arowana
-an eel of some sort
-reed fish

not sure which ones or if any of them we will get, not sure if those fish will be okay with the mollies, barbs and ottos.

any advice/sugestions or comments on the stock list would be cool!

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

anyone? lol

 

[BigJim]

You don't need to use an overflow if it's present in the tank. Use a PVC bulkhead and a cap to plug up the drain hole. A tank I have actually came with glass siliconed in to block the overflow. If you don't use the overflow, covering it would be a good idea to prevent stuff from getting stuck in there.

Google "Melev's Reef" to learn about sumps. There's a ton of good information there.

An arowana will get too big for a tank in the 80g-100g range. They're awesome, but they get huge.

Eels and reed fish would eat your smaller fish.

Silver dollars would be a good match, but they like to school.

Not sure about discus. They can be rather fragile.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

so, if i got the 100gal with the overflow, could i just silicone a piece of plexi glass in the over flow. i have lots of that stuff lying around lol

 

[BigJim]

Silicone doesn't stick to plexiglas very well, but in theory, yes, you could. A piece of glass from the hardware store would work well.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

thanks BigJim!

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

An arowana will get too big for a tank in the 80g-100g range. They're awesome, but they get huge.

Eels and reed fish would eat your smaller fish.

Silver dollars would be a good match, but they like to school.

Not sure about discus. They can be rather fragile.

so i guess eels and reed fish are off my list lol. and so are the discus, did some research and the have different temp/hardness needs than some of the other fish that are in the tank. But i'm looking at silver dollars, but only if i get a tank between a 90-100gal cause i'll need to get atleast 5 of them for them to school...or so i have read.

Does anyone have any suggestions to what else i can put in a tank with a bgk?

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

found a cheap 55gal set up, brand new at one of my lfs. $250 for everything, just needs a stand. we will be picking it up in a couple weeks! can't wait so excited!

 

[Crepe]

Medium sized barbs (tiger and the like), angels?, larger tetras like congo tetras. African dwarf cichlids like Kribensis [pelvichromis pulcher]. Some medium sized plecos/catfish. Mystus bimaculatus is one of my favorite naked catfish.

 

[ilovemydragongoby]

well, i already have 6 cherry barbs that are with him right now...but ive heard that tiger barbs are too aggressive for the cherries