GuppyLog || New Tank - what should I get?

New to Guppylog?
Immediate Help

Conversions and Calculator
Conversions and Tank volume calculator

Add yourself to our guppylog map
Guppylog Members

* Change as much water as often as you can! *
Inkmaker

Front Page · Everything · News · Ask Guppylog · Diaries

New Tank - what should I get?
By no1likeme1414 from the New Tank department, Section Diaries Posted on Wed Aug 29, 2007 at 12:57:47 PM PST Tags: (all tags)

Hello everyone! Mark back here after an extended hiatus ... I last posted about the mysterious sinking balloon molly? So my family chipped in and bought be a ginormous 75 gallon tank (~285 liters). I am accepting suggestions for what I should stock it with. :)

Here's some pics, plus a pic of my now very small-looking 20 gallon tank:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_v_socal/435645723/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_v_socal/435645709/

Yes, it was my 30th birthday. :) You can officially stop trusting me now.

(You can click on the "All sizes" link to the top left of the picture, to see the larger version).

So I now have this huge tank and I am considering what I want to fill it with. I am also thinking about how I want to set it up in terms of filtration, planting, what kind of substrate to get, etc.

For the background picture, instead of buying that generic stuff from the pet store, I am thinking of maybe blowing up one of my photos from my new camera and doing something custom. I live in L.A. near the beach, so I am currently thinking of a beach shot with a pier extending out into the ocean on one side.

Not sure on the filtration. Some of you may recall that I had a major greenwater problem in my 20 gal. tank a year or two ago; I bought a Vortex Freedom Filter (a diatom filter) which works really well, and is supposed to be able to be used as a full-time filter. However, I know that it has a high-speed motor, and since it's a diatom filter it uses the bag and filter powder setup, which is fairly high maintenance. My brother, who has a similar tank except that his is 100 gallons (!), uses a canister filter which he keeps in the storage area underneath.

Not sure what kind of substrate to use. My brother prefers sand, but I have black sand in my little 10 gallon tank (not pictured), and I have to say it's a bit of a pain in the ass. I am thinking more along the lines of black gravel with some of that stuff that's supposed to be like fertilizer for planting.

I have one of the "soda bottle" CO2 systems (from Nutrafin - an actual CO2 setup, not really a soda bottle - all it uses is sugar and yeast!).

Please also feel free to browse the rest of my pics if you wish:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mark_v_socal/

< Platies and Swordtails | New Copper Water Pipes >

Menu

· create account

· F.A.Q. For Newbies!

· Immediate Help For Newbies!

· search

· Scoop Info

· Our Tanks

Login

Make a new account

Username:

Password:

Related Links

· no1likeme1414's Diary

New Tank - what should I get? | 7 comments (7 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

That is an impressive looking tank and really (none / 0) (#1)
by unclescott on Tue Mar 27, 2007 at 03:34:28 PM PST

does dwarf the 20! The wall space looks like it would take the tank. Will the house support it there?

Your ask some good questions of us, but first, what is your water like in terms of its composition, especially in terms of mineral content and hardness? Do you wish to fiddle with the water in terms of its composition or just use it as is, with a little seasoning? Given those decisions, do you wish to set up a community tank or a breeding colony of one or two species. There are several kinds of communities, based upon size, species and even dietary habits. What fishes would be among your nominees?

Happy birthday! I thought that meant you could be trusted now. :)

I liked your photos. Were a lot of them surrounding a trip to Hawaii and back?

Re: That is an impressive looking tank and really (none / 0) (#2)
by no1likeme1414 on Tue Mar 27, 2007 at 04:08:40 PM PST

Hey unclescott!

Actually, believe it or not *none* of the photos currently up are from Hawaii ... you are recollecting back to our trip to Honolulu for the marathon in Dec. I promise I will post some of those pics now that you mention it! The plane pics are because I work close to LAX and I love aircraft - the bigger the better. :) The coastal shots are from around my neighborhood. I will miss that when the property costs and traffic finally force me to move away.

Hmm. I hear you US - after asking me so many times, I promise to get something to measure TDS. Especially since I am looking to plant with an actual substrate (something like this -- http://tinyurl.com/yv5jgs ) that could potentially affect the TDS/mineral content/Ph.

(unclescott you are going to have a heart attack when you read that link)

As far as water goes, I use tapwater plus a little Amquel + and some stress coat (to make sure to remove all chlorine/ammonia from the muni water). I also add aquarium salt per the instructions on the package (roughly 1 rounded tablespoon per 5 gallons of water changed out).

So far, so good - my two tanks have been pretty stable for at least a year now, and I have not had any dieoff incidents. The water in our area does tend to run a little high in the Ph department - like 7.6 - 7.8 - but the livebearers seem to get along well.

So in other words, no, I really want to continue to use my Python water changing system, which hooks up to the bathroom sink for both cleaning/changing water and filling. The ease of use both encourages good fishkeeping in terms of frequent, substantial water changes (heh- living in an apt I don't pay for water!) and in general cleanliness in the sense of NOT using buckets and waddling back and forth to the toilet. ;) This was a major factor in the decision to NOT jump into a marine setup too.

