My New Tank

[bradleybygrave]

Hello Everyone, my names Bradley and im new here.
i purchesed an 120 litre jewel lido on saturday, still waiting for it to be delivered. So i am planning on whats going in the tank, what its goig to look like etc. Firstly, what types of substrate will be the best, i would like to have a heavily plantedtank and i have 2 Corydorus, 1 oto and 2 Hong Kong plecs, so do i want sand or gravel,whats best to grow plants in, i prefer sand, but im not quite sure. also are platys any good for cycling the tank, i have 2,but intend on getting another 5, if so when do i put them in and when can i add the other fish. This is a big step up from my 35 litre biorb and 20 litre fish tanks
Any help ould be greatly appreciated
thanks Bradley

 

[fluttermoth]

Ok....

Yes, if you want cories then you should definitely go for a sand substrate, as they do love to dig and can't do that in gravel, but you'l need to keep more than two; they won't be happy unless in a shoal of at least six individulas (the same goes for the otos).

I wouldn't put hong kong plecs in a standard community tank; they prefer cooler water than most of our tropical fish, and need very fast flowing, highly oxygenated water.

We always recommend fishless cycling here, as it avoids any health problems from the fish being exposed to ammonia, but if you have tanks already running, you can add some of the cycled media into your new filter, and you'll be able to add fish straight away.

Take no more than a third of the media from one of your established filters, and add the 'right' amount of fish (so if your old tank had six guppies in it, and you took a third of the media from their tank, you caould add two guppies to your new tank.

Hope that all makes sense; please say if it doesn't!

 

[bradleybygrave]

Like I say I'm getting another 5, you recommend not cycling the tank, I have already bought the hong kings, there in a friends tank. So what are the pros about having sand, is it good for Plants and is it easy to keep clean in a big tank??

 

[CezzaXV]

Just wanted to voice my jealousy; I've been eyeing up the Jewel Lido 120 in my LFS for a while now.

Sand is an absolute #29### to keep clean, but it's a must if you plan on keeping cories. A lot of other bottom dwellers will also benefit from a sand substrate. I've got plants in my sand, but I'd recommend using weights to keep them sunk, as my cories can tend to dig them up from time to time.

Fluttermoth isn't recommending not cycling the tank, you'll never hear anyone on here recommend that! What she means is that you can either fishless cycle your tank with pure ammonia, or you can use some of the media from the filters in your other tanks (assuming they're still running) to semi-cycle your tank. It's recommended you take a third of the media from a filter and put it in your new tank, so this means your tank will be able to support a third of the fish from the original tank immediately, then you can build it up SLOWLY from there. It's important that you do put the fish in immediately after transferring the media across, or the bacteria will start to die off without a food source.

 

[bradleybygrave]

So sand is easy to clean and I do want to cycle my tank, so how do I go about cycling the tank?
Do I just fill it up and after a couple of days stick my Platys in to do the cycle?
After a couple of weeks should I get the water tested and then stick my other fish in, that being the suckers.
Also sand is defiantly good for keeping Plants is it, like I say I want a planted tank really badly, I'm also thinking of putting a bosmien rainbow in, a girl and a boy

 

[CezzaXV]

Most plants don't care what kind of substrate you use. If you're going for heavily planted I'd recommend investing in some liquid fertiliser though and dose it weekly.

Are your other tanks still running with fish in them? This will determine how we advise you to cycle your tank.

 

[bradleybygrave]

My biorb is, but that's gold fish I I sold it for money to help with the lido and my rubbish 20 litre still going, only just though, I'm chucking it when the new lido is set up, that's what has my 2 Platys, 2 corydorus, oto and hundreds of baby's guppys, which my friend has been using for fish food, so what do you say about cycling the tank

 

[fluttermoth]

If all the fish from the 20l are going into the new tank, then that's simple; you just move all the filter media from that tank into your new filter and move the fish at the same time.

Obviously you'll want to have your new tank set up for a day or two to make sure all the equipment is working, that it's not leaking and to give you time to sort out your scape, but there'll be no need to cycle it; your 20l filter is already cycled (although it's probably struggling with such a large bioload!).

Always try to think of your filter media as being paired with the fish, not the filter or the tank. If you're moving half the fish, half the media has to go with them, if you're moving all the fish, all the media has to move with them

 

[bradleybygrave]

Every thing in the little tank is being chcked, from the gravel to the filter. The filter had a massive failure, the fan split and ruptured the Plastic case, I'm cleaning the filter everyday to keep it going and I'm not keeping any of the guppies