34-37 High (30x12x22)

[TeenerFish]

This is fantastic info! Thanks so much. One clarification......when you say "branches"...are these real or man-made? I will post a pic of the 3 tank decor items that I have so u can assess. Getting more and more excited to someday (hopefully not too far in the future) get my tank going again! I really need the stress relief the tank gives me

 

[Byron]

This is fantastic info! Thanks so much. One clarification......when you say "branches"...are these real or man-made? I will post a pic of the 3 tank decor items that I have so u can assess. Getting more and more excited to someday (hopefully not too far in the future) get my tank going again! I really need the stress relief the tank gives me

I use real wood I find in the forest or back yard, when I know what it is. I would buy artificial but I've not seen any locally; it would have to be made for aquarium use, so it wouldn't leech toxins.

 

[TeenerFish]

I will do some research for types of wood I can use. I can look online for artificial too. I will set my sights on 8 Glowlights, 8 Neons, and maybe 8 Panda Cory Cats. You mentioned I could maybe have another species for the top but this looks maxed out inch of fish wise, to me. Feel free to suggest any other combos you think may work for me. Thanks!

 

[TeenerFish]

Here's a quick pic of my tank, stand, 3 hardscape items, hood, 305 Fluval, Multi-Outlet.

 

[Byron]

I will do some research for types of wood I can use. I can look online for artificial too. I will set my sights on 8 Glowlights, 8 Neons, and maybe 8 Panda Cory Cats. You mentioned I could maybe have another species for the top but this looks maxed out inch of fish wise, to me. Feel free to suggest any other combos you think may work for me. Thanks!

Wood: hardwood is usually safe. Oak, beech, maple. Avoid softwoods and conifers (cedar, pine, spruce, fir, etc). They must be collected when completely dead and dry, dry meaning devoid of natural sap. Branches are much easier and safer than larger chunks of wood for this reason. I picked up some oak branches this week in my back yard; when you snap the thick end they break apart because the wood is completely dead and dry.

You've space for several more species. The "inch per gallon" type guides are sometimes helpful so people that don't know will not overload the tank, but there is much more in the equation that simply fish mass to water volume. I believe I went into some of this previously in this thread. Sedate fish (non-active swimming) have less impact than active fish. It may seem odd, but having lots of branches will allow you more fish; this is because you will be providing the proper environment for these types of fish and that means less stress on the fish and that equates to less impact on the biological system.

Thinking of upper level fish, hatchetfish come to mind, and the "silver" species (Gasteropelecus sternicla) should be fine in your water.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/gasteropelecus-sternicla/

Pencilfish are ideally suited to this sort of tank with branches, but most will be wild caught and delicate, but one exception is Nannostomus eques which is being commercially raised.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/nannostomus-eques/

A fish quite similar to the above pencil is the Penguin Tetra. Because of an initial confusion over taxonomy, the most commonly seen "Pengin Tetra" is actually the False Penguin Tetra.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/thayeria-boehlkei/

All of the above in groups of 9+ and I wouldn't add all three but you could do well with the hatchetfish and the pencil, or hatchet and Penguin; not pencil and penguin simply because they are so similar.

Byron.

 

[TeenerFish]

Thanks Byron! Super excited when I figure out how to rate on the site you will have excellent 100%+ from me!

 

[TeenerFish]

So can u just give me a scenario with how many fish in the most amount species I could eventually work up to with my set up (with branches)? So we have 8 Glows, the 8 Neons, 8 Panda Cory's. How many more species and how many of each would you estimate? You noted the Silver Hatchet (2?), the Pencil, and/or one other (real Penguin?)......Thx!!!

 

[TeenerFish]

Never mind about the scenario....I didn't see the bottom of your last response. I see it now. I can'tell wait to start cleaning and planning

 

[TeenerFish]

Well ok, my brain Sooooo I could add to my initial 8 ea of Glow, Neon, & Panda Cory.....9 Pencil or Penguin (not both), and 9 Silver Hatchet? Are these optimal numbers for some natural behavior?

