New Tank For Kids

[amber26]

I have brought a 54 litre tank to put in my daughters room its a 54 litre its coming in a couple days if i use the media out my existing filter and substrate and some water how long will it take to cycle it my other tank has been running for years

The tank will be hopefully be used to rear grow on fry from jewel cichlids (they have got eggs at mo) and fry from bristle nose plecs my children also would like a few guppies or something would that be ok thanks

 

[Honeythorn]

If you can completely fill your new filter with media from your old one, then you can stock straightaway, as your filter will have a full load of bacteria.

If you can only part fill your new filter with media from the current one, and have to add new media on top, then do so and either stock very lightly and keep testing and doing water changes until the new media is colonised, ( which I would advise against if delicate fry are going to be the stock )

or complete the cycle without adding fish, by feeding the bacteria with liquid ammonia and testing until it'sprocessing nitrites and ammonia within 12 hours.( more reccomended and add the guppies first )

 

[amber26]

I have got a fluval 305 external filter so hopefully i can use all the media from that for my new one
I am getting a jewel korall

 

[Honeythorn]

It should be fine then to fill the new filter pretty much to capacity if you can without damaging the cycle on your 305.

As I say, best add some basic fish like your guppies first to settle the tank and filter before adding your fry ( though I'd be careful your guppies don't eat them! perhaps get some mesh breeding traps to keep the fry in until large enough to hold their own )

 

[amber26]

Is it possible for me to keep some shrimps in the tank has well or will they eat the fry thank you

 

[Honeythorn]

Small shrimp won't no. Cherries and Amanos for example. But I'd stay away from Ghost shrimp as they have been known to try and eat resting fish ( I myself had one which attacked one of my cories who lost an eye. He had to be re-named Nelson ) and I wouldn't trust one with fry at all.

But cherries and Amanos should be just fine, as would bee shrimp and CRS.

A good thing to try if this is a fry/growout tank is this :

Make a moss mat for a substrate instead of using gravel.

Using the same technique as you would for making a moss wall ( sandwiching the moss between plastic embroidery mesh and sewing the edges closed with fishing line ) or simply tying the moss to a single sheet of mesh cut to the size of your tanks inside base.

The mat can be removed compltely for a quick rinse to clean if you like, and cleaning it without removal would also be very easy by whooshing a gravel vac over the surface to remove any large debris.

If you have shrimp , they will adore the moss and pic out bits of food and biofilm, and the fry can also hide in the moss if they are very tiny.

 

[spectrum]

On the subject of shrimp, Singapore flower shrimp wont eat any fish as they are filter feeders and use their "fans" to collect particles from the water. I don't know if its ok to have one in a 54 liter tank though. They are sometimes called wood shrimp or mountain shrimp.
Just a thought...

 

[AdamM]

On the subject of shrimp, Singapore flower shrimp wont eat any fish as they are filter feeders and use their "fans" to collect particles from the water. I don't know if its ok to have one in a 54 liter tank though. They are sometimes called wood shrimp or mountain shrimp.
Just a thought...

also called bamboo shrimp