New addition to the family...sorta :)

[Handruin]

Ok, not a child, but I am a proud new owner of a 55 Gallon aquarium. I just bought this setup today and I pick it up Thursday when the parts come in:

http://www.all-glass.com/products/stands/solidpine.html It's the pine one on the left, not the black one.

I haven't decided on the fish yet, but there will likely be some tiger bards and bala sharks. :mrgrn: I'm new to the whole fish thing, so hopefully they live. I'm going to put all sorts of fun toys for them to play with...I feel like a big kid. (well, I am I guess)

I bought these things at a local fish store where the owner was very helpful. Their prices were the best, and I'm buying the same name brand items sold in major retail chains like petco. This was originally a Valentines Day gift to my GF, but it's taken us some time to decide what to do, plus we've been really busy. We originally planned to by a 29 Gallon tank, but some how bought the bigger one...damn sales people. (I really wanted the bigger one, honest)

Just wanted to share! I'll try to borrow a digital camera once the tank is up and running with our fish and post some pics. If anyone has fish experience I'd happily welcome input.

 

[Pradeep]

One thing I've found that kills fish pretty quick is overfeeding. A little really goes a long way. I believe the rule of thumb is give them as much as they will eat in 5 mins and no more.

 

[Handruin]

Thanks for the tip; I'll try not to make them fat. Just for the heck of it, 55 US gallons is 208 Litres. I'm not sure what every country uses for measurements, but I figured I'd make it easier.

 

[Groltz]

That sounds cool, Doug.

Another way to avoid excess fishfood from contaminating the tank is to have different fish species inhabiting all levels of it. For example, some like to swim at or around the surface, some at the mid to lower levels, and others live on the bottom. Bottom feeders, especially, can go far to prevent food accumulation by keeping the gravel clean.

My 2¢.

--Steve

 

[Mercutio]

By the time you put gravel in it, you know you've got roughly 560lbs of static force (note to scientists: Yes, a pound is not a force. I'm not quantifying anything in slugs or Newtons.).

Hope your floors can handle it.

Fresh water or saltwater tank? We have one of each at the moment, although the only thing that lives in the saltwater is a bunch of live coral. We keep bettas in the freshwater. They mated, and the male started eating the baby fish, so the (larger) female chewed off most of his tailfins... we're probably going to be short one betta (and some more, if momma doesn't stop killing her young through the netting) soon.

Our tanks are oddly shaped. I'm not sure how big they are. Both are taller than they are wide. One is hex-shaped and the other is triangular, designed to fit in a corner.

I hate fish. Their ugly and they're always... staring at you. Only good things are that bettas are agressive and will "chase" a laser pointer, which is the only enjoyment I get from them. The cats seem to like them, too. It's good to keep the cats entertained.

 

[Handruin]

I did think about the weight of the tank because I know it will be a pain in the butt to move. I live in the second floor of an apartment and I’ve been told the floors are concrete. Here's my feeling though...when my friend comes over for a visit, him and I weigh 500LBs combined, and if we sit on the couch to watch TV, and his GF and my GF sit on the couch we're talking over 700 LB's...

The floor hasn't crashed through where the couch is located so I think the tank should be ok in a different area. I figure the weight is distributed over a 4 foot area because the base is 48" long by 13" wide.

I'm looking at bala sharks because I've read they are really active fish. Then I want to get a school of tiger barbs and I'll figure out the rest later on. The tank will be fresh water because I've read salt water tanks are hard for beginners...it's easy to kill the fish based on water contaminates.

Bala sharks seem to be "playful", not that I have any part in that. They're known to jump out of the water also, so I've got a lid for the tank. I've read they can live for 15 years in some cases. I’ve never seen someone use a laser pointer to play with fish…interesting.

I chose a large tank because I've also read that larger tanks are easier for beginners surprisingly. It makes sense, but I wouldn't have figured a big tank to be easier. The reason is simple...it's the volume of water that allows for gradual change in the tanks environment. If a fish becomes sick, it will take more time to spread based on the volume, where as a 10 Gallon tank would talk much less time.

