Next Tank Thoughts, Opinions And Stocking

[zain611]

My dad said that he will start my room soon meaning he will empty it out, strip it down and make it look more modern and ive been pleading my parents to get a tank for the living room which will be a first and my dad said we could get it after he finishes my room.

heres the tank, its at the bottom of the page. Any thoughts about it/ opinions? http/www.aquarium-parts.co.uk/acatalog/Buy_an_AquaStyle_Aquarium.html


Stocking: so if we get that tank im thinking of getting neons, glowlights, guppies, shrimps, cories, one plec or few if they dont grow to 30cm and a ruby shark.

If seen this ornament in pets at home which i really like and i heard with ruby sharks they are territorial and it could make the insides of it its territory

http/www.petsathome.com/shop/decorative-wood-with-plant-aquarium-ornament-by-blue-ribbon-36640

 

[zain611]

Any suggestions? the tank has a carbon cartridge which i heard you should replace every 1-2 months as there is wool on it which absorbs fish waste making it dirty. Is the stocking alright?

 

[leighton_87]

Hi, since you said its the bottom one I'm assuming its the 980 which is 215 litres which I'd memory serves me right is just over 60 US gallons.

Therefore a basic starting point would be to say you should have no more than 60 inches of fish - and even at that level you should build them up slowly over time.

As far as the fish you have chosen be careful which plec you choose the commons can get huge but there are smaller ones out there. And my experience of ruby sharks has not been good - I would probably steer clear of it but if you definitely do want one only get one and I wouldn't keep it with guppies as there tails will be a constant target.

And finally remember to cycle your tank - search fishless cycle on the forum
And you will get all the answers you need.

I'm new to the hobby so all this is things I've picked up on here but I will help where I can - I'm sure someone more experienced will have a better idea.

 

[doresy]

Ha ha I thought you meant the purple one at the top before I re read your post!

Yes the 980 is a very nice tank for the money. I had the 850 some years back and did a few mods to the media set up.

Firstly don't worry about changing the (expensive) carbon cartridges, in fact don't even use the ones that the tank comes with. Keep them for a time you may need them such as removing old medications or water staining from and wood you may introduce into you tank.

I obtained woollen media and extra foam to take the place of the cartridges.

One last thing, the funnel where the water returns into the tank causes a bit of a gurgling sound which your parents may find annoying so try placing some coarse media across the top which stops it but do check in regularly in case it blocks

 

[zain611]

Thanks for the help if i ever get this tank i would be new to using the carbon wool cartridge and ceramic noodles also i would have to get used to taking 4 buckets of water out or more as 4 buckets is worth about a quarter of the tank in water changes also i heard you should introduce red tail / ruby sharks last. Also if i have a sand substrate in will the filter suck it up as the pipe goes down the tank.

Am a little happy that i dont need to replace the carbon cartridges, i thought of using it in cycling to reduce damage on the fish

 

[zain611]

Can anyone post me any ornaments you think are good for me to get if i get this tank also what things should i get for it? im thinking of an air pump but what else.

 

[dbanner]

The only thing out of your list I wouldn't add is the ruby shark. As it grows it may get too boisterous for fish like corys, guppies and neons. You could look at getting a couple of bristlenose plecs, they only get up to around 15cms. I also wouldn't have too many different types of bottom feeders in a tank as they will be fighting for territory. I'd go with 2 BN plecs and around 10 corys (all same species like bronze, panda, peppered and so on). Possibly skip the shrimp, get a group of 10-15 cardinal tetras (like neons but little bigger), some glowlights and then get something as your centrepiece fish like dwarf gouramis or dwarf cichlids like rams or apistogramma's

I'm not 1 for ornaments but it comes down to personal taste. For me I used to run an air stone (air pump) in all my tanks but now I don't use them in any. No need really. They are purely for looks. As for other decorations, I try to set my tanks up to make it as natural as possible for the fish. So I just have. Black sand substrate (iv used other sand before), rocks and live plants (you could also use fake plants)

Don't worry, the filter won't suck up any of the sand. Although you will lose a bit of sand from time to time when doing water changes. This is because it gets sucked up through the syphon when your vacuuming the mess off the bottom of the tank.

 

[basboi85]

I've got a rainbow shark that is very boisterous. He has no issue with pushing/knocking my 2 blue spotted gourami's around.

He was a bit of a brute with some of my Molly's and I had 3 large Molly's that he knocked about.

Then other times he was gentle as can be

Lovely fish to watch just very temperamental

 

[zain611]

Its hard to tell now if i should get a ruby shark as there behaviour is different to how people see them also are you sure shrimps and corys mix