Need help with new 50 gallon tank

[smackitsakic]

Hi everyone, I'm new here but not new to the hobby. About 15 years ago I had fish in a 33 gallon tank and learned all of the basics. Now we have kids and I want them to enjoy the hobby as well. We just bought a used 50 gallon tank and it's been cycling for about 4 weeks. We are ready to add new fish and are heading to the nearest LPS next weekend.

I have a few questions as I get this setup.

Subtrate: the tank came with some larger sized gravel but just enough of it to cover the glass on the bottom of the tank. It's only 1/8 of an inch deep. How much do I need to add? Do I need a full inch of subtrate gravel?

Filter: I'm running a two filter system, which I posted about separately; I have what I need for that. The two filters are a Penguin Biowheel 150 and an Aqua-Tech 20-40.

Water: we are about 7.0pH but our water is hard - between 350-400ppm. I generally keep the water temp around 76-80.

Fish: right now I have a parrot cichlid and a common pleco. I've already learned that I need to re-home the pleco to a larger tank and I'm working on that. But I basically have a clean slate to stock this with.

Stocking ideas: this is where I need your help. What am I best to stock the tank with? I will keep the parrot cichlid. Should I add another? What do I need to keep the tank clear of algae and the substrate clean? Corydoras? How many? What should I stock the middle and top of the tank with? My kids really want a school of tiger barbs, though I understand our water is right on the edge of being too hard for them. What else should we look at? The only thing I know is that I don't want a cichlid tank. They're too aggressive for my liking.

 

[HoldenOn]

Hi everyone, I'm new here but not new to the hobby. About 15 years ago I had fish in a 33 gallon tank and learned all of the basics. Now we have kids and I want them to enjoy the hobby as well. We just bought a used 50 gallon tank and it's been cycling for about 4 weeks. We are ready to add new fish and are heading to the nearest LPS next weekend.

I have a few questions as I get this setup.

Subtrate: the tank came with some larger sized gravel but just enough of it to cover the glass on the bottom of the tank. It's only 1/8 of an inch deep. How much do I need to add? Do I need a full inch of subtrate gravel?

Filter: I'm running a two filter system, which I posted about separately; I have what I need for that. The two filters are a Penguin Biowheel 150 and an Aqua-Tech 20-40.

Water: we are about 7.0pH but our water is hard - between 350-400ppm. I generally keep the water temp around 76-80.

Fish: right now I have a parrot cichlid and a common pleco. I've already learned that I need to re-home the pleco to a larger tank and I'm working on that. But I basically have a clean slate to stock this with.

Stocking ideas: this is where I need your help. What am I best to stock the tank with? I will keep the parrot cichlid. Should I add another? What do I need to keep the tank clear of algae and the substrate clean? Corydoras? How many? What should I stock the middle and top of the tank with? My kids really want a school of tiger barbs, though I understand our water is right on the edge of being too hard for them. What else should we look at? The only thing I know is that I don't want a cichlid tank. They're too aggressive for my liking.

Hi! First off, I'd switch to sand, especially if you want bottom dwellers and have a parrot. You could get a nice community tank going and corydoras aeneus may fit your water. I have soft water so I don't really want to comment.
You can research fish water needs at https://www.seriouslyfish.com/

 

[Retired Viking]

350 to 400ppm is very hard. I use R O water to reduce the hardness of my water. My water is much softer to start with since my city has it's own RO system that reduces the harness from around 250ppm to 134ppm. I also changed over to sand in my soft water tank and I am happy with it but sitill have gravel in my hard water tanks. I have about an inch and a half to two inches of gravel in one tank.

 

[mcordelia]

@smackitsakic you and I are in the same boat with regard to getting back into the hobby with kids! My water is completely different from yours and I am not enough of an expert to give you any advice on that, but I will definitely be following along on your journey! I am excited to hear how this all goes for you, and especially how your kids take to the fish!

 

[smackitsakic]

350 to 400ppm is very hard. I use R O water to reduce the hardness of my water. My water is much softer to start with since my city has it's own RO system that reduces the harness from around 250ppm to 134ppm. I also changed over to sand in my soft water tank and I am happy with it but sitill have gravel in my hard water tanks. I have about an inch and a half to two inches of gravel in one tank.

I live in the middle of the prairies and the water is harder here than most other locations. It ranges from 310-390.

 

[smackitsakic]

Hi! First off, I'd switch to sand, especially if you want bottom dwellers and have a parrot. You could get a nice community tank going and corydoras aeneus may fit your water. I have soft water so I don't really want to comment.
You can research fish water needs at https://www.seriouslyfish.com/

What is the benefit of sand? I have only ever had rock.

 

[HoldenOn]

What is the benefit of sand? I have only ever had rock.

It's better on the "whiskers" of catfish, and is better for root plants IMO.

 

[Retired Viking]

Sand is better for bottom feeders like cory, gravel can cause injuries.

 

[AilyNC]

I'm pretty such your water is too hard for cory.

Rainbowfish, platy, Endlers, mollies, guppies (careful not to mix genders of Endlers & guppies as they can crossbreed).

Your current water hardness limits your fish stock choices.

Lovely big tank so I would look at creating a Rainbowfish tank. They come in different sizes and colours. But again be sure to check water parameters of each fish on seriouslyfish.com.

