Switching From A 60L To A Fluval Edge

[johnabenna]

Hi, I have had a 60L tropical tank for over a year now. We have at the moment:

4 Glass Cats, 4 Diamond Eye Tetras, 1 Zebra Danio, 1 Mini Plec and a Frog.

It is however too heavy for our TV unit in front room and it's about to snap. We have no where else to put tank, so I am getting rid of it and getting a Fluval Edge. I know I'm a sucker for things that look nice but I think it's cool!

When I get the new tank I know I need to start the cycle again with some hardy fish, but could I not just use some of the water from my old 60L tank and put it in the new Edge? Or is it the bacteria on the sponge in the 60L tank filter that will be thing missing?

I don't wanna get rid of my current fish so am hopefully taking them back to my LFS for use in their display tank, but I wanna keep my plec and frog for the new Edge. It's for this reason I'd really like to be able to put them straight into the Edge tank, rather than have to wait for it to cycle as I really don't have room to keep the 60L tank AND wait for the Edge to be ready.

I am still pretty new to fish so forgive me if not used correct terms etc. Thanks

 

[Wills]

If you move all your filter media over to the edge you will be fine. A bit worried about when you say mini plec? If its an otto if its any bigger I think your a bit stuck to be fair. Even bulldogs plecs will create too much waste for a 5g tank. And if its a "mini" common plec it wont stay mini for long.

Ive never kept frogs before, so I cant advise on how suitable it is for your tank. But I suspect depending on species it might be okay but

To be fair IMO Fluval Edges are quite a specialist tank. Its a very expensive tank for what it is and if it were me spending that much money on 5 gallon tank I would want something special in it which is possible but you need to be careful as which to do.

Have you thought about re-enforcing your tv stand with braces or such? Or getting a proper stand for it? If it were me I would consider upgrading rather than downgrading. For a 60l your tank at present is pretty heavy stocked and with things like the glass cats they need a tank at least twice the 60 liters size. They get pretty big and need groups, the diamonds need a bigger school as well and the danio needs some buddies as well, but obviously thats if you keep this tank

Hope thats helped Wills

 

[johnabenna]

Hi! Thanks for replying. God i didnt know glass cats needed more room than that. To be honest I am pretty shocked they have all been alive for over a year all in together with not one casualty, as especially since Im new to fish, I thought I'd have done something wrong and killed them. The danio did have at the start 4 other friends but they died, which is why replaced them with smaller tetras.

The plec was labelled as a 'Mini BN Plec'. All i know is the guy in the LFS said it'd stay smallish but im soon learning that some lfs staff will say anything to get the sale.

The AV table has got stilts underneath already. I did want to just buy a stand for it but it's just a case of having somewhere to put it! If i was going to keep the 60L, because its so heavy filled with water, I'd have to drain out most of water right? Would it not be too much of a drastic water change when i put the fish back in once tank was re-located?

If I still get the Fluval edge, i was thinking of maybe crabs and shrimp with a white sand base. What else do you think would look 'good' as another theme? Thank you again for replying so soon

 

[Wills]

Hi no probs, I spend far too much time on this forum lol. As you said a lot of LFS will sell fish to make cash, business is business unfortunately.

To do a tank move I have found the best way to do it is.

Remove all plants and decor from tank one
Siphon 50% of the water into a large bucket
Catch all the fish and put them in the bucket of tank water
Remove rest of water into bucket two and put tank one into storage
Put new tank into position
Fill tank with water from tank two, as long as its not too dirty
Put decor in
Put fish in.

The most important piece for this is to keep your filter in water and plugged in. With as little time unplugged as possible aim for 20 mins max with no power IMO. When you come to sort out the new filter just take your old one apart and then trim the sponges etc to size to fit in the new section and you will be fine.

With the crabs and shimp, again unfortunatly I know 0 about crabs but there is an invertabrates section lower down in the forum so they might be able to help you out. But with the shrimp they are pretty simple to keep! And in a 5 gallon tank you could get a fantastic colony of cherry shrimp in a nice small tank filled out with twig like bog wood and moss. Have a look at a style of tank planting called nature aquariums. Takeshi Amano is the famous guy for this, it might just inspire you to copy his style They do look really good and are relatively simple to set up.

A few fish ideas for you. In a 5g tank you need to think really small, so I would go for things like Sparkling Gourami or Badis Badis fish. There are a lot of varieties of badis depends what you can find locally. Or if you want a small school a group of 5-6 Chilli Rasbora or maybe Galaxy Rasbora. Most of these fish will stay smaller than your zebra danio but have masses of colour and the solo fish will have good personalities and the schools will shoal tight and give a good visual. With the small tanks you have to think about not only the size of the fish but also how active a fish is as well.

Wills

 

[johnabenna]

wow you certainly know your stuff! this is my first day off in ages so wanted to make decision on what I wanna do today. Who knows when will have the day to myself again!

have you seen this one? http/truthinart.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/bigtank.jpg

it's amazing! I shall have a look in inverts forum now. You've kinda persuaded me to keep my 60L and get the edge to do something different in it. More money I dont have lol! Those cherry shrimp look amazing. We did once have shrimps in our tank but they 'cooked' within a few hours of being in the water. Was totally bizarre!

