55Gal Goal Is Planted, Peaceful

[eaglesaquarium]

Cloudy water is normally just a bacterial bloom.  These often occur in new tanks and will clear once all the 'food' for the bacteria is gone.  Personally, I'd not worry about it.  Put the filter on it when you get it, and let it roll.  If you start to notice any type of bad odor with the water, then change it immediately.  But, right now, there's no concern.  
 
 
As long as the filter will be in place in the next day or so, there's no need to change the water.  

 

[*pete*]

So, here's what I have in the tank so far. Now that I have lights, even if they don't sit on the tank the way I expected, at least they worked well enough to let me get a picture. All of the plants are still small of course and I'm not really 100% sure about the layout yet. I think I'll like it better once the plants get taller. I have a background to put on, but I'm not sure whether I want the black side or the blue side. I'm also not sure if the decoration is too large. I like the cave that it creates, but it takes up a lot of room. A lot of the "floor" space is taken up by driftwood, plants, and that decoration. Is there enough "ground" if I get a goby or other bottom dweller?

I hate the way the lights show in the top of the lid. Those dots really annoy me. In person, they are very bright and really detract from the aquarium.

Hey don't get dispondent... your doing great and have a good eye for this.
 
I see what you mean about the distracting lights though!

 

[BeckyCats]

Thank you, Pete! What a kind thing to say.

And thank you, Eagles! You have been particularly helpful in my thread here.

Going to get on my computer so I can actually type...

 

[BeckyCats]

What a ridiculous comedy of errors I've had with filters so far! The filter I waited for through the mail was cracked. Of course, I didn't notice until I set it up and it leaked all over the place. When I say, "leaked" I mean "gushed." It was a large crack. I'm not sure how I missed it before I set it up. I guess a combination of it being black and my poor ceiling lighting. So, today, I bought two smaller filters, figuring it might be better to have a smaller one on each side rather than just one larger one. Got the filters home and they were too small to fit over the tank rim. UGH!! Back to the store for one regular filter that is sure to fit absolutely, positively. And NO cracks! I put it up and (knock on wood) so far it is actually working.
 
I am going to return the fancy-dancy LED lights too. I got a standard hood with a fluorescent bulb. Not fancy but it fits properly with much less light pollution, and I don't have to worry about the filter being near it.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

What filter did you end up getting?

And thank you, Eagles! You have been particularly helpful in my thread here.

 
You are most welcome.  I do my best to be helpful when I can be.  

 

[BeckyCats]

Well, I know it's not one the "cool kids" get, but I went with an Aqueon QuietFlow 55/75. I wanted to get a canister filter based on the research I did, but I did not realize how much more expensive they are and how much bigger!! My 10 gallon kit is Aqueon brand, so I already know how the filters work, how loud they are, etc. My lfs had Marineland biowheel brand and Tetra as well, but I just went with what I have used before. I considered an underwater filter, but I don't remember ever reading anything about them, so decided against. I'm wondering if they might be quieter though. Although, I have to say, the Aqueon is not that loud to my ears. The motor hums and the water trickles, but those are pleasant noises to me - white noise that helps to drown out more irritating noise like cars outside or the tv in the living room. Fortunately, my husband is one of those people that can sleep through a herd of elephants trampling through the house, so he is unphased by the noise level.
 
One of my driftwood pieces looks like a horse's head, so I tied java moss to it to see if I can make it look like a mane. Silly, I know, but I want to see what it looks like. I'm thinking of what I can insert in the little niche that looks like an eye. I'll try to get a picture so you can laugh at my goofiness...

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I've always liked those Aqueon HoBs.  I have had the Marineland Penguins.  I cut my teeth on HoB filters and just recently went to the canister style with a single tank - the price is daunting.  But, I can tell you, as much as I've always liked the HoBs, I like my canister all the more.   (I got a Marineland canister filter at 50% OFF! 

  Just got to keep your eye out for when they go on sale!!!) 

 

[BeckyCats]

Half-off is awesome!

 

[BeckyCats]

Here's the horse-ish driftwood I mentioned. I tied java moss to it. I'll get rid of the thread if the java moss attaches. For some reason, it doesn't look quite as horsey in the photo as it does in person. Oh well. Close enough.