Where there any fish you really like the look of?

 

[Retired Viking]

@AilyNC is correct, you should look at hard water fish. You can mix RO water to soften your water but it can be a lot of work. Soft water fish would suffer in hard water like yours and have shorten lives.

 

[ClownLurch]

Welcome.
My waters 340ppm but I’ve only a 30G tank so I’m limited in fish size. I’m not sure what length tank you’ve got. This also affects the fish you should opt for if you wanna give em good quality of life.

Have a look at these but there are some small fish remember:
Rainbowfish come in all sizes.
Ricefish are Small
Limia come in all sizes

Paradise Fish
Bloodfin Tetra
Endlers very small
Guppy
Glass Bloodfin Tetra
Tiger Teddy Very small
Molly
Swordfish
Platy
Golden Barb

 

[smackitsakic]

I'm pretty such your water is too hard for cory.

Rainbowfish, platy, Endlers, mollies, guppies (careful not to mix genders of Endlers & guppies as they can crossbreed).

Your current water hardness limits your fish stock choices.

Lovely big tank so I would look at creating a Rainbowfish tank. They come in different sizes and colours. But again be sure to check water parameters of each fish on seriouslyfish.com.

Where there any fish you really like the look of?

Yah it’s hard water here and that sucks. Does a water softener system solve that problem? Lots of people here have those.
My other challenge is I don’t live in a big city and don’t have access to any elaborate fish stores, it’s just the big chains like PetSmart. Not sure if they have the varieties that are being mentioned (ie: rainbow fish).

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yah it’s hard water here and that sucks. Does a water softener system solve that problem? Lots of people here have those.
My other challenge is I don’t live in a big city and don’t have access to any elaborate fish stores, it’s just the big chains like PetSmart. Not sure if they have the varieties that are being mentioned (ie: rainbow fish).

I understand the frustration, I'm in a hardwater area (although not as hard as yours is, so I can only imagine the frustration there!) and it's a sad reality for us hardwater folks that there's a much bigger selection of soft water fish than hard water ones. Sucks when you see a fish you love the look of, then find it really wouldn't cope well with your water. But I've experienced soft water fish dying from being in hard water before I knew about GH and how important it is, and it's a horrible feeling Much better to take your time choosing fish that will thrive in your water.

In a nutshell, fish that evolved to live in very soft water have adapted to retain minerals whenever they can, since they don't find much in soft water. So when they're in mineral heavy hard water, they end up retaining far too many minerals, which build up and cause internal damage, like blocking their kidneys, shortening their lifespan. They might appear to do well for months, but we can't see the damage happening internally.

I'm in a similar boat in that I don't want to deal with the aggression/territorial stuff with cichlids, I've kept livebearers for a while and I'd like to keep something else, and that limits my choices to rainbowfish and a few others like that. But after looking at fish like the ones in the above lists, have ideas for lots of different tanks I'd like to try, including a large 50-75g heavily planted rainbow tank! Those are stunning fish when kept in good numbers, they catch the light and have stunning colours that you won't believe until you see them in person. The difficult thing is that photos and videos really don't do fish justice. Seeing them in person is a whole different thing. Fish can also not always look their best while in a store tank... some fish look pale when they're stressed or in a store tank, or are juveniles, but will look incredible once they're in a planted tank in the right numbers and have matured.

So I recommend looking up those fish, watching videos of them, touring the fish store a few times if you can, before buying anything. Look at all the fish, see and make note of what appeals to you, go home and research the heck out of those fish. Let us know what you find appealing, whether you want plants, lots of activity, lots of variety, oddball fish, etc. If a fish you like won't work in your water, someone may know another species that is similar but more suitable.

The parrot fish adds another dimension, I don't know a great deal about them, but I don't think you can keep them with smaller fish? I don't know whether you could mix them with something like the larger species of rainbow fish, perhaps research whether it's better to keep more than one parrot, what species people usually put with them, and get inspiration from there.

In terms of only having access to a Petsmart, rainbow fish are pretty common in the hobby, a lot of those might be stocked, and stocking does change too, depending on what the store can get. You could also consider ordering fish online to be delivered, it's a fairly common way for people to source fish.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Yah it’s hard water here and that sucks. Does a water softener system solve that problem? Lots of people here have those.
My other challenge is I don’t live in a big city and don’t have access to any elaborate fish stores, it’s just the big chains like PetSmart. Not sure if they have the varieties that are being mentioned (ie: rainbow fish).

Oh, a softener system to make water softer for people, doesn't work for fish tanks, I forget them chemistry involved, think it uses sodium or something in a way that isn't healthy for fish, hopefully @essjay or @kwi can explain that much better than I ever could. An RO system or buying RO water seem to be the only options for softening.

 

[AilyNC]

Personally I went for fish suited to my tap water. I wouldn't want to need a big water change and find I'd no RO bottles in.

In terms of what's in local shops i was limited too. But you'll definitely have livebearers like Molly, Platy, Swordtail, etc available.

I would recommend going to fish shop and writing down fish you like and then checking on seriouslyfish or here if they are suited.

Alternatively you could install an RO and go that route. But I think even with that you'll be filling buckets to let stand because it won't have output in one day big enough. Not sure but @seangee would be better able to tell you.