New to this and could use some advise

[Jaster]

Hello all.

Let me introduce myself... My name is Rich and I'm you guy's newest newb just bursting with questions. I've been wanting to do this for a long time and I finally have a good opertunity to get myself started. I'm getting my hands on a 80gallon bowfront. Now I am very new to this... my last tank was about 20 years ago and it was nothing but a goldfish killer. After about a couple weeks of reading posts and such from all kinds of places I think I have enough of a clue to start planning this. I'm not actually getting my hands on the tank for about another month so I have plenty of time to learn more and it keeps me from filling it right away and blindly tossing thousands of fish in it.

The tank itself comes with a heater (no clue what size or type. I'm assuming *cough* that it should be ok for tank), a mirrored single bar flur. light and hood setup (sorry.. again no idea what wattage), and a Marineland Emperor 400 filter. And lastly the array of plastic plants, bubbling treasure chest with bell diver (lol), and a small net. I know there is more I will need and I'm already planning on once I find out whats really in/on the tank. Like the light and probably another Emperor 400.

I have come up with a plan of what I would like to do with this and what I want to add as far as fish. So I'd like to run that by you all and get some opinions and thoughts to see if I'm on the right track here.

Well for starters I plan on a mostly gravel bottom but I like the idea of sand as well. So I will probably do a split with some kind of barrier to keep the sand in place. Something like mounded gravel to the back and sides with a "beach" in the front of the tank. (hope that made sense) I also plan on some kind of formations to make caves and hiding places in the graveled areas along with maybe a plant or two.

As far as plants go... I'm not really sure. I'm a little intimidated by this part at he moment. I'm considering 1 or 2 real plants right now. I don't have the money to upgrade the lights (if it's needed) at this point first off and the whole CO2 thing confused the heck out of me. I want to be able to wrap my head around caring for the fish and the tank before I jump to plants. I would prefere to keep the plant life to a bare minimum but I want happy fish too. (also don't want this to grow into a forest) I've read about the additives for plants too. This seemed like they type of thing that cound more complicated then it really is. Is that true? So I guess the real question here is what kind of plants can I get away with and are pretty much monkey proof to keep alive and maintain if I go that route and what am I really getting my newb self into with thinking about plants?

My new friends... Well I thought of starting with a group of 5-6 Zebra Danious, and a couple Bristle Nose Plecos. After that (and over a good amount of time between additions) 6-8 Black Skirt and/or Penguin Tetras and 2-3 Rosey and/or Gold Barbs. I'm thinking 3-5 Swordtails, 4-5 Guppies (maybe orange sunshines), I've thought about Angelfish and Dwarf Gouramis (because I love how they look). I've been getting mixed opinions from other sites over those two in a community tank. The end result though, I would like a couple nice schools of small to med sized fish, a couple of medium fish, and few big boys.

So thanks in advance for putting up with the looong post and any thoughts, opinions, and guidence you have to offer about my thoughts and plans!

 

[jsoong]

Welcome to AA!!!

You've made a great start on your tank by joining in.

First - If you are not already familiar with the nitrogen cycle, head over to the articles section & read up on it, then plan out your cycling process <fishless is best IMO>. Getting the cycle established is key to having healthy fish.

A sand/gravel mix sounds good. However, overtime, the areas tend to mix together - esp. if you have fish that like to dig. Also, for the sand, try to get something coarse so it doesn't pack down too much. You would need to stir the sand a bit every week of two to prevent anaerobic pockets, or better yet, have some Malaysian trumpet snails to do it for you.

For the plants, if you just have stock light, you are limited to ultra-low light plants. I would suggest java ferns ... a bit slow growing but about as indestructible as you can get. Don't sweat the high tech stuff (like CO2 or ferts.) .... you can upgrade & go whole hog later if you want, but for now, keep it simple. <Or just stay with fake .... the fish don't really mind ...>

I think you can do angels in a 80gal community, although I don't have personal experience with that, but others will chime in .... As for DG ... lots of people have problems with them ... some disease (prob viral) had taken hold in the population & the specimens don't last long.

 

[Jaster]

Thanks for the reply.
Yep I do know about cycling. Understanding it all.. well that a different story. lol. Been doing a lot of reading on that so I'm sure I'll get there. I think actually getting able to do it will me understand it better. Planning on doing the fishless cycle when the time comes. I figure at least that way if I totally screw it up at first I wont be killing my fish.

I've heard that the sand/gravel can be a bit of a pain to keep seperated. I hope that the barrier will help for the most part. I don't think I'll mind the bit of extra time it will take to clean up as long as I like the overall look of things and the fish are happy. Worse comes to worse I'll just pick one...

I've read about some of the low light plants and thought the Jave fern was a good plan too. I've also been told the Hornwort and Anubias are good too. Is this true? I really don't have any plans to go all out on plant life but I do want to have a couple if I can.

I've read that the DG can have ich issues... but as long as I don't stress them out that shouldn't be much of an issue correct?

So my line up of new friends (added over time) should be ok with each other? Or can I get some suggestions of some of you have done as far as stocking?

Thanks again all!

 

[jim692]

Welcome to AA
Sounds like you are ahead of the game already. You have a plan and are asking questions about it. This site has alot of great people with the knowledge and desire to help. Read the first 4 sticky posts in the freshwater getting started forum. They are full of good info. You pick up tons from the forums. And always ask if you have questions.
Good Luck!

 

[jsoong]

.....
I've read about some of the low light plants and thought the Jave fern was a good plan too. I've also been told the Hornwort and Anubias are good too. Is this true? I really don't have any plans to go all out on plant life but I do want to have a couple if I can.

I've read that the DG can have ich issues... but as long as I don't stress them out that shouldn't be much of an issue correct? ....

Depends a bit on your light ... Anubias may be OK is very low light, but I find hornwort needs higher light than stock or they fall apart.

I think DG has more than just ich. People are reporting that they are dying within months for no obvious reason. Some might have ich because of already weakened immunity, but I don't think ich is the chief cause.

 

[CTD]

Barbs with Angels, and Barbs with Guppies (fancy tailed i assume) are not a good mix IMHO! As Barbs are notorious fin nippers. Also Male Swords can get very territorial toward certain fish (IE: I had a Black Swordtail male once constantly and mercilessly harass a Red tailed Rasbora). As far as your filter I don't think you should need a second 400 the first 400 should be fine if it is working well (keep in mind 800 gallons an hour is a high flow rate in an 80 gallon tank and Angels prefer a slower water flow.

If you intend on having Angelfish (My #2 favorite fish BTW, Discus are my #1 favorite, GBR Rams my #3 favorite), Here are a few (Peaceable) fish that can go well with Angelfish:

Bristle nose Pleco's (Great algae eaters and one of the smaller pleco's)
Cory's (a group of Cory's are very entertaining and a great cleanup crew)
Harlequin Rasbora's (One of my favorite fish they have a metallic copper color)
Cardinal Tetra's (Not Neon Tetras they will just become food)

There are several others but these are the ones that first came to mind.

 

[Jaster]

Thanks for the advise!
I'll definately check out the fish you mentioned.