You know the sort of plants Takashi Anamo user in the smaller of his designs...where do you get those from? I live in Manchester and we have some really fab LFS's round here but none which stock the likes of whats in his tank.

 

[Wills]

I usually get my plants online, either ebay, javaplants or plants alive. Saying that though there is a classifieds section here and I think I saw someone selling flame moss the other day if not java moss is just as nice

Its such an addictive hobby both with the physical tank and the amount of research and seeing what people are doing but I know so little compared to some people.

If you do keep your tanks, why not build a stand your self? You could do a 2 tier one with the 60 on the bottom and the edge on the top. Again lol no expert but there is a DIY section here and I believe there are a few stand guides dotted around the internet.

 

[johnabenna]

Yeah these forums seem really friendly and helpful. I've been on some others and people talk to you like you're stupid because you're new to this.

Thanks again for all ideas. R.e.: stand building. If you saw the holes in my walls in house from DIY you'd know I'm not the best lol. Can just imagine building stand and hearing a massive crash one night.

Right...off to research plants now. Thanks again!

 

[Wills]

ha ha yeah have to admit I would be scared to build a stand as well. If you have a look on Aquarist classifieds.com there are a few cabinet builders no idea how much they cost though.

Also if you do keep the 60l would you consider altering your stocking? Few things need shuffling/rehoming etc if you keep it.

 

[johnabenna]

Right, got the Fluval Edge! Put few flakes of fish food in to start the cycle. The guy in the shop said though best way to start is to put some hardy fish in the water and see how they go. Good advice or not? This was what i did with my 60L when i first got it and seemed to work OK. I just hope all the moving around today hasnt shocked the 60L inhabitants too much. would hate for anything to come of them.

60L now back up and running in its new location. What advice do you have on it r.e.: stock?

Thanks again

 

[ajs2294]

The plec was labelled as a 'Mini BN Plec'. All i know is the guy in the LFS said it'd stay smallish but im soon learning that some lfs staff will say anything to get the sale.

I am presuming that the BN stood for Bristlenose Pleco which Im also pretty sure will get too bit for the Fluval edge, maybe just small enough for the 60l?

 

[Assaye]

Hi, I have had a 60L tropical tank for over a year now. We have at the moment:

4 Glass Cats, 4 Diamond Eye Tetras, 1 Zebra Danio, 1 Mini Plec and a Frog.

It is however too heavy for our TV unit in front room and it's about to snap. We have no where else to put tank, so I am getting rid of it and getting a Fluval Edge. I know I'm a sucker for things that look nice but I think it's cool!

When I get the new tank I know I need to start the cycle again with some hardy fish, but could I not just use some of the water from my old 60L tank and put it in the new Edge? Or is it the bacteria on the sponge in the 60L tank filter that will be thing missing?

I don't wanna get rid of my current fish so am hopefully taking them back to my LFS for use in their display tank, but I wanna keep my plec and frog for the new Edge. It's for this reason I'd really like to be able to put them straight into the Edge tank, rather than have to wait for it to cycle as I really don't have room to keep the 60L tank AND wait for the Edge to be ready.

I am still pretty new to fish so forgive me if not used correct terms etc. Thanks

What is a mini plec? Do you have a species name or even a photo?

However, irrespective of what it is, I don't believe there is a species of plec suitable for a tank as small as the Edge. Even the smaller plecs get to 3-5 inches which is far too big for the little Edge.

What kind of frog? If it is an african dwarf frog (AKA congo frog) it will be fine. You could even add some friends for it. If it is an arfican clawed frog, it needs a much bigger tank and will eat any small fish.

You could cycle the Edge in a dark cupboard or on your kitchen floor. Anywhere - it doesn't need to be properly set up. As long as you have filter and heater running, you're good to go.

The bacteria you need is in the sponge and other filter media, NOT the water. Moving the water across will achieve very little. If you are determined to get the edge (and you will be limiting yourself to 6 tiny fish and a couple of frogs) then try to move as much media from the old filter across as possible. If you can do that, the tank should be cycled instantly. If you can't do that, do a fishless cycle on the Edge. There is no sense in putting the lives of fish (even hardy fish) at risk by cycling with the fish.

Excellent Cycling Info

EDIT - sorry, tired. Good luck, and all that jazz. Just please don't do a cycle with hardy fish unless you have your own test kits and are prepared for 70% water changes every single day for a month or more.

EDIT 2 - learn the read the whole thread before you post, Assaye. Sheesh. Anyway - glad you are keeping the 60L. The plec (if it is a BN), diamond eyes and frog will be fine. Danio needs some friends, though. How about:

6 x diamond eye tetra
6 x zebra danio
1 x BN plec
2 x red honey gourami OR 1 x M/F pair of dwarf gourami

Shrimp and crabs - no freshwater crabs are going to really thrive in the Edge, as far as I am aware. Most will get too bigm, eat frogs/shrimp/fish and need an area of land. However, how about a sexy little planted tank with 10 cherry shrimp and 6 green neon tetra? Would look gorgeous. Micro rasboras are also an option, instead of the tetra. Whatever you do, you don't want the fish to grow to over an inch MAX.