55 gal....it's coming!

[Fishyfanatic]

My brother just got a pencilfish, and its not really my type. Great suggestion though Bussardnr! I never would have even given them a thought. I'm just a little picky with fish. There's only so much room in a 55 gal tank. I know, that sounds odd, but when you are used to stocking a 150 gal tank, the 55 gal seems like I could only have 2 fish in it.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I have sold the H.O.T. Magnum filter and am going to replace it with the Cascade 700 Canister filter. I'm not too sure how much current the fish would like. Does anyone see any issues? It filters 185 gph.

As mentioned before, there seems to be issues with mid to low level fish being my entire stocking list. 8O Since I don't know anything about these fish levels, can someone give me a nice top level fish? For bottom dwellers, I will be having 5 Cory's. Then the Bristlenost pleco for algae. And because I just absolutely love pleco's. Then the German Blue Rams are a must. I don't want to overcrowd any level of the tank. What do you guys think? My temporary stocking list has become:

4 German Blue Rams
5 Cory Cats
9 Rummynose Tetras
9 Neons
1 Bristlenose Pleco

Should a group of the Tetra's be replaced with another grouping? South American fish really aren't stocked too much around here. But there is a place in STL that keeps the basics of South Americans. I could replace one of the groupings with a different fish, but that fish would have to be a semi-common South American.

I checked out the house again yesterday and have broken out the floor plan program on the computer and have already designed where all the tanks are going. The 55 will be going right in front of the couch on the opposite wall. SOOO excited. Now I just have to try and hunt down some plants.

I won't be getting the Cascade for a couple weeks. It probably won't be here until after we move. (unexpected expenses of buying a washer/dryer for the new place ) So until I can get the filter, could I plant the plants in the tank and let them start growing without a filter? There will be a light set on the tank and I'll have air stones in for oxygen, but will the plants grow fine without the filter being setup? I'll still do partial water changes if that will be an issue.

After getting the filter I'm going to put it on the 150 for about 3 weeks before moving it over to the 55. Then slowly adding one school of fish every 2 weeks. With the Blue Rams being the last to be introduced. This way the tank is more established. Does this sound like adequate seeding of the filter? I don't want to have to go through a cycle after moving it over to the 55.

 

[severum mama]

Your list looks good to me, and I would probably add more fish to be honest with you (I think my tanks are somewhat overstocked ). Your plan for seeding the filter would be fine too. If you have trouble finding the rummynose (I wouldn't expect you to have problems finding neons) you could easily replace them with glowlights or gold pristellas or something. I keep both of those species and they are very peaceful and active. I love my green fire tetras too, but they would be more difficult to find, I would think.

Since you seem to love bottom dwellers so much, check this guy out:

This is my farlowella acus, one of my favorite fish. I snatched him up as soon as I saw him at my LFS since he was so unique and I had never seen one before. I'm not sure if they are hard to find everywhere else, but one would be a great addition to your tank IMO. Mine is out a lot during the day and he's really cool to watch.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I think I've seen that fish before. I can't think of its name off the top of my head, what is it?

 

[severum mama]

This is my farlowella acus, one of my favorite fish.

Sometimes he's even too lazy to swim, he'll just move himself around the tank with his mouth.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Ok, i'm stupid.

Can anyone comment on the questions that I posted?

 

[greenmaji]

you sold the magnum and got a cascade 700? I thought you were going to get a bigger filter than that.. like the cascade 1000 or so.. maybe a fluval 304, filstar XP2, Eheim 2215?

 

[greenmaji]

the Jebo CSF4 / 828 Canister should be big enough as well..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I'm sorry, I meant to say the 1000. I was researching the 700 for James' moms tank and must have put the info in accidently. Sorry for confusion. But yes I am in the process of selling the Magnum through AA Classifieds. Should be shipped Monday to the buyer.

Just a thought since you brought it to my attention greenmagi, but what would you guys think about taking the 1000 off of the 150 gal and putting it on the 55 gal. Then putting the new 1000 on the 150? Would this cause a mini-cycle on the 150? The 1000 is very well established and has been on a tank since November. I never even gave that a thought. But that way I wouldn't have to sit looking at an empty tank for 3 weeks while the new filter seeded on the 150 gal tank.

