How Big Does A Temporary Tank Need To Be

[tetraqueen]

okay I need to know the smallest temp tank I can use for a gouramis and pimelodous cat fish and maybe not definate 5 clown loaches?

yes bala and plec going back and ??? maybe clowns too

Then I want to change to sand etc so need a temp tank in between.

Also having brass struts to assist the tank so want all fish out for the drilling .

 

[rdd1952]

It depends on how long they will be in there. If you're only talking a few hours, then most any size will work. When I had to break my 29 gallon tank down and change substrate, I bought a 16 gallon tub to put all the fish in. I didn't fill it all theway up as I didn't want them jumping out. Everything went fine for the 3 hours they were in it.

 

[tetraqueen]

sounds cool

I guess if its temporary as long as they can swim around its just a new filter would also cause problems and the jumbo I was going to leave as is and keep some water in a water butt then use the rest for the new tank.

 

[rdd1952]

When I did mine, I did a normal water change the day before. Then when I was ready, I syphoned out enough water to fill the tub so the fish were in their normal water, netted and removed the fish and shrimp as soon as the tnk water was low enough, then drained the rest of the water. I cleaned the tank and set it backup with the new sand, plants, etc. I then put ll the water from the tub along with the fish back in the tank and refilled with clean water which basically amounted to about a 50% water change. I had no problems at all with the fish. It seem like it took me about 3 hours to do everything.

 

[tetraqueen]

When I did mine, I did a normal water change the day before. Then when I was ready, I syphoned out enough water to fill the tub so the fish were in their normal water, netted and removed the fish and shrimp as soon as the tnk water was low enough, then drained the rest of the water. I cleaned the tank and set it backup with the new sand, plants, etc. I then put ll the water from the tub along with the fish back in the tank and refilled with clean water which basically amounted to about a 50% water change. I had no problems at all with the fish. It seem like it took me about 3 hours to do everything.

Thanks did you use aquarium sand and did you have to soak it overnight or anything first???

 

[rdd1952]

I replaced play sand with Tahitian Moon Sand (black) because I had become overrun with trumpet snails and the only way to get rid of them was to get rid of the sand they were in. The TMS is very easy to wash and only takes about 5 minutes for a 20lb bag. It has almost no fines in it and won't cloud the water. I currently have it in all my tanks except the 75 gallon which has Eco-Complete for the plants. As a general rule, the cheaper the sand, the harder it is to wash (more fines and dust). You don't need to soak it, just wash it good before you put it in.

 

[Musho3210]

im gonna get bashed but i didnt rinse my $3 50lbs bags of play sand, nothing serious happened except really cloudy water for a few days and the fine filter floss got so full of dust i just threw it away....

 

[rdd1952]

That would probably be fine if you weren't planning to put fish straight back in but I don't think you want that with your fish in the tank. When I started my first tank and used play sand, even though I washed it, I still couldn't see half way to the back of the tank a week later. I ended up having to do a 100% water change to half way clear it up.

Edit: It really depends on how you put the sand and water in the tank. If you put the sand in first and put the water in so that it doesn't stir the sand up (put a piece of slate or a plate on the bottom to pour the water on), then it may not cloud it much at all. If you're changing it with water in the tank, then it can cause a major cloud if it has a lot of dust in it.

 

[Musho3210]

na no fish were in there with the dust cloud.

 

[tetraqueen]

I do have time on my hands except that the sand is worrying me as is kribs etc with a golden Gouramis,.

Fish compatability and not going back to what I had is difficult.

I know I changed the tank around to see if the other catfish would settle ? do they like sand also.


I read a post fish keeping was easy but this is all doing my head in.

Plec bala and ?clowns will go back.

That leaves me with a golden gouramis and a pictus catfish


I plan to get a little temporary tank set up and put these in there for a day when this tank get its brass struts to reinforce the tank before it bows too much.


Then I thought I would like to start buying new fish.

No Balas
No Plec that grow big
I like clowns and they could go back ... still out thinking on that one.

I do not like barbs.

I do not like platys
Mollies Guppies except if they are in a breeding tank

I love Neons but everything eats these........

Someone suggested Blue rams etc as I want peaceful Cichlids

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHelp someone .

They like sand loaches would like sand too I guess. Gouramis may live happily in the water ?? won't she get nipped

The Pictus catfish I think is going to die anyway and I will not get others they are miles hyper for me or will he settle.

I like fish like Discus Angels etc that move really slowly but have lovely colour but these get horrible diseases with bits out of them and that will upset me.

Shall I just sell the tank,

 

[tetraqueen]

no-one out there that has suggestions ??/

 

[The-Wolf]

I use an 80ltr black plastic dustbin that I purchased specifically for fish use (IE never been used as a dustbin)
I often use this for a temp home for fish and have even used it as a Q/T when no other tank is free.

for however long you are going to use it for always add a heater and a filter that way you don't really have to rush the job,
although the quicker the better for the stress of the fish.
and for reducing that place the lid on the bin as it will put the fish in the dark and help keep them calmer,
plus it prevents them from jumping out

 

[rdd1952]

As for your fish, if you like neons, they should be fine with most other community fish except angels (they are an angel's natural prey). Also angels aren't really prone to diseases if you properly cycle the tank (yours apparently already is). I have had 4 angels in my 75 gallon since I first set it up in March of 2005. They were only aboug the size of a quarter when I got them and are now about 2 to 4 inches long. I have had no problems at all with them.

By sand loaches, if you mean hillstream loaches, those would not do well in a heated tank as they prefer cooler water and need a lot of current. Kuhli loaches would be fine (actually there are a lot of smaller loaches that would be fine and they love sand) as well as corys (maybe the type catfish you already have). Any type tetras as well as danios, rasboras, rainbows, some gouramis (smaller peaceful ones) and even dwarf plecos. And the german blue rams should be fine too.

 

[tetraqueen]

Thanks I appreciate your comments I have clown loaches at the moment