Simple Yet Stupid Question

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BaylorPerez

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So i am thinking of getting a 50Gal to 55Gal tank instead of having 2 20gal tanks. question is, is this a good decision, or am i getting ahead of myself?
 
any and all comments are welcome.
 
(current tanks)
 
20 Gal
 
Gravel Substrate
Ph 7.6
Ammonia 0.0 PPm
Nitrite .5Ppm
Nitrate 20Ppm
 
 
Tank inhabitants
 
3 zebra Danios (Red-gill issues)
4 Neon tetras
2 Black-Skirt tetras 
 
20 Gal
Sand substrate (recently changed to sand)
Ammonia 1PPm
nitrite 0.0 PPm
Nitrate 0.0 PPM
 
Tank inhabitants 
2 Albino Corys(gettting 4 more soon)
2 Mystery snails
1 Baby nerite snail (atleast 3-4 weeks old)
 
One aquarium leads to another...

If you have space in your home for all three, then yes, definitely get a 55 gallon.
 
If you have space for another tank, and time to take care of one, then I would say go for it.
 
i was saying, to basically "chunk" the 2  20 gals i have for a 55 Gal tank (putting both tank inhabitants into the 55 gal)
 
I would say yes get the tank if your wanting to upgrade your tank size. Just make sure your tank is fully cycled before you switch the fish and snails over. for filtration, since overfiltration never hurts, I'd get a filter rated for at least 75 gallons. I'm using two emperor 400s (95 gallon filters) and o would still like some more filtration.
 
Bigger is almost always better. It is easier to take care of, as greater water volume is more forgiving.
However if you have the room I would keep at least one 20 gallon as a hospital/quarantine tank. Sooner or later you will need it. Treating a smaller tank is easier and more cost effective than larger tanks.
 
i have a 10Gal medical tank in the back of my house just in case.
 
 
Also, quick question, How would i grow algae for my snails? it seems that my tank wont make any algae besides under the substrate(sides of substrate)
 
Take some stones in a small tub of tank water and place the tub in a window that gets plenty of sunlight.
 
BaylorPerez said:
i have a 10Gal medical tank in the back of my house just in case.
 
 
Also, quick question, How would i grow algae for my snails? it seems that my tank wont make any algae besides under the substrate(sides of substrate)
i dont know exactly as ive never tried to grow algea. but i imaging you could put some of your tank water and pebbles (assuming you have gravel substrate)in a clear plasic bottle and leave it out in the sun, though i dont know how effective/efficient that would be
 
BaylorPerez said:
So i am thinking of getting a 50Gal to 55Gal tank instead of having 2 20gal tanks. question is, is this a good decision, or am i getting ahead of myself?
 
any and all comments are welcome.
 
(current tanks)
 
20 Gal
 
Gravel Substrate
Ph 7.6
Ammonia 0.0 PPm
Nitrite .5Ppm
Nitrate 20Ppm
 
 
Tank inhabitants
 
3 zebra Danios (Red-gill issues)
4 Neon tetras
2 Black-Skirt tetras 
 
20 Gal
Sand substrate (recently changed to sand)
Ammonia 1PPm
nitrite 0.0 PPm
Nitrate 0.0 PPM
 
Tank inhabitants 
2 Albino Corys(gettting 4 more soon)
2 Mystery snails
1 Baby nerite snail (atleast 3-4 weeks old)
 
Both these tanks appear to have cycling issues, as both has either ammonia or nitrite readings, i would sort this first THEN sort out getting a larger 50 - 55 gal tank if this is what you would like to do. Also the numbers are not suitable for these fish species you have, as these are more shoaling/schooling species.
 
I have two tanks one at 25 gals and the other being 20 gals, and I have considered just getting one large tank to replace both but I like having the diversity of having two dfferent tank with diferent aquascapes and species of fish.
 
Ok, its more work to do when comes to doing routine weekly maintenance but I quite enjoy doing these (most of the time anyway!)
 