 

[TeenerFish]

What do you think of Cherry Barbs instead of Pencil? I used to have those with my Glows. See they a bit more sensitive?

 

[Byron]

Well ok, my brain Sooooo I could add to my initial 8 ea of Glow, Neon, & Panda Cory.....9 Pencil or Penguin (not both), and 9 Silver Hatchet? Are these optimal numbers for some natural behavior?

Shoaling fish will always be "better" the more there are, but when you're in the 9-12 number range you are doing pretty good. And you must keep the tank size in mind. The numbers I suggested are what I would consider good for the fish while allowing more species than fewer.

What do you think of Cherry Barbs instead of Pencil? I used to have those with my Glows. See they a bit more sensitive?

Would work, as the cherry, unlike almost all other barbs (that I am aware of) is less active so fits in that respect. But given the aquascape you seem to be going for, I would not have cherries. You want fish that will respond to the environment (aquascape) and the pencilfish species I suggested will certainly do that. Swimming at an oblique angle, they spend all day cruising among branches and floating plants, and they are very peaceful with hatchets (not all fish are). I would take the pencils over the Penguin for this reason, though I'm not saying the Penguins will be a problem...but they are tetras and no one can be certain.

There are still other options too, with the suggested. As long as you stay with species that have the same requirements respecting their environment (aquascape and water) you should be OK.

 

[TeenerFish]

Good to know about the Cherrys. Oh and I did look and I have both a T8 and T12 Florescent bulbs. Are one of these ok for the plants you touched upon? Can I use a timer for day/night? And with this info I will give you a break and check back in when I get started. I will take pics along the way. Thx again. Wow...do glad I came upon your site. My first choice was a good one!!

 

[Byron]

Good to know about the Cherrys. Oh and I did look and I have both a T8 and T12 Florescent bulbs. Are one of these ok for the plants you touched upon? Can I use a timer for day/night? And with this info I will give you a break and check back in when I get started. I will take pics along the way. Thx again. Wow...do glad I came upon your site. My first choice was a good one!!

T8 and T12 are basically the same, except the T8 is newer manufacturing and more efficient, and better light by comparison. Try to get T8, not T12, when you can. They should both work, though some newer T8 fixtures don't do well with T12, the starter I think.

To know about the tube and plants, I need to know what the tube is. Name and Kelvin or whatever.

 

[TeenerFish]

Eclipse Marineland F1818 Natural Daylight

Coralife Spectramax F20-T12-BP

Guess I thought the top one said T8. Instead the hood it is in says it can use any of the 3 (T8,T10,T12).

Thx

 

[Byron]

Eclipse Marineland F1818 Natural Daylight

Coralife Spectramax F20-T12-BP

Guess I thought the top one said T8. Instead the hood it is in says it can use any of the 3 (T8,T10,T12).

Thx

I tried to find these. Coralife Spectramax I couldn't find, but I would be doubtful. The Marineland Natural Daylight I did find, and it is on the "warm" side, with 5100K. This looks something like the Aqueon "full spectrum" I have (bought one to see) and while it is serviceable I would not buy them again. It is hard to describe the effect, but it is kind of "blah" to me. The Life-Glo and UltraSun are far superior.

I've heard of T10 but never seen them locally. As I said previously, get T8 whenever you can as far as the "T" goes (this refers to the diameter of the tube in 8ths of an inch, so T8 is 8/8 or 1 inch, T12 is 12/8 inch, etc diameter). It is how the tube is manufactured with the phosphors that is important.

Forgot your earlier question on a timer...yes, this is a very good idea for fish and plants. The day/night circadian rhythmn that all animals have (think of it as an internal biological clock) functions best with regular day/night cycles every 24 hours. Tanklights coming on and going off at the same time each day is important for fish health and plants.