Setting Up.

[kev350d]

Before i start i'd just like to say a quick hi and pass on my regards as ive been routing through the forums for the last few days and have already built a greater understanding surrounding aquatic life thanks to the members.

Right now for my problem:

I have recently purchased a Juwel Trigon 350 (removed the filter) and purchased a fluval 405 to replace it, i am wondering if the juwel heater will be upto the job as its only 200w or if i should either purchase another 200 or one 300-400w to replace it.

Before i started reading the forum i took the advice of the aquatic store and purchased very small dense gravel as i wish to have it heavily planted, as i was at work my wife collected it and was also advised to use First Layer Pure Laterite (£22) for 55oz she took the guys word for it and purchased this at the same time." is this really important as i kept tropicals about 6 years ago in a 6ft aquarium and used no such substrate yet my plants flourished".

I have the aquarium in my living room and its sits over two main joists (i do hope the wooden floor will cope ok) anyone have a large tank on a timber floor who can reasure me lol.

A quick run down of what i have so far and if possible can anyone else point out any must have's;

Trigon 350
Fluval 405
Heater ?
10 bags (fine gravel)
Btl. Aqua Safe
Master test kit
Various Bog wood
Buckets
Nets
Pure Laterite (returning it if not required in exchange for more essential gear or plants).

I was unsure at first what approach to take as to stocking but have decided i would like a colorful community tank.

Can anyone direct me to a list of what fish interact well with one another in a community enviroment as i would like a couple medium sized fish (other than angels as i remember my last pair being a nightmare for attacking other smaller fish or was this a one off maybie) that are non aggresive as well as smaller shoal fish (tetra's and the like).

Sorry for all the questions but this is going to be the main feature in my lounge (was a choice between a new lcd or my tank that ive whined on for lol) and would like to go about it in the correct manner.


ohh forgot to ask does anyone have any ebay sellers they recommend for plants, I plan on using this guy for fish as his feedback seems exellent : tropicalfish4u but unsure who to use for plants. (Any advice would be most helpfull)

Regards
Kev

 

[CruX]

I have recently purchased a Juwel Trigon 350 (removed the filter) and purchased a fluval 405 to replace it, i am wondering if the juwel heater will be upto the job as its only 200w or if i should either purchase another 200 or one 300-400w to replace it.

We recently got a Trigon 350 and although it was second hand it came with a 300w heater. We got a second 300w heater and have the Juwel heater stashed away for emergency. I believe a 200w might be a little low for the 350 but I may be wrong. It might be worth searching ebay for a new 300w heater and keeping the 200w for emergency purposes. There are some good aquatic dealers in ebay and some great prices. I have practically abandoned my LFS for supplies over the last few weeks.

As for the floor, our 350 in on a laminate floor over light floorboard which is levelled underneath with timber joistsand had no problems. 350L weighs 350KG which is just over 55 stone, so add in your gravel and plants and the weight of the cabinet and the weight of the tank and all the gubbins that you will put in the cabinet and with a bit of over estimation you haveabout 450KG, get you and 4mates to stand where you want the tank and if the floor collapses don't put it there

 

[Neal]

The laterite is good, I strongly recommend you using it. It holds valuable nutrients for plants, you will see better growth when using it. I also recommend a trio of dwarf gouramis (1 male, 2 females) if you want them to breed, if not then just a male will look nice. Also, have a look for cherry barbs, my mam recently brought some home as an impusle buy, and I hate it when she does that, but they are nice fish. They are the more peacful variety of barbs, and they look stunning. Also, corydoras look nice, especially if you get pandas or trills and the like. Look up gouramis in the labyrinth fish index, cherry barbs in the charachins (I think), and corydoras in the catfish forum. I take it you know about cycling?

Neal

 

[kev350d]

Thanks for the advice Neal, i wasnt to sure about the laterite but i may as well give it ago (thought it was just a sales perk as it has sat in his shop for ever lol) I do lilke the look of the dwarf gouramis and my tank will have plenty of hiding places should they require it.
Back when i used to have tropicals i only ever used the fish cycle using danios and platty's but i will give the fishless cycle a go as i may be able to sort some mature media this will also give the plants a head start and the aquarium time to settle.

If i do give in i may add a couple danio's (to keep the kids content and so my eldest doesnt loose interest) this would be ok or not.

CruX cheers for the reply, i never did see it being similar to 5 people standing in the one location on my floor (somehow looks alot heavier), as for the heater i will source a 300w today whilst im out getting some slate, rock and plants.

 

[CruX]

Thanks for the advice Neal, i wasnt to sure about the laterite but i may as well give it ago (thought it was just a sales perk as it has sat in his shop for ever lol) I do lilke the look of the dwarf gouramis and my tank will have plenty of hiding places should they require it.
Back when i used to have tropicals i only ever used the fish cycle using danios and platty's but i will give the fishless cycle a go as i may be able to sort some mature media this will also give the plants a head start and the aquarium time to settle.

If i do give in i may add a couple danio's (to keep the kids content and so my eldest doesnt loose interest) this would be ok or not.

CruX cheers for the reply, i never did see it being similar to 5 people standing in the one location on my floor (somehow looks alot heavier), as for the heater i will source a 300w today whilst im out getting some slate, rock and plants.

I forgot to mention the base of the trigon helps to spread the weight quite evenly too.

 

[Glod]

Some fish suggestions (mostly what I like so I'm biased )

Harlequin Rasorbas are quite pretty in a medium sized shoal.
Purple Emperor Tetras are very nice if there's any blue in your lights, not so hot otherwise
Cardinal Tetras are a bit less flaky than neons in a newly cycled tank in my experience.
If you're going for a more active tank Danios are quite nice and available in many styles.

Larger fish - how about something like a trio of Pearl Gouramis ? They're very nice and generally hang around near the top of the tank. Opalines or Golds would be options, but they could be a bit more aggressive.
Some Rainbow fish get to about 4 inches, personally I think the Boesmani are quite stunning when they colour up a small shoal of those might work for you.

Bottom level fish - Corydoras are excellent and fun little fish that are great to see playing around in a group of 5 or so. So many variants are available these days, it's not all bronze Trilineatus or some Green or Orange Lasers... or Peppered.. the list goes on
Bristlenose plecs (ancistrus) are great for keeping algae under control in my experience and quite striking fish, tho a little timid perhaps. And best of all he won't get too big !

The usual caveats stand... Research, research and read up on them too
Personally I looked through various tropical fish books and sites such as this to see which fish appealed to me and made a big list. Then started working through them eliminating incompatible choices until I arrived at my current stocking.
One warning tho, they say live bearers will breed... and breed... and breed. It's great to see the young ones grow and mature but you quickly start to wonder if you made the wrong choice