A New Tank!

[Paul70]

Hi all.
I finally managed to twist the wife's arm and got the go ahead to buy a new tank!!

Got it off ebay. 350lt with a custom lid and stand. The light leaves a bit to be desired but I am going LED anyway soon so that is not a problem. It also came with a fluval 304 external canister filter which unfortunately I had mega problems with at first. One of the fastening clips was broken and although it did fasten the pump kept coming open under pressure. I ended up takin the lid to pieces and swapping the handles around and this seemed to do the trick nicely. It has been running for 12 hours now with no problems or leaks so hopefully I have fixed it. I am going to get a new clip however to be safe!!

Came with a 200w heater also but I felt this wasn't big enough so I have added a 150w heater as well.

Just need to cycle the thing now then and buy my filter parts but I can't wait to give my fish a new home.

 

[KittyKat]

The bug has bitten.

Don't forget to seed with media from your current filter.. what sort of fish do you plan to keep? And how is the current tank going?

 

[Paul70]

I am just going to go without using media from current filter. I know it will take a little longer but the amount of media I could remove from current tank would not really do a great deal in the new 304 due to its size and number of baskets. I am not in any rush to get it cycled and my current tank is overstocked at the moment anyway. But thanks for the advice.

The tank is going to be a new home for my current fish which are

5 clown loaches
2 elephantnoses
6 cardinal tetra
8 puntius partipentazona barbs
5 green tiger barbs
3 adolfoi corys
1 small bristlenose plec
3 various gourami
2 small angelfish
1 red tail black shark (currently 5" long)

I am also wanting to add discus as well but am obviously going to wait until the tank has settled and water is good. my pH is normally around 8 as well despite adding peat balls so I am going to buy an RO unit once my cycle is complete.

I had a nightmare with the filter getting it started. The lid kept coming off under pressure and spewed water out over my electrics behind the tank which of course tripped my circuit breakers. However once i looked at it i realised that one side had no fastening available due to one of the clips being broken. I took the lid off and swapped the clip handles around so there is at least one fastening on both sides now and all seems well so far. been running 13 hours now with no leaks or openings but am just off to the LFS to try and get some new parts. I also need suckers to hold hoses on the tank itself.

I will endeavour to put photos on asap.
thanks for the reply mate

ps the current tank is going great. amm and nitrite readings are always 0 but as I say the pH is always high due to hard water. I am overstocked but my 4 filters are coping with this. it just means i have to do water changes more often than normal to keep nitrates diluted.

for some reason i recently lost 3 elephantnoses with no obvious cause. i wondered if it was due to bullying by other fish but the 2 new ones I have are ok at the moment. hopefully when they are housed in the bigger tank there will be enough room for each fish to claim seperate territory.

 

[KittyKat]

Don't take this the wrong way, but even a 350 litre tank is not big enough for some of the fish you've ended up getting.

for some reason i recently lost 3 elephantnoses with no obvious cause. i wondered if it was due to bullying by other fish but the 2 new ones I have are ok at the moment.

The usual cause is starvation, about 90-95% of them die within the first few months of being imported because they require a constant supply of tiny crustaceans in the sand, if their natural diet is to be mimicked. The new ones are also likely to die in the next 1-4 months for the same reason, unless you improve their diet. Try frozen daphnia, but good luck getting it to the elephant noses, before the other fish eat them.

Responsible LFS stock these fish only for display (not for sale) or not at all.

I am also wanting to add discus as well but am obviously going to wait until the tank has settled and water is good. my pH is normally around 8 as well despite adding peat balls so I am going to buy an RO unit once my cycle is complete.

Please don't, you will have problems if you do.. maybe not right away, but a few years down the line, definitely.