 

[greenmaji]

if your not going to be running CO2 then a corner filter or a sponge filter should be enough just for the plants.

 

[greenmaji]

if your going to replace the filter on the 150 just run both filters on the 150 for a day or two and put wichever one you want on the 55..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Currently on the 150 I have a Cascade 1000 and Cascade 1200. Both filters are established. I just thought that if I used the 1000 off of the 150 on the 55 gal, it is already established and I won't have to worry about going through a cycle. Then taking the new Cascade 1000 and put it on the 150. But I don't want to cause a mini-cycle on the 150 gal. The 1200 will filter up to 150 gallons.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Sorry, I didn't see your post about the CO2.

I have a small filter that is for the QT. It is a Tetra Whisper 20I Internal Filter. Would that be good enough for the plants until the Canister comes?

 

[severum mama]

IMO a day or 2 wouldn't be enough time. I would run both filters together on the 150 for at least 2 weeks, just to be safe. If you just can't bear to look at an empty tank why not just wait until you're ready to set the new tank up, then take some of the media out of the old filter and put it into the new filter- you're getting the same model, right? I set up a 55 gallon at work with some old Emperor 400 media from one of my tanks, adding the media at the same time I added a light load of fish, and the tank cycled in 3 days with the only spike being a very manageable amount of ammonia on day 2.

*edit* I didn't notice you had 2 Cascade filters on your 150. In that case, I would definitely go with your plan to take the old one off the 150 and put it on the 55 when you are ready to set it up, and then put the new one on the 150. I set up my 35 gallon tank this way using a filter from my 55 gallon tank with no problems for either tank.

 

[Guest]

I'm sorry, I meant to say the 1000. I was researching the 700 for James' moms tank and must have put the info in accidently. Sorry for confusion. But yes I am in the process of selling the Magnum through AA Classifieds. Should be shipped Monday to the buyer.

Just a thought since you brought it to my attention greenmagi, but what would you guys think about taking the 1000 off of the 150 gal and putting it on the 55 gal. Then putting the new 1000 on the 150? Would this cause a mini-cycle on the 150? The 1000 is very well established and has been on a tank since November. I never even gave that a thought. But that way I wouldn't have to sit looking at an empty tank for 3 weeks while the new filter seeded on the 150 gal tank.

Thats what I would do.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I get what you guys are saying, but the 1000 is already seeded. So basically it would be kind of like an instant cycle on the 55 by using the already established filter on the new tank.

But putting the new filter on the 150 gal, would it cause the 150 to go through a mini-cycle? The 1200 has enough capacity to filter the 150 gal on it's own. That's why I figured there would be any problems with a mini-cycle. I could see if I had 2 filters that had the capacity for 75 gal causing a problem. Because then basically you are wiping out half the bacteria. But since the single filter on it's own is adequate on the 150, the 1000 is basically for the extra filtration for those messy Cichlids.

I don't know if I made the post clear enough before. It's kind of a confusing situation. If not, I'm sorry.

 

[greenmaji]

since you have 2 seeded filters on your 150 already you should be fine with your plan.. I thought you were going to take off the only filter your 150 was running..(ie. silly to even think you would only be running one filter that size to run your 150...LOL)
you should not see a cycle on the 150 from the loss of bio-filter.. unless it doesnt have enough capacity for the inhabitants you have in the tank.. it sounds like your 1000 what just redundant on the 150....

 

[greenmaji]

bacteria doubles in size in 24 hours when given the proper medium to propagate by the way..

 

[Guest]

I get what you guys are saying, but the 1000 is already seeded. So basically it would be kind of like an instant cycle on the 55 by using the already established filter on the new tank.

I think its a great idea, but don't expect the tank to be 100% cycled.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Oh I realize that it won't be completly cycled. I mean, it will be darn near though. It will be seeded enough that the same day I can add fish. I'm going to do 1 school at a time. The pleco wont be added until later on when I can find another Bristlenose or Rubbermouth. Those pleco's are not common around here and you really have to have luck to find one. So start out with the Rasbora's and so on. The last group to be added will be the German Blue Rams.

Does anyone know of a good top level fish that would go with the community style tank that I am trying to setup?