55 Gallon Project

[mancin]

I picked up a used 55 Gallon tank last night. Now I have 2 55 Gallons!

It has 2 Biowheel filters which should give me about 6x turnover. The tank was used as a reef tank before, so it's going to need a good cleaning. In addition, the stand is a little rusted from the salt, so I'm going to have to sand it down and re-paint. It came with Odyssea lighting, that have 2 actinic bulbs and 2 10,000K bulbs. 2 of the bulbs are burnt out. Each light runs at 65W. I'll probably only run 2 of the lights, as I don't want to do CO2 for this tank either. The lighting is in kind of rough shape, so to get it up to par I'm going to have to decide if I should just scrap it and buy brand new, or spend the money for the repairs (i.e. for one, there is no cover protecting the lights)

I do plan on planting this tank. I haven't quite figured out what plants I'm interested in since I have to cycle it first (fishless). I have 2 filters running on my other 55 Gallon and 1 running on my 29 Gallon, so I'm going to steal some mature media from there to hopefully kick start the cycle. I haven't done a fishless cycle before, but I have read all of the threads and have a pretty good handle on what I have to do.

Stocking wise, these are my plans:

Bolivian Rams
Gold Rams
Angelfish
Pitbull Plecos
Rainbowfish (possibly Bosemani or something else that stays under 4")

I haven't figured out how many of each one I want, but I figured I have some time while the tank is cycling!

I'll see if I can get pictures of the tank in its current condition later. I wanted to do a journal for this project as it's more of a project than any of my other tanks have been.

 

[tom_os]

sounding good. very similar to mine!

i got a new 55gal which will be planted with rams, angles, pitbulls etc

will be interesting to comepare them! good luck
if you intersed in my tank click on the link in my sig

 

[mancin]

Some medical issues with one of my dogs has delayed this project. Hopefully nothing serious.... we'll see. I'll post as soon as I can start working on this.

 

[Kris T]

Hope things are okay with your dog! Looking forward to your future updates

 

[mancin]

Hope things are okay with your dog! Looking forward to your future updates

Thanks. She's just losing some fur and we don't know why. *sigh* Hopefully the specialist can tell me what's wrong so I can get it taken care of and put my focus back on this project!

I did go to the LFS today because I love looking at the fish. I picked up a couple pieces of wood for the new tank, so I'll start soaking those this week. I couldn't leave completely empty handed.

 

[mancin]

The project is back on!

Here are some pics of the cleaned up tank, completely empty:

Added sand:

Arranged the wood and added the 2 filters and the heater:

I'm still undecided on the background. It probably would have been easier for me to add the background prior to setting up the tank. I have a background on my 29 Gallon (which is also in this room) because the wall color is so light, but I do not have a background on the other 55 Gallon in my dining room as the wall is a dark green.

I've also decided I'm going to get Emerald Eye Rasboras as the dither fish for this tank. Thinking about 12 of them. Haven't finalized the rest of the fish, however. I would like to get 4 Angels for sure. I wanted to get Marble Angels from the LFS, but now I'm a bit torn. They also have larger/more mature Super-Red Angels that are stunning, but I found some on Live Aquaria that are Leopard Veil and look gorgeous too. My bf doesn't want Bolivians because he thinks they are ugly. They are still on my list though!

Tracking the fishless cycle here

 

[mancin]

So far the cycle seems to be going well. Hopefully it continues to move along nicely!

I got glass tops to put on (tank didn't come with a top) but they are a bit too long. Silly me didn't look to see what kind of aquarium it was. My other 55 Gallon is an All Glass Aquarium and the glass tops fit perfectly and I made the stupid mistake and just assumed that it was the same since it looked the same. Oh well, I can get some glass cutters and cut a little bit of the glass off of the end and hopefully that will take care of it.

I ordered some new lighting today because the one that came with the tank is pretty beat up. I also ordered a new heater because I think the one I have now is malfunctioning. It has been on 24/7 since the cycle started. I haven't once witnessed the light turning off. Tank temp is already up to 84F. Even turning down the dial didn't get the light to turn off.

I guess this tank wasn't as good of a deal as I originally thought with all of the replacements needed, but what can I do now, right?

Also, I've changed my stocking plans a bit. I asked in the NW section and got some new ideas. I may try some Curviceps and/or Discrossus instead of the Bolivian Rams I had originally planned on. Sounds like the Emerald Eye Rasboras won't work in the long run with the Angels, so I'm looking at possibly Silver Tipped Tetras instead (they look similar). If not those Tetras, possibly Red or Black Phantoms.

 

[mancin]

Got my new lights today, but 2 of the bulbs are broken. I guess it doesn't really matter because I was going to run only 2 lights anyway... but it's just the principle.

 

[mancin]

I think the cycle is nearing the end. I better start thinking about what plants I want. I'd like to get the plants before the fish as I will be able to plant them better without having fish chase me around the tank. I'm hoping in the next week or two I can go ahead and add some fish! I'll try and get some pics this week of the new lighting.

 

[Phage]

Always looking forward to peoples ideas. Any ideas on how many fish of which? I think it would be better to plant before you get mature angels. Mine give me a hard time they tear most back up so I have to keep replanting.

 

[mancin]

Always looking forward to peoples ideas. Any ideas on how many fish of which? I think it would be better to plant before you get mature angels. Mine give me a hard time they tear most back up so I have to keep replanting.

