Stocking A 30gal

[jaclynl]

Hi everyone!

I finished cycling my 10 gallon about 6 weeks ago and have successfully had 4 Zebra Danios and 1 Pygmy Cory the entire time (I lost one pygmy in the first week but it seems to have been a one off).

As soon as it was up and running I decided I needed a bigger tank. So I bought a new 31 gallon tank....filled it with water and started the cycling process again. I got a bunch of silk plants and some tank decorations. My Finance picked the decorations (I would have gone for something more natural, but hey I had to convince him we needed a new tank somehow )

Here is the current set up:

I'll obviously be moving my current fish over. I want to stick to larger schools of small fish because I like to watch their activity. I am already on a waiting list for more pygmy cories, I want more of those little guys.

What else should I put in this tank? Also what should I do with the 10gal? I kind of want to keep it running as a quarantine tank...but do I have to put ammonia in it every day if I want to do that? or keep a fish in there?

Thanks,
Jaclyn

 

[GSD]

Hi,
Have you cloned the new tank? Or cycled it from scratch?
If so you can clone it and add fish instantly if you didnt want to wait.

I would put in something quick that can avoid the danios since they can be nippy, possibly a shoal of harlequin rasboras, or a type of tetra.
The cories like to be in large groups, so i would up the numbers to about 6-8.

You could keep the 10 gallon running as a hospital tank by stocking it with something like shrimp (which would obviously have to be moved to the main tank when in use) or you could transfer the filter from the hospital tank to your main tank and run it there, and when you need the hospital tank you would just fill it with water and put your filter back in, complete with cycled filter media.
Or you could stock it with something small, like a betta

 

[jaclynl]

Well the problem is that my 10 gallon tank just had an undergravel filter so I couldn't clone it (part of the reason for the move to a new tank)

Now I'm running a fluval 205 on the new tank. I'm cycling it from scratch but it is taken much longer than the first one did. I added 5ppm Ammonia on March 10th and it still has not reached 0ppm, it has been sitting at 1ppm for about a week now. Ph. is 8 and temp is 84, so I don;t think it has stalled but it sure seems like it.

I was thinking about Harlequin Rasboras, how many should I have? I was thinking of upping the Zebras to 10 and the Cories to 8 like you mentioned.

Shrimp are a great idea for the 10...never though of that.

Thanks,
Jaclyn

 

[OldMan47]

I would open up that 205 and put a handful of gravel from the established tank right into it between other media. Make sure there is a sponge or filter floss between the gravel and the impeller, we don't want to ruin the impeller. That should be almost as effective as moving around filter media between more conventional filters.

 

[jaclynl]

I would open up that 205 and put a handful of gravel from the established tank right into it between other media. Make sure there is a sponge or filter floss between the gravel and the impeller, we don't want to ruin the impeller. That should be almost as effective as moving around filter media between more conventional filters.

Thanks for the great idea! I didn't know I could do that. Right now I have all the baskets filled with those ceramic ring things. Should I put a floss into the top little basket them first and dump the gravel into the bottom basket?

Also this may sound dumb, but I haven't stopped the filter yet...do I unplug it, switch the aqua-stop valve on the top and then open it up? Not sure what to expect when I turn it off and open it up but I know i'll have to do it eventually.

Thanks!

 

[OldMan47]

I have never used a Fluval brand but on my Renas and my marineland, you shut it off, operate the hose valve to block all flow, disconnect at the hose connection and then take the filter elsewhere to open it. There is a piece of the canister that comes off with the hoses on these filters that contains the shutoff valves and makes a clean connection point. The gravel could be used as the first part of the ceramic material which should be the part in the bottom basket. The impeller is the last thing at the top of the flow so that is where I always have something to keep filter media out of the impeller. If the Fluval has another way to protect the impeller, I have never read anything about it on this forum.

 

[jaclynl]

I have never used a Fluval brand but on my Renas and my marineland, you shut it off, operate the hose valve to block all flow, disconnect at the hose connection and then take the filter elsewhere to open it. There is a piece of the canister that comes off with the hoses on these filters that contains the shutoff valves and makes a clean connection point. The gravel could be used as the first part of the ceramic material which should be the part in the bottom basket. The impeller is the last thing at the top of the flow so that is where I always have something to keep filter media out of the impeller. If the Fluval has another way to protect the impeller, I have never read anything about it on this forum.

Thanks, I did this today so hopefully it speeds up!

Now....anyone have stocking suggestions?

Jaclyn