New Tank 180 Litre

[Mystil]

Hello Guys
I FINALLY got around my partner to get another tank! after 6 months of him arguing and me being stubborn!
This is a 180 litre (39 gallons ish) tank and it looks goooood! .

Now I have to figure out what is going into it!

It came with an external which was up and running (mature) and I have taken some water out of my mature tank and turned the external on, which is still abit nosy (have rocked it to see if that helps, got loads of bubbles out but still dronned abit). The person who I bought it off of showed me how it worked and it was really quiet and now its decided to be nosy!)

How long do you think I should wait to let the tank cycle? and should I add ammonia or just keep adding water from my other tank? until it does cycle?


Also I havent decided what to do about stocking!

Any ideas?

 

[Corleone]

Water from your other tank won't do much - it should be ammonia free, and not many bacteria live in the water. However, you can take some filter media from it and do a fishless cycle with ammonia - it should finish quite quickly that way.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Was the mature media in the filter kept wet with tank water during the transfer? How long ago did you get it?

 

[Mystil]

Yep kept wet...had to hold the blasted tubes up to stop it going everywhere!

Got the tank and external last night and the external was out of the system for about 2 hours.

Where can I get ammonia? and how much should I put it the tank and when? weekly/ daily?

My last cycle I did by fish so havent a clue about fishless

 

[Corleone]

Ah, missed that part in the OP - since the biofilter should be intact, if you add fish within a couple days you shouldn't need to cycle at all.

 

[Mystil]

Ah, missed that part in the OP - since the biofilter should be intact, if you add fish within a couple days you shouldn't need to cycle at all.

Really???

 

[Corleone]

Yep - provided it had fish in when it was taken down, there should still be bacteria on the filter media.

If you want to be completely safe, you can still do a fishless cycle to be safe, it should finish very quickly, possibly immediately. Most people in the UK recommend Homebase for ammonia. I'm from the wrong hemisphere to be more helpful than that.

The noise in the filter you mention is probably air in the system. My fluval made more noise the first few days than it does now. Hopefully it'll work itself out.

 

[ChilliPepper]

As long as the filter media came from an established tank with fish in and was kept wet in tank water for a relatively short period of time, you should be instantly cycled when adding it to your new tank.

You need to add fish straight away though or the bacteria will die off, or you could add a little household ammonia.

Just keep an eye on tests for the next week or so and you should be fine

 

[shelaghfishface]

FINALLY got around my partner to get another tank! after 6 months of him arguing and me being stubborn!

they always give in in the end
have fun with it, and work out a way to have to go thru fewer arguments for the next one

 

[Mystil]

they always give in in the end
have fun with it, and work out a way to have to go thru fewer arguments for the next one

Yeah I know!

I would not call them arguments...just "discussions". Lol And I sneekily got my parents small 2 footer tank afew weeks ago and he has only just realised that I have now got offically 4 tanks.

1 nano
My parents tank
my Lido
and this new tank.

I dont class the smaller tanks as fish tanks as they are for my quatantine.

I will move some of my fish over from my Lido (have some tetra) that will do the job.

 

[Mystil]

Anyone have any ideas what I should have in this 180 tank?

I have in my 120 Lido tank already ...
1 Blue Ram (thinking of getting him a girlfriend soon)
5 Neon Tetra
2 BN's (a pair that are doing nought soon! )
1 guppy (all the rest of her group pegged it)
Loads of shrimp
Loads of apple snails


I have also ordered 4 albino BN long finned babies (will grow on and make a trio with my brown BN's if not a larger group depending on their sex)


What do you think I should have in this new tank? What are your views?

It has sand as a substrate and that is as far as I have got.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Are you going to have some real plants in there?

I'd get a few more neons as they'd look lovely in an even bigger shoal, same for the guppies. Another ram as rams are brilliant

What type of fish do you like - cichlids, shoaling fish?

Maybe some Corydoras as they are brilliant in any tank - at least 6.

 

[Pleccy]

Are you going to have some real plants in there?

I'd get a few more neons as they'd look lovely in an even bigger shoal, same for the guppies. Another ram as rams are brilliant

What type of fish do you like - cichlids, shoaling fish?

Maybe some Corydoras as they are brilliant in any tank - at least 6.

I agree with this, Corydoras panda are my favourite, and if you can get them Corydoras sp. C53.

 

[Mystil]

Sorry forgot to add that I have some sodalis cories already in my Lido.

I can do with or without plants.....

What do you all keep? I need ideas as at the moment i can go down the normal route or something like an oddball or something.

Not very helpful to you I know.

I want something(s) with personality, will not hide all the time and likes to show off their colours.