New 45 Gallon Need Advice

[piratesthatpwn]

Hello guys, I just really got into aquariums 2 months ago and I just a new 45 gallon tank for my birthday! I have done a lot of research and would live to hear your advice, tips, tricks, suggestions, and opinions!


The goal of this tank is to be

1. Feature Angel Fish
2. Hardy (I Travel)
3. Eat flakes or pellets (So hard fish to feed like Loches are out of the question)

Equipment

• Standard 45 Gallon Tank, Stand, Hood, and Light
• Ehiem 2213 Canister Filter (65 gallons)
• Ehiem Jager Heater 150 Watt
• 2 Inches of White Sand from the Santa Rosa Beaches in Florida
• Tetra Wisper
• Rocks, drift Wood, bubble wand, fake plants
• A well established 10 gallon Black Phantom Tetra Tank
• A well established 10 gallon Julii Corys Tank

Fish

• 2 AngelFish (Center piece)
• 8 Harlequin Rasbora (Add much needed color to the tank! very important to me)
• 6 Julii Corys (From the 10 gallon tank mentioned above)
• 1 or 2 more fish that I fall in love with (Will be added last and VERY welcome to suggestions)

The plan

1. Cycle the tank with 8 Zebra Danios
2. After Cycled switch the 6 Juliis from the 10 gallon tank with the 8 Zebra Danios in the 45 gallon tank (So 6 corys in the 45 gallon tank no Zebras)
3. After a week start adding in the Harlequins
4. Finally add the Angels

I would love to hear your thoughts! Please advise!


Thanks!!

 

[Fishfur]

You already have cycled tanks on hand ? If so, you can use media or rinsings from those filters to fast cycle the new one. Take days, not months.

Beach sand, not a good idea. Salt, other contaminants in it, not great for fresh water fish. I would buy play sand, if sand is your choice. You can even get silica sand, very white, very fine, like sugar, if you want.

If you fast cycle the filter, you might be able to add the first fish in a week. Just do it slowly, no more than 3 at a time, let the filter catch up with the new load for a week before you add more.

Are you buying young angels or big ones ? A mated pair will cost a lot more, but will get along with each other well, which might be worth it, if you are going to be away. If you get one that bullies the other, might come home to a dead or badly injured fish.

Be careful not to overstock since if you will be away, overstocking can make any problem that might happen worse faster. Such as a power failure that turns off the filters, just one example. If possible, have someone checking now and then. Feeding is less critical, fish can go days without food, but if there is a malfunction, that can be a big issue. Just some thoughts on being away, having had to deal with it myself.

Have you thought of live plants ? Angel fish look great in a planted tank, and often like to spawn on Sword plant leaves, though they will spawn on almost anything. But plants suit them and look amazing. If not your thing, fake is fine. Live ones have the advantage of using up nitrates and ammonia, swords and some others have low light needs and are easy to grow. Might need a few fert tabs in the substrate. Timer for the lights, not costly, easy.

Not all loaches are hard to feed. Kuhli loaches are as easy to keep as cories are, but are not always out to be seen. Black Kuhlis are much more outgoing than the striped ones tend to be. Soft sand is an ideal substrate for both cory and loach though.

 

[piratesthatpwn]

I totally hear you on the beach sand. I have been using it on the cory tank and they have been really healthy! Probably just got lucky though

Good idea for the cycling using the other aquariums

Perhaps I should just go with 1 Angel instead of a pair?

I have never tried a planted tank before and my friend got a huge snail infestation when she tried it! Any tips?

 

[Khuligirl93]

1 angel is a good idea I have had only one angel in my 36 gallon for 3 years and she's doing great.

If you want to do some low maintenance plants I'd suggest anubias, java ferns, and amazon swords. All of these you can find in the plastic tubes at petsmart which are guaranteed snail free. Only things you'd need to get are a timer for your lights and root tabs to put under the swords every few months

 

[piratesthatpwn]

Any suggestions to replace my second angel fish? Something Colorful woujld be nice!

Also thinking of replacing corys with Kuhli! Or maybe both if you think I have enough bottom space!

Is there any extra equipment I need for a planted tank?

You guys have been great btw

 

[azmodan]

How about a pair of GBR once your tank is well established? A pearl gourami is another pretty option.

 

[piratesthatpwn]

What is a GBR?