I'm new to all of this, and now I'm learning about fishless cycles. Maybe I'll open a new web site. www.fishforums.net

 

[Santilli]

Planets are a big deal...

OK First off, learn about plants, and the benefits they have for tanks.
Consider plant tanks, since they get rid of lots of toxins.

Also, don't buy the fish you want to keep first. Buy something like tetras, that are good for breaking the tank in, and, then after the break in period, decide on what fish you really want.

I like, and breed cory cats. They are very fat, and, they eat alot.
It's ok.

I have both green and white corys. Tetras, a geophageus that cleans the gravel, and is too big for my 50 gallon tank, and, if you get plants, you will have to have algae eating fish. Rubbernose plecos work. As do Otto syncs, and pond snails, and simeaneses(sp).

In another tank, I have a single puffer.

Make sure you get one of those water hoses that connect to your faucet for water changes, makes it easy.


Try to find social fish. It's more fun having a bunch of fish that play together, and swim and nuzzle, all the time, then to have territorial
grumpy fish. Hope this helps.

gs

 

[Cliptin]

Re: Planets are a big deal...

OK First off, learn about plants, and the benefits they have for tanks.
Consider plant tanks, since they get rid of lots of toxins.

Great info Greg. What is a plant tank? A tank with only plants?

 

[Santilli]

Plant tanks are tanks with actual, living, growing, plants

The plants convert the waste and by products of the fish into, I believe, oxygen, and, feed themselves from it as well. The result is you don't have to change the water as often to get rid of the toxins that fish waste produces, since the plants do it for you.

However, it does require a certain type of bottom substrata.

Another possibility is certain plants grow when attached to rocks, by their roots. I have plants that I can move, without root systems in the tank, because they are attached to rocks.

Anyway, depending upon how many fish you have, you should change the water either once a week or so. Usually this is 25% to 50% replacement of the volume of the tank, and, a vacuming of the bottom of the tank.

Also flitering is very important. A filter that can change the volume of the tank at least 8 times per hour is nice, since this gives the fish oxygen. so 50 gallon tank, then a filter that runs in the 300 gallon per hour range, at least.

I have two, 280 gal per hour filters on my 50, because I have a lot of fish.

gs

 

[Handruin]

Re: Plant tanks are tanks with actual, living, growing, plan

The plants convert the waste and by products of the fish into, I believe, oxygen, and, feed themselves from it as well. The result is you don't have to change the water as often to get rid of the toxins that fish waste produces, since the plants do it for you.

However, it does require a certain type of bottom substrata.

Another possibility is certain plants grow when attached to rocks, by their roots. I have plants that I can move, without root systems in the tank, because they are attached to rocks.

Anyway, depending upon how many fish you have, you should change the water either once a week or so. Usually this is 25% to 50% replacement of the volume of the tank, and, a vacuming of the bottom of the tank.

Also flitering is very important. A filter that can change the volume of the tank at least 8 times per hour is nice, since this gives the fish oxygen. so 50 gallon tank, then a filter that runs in the 300 gallon per hour range, at least.

I have two, 280 gal per hour filters on my 50, because I have a lot of fish.

gs

Thanks for the great info. I’m picking up the tank tomorrow night and I will spend a week or so prepping the tank for the fish.

Do your plants require a salt-water environment? I’m going to be building a fresh water tank, as this is all new to me and I’ve heard it’s much easier. At first I will probably have 25 fish? That seems like a decent amount for a 55-gallon tank. It all depends on how big they are to grow and their life style for sure.

So it’s important to change the water at least once a week and roughly 25-50% volume change? How often do you vacuum the bottom? Is it one of those gravelvac’s I keep hearing about?

