is this a good idear.. i realled need help!!!

[daudy_dojo]

i wanna do sand for my 25G long that im getting buuuuuuuuut i wanna also test it first! well see here is what i want to do

i want to put sand in one of betta tanks and see if i can keep up with it and then change it out in one of my 10Gs and see if i can keep up with it... does that sound like a good idea?? i just dont wanna do sand right then and there... i have never done it before and i just wanna be careful!

also for my 25G i was wanting to get some danios to cycle... how many should i get? ... i dont want an all danio tank so yea ... in the near future i want some german rams (maybe still not sure about the rams) and some cories so there will be danios, cories, and maybe some rams! but if i dont get the rams what would be nice to have? preferably something that has to be in pairs and is pretty and small (note: obviously im only adding danios for the first time nothing else until it is cycled)

what plants would you guys reccomend for it? i dont want something to tall and i want a foreground blanket... i am also going to have some gravel on the other side of the tank... cause i think a mix of gravel and sand looks cool!

algae eaters? wich kinda can i get??? ottos take a long time to get the algae to control, i heard that plecos stir up sand, and CAEs are a no-no would some SAEs be ok?? cause i think they are tooo cute would a rubbbernose pleco be ok? cause i love them too

and if i get danios and cories... could i have a betta in there...male? or can i put 6 femmes in there?

so the list so far is
5 danios
5 cories
2 rams (maybe)
1 male or 6 female bettas
maybe a flying fox or 2
and maybe a rubbernose pleco

what do you think?
im going to over filter it with a 30G filter and a 15G filter im very weird about this stuff i dont want anything to go wrong seeing as how this is my first BIG tank ... big for me atleast cause all i own is 10Gs

so what else could i get?

i would have room for like 7 more fish right?? how many kuhli loaches could i get? would 3 be enough to make them happy? or would i need 4 or 5???

another thing... i dont want really REALLY bright lights so any plant other than java fern that is low light will be great i was tihnking about doing 2 25W bulbs or 1 25W flourescent light

and one last thing (sorry i ask to much)

.... no wait nevermind i cant come up with anymore questions ...

oh wait i know...
i dont wamt a Co2 system ... unless i have to have it! so i dont really want to many plants

 

[daudy_dojo]

"bump"

i reallly need some help!

 

[daudy_dojo]

"bump again" i really need some advice

 

[Erised]

Danios need to be kept in groups as large as possible. They are very active and playful fish, unfortunatly their way of 'playing' includes a lot of fin nipping. I'd get a group of at least 8 to keep their 'playfulness' (or aggression as some call it) to themself. That would mean you're on 16 inches already.

You can definatly not keep a male betta with them, he will end up losing all his fins within a couple of hours. A female betta community I wouldn't try either, seeing as they're busy enough with their own lil fights already to deal with the danios as well. This is however not impossible I believe

For algae cleaning duties I'd get 1 bristlenose plec, he'll take care of the whole tank for you.

I'd get a shoal of 5 smaller staying corydoras. No clue what though

By then you'll be slightly over your stocking limit already. So no more fish

You're probably better off asking if the lfs would take the danios back after cycling, so you can stock with other fish. Or ofcourse, go for a fishless cycle ... this will be very very easy if you already have a tank running. By seeding your filter in that tank for about 2 weeks, moving some gravel or sand over to the other tank ... you'll be able to cycle the tank within 2 days

--Edit--
Trying out the sand in the smaller tanks first also sounds like a good idea to me

 

[houndour]

also for my 25G i was wanting to get some danios to cycle... how many should i get?

If you don't really want danios go for a fishless cycle.

what plants would you guys reccomend for it? i dont want something to tall and i want a foreground blanket... i am also going to have some gravel on the other side of the tank... cause i think a mix of gravel and sand looks cool!

I think you'll struggle to grow any foreground (blanket type) plants with little light. Really for a low light tank, you're looking at Java Fern, Java Moss and Anubias.

so the list so far is
5 danios
5 cories
2 rams (maybe)
1 male or 6 female bettas
maybe a flying fox or 2
and maybe a rubbernose pleco

No male betta.
If you are getting cories IMO sand is a better substrate for them. I would tend to avoid Panda cories. They are super sensitive. Cory Metae are similar to panda, but are smallish (2 inches).

another thing... i dont want really REALLY bright lights so any plant other than java fern that is low light will be great i was tihnking about doing 2 25W bulbs or 1 25W flourescent light

When you say bulb, do you mean an incandescent light bulb? If you have a 25W tube, thats less that 1 watt per gallon, so you definitely won't need CO2. It's when you get to 2 to 3 watts that you need CO2.

 

[daudy_dojo]

ok thank you guys so here is my comments back:

i want to keep the danios hehe and i wont do any bettas so i just want 5 danios... and umm panda cories... well i have 1 panda and 2 metea they are going in the 25G when it cycled.. i was going to get 2 more pandas and 1 more metea!!

i really want danios thats why i asked how many

yea im switching my 2.5G to sand (my divided betta one) and then lets see if i can keep upi with it then


im not gonna do low light anymore... and i dont like java fern... i threw mine out cause its ugly and a pain to kill

so if i take some gravel out of my other tank and let it run inside my new tank it will cycle in 2 days?!?! WOW

 

[fishwatcher]

I'm not sure if it will cycle in just 2 days... I'd test the ammo/nitrites each day to see how they're doing. If you can get Bio Spira (it runs about $9 here for a pack that treats 30 gal), that will help with the cycle too. (Zebra) danios are fun fish to watch, but I'd surely get a little larger group than 5... maybe 6-7. Then I'd get a couple of cories, and definitely do sand substrate. It's very easy, easy to clean, and a couple of trumpet snails will help keep it stirred up for you. Cories LOVE the sand...they're much more active in it. I'm not sure what you think is different wiht sand (you said you want to see if you can keep up with it).
Also, ghost shrimp are fairly cheap (at least here they are) and they clean the bottom too, and they don't really add to the bioload.
I think having the danios and cories will be a great looking tank! Since you're overfiltering, you may could add a centerpiece type fish too...maybe a dwarf gourami? Or even a few cherry barbs? I don't know much about rams... sorry!
Good luck though! Post some pix when it's all done!

 

[daudy_dojo]

wow great idea


edit: well see i dont really have like experience with sand so i dont know anything about it... thats why i wanna switch a betta tank to sand