48*24*24 120us G Stocking And Filter Advise.

[always4lora]

Well i've checked with the GF and she's letting me have a new tank , as im short of space 4ft's the biggest i can go . Thinking of getting either 48*24*24 or possibly paying more and getting a 48*24*30 most likely the 120us g one.

The stocking i was thinking of was either a Sorubim lima or possible a teacup ray /retic or whatever they're now called along with some other fish .

Firstly i was wondering if i could go with both or if the catfish would bother the ray .

Also is the tank large enough length and width wise.

I think i prefer the ray for the looks but the catfish would be easier to look after. They're the two fish that really caught my eye on the species index.

What other fish could i put in as tank mates? presume any fairly peacefull cichlid will be ok as long as its big enough not to be eaten.



For the filteration what would be best to go with? Fluval fx5 seems to be the only one i can see that will have the turnover. Or would it be better to get 2 externals? if so which would be best ?

Any ideas/ Suggestions ?

 

[Davo86]

Well i've checked with the GF and she's letting me have a new tank , as im short of space 4ft's the biggest i can go . Thinking of getting either 48*24*24 or possibly paying more and getting a 48*24*30 most likely the 120us g one.

The stocking i was thinking of was either a Sorubim lima or possible a teacup ray /retic or whatever they're now called along with some other fish .

Firstly i was wondering if i could go with both or if the catfish would bother the ray .

Also is the tank large enough length and width wise.

I think i prefer the ray for the looks but the catfish would be easier to look after. They're the two fish that really caught my eye on the species index.

What other fish could i put in as tank mates? presume any fairly peacefull cichlid will be ok as long as its big enough not to be eaten.

For the filteration what would be best to go with? Fluval fx5 seems to be the only one i can see that will have the turnover. Or would it be better to get 2 externals? if so which would be best ?

Any ideas/ Suggestions ?

Tank would be too small for a ray longterm, However the lima shovelnose should be fine,

As you say other tankmates could include larger peaceful cichlids, such as Severums, Uaru, Chocolate Cichlids or even an Oscar.

You could also go with a Dat or Bichirs, as well as a variety of other cats and larger dithers like Silver Dollars

FX5 or eheim 2080 should be ok, but adding another smaller external such as a classic 2217 may be beneficial.

 

[Richard22b]

I agree the tank would be too small for the ray.

I have a 5ft tank and use one of the larger eheim filters with a fluval 4 internal filter.

 

[always4lora]

Thanks for the advise, i wasnt sure on the ray as theres some that supposadly getting to around 10inch but most get too big.
I've already got a Senegal bichir in with my snakeheads so might move him accross when i get a tank .

I thought other cats migth be out of the question as most seems to stay around the same part of the tank near the bottom. Any recomendations on Catfish that would go well?

the ehiem 2080 is pricey , must be pretty good like to justify the extra £100ish over the top of the fluval fx5.

I'm on the lookout for the tank second hand , is there anywhere that sells them new and delivers ? Most branded ones dont have the right dimensions.

The lima shovel nose is suprsingly cheap to buy

 

[Davo86]

Hoplos or Raphael cats would do well, as would a medium sized plec like a rusty or a royal, Just avoid anything highly active (like pictus) that may stress the Lima and you should be fine.

a few people here have this tank
ND

 

[always4lora]

Cool , my friend has pictus and they're mental , unbeliverably rapid ! On the ND aquatics site it says the volums of the tank is 87uk galon according to the aquarium calculator it should be 100 . the price isnt to bad though at £230delivered for the tank alone. Imagine i can knock a stand and hood up for about £40

 

[Peggers]

Someone said in another thread that ND allow for displacement of substrate and ornaments and the fact they take external dimensions.

 

[always4lora]

ahh that would make sense then

any body tried both the fluval fx5 and the ehiem? just curious on opions and whats better and the justifications of paying more.

 

[Davo86]

The 2080 is the only filter to have two inlets, also it is only 30W compared to the 60W FX5. And last but not least it is an eheim.

The FX5 is an amazing filter though, although personally i don't particularly like the outlet, or the way the hose has to be attached to the top of the glass

 

[always4lora]

Coolio will see how money is for the filter.

Could i get the filter and to filter it just run it along side my fluval 305 and 3+ internal on my current tank? or would this take longer than playing around with ammonia?

How's this for a rough stocking:
Sorubim lima
Nicarguan cichlid or possibly oscar
Medium size pleco
4-5 talking catfish / 4-5 silver dollars for dither.

Would that be ok? could i have both cichlids ? could i have the smaller Dat (silver one ) with one of the cichlids?
Is the talking catifsh better worse than the silver doller? or just preference.

Think i'll give tot he end of the week to see if i can get a 2nd hand one then if no luck get one from nd aquatics and get a filter then gradually get the fish . I'm guessing all the fish have differernt growth rates so what would i want first to avoid me getting other fish that outgrow it fast and end of eating the tank mates?

 

[Davo86]

what size is the current tank? in theory yes you could run the FX5 on the existing tank for a while, or simply add one third of the media from your 305 so that the FX5 is cloned,

I would personally go with one or the other with regard to cichlids and dats, and i think if you wanted to have both cichlids then you would need to lose some of either the talking cats/SDs
Talking cats are generally nocturnal so won't be very active during the day, whereas Silver Dollars will always be on show, I would choose the SDs over the talking cats without a doubt,

At what size can you source these fish?

The silver Dollars would need to be a good size before the Oscar and Lima go in, Oscars grow scarely quick.

I'd add them in this order
silver dollars
pleco
lima
Nicaraguaunce
Oscar

 

[always4lora]

Hi' The current tank is 48l*15h*12w (40g us i think) currently has 7 channa orientalis and my juvi senegal in it. i know the fx5 would be somewhat over kill bit i presume its like the fluval 305 where you can change the flow rate.
My friend got his fluval fx5 and it had so many compartments for media , dont think a 3rd of my media would fill up hardly any of it . Would i have to cycle the tank still once i swap the media or just make sure i had slowly to the stocking?

As for what i can source them at:
oscar would be at around 4inch-5inch
lima is advertised at wildwoods at 12-15cm
Hypsophrys nicaraguensis - 6-9cm
pleco depends on the type but i;ve seen various sizes in shops so can go large
Silver dollars i dont think ive seen in any shops more than about 3-4inch diameter. Will have a good luck around for these larger though.

Iknew the oscars grew fast as i got one for my friend it was about 3inch went round arbout 2months later and seemed double the size.


As for the dat is was for the mrs really either that or the nicaragua one , something colourful and pretty and not a platy/guppy lol

Thanks for all the help just wanted to get a plan sorte

Oh and one more thing i have an RO unit sat in the sat shead i got for £20 of someone who never used it , is this ok to use with the fish ? My snakeheads ive changed the water once in little over a month. Presumably water changes a couple fo times a week with the above stocking? Got a python made up so not much hassle like .

 

[Davo86]

Wouldn't bother with the RO,
Also if you add a small amount of media you can very slowly start building the stock

 

[always4lora]

Coolio i'll add the sponges as well from the internal as i dont use it for filteration partiucally mainly for the water flow with an added bonus of backup incase the main breaks.

With the Silver dollars will they be ok added one by it's self if i heavily plant the tank (with fake plants as i believe they eat alot) or will it be skittish?

Think i'll get the stand made at the weekend. Going for possibly some sort of alluminium frame or steel . Gotta love DIY

 

[always4lora]

Got an email back from ND Aquatics its going to cost £70 for delivery to Cumbria so the tank will be about £250 by itself . Is that about best im going to get new?