The tank is coming with a 300 gallon per hour filter…I believe it’s an aquaclear 300 http://www.aquahobby.com/products/aquaclear.html Should I consider a second one depending on the amount of fish we have?

Thanks for the tips, I’ll keep them in mind as I build the tank. Hopefully I won’t kill any fish for my first time out.

 

[Pradeep]

I used an Eheim canister filter when I had a fish tank.

 

[Santilli]

different filters...

http://www.aquahobby.com/products/emperor.html
are the filters I'm using. I fill the plastic baskets with batting from the local fabric store, and use the thinest one avaliable. It's very cheap, and works great for polishing water.

I use one 400 on my 30, which has a lot of fish in it, and two on the 50. I sort of over filter...

I don't know a bunch about the filter you are talking about, but, I am not really jazzed paying 20 bucks a month for emperor filters, for charcoal, for my tanks.

However, raw charcoal is a pain to put into the filters, so I don't have any great solutions on this one.

I might try sandwiching the charcoal inbetween the batting, one of these days.

Great thing about plants is they make it easier on the filters, since the plants elimenate the by products.

I change water, about 50 percent, once a week. Keep in mind I have too many fish, and they are too large, for the tanks I have. I like cory cats, and they like being in large groups. Therefore, as the babies have hatched, I've moved them into the bigger tanks.
Most recommend a 10-25% water change, but, with my massive filtration, and the dual biowheels, I'm pretty sure the bacteria is restored quickly in my tanks.
You might consider another filter for your tank, either a smaller one, that you know is self starting, like a penguin emperor 280, or something like that. They have adjustable flow, which you could also play with.

The larger emperors are harder to get to self prime, after cleaning the tanks, and sometimes require cleaning, and reassembling, before they finally start up, even after being primed.

You will also need a brush for cleaning the inside of the tanks, as well.
I would read the notes from the site that had the filters.
They had info on the effect of plant tanks, and filtering requirements.

Suffice to say, the plants will reduce the load on the filters, and, this is a big deal. One thing to keep in mind is the need for algae eating fish, since plant tanks always develop algae. Or pond snails work great, too.

A week to prep the tank? ???

Anyway, all my plants are fresh water. Hard to find plants that tolerate salt water, or grow well, at warmer temperatures, at least in this area.


Another thing you might consider is a good disease preventative is adding a bit of salt to your tanks.
You have to be careful, if you have amonia(sp?) soaking media, because salt releases the ammonia from the filter.

So, if you decide to add a bit of salt to your tank, make sure you change the filters.

At first, you should start with around 6 fish, maybe 8, and they better be VERY hearty fish, that can put up with very high ammonia levels, caused by the tank cycling in the first 6-8 weeks. Plants help with cycling, and building the bacteria for the tank.

During the first 6-8 weeks, you NEVER change the water, or the filters. This allows the bacteria to grow, and, eventually, the ammonia levels will drop down to a reasonable level, and you can add more fish.

Get a water testing kit, so you can tell what your water is doing during the cycling.

As for vacuming, it's sort of recommended, after cycling, to vacum one half of the tank every week, and the other the next week.

I have a fish called a geophagues, that's a cousin of the ciclid family. He's big, beautiful, and, cleans my tank bottoms by picking the rocks up in his mouth, and cleaning them off. Even though I use the vac, I could, and do, often let him, and the 10 large cory cats, along with the snails, clean the tank.

Snails eat everything, including some plants, and, what goes in, is supposed to be 80 % used up, including fish droppings.

Between the cory cats, and the geo, I'm not real worried about the cleaning of the tank. I do tend to grow a ton of fresh water snails, in both plant tanks, and these are removed periodically, and fed to my one, fresh water puffer, who lives in a 20 gallon tank, all by herself.

I would not advise putting coral in any of the tanks, unless it's ground up. It helps stabilize PH, which you also need to learn about, but, my fish have swam in, and got caught in it, and one puffer died in coral, even though they are supposed to swim around it all the time, and through it.
gs