 

[Khuligirl93]

When you look for an angelfish try looking for a koi angel- I think their color is more interesting than most angels GBR is German blue ram

Kuhlis are a great choice not sure if there's space for both though, and also not sure if the angel would be a potential predator for the kuhlis (I don't keep mine in the same tank)

 

[piratesthatpwn]

When you look for an angelfish try looking for a koi angel- I think their color is more interesting than most angels GBR is German blue ram

Kuhlis are a great choice not sure if there's space for both though, and also not sure if the angel would be a potential predator for the kuhlis (I don't keep mine in the same tank)

ahh, GBR are very cool looking except liveaquaria say they are difficult to care for! Is there any particular reason why? I was also looking into painted Swords

 

[Khuligirl93]

I've personally never had them but I hear they're sensitive to nitrates

 

[Piratechest]

Hello guys, I just really got into aquariums 2 months ago and I just a new 45 gallon tank for my birthday! I have done a lot of research and would live to hear your advice, tips, tricks, suggestions, and opinions! The goal of this tank is to be [*]Feature Angel Fish [*]Hardy (I Travel) [*]Eat flakes or pellets (So hard fish to feed like Loches are out of the question) Equipment [*]Standard 45 Gallon Tank, Stand, Hood, and Light [*]Ehiem 2213 Canister Filter (65 gallons) [*]Ehiem Jager Heater 150 Watt [*]2 Inches of White Sand from the Santa Rosa Beaches in Florida [*]Tetra Wisper [*]Rocks, drift Wood, bubble wand, fake plants [*]A well established 10 gallon Black Phantom Tetra Tank [*]A well established 10 gallon Julii Corys Tank Fish [*]2 AngelFish (Center piece) [*]8 Harlequin Rasbora (Add much needed color to the tank! very important to me) [*]6 Julii Corys (From the 10 gallon tank mentioned above) [*]1 or 2 more fish that I fall in love with (Will be added last and VERY welcome to suggestions) The plan [*]Cycle the tank with 8 Zebra Danios [*]After Cycled switch the 6 Juliis from the 10 gallon tank with the 8 Zebra Danios in the 45 gallon tank (So 6 corys in the 45 gallon tank no Zebras) [*]After a week start adding in the Harlequins [*]Finally add the Angels I would love to hear your thoughts! Please advise! Thanks!!

look into a upside down catfish, they are so fun to watch, and have great patterns.

 

[Cactuspixie]

I haven't heard of painted swords, but be aware that 'painted' fish are typically artificially coloured by the injection of coloured dyes

I love kuhlis, but I think cories are better value- they are always visible, and unless they are napping, they are constantly bustling around and generally being silly.
Upside down cats are cool, but they are nocturnal, so you may not see much of them
I'm not really into centerpiece fish, so have no opinions there.

 

[Fishfur]

Upside down catfish can also be aggressive... they're not usually recommended for community tanks.

If you are really concerned about keeping the small nuisance snail species out of the tank, you can try buying only the tissue cultured plants that are grown in containers hat don't have snails, but that can get expensive, and is not really practical. The other way is to dip your plants before you put them in the tank. You can use bleach, hydrogen peroxide, Excel or Potassium Permanganate, in the appropriate dilutions, as a dip.

Always rinse off any new plant. Remove any weight bands, wash off the crud that accumulates under them. Snails are not the only thing you can find on plants. Scuds and other small crustaceans are often hitchhikers, even insect larvae sometimes.

So rinsing and washing new plants is just common sense. Tap water is fine for this.. won't hurt any plants. I leave most of my new ones in a bucket, with a light and air stone running, for a day or two. Most snails tend to end up on the bucket walls. Scuds or insect larvae often hit the bottom. It is NOT a guarantee of no pests, not at all, but it pretty much tells me if there are any numbers of critters in a bunch of plants.

Even if you don't see any snails, plants may have eggs laid on them you might not be able to see. I run leaves through my fingers, as the egg masses usually feel like little bumps of gelatine. If I find any, I gently run them between my fingers to squeeze them off and send them down the drain. So far as I know, dipping kills eggs too.

Rivercats is on this forum and I know she dips her plants. I don't usually, so you might ask her for advice on dipping. If you make the dip solution too strong, you can burn or melt the plants, so be careful doing it.

First time I tried, I used too much Excel.. I had it on hand so I used it. I melted a nice big bunch of Windelov ferns. sigh.. So now I'm a bit leery of dipping. Probably not necessary to be, but the snails don't bug me much. They are harmless as a rule, and do make useful clean up crew. I pick out any I see, and that keeps numbers down, as does not overfeeding. Less food means they reproduce less often. I keep mystery snails because I like them, and they also compete for food, reducing what's available for the little bladder and ramshorn nuisance ones.