I am totally open to suggestions here, both in terms of setup (it WILL be well-planted) and denizens. I want a community tank, I think - maybe a couple or a few species. I would like to get a pleco since the size is appropriate, and I want to get a cool looking one, but not one that will grow and end up being in the foot-long range. I guess I need to sign up on some pleco boards too ;) My brother is fond of discus and is pushing me in that direction ... I don't know though. They seem hard to keep to me (compared to the guppies and mollies for sure!) and they are expensive.

I've got enough room for some schooling fish, which sounds fun, and I'd like some medium-larger fish too.

Oh and yes - the tank's location is downstairs, which means that it's on the 1st floor (so on the concrete foundation).

[ Parent ]

The location sounds good. Check with your water (none / 0) (#3)
by unclescott on Tue Mar 27, 2007 at 06:55:54 PM PST

department for hardness and TDS (possibly) in their EPA report. I was using the TDS meter a bit today, but I don't think that is absolutely necessary. The point is not to badger you into spending unnecessary $. Your tax dollars should already be at work here.

We are always going to have different toys. I've got my TDS meter, you've got your 75! If we were going to do a poll on which one GL members would like to have, the 75 would run away with it. :)

[ Parent ]

Re: The location sounds good. Check with your wate (none / 0) (#6)
by no1likeme1414 on Mon Apr 02, 2007 at 01:50:03 AM PST

What did you think of the substrate made of de-mineralized potting soil? In terms of the TDS aspect, mainly?

[ Parent ]

I'm not familiar with that at all. Bob (Robert) (none / 0) (#7)
by unclescott on Sat Apr 07, 2007 at 11:38:52 AM PST

Steinback in local programs and Diana Walstad in her book both suggest using good black dirt (from a pesticide/ herbicide free zone in the back yard) in a pot as a source of iron and carbon. Then one should have to play with a CO2 dispenser.

Plant the plant(s) on the black soil, cover the soil with gravel and wet it prior to placing it in the tank. Hopefully the dirty will not wash into the tank. If the plant leaves gets yellowish Robert suggests changing the soil.

I worry about what is added to potting soil. What would mineral-less potting soil be? Could you use in in a bowl with a small potted plant and one guppy? I have had Cyanobacteria problems in really fertile bowls, so frequent partial water changes in that small space would be important. Sometimes a test like that is the only way to know if a substance is safe.

You make me look at a bag of Profile that came from somewhere, sometime. It is a potting soil used in pots put in ponds. "They" say it is a kiln fired bag of ceramic granules. It is from Fuller's earth. Fuller's Earths evidently are absorbent clays used for a variety of purposes. The package suggests that the granules will slowly release nutrients to the plant roots. A little gravel is put over the profile just as with the black soil mentioned above.

So there are "soils" used with pond plants which will not muck up the water. I'm going to have to try this in a bowl of plants here.

Profile may need to be rinsed well so that it does not raise the tank or ponds hardness or pH. That may be more of an issue for people with softer (low mineral, not water-softened) water. Guppies are pretty used to higher pHs so long as they don't stay way up in the 8s.

Profile Clay Conditioner, Profile Soil Conditioner, Profile Aquatic Plant might all be useful. Schutz AQUATIC PLANT SOIL is similar. Some people have noted that clay kittie litter may be akin to these. ;)

They may be very similar to Turface MVP, Turface Pro Line, Turface Quick Dry (different in terms of their grain size.) But the Turface products tend towards acidity.

For more on those soils search
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants

Here is a summary of what Robert says:
http://www.guppylog.com/story/2006/3/14/15926/6512

That kitty litter thing intrigues me. I also have a bag of that around here. A couple of fish boos were picked up. They happen to be a bit musty. A library site suggested packing such a book in clean, non-scented kitty liter and enclosing the book and kitty liter in a plastic storage box. That worked for one guy. Maybe after I rescue the books, I'll pot some plants for the container outside in both the profile and kitty litter and, if i can keep the darn raccoons out of the containers, see what they do. (But this week it is freezing out.)

Please, if someone else out there has any experience with potting soil or Profile, please chime in. :)

[ Parent ]

The location sounds good. Check with your water (none / 0) (#4)
by New Guppy Momma on Wed Mar 28, 2007 at 07:01:37 PM PST

I like my 75 gallon too ;)
As for some stocking suggestions...I just got a (a couple months ago) a trio of Swordtails. There are some very cool varieties out there. My male is a solid orangey yellow and my 2 females are a creamy yellow with a red stripe running from nose to tail. I've also seen some that are dark red with black patches. (Those are next additions to my tank.)
I also have a female Dwarf Gourami, 7 neon tetra's, 5 glowlight tetra's, 6 harlequin rasbora, trio of mollies and a whole passel of male guppies (females reside in 2-10 gallon tanks). Oh and 3(I think) ghost shrimp.
I would suggest the Swordtails and maybe some smallish gourami's, maybe a few species of rasbora and some tetras. Mine seem to be doing pretty good so far. I did have 5 bloodfin tetras but am now down to 2. The case of the disappearing fish :)

Anyway let us know what you decide. Whatever it is make sure you are happy with your choices and research them well.
Before all else fails....do a 25% water change ;)
[ Parent ]

Re: The location sounds good. Check with your wate (none / 0) (#5)
by no1likeme1414 on Mon Apr 02, 2007 at 01:48:52 AM PST

Heh - I have a Python system so I am a frequent water changer. :) Even for my 10 gal I try to change at least 25% a week, or sometimes every two weeks.

[ Parent ]

New Tank - what should I get? | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

create account | faq | search