 

[BeckyCats]

I redecorated a little as well. Nothing major, but moved some plants around a bit. It is like regular gardening, you have to try to imagine what it will look like once the plants are fully grown. In this case, I will probably have to do more moving but I will wait to see what survives first. I read that the water sprite gets very large and fluffy, so I have it in the back in a few spots (that can't be seen at this point), and I'm hoping it will fill in the back and provide visual texture. We'll see what happens. I wanted to break up the broad-leaved plants a little more, but where I had one placed initially, it kept getting a leaf stuck to the filter. I wonder if they make a pre-filter large enough to go on this tube. I have one on the little 10g filter to keep the shrimp from getting stuck. I could also move the filter to the other side, which would put the intake tube farther to the edge, but I thought it would be better able to clean the water if it were closer to the middle.

 

[BeckyCats]

One more picture. This is just a closer picture of the left side. I really like the banana plants. They are so cute. Also, I'm wondering if a bottom dweller is going to like the little tunnel in the middle piece of driftwood. If it is a small enough critter, perhaps.
 
My cat is already enjoying the aquarium. He's watching the bubbles and random pieces of plant debris float around. Just wait until there's actually fish in it! Ha ha! That makes me think about something else: with cats in mind, this traditional hood is vastly superior to the glass hood/LED combination. The LED one looked too flat which would just encourage jumping up on it, while this one looks very lumpy and not like something to jump on. Also, I suspect that if jumping did occur, this hood would hold up much better than the glass lids.
 
Oh! I just realized I have no ammonia! How am I supposed to start a cycle with no ammonia? Duh! LOL!

 

[BeckyCats]

Quick question: do I ask stocking questions here or in a separate thread?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Keep the questions in this thread... it has all the relevant information and will allow others to understand all that you have done so far in this tank.  

 
 
 
 
Bottom dwellers like cory cats like to sit under decor in 'caves'... so, yes they will like the little cave/tunnel.

 

[BeckyCats]

So, I'm ready to ask stocking questions. First let me say that I will do a fishless cycle and know better than to add live animals before the tank is fully cycled.

As a summary, my stats are:

pH ~6.5
Gh ~30-50 ppm (I'm waiting for a liquid kit for more accurate results. I currently have strip kits for gh)

I used the stocking calculator on AqAdvisor to come up with the stocking level percentages below. Anyone have experience with this source? Is it fairly accurate?

I created two scenarios based on fish I researched and that should get along with each other and should like my water and tank conditions. The calculator did not have the goby, so it is not included in the stocking percentages.) I may or may not get a circulator to create more flow, depending on if it is needed.

Scenario 1 (72% capacity without the goby):

10 diamond tetras (moenkhausia pittieri)
12 espei rasboras (trigonostigma espei)
24 microrasbora kubotai
6 gold laser Cory (CW010)
1 red neon goby (stiphodon elegens)

Scenario 2 (75% capacity without the goby)

10 diamond tetra
20 ember tetra (hyphessobrycon amandae)
20 microrasbora kubotai
6 gold laser Cory
1 stiphodon elegens

What do think? I'm partial to scenario 2 because I like the ember tetras better than the espei rasboras, I think. I am very open to suggestions as to the quantities of each species. I also think I don't have much in the top range of the water. I like butterfly fish but I think they'll eat my other tiny fish. Hatchetfish make me nervous because everyone says they jump out of the tank during maintenance. Bettas are nice but i believe they would need a slower filter flow and might eat my tiny fish. So, I'm not sure if there is a top-dweller that is a good fit.

I also don't have an algae eater. I'm open to suggestions here too. I've read that the Siamese algae eater is great (not to be confused with the Chinese ae or other similar but more aggressive species). I also like amano shrimp. I would likely need to adjust other fish quantities to accommodate an algae eater group. Thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The site you used is hardly a reliable resource for stocking considerations.  We block the name from being posted for that reason.  
 
 
That being said, your stocking lists look very good, with the exception of the cories... you have the space for more of them.  The more you get, the better display they will be as they will be more 'comfortable' in the tank.  6 is considered a minimum, but getting 9-15 would be best... essentially, the more the merrier.
 
 
As for having 3 shoaling midwater swimmers... I wouldn't do that.  Again, shoaling fish always look best in larger numbers.  The more you have the better the display.  I'd drop one shoal and boost the number of the fewer species.
 
 
I'd suggest something like this:  (I like the look of odd numbers!)
15 gold laser cories (if you can find them... they aren't the easiest fish to locate and they are rather pricey.)
15 diamond tetras
21 of either the microrasboras or the ember tetras.

A single BN pleco as an algae eater is a great option.  They are MESSY fish though (lots of poo - basically they are cows of the rivers!).  Unlike many other species of pleco though, they are algae eaters their whole life, BUT still require special food to be added for them specifically.  You can't ignore them and just rely on algae in the tank to be sufficient for their needs.