But its a personal choice when it comes to tanks and sizes etc, usually I suggest to get the biggest tank you have the space and budget for as larger tanks are nearly always easier to maintain as well as having more choices for fish species you'd like to have.
 
i use smooth large rocks in with my sand substrate(rocks ive personally sanded down to make them soft like in a creek or pond), and regarding the tank parameters and species(shoaling) ive had more but they keep dying off, so im sticking to 2-3 per species until i can find the root cause of them dying on me(not overfeeding or overstocking, no blooms/cloudy water) i did have to get rid of one as it had mouth rot from a fungal spore(white spot on top of mouth, bursted open and rotted the top layer of my danio mouth). So im medicating the danios and tetras for the new few days to see if any more get that fungal spore that bursts open. And with the ammonia spike in my cory tank its because i had just changed the substrate so its re-cycling as of now(old filter media still in the filter being used) so i am just waiting a couple more hours before putting my fish into the tank.
 
As with my tetra and danio tank, im unsure as to why i have a nitrite reading........ maybe because of the dying fish but i am unsure.
 
 
With the algae farming(making algae) are the rocks i use with my sand substrate ok?
 
BaylorPerez said:
i use smooth large rocks in with my sand substrate(rocks ive personally sanded down to make them soft like in a creek or pond), and regarding the tank parameters and species(shoaling) ive had more but they keep dying off, so im sticking to 2-3 per species until i can find the root cause of them dying on me(not overfeeding or overstocking, no blooms/cloudy water) i did have to get rid of one as it had mouth rot from a fungal spore(white spot on top of mouth, bursted open and rotted the top layer of my danio mouth). So im medicating the danios and tetras for the new few days to see if any more get that fungal spore that bursts open. And with the ammonia spike in my cory tank its because i had just changed the substrate so its re-cycling as of now(old filter media still in the filter being used) so i am just waiting a couple more hours before putting my fish into the tank.
 
As with my tetra and danio tank, im unsure as to why i have a nitrite reading........ maybe because of the dying fish but i am unsure.
 
 
With the algae farming(making algae) are the rocks i use with my sand substrate ok?
 
Were these the fish you had back when you had your cycling issues before?? If so, they may be dying from the long-term effects of that on their system (aka damage to organ systems, subsequently less tolerant of minor stressors). Just a thought. 
 
As to your main question, I would sort out your other issues first, but definitely say go for a bigger tank if you wish. Figuring out your current issues will be a good learning experience if nothing else.
 
Also, you should realize that if you get a bigger tank and combine the two smaller tanks, then you will have two empty tanks sitting around waiting for other projects...and we all know how that ends up! 
innocent.gif
MTS kicks in real good!
 
True to that point, and yea, im thinking of just waiting til they die of the red gills as no medicine i try seems to fix it. Sad though as these are my longest living fish as of now, but it happens to be that some things cannot be treated it seems.
 
Anyway, would the rocks i use for my sand substrate be ok? or should i get smaller and slicker(smoother) rocks
 
Just guessing, but the red gills could be coming from the nitrite level. Nitrite is pretty intensely toxic.
 
I'm just gonna say this, break down one of the 20 gallons if you're going to go with a 55 gallon. I have four tanks currently, a 5 gallon betta tank, a 10 gallon quarantine, a 15 gallon planted tank and a 55 gallon planted tank. At first I kept up on everything pretty nicely, never missed a water change, always checked the parameters, and after a few months it got tiring. It became more of a hassle than enjoyment. Don't get me wrong, I love my tanks, but I work two jobs and a needy girlfriend lol. It's often difficult to find time to push everything aside and work on each tank, meaning water changes, dosing ferts, cleaning the tank, removing algae, trimming, feeding the fish, checking parameters and so on. It takes a lot of work, that's why when my betta dies and I'm done getting new fish, I'm tearing down my 5, 10 and 15 gallon tanks to make room for a 20 gallon reef tank. In the end, I'll only have my 55 gallon and a reef tank to care for. 
 
However, as mentioned above, take care of those tanks first, you have ammonia and nitrite reading, even though they're tiny readings, your cycle isn't stable. You may think it's because a fish died, but honestly Baylor, I'm almost certain it's your cycle. If there is ammonia and nitrite, then it means your nitrosomonas and nitrobacter colonies aren't able to keep up with the bio-load. You've been dealing with this problem for a while, and your fish have been suffering under the conditions. 
 
If one day, you do decide to go with a 55 gallon tank, make sure the cycle is complete, after it's done cycling, just wait a month or two before adding any fish. Let the tank age a little bit. This is what I did when I set up my 55 gallon, and not once have I dealt with a dead or sick fish. 
 

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