Yep. I do have a pretty good idea of the fish I want. I had asked in the NW Cichlid section and have come up with this:

4 Leopard Veil Angels
3-4 Pitbull Plecos
1 Peckoltia Pleco (likely a Clown)
9 Silver Tipped Tetras or another type of larger Tetras
5 Marbeled Hatchets
2 Panchax Killifish
2 Dwarf Flag Cichlids

That puts me at about 1.5" fish per gallon, but I do have 2 filters running so I should have enough filtration. Also, the Dwarf Flags and Panchax are assuming I'm able to find them at my LFS. I'm pretty sure I've seen them there before though. I decided not to go with any Rams since I have some in my other 55 Gallon.

Still have to figure out what plants I'm going to get. For sure going to get some Crypts as I really like those plants and some Amazon Swords as I know Angels like them. Once I figure that out, I'll post those ideas as well.

 

[bagu]

lovely big tank!

 

[Phage]

Those seem like lovely fish. The hatchets really stick out Are the tetras fin nippers? Could be a problem with angels, specially veil. Personally not too fond of veils lol.
Why did you decide 4 angels and not 5? I think angels are best kept as 1, a pair, or 5/6+ to spread aggression.

As for plants, yea, angels really like swords to lay eggs on. They push leaves down to test strength I guess, so some leaves could get damaged. My angels left crypts alone so shouldn't be a problem. If you get mosses they might eat it lol.

Some of these might be nice
Cryptocoryne beckettii
Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Anubias barteri
Echinodorus 'Ozelot'
Microsorum pteropus
Ceratophyllum demersum (lol)
Egeria densa
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Ceratopteris thalictroides (angel might eat)

 

[mancin]

Those seem like lovely fish. The hatchets really stick out Are the tetras fin nippers? Could be a problem with angels, specially veil. Personally not too fond of veils lol.
Why did you decide 4 angels and not 5? I think angels are best kept as 1, a pair, or 5/6+ to spread aggression.

I could certainly get 5 instead of 4 if I would have better chances spreading out the aggression. I thought I had read that if you have more than a pair that the number should be kept even in order to prevent one from being bullied. I don't *think* those particular Tetras are fin-nippers, but I know Tetras in general are known for that. I had actually wanted to get Emerald Eye Rasboras, but they may be on the border line of being too small if I do indeed get mature Angels (unsure at this point - depends on if I get the Leopards or some Super Reds my LFS has). I suppose Rummynose Tetras are an option as well. I'm not a fan of Serpae Tetras or Black Skirt Tetras.

As for plants, yea, angels really like swords to lay eggs on. They push leaves down to test strength I guess, so some leaves could get damaged. My angels left crypts alone so shouldn't be a problem. If you get mosses they might eat it lol.

Some of these might be nice
Cryptocoryne beckettii
Cryptocoryne crispatula var. balansae
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Anubias barteri
Echinodorus 'Ozelot'
Microsorum pteropus
Ceratophyllum demersum (lol)
Egeria densa
Hydrocotyle leucocephala
Ceratopteris thalictroides (angel might eat)

Thanks for the ideas. I had to google some of them since I wasn't familiar with the names. I've been poking around a bit and have this as a rough list of plants:

2 Java Fern (maybe 'lace', since I have 'normal' and 'narrow leaf' in my other 55 Gallon)
2 Amazon Sword
3 Cryptocoryne Wendii Tropica (have this in my other tank and it's beautiful)
1/2 square foot of Micro Sword (would love for this to be the focal foreground plant)
1 Brazilian Pennywort (comes with 6-8 stems)
1 Ludwigia Broadleaf (undecided - is this a difficult plant?)
2 Water Sprite
2 Wisteria
10 Broad Leaf Sword

I was thinking I would plant the Micro Sword up front, the Broad Leaf Sword behind that, the Wendtii on one side or the other, and then the Amazon Swords, Water Sprite, Wisteria, and Pennywort in the back. I may have to play around with the background plants to see what layout looks best. I do have the 2 pieces of drift wood in the tank already. I'll likely attach the Java Fern to the piece in the middle. I want to maybe get some type of moss for the larger one on the right side of the tank. I would like to have some type of 'layered' effect to the tank and somewhat symmetrical while still staying natural-looking. I'm trying to stay away from pressurized CO2 due to the cost, but I will be dosing ferts as I do with my other 55. This tank will have about 2 WPG, so it's borderline on needing CO2.

Please feel free to add any comments. I'd like to order the plants before Monday so I can have them in early next week.

Edit: I've also posted the potential plant list in the Planted/Non-Journal section to get some more responses.

 

[Phage]

Angels will eat wisteria and waterspire Well mine do, you might be lucky and not get devils. watersprite or wisteria would make a nice background plant.
No idea on carpet plants, I am new to that myself lol.
Is the ludwigia you want, ludwigia repens broadleaf? I have repens and I noticed the lower leaves tend to die off or get pin holes if there is not enough light reaching the bottom.

Can you put a co2 tank under the tank? Mine is in my bedroom as well, I put it under. It lasts me 2-3 months before a refill depending on how many bps. I think it would be a good idea to add some sort of co2 if your light is that high.

do the emerald eye rasbora reach 6cm? thats all I could find about them. I have zebra danios with my angels and they leave them alone but the zebra danios like to nip fins (only have 3) but my danio kytathit don't nip.