Tons Of Questions!

[Tstone]

It would be best to have them both running, one on each end of the tank. If you need 500W of heater, get 2 300W heaters. It is better to have heaters working below their max capacity than running at max all the time. This would give you some overhead, and it would also give you a little cushion should one break. (That's what I meant. I can't speak for onidrase, but I assume that is what he meant.)



Sorry to not have addressed your filter question. I am a HOB man.

Thank you once again! So aside from the filters, heaters, sand, and a test kit, are there any other things you'd recommend before I begin my cycling? Should I get perhaps a thermometer? Anything else?

Also, how do I clean the sand? Will gravel cleaners work for sand?

 

[onidrase]

It would be best to have them both running, one on each end of the tank. If you need 500W of heater, get 2 300W heaters. It is better to have heaters working below their max capacity than running at max all the time. This would give you some overhead, and it would also give you a little cushion should one break. (That's what I meant. I can't speak for onidrase, but I assume that is what he meant.)



Sorry to not have addressed your filter question. I am a HOB man.

Thank you once again! So aside from the filters, heaters, sand, and a test kit, are there any other things you'd recommend before I begin my cycling? Should I get perhaps a thermometer? Anything else?

Also, how do I clean the sand? Will gravel cleaners work for sand?

get a glass thermometer that sticks to the side of the tank. The only got about 3 dollars, and they give you a good idea of the water temperature, which is important. It'll usually have to rest at 77 degrees F, and keep it from fluctuating too much. Some fish will like it higher, so do a quick profile search of the fish you like on google before buying them.

any ordinary gravel cleaner will work, you just run it over the surface of the sand to pike up the dirt, but it can suck up sand too, so keep it at a safe distance from the sand.

All you need to do to clean the sand is just run it under some warm water over and over till it stays clear. it may take a while depending on the type.

try to get a lot of driftwood caves and such for the catfish. raphaels especially are very nocturnal, especially when being introduced to the tank, it may take them a while to warm up to their surroundings.

 

[Tstone]

So i'll be going out friday to take advantage of black friday.. my shopping list so far includes..

Filters
heaters
sand
pure ammonia
medicine droppers
a test kit
thermometer
algae scraper
gravel cleaner

Anyone got anything to add to that?

 

[onidrase]

Make sure it's a liquid test kit (API is most common in US) test strips are very inaccurate. Otherwise, you're looking good.

What I meant on the other part of cleaning the sand, where you run it under warm water and stuff, that's before you put it in the tank. Otherwise, it might release a lot of gunk that may damage your filters. All you need to do to clean it once the tank is set up is use a siphon hose as you would with gravel, only sweeping it over the top rather than digging it into the substrate as you would with gravel.

 

[Tstone]

Make sure it's a liquid test kit (API is most common in US) test strips are very inaccurate. Otherwise, you're looking good.

What I meant on the other part of cleaning the sand, where you run it under warm water and stuff, that's before you put it in the tank. Otherwise, it might release a lot of gunk that may damage your filters. All you need to do to clean it once the tank is set up is use a siphon hose as you would with gravel, only sweeping it over the top rather than digging it into the substrate as you would with gravel.

Sooo get all that stuff.. wash the sand in warm water, and then put it in the tank, put the heaters and filters in, and then start the cycling process?

& another question.. should I get my decorations and whatnot before I start cycling? or does it matter?

 

[shasm]

Ive had a fluval 405 for about 3 years now with no complaints, dont know if that helps any.

 

[onidrase]

Make sure it's a liquid test kit (API is most common in US) test strips are very inaccurate. Otherwise, you're looking good.

What I meant on the other part of cleaning the sand, where you run it under warm water and stuff, that's before you put it in the tank. Otherwise, it might release a lot of gunk that may damage your filters. All you need to do to clean it once the tank is set up is use a siphon hose as you would with gravel, only sweeping it over the top rather than digging it into the substrate as you would with gravel.

Sooo get all that stuff.. wash the sand in warm water, and then put it in the tank, put the heaters and filters in, and then start the cycling process?

& another question.. should I get my decorations and whatnot before I start cycling? or does it matter?

Doesn't matter. Just get them before you get the fish so they can have their security. Other than that, you're set. They have gravel siphoners for tanks that pump the water directly to the sink, which will help you big on water changes with such a large tank. You should change 20% of the water every 1-2 weeks once the fish are in, so with your tank, that's about 22 gallons of water. You could just go with the good ole bucket, but that might become painful for you eventually.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

There is no "could" about it. I had issues with the water changes on my 56 gallon tank! 5 gallon buckets are heavy and take for every to fill up with the spray attachment on my sink! So, I got a hose and an attachment to hook it to my sink to fill the tank. I also empty the tank directly into my front garden with the same hose and a 5 foot extension that i use to get a siphon started. I just fill the 5 foot hose with water in the tank and attach the long hose. Then I hold my thumb over the end to hold the water in, while lowering the connection into a bucket (in case of leaks). I can change about 30 gallons in 30 minutes this way.




The decor isn't needed before the cycle, but as stated before the fish it is a must. Your fish will be stressed without some kind of decor, which you will be able to see easily in their color (or more accurately, their lack of color). In contrast, when they have the full decor in the tank, their colors will come out best and they will look far better than they did in the store. If you are going with live plants, don't add these until AFTER the cycle is completed. In that case, plants will need light. But, light and ammonia in your tank equals algae in great quantities. (In my opinion, I must say that I believe live plants are far better than fake!)

 

[Tstone]

Well my upstairs bath tub issn't too far from my tank so my plan was to just siphon water to and from that... and the fluval 405 is for tanks up ttoo100 gallons so I was gonna get 2 of the fluval 305's which are good for up to 70 gallons

 

[eaglesaquarium]

That should work, although, I will tell you that dumping that fishy water down the drain is a real shame. The stuff is a miracle fertilizer for land plants! Ultimately, I did this for the first time this year and my impatiens looked better than they ever have before! If you are a gardener AT ALL, I highly recommend that you find a way to transport that water to your plants during the spring, summer and fall. It will be worth the extra effort.

 

[Tstone]

,well my room is at the front of the house, and I have a window in my room, and right outside the window (& down 2 floors) is a tiny little ga4den my mom has in our front yard.. I could possibly just siphon it right out the window.. and then still get water from the bathtub/sink

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm not trying to change your mind, I am merely pointing out that the old tank water is a very effective fertilizer and it is a shame to waste it. I truly does everything those adds about fish emulsion fertilizers claim. The best part is that the fish water already has all these nutrients dissolved in the water, so there's no need to measure, mix, etc. It is the easiest fertilizing I've ever done and I got tremendous results. If it is too big a hassle for you to do that, then don't do it.


(I would confirm with mom that she is ok with the water coming from your tank, just to be on the safe side. The last thing you want to do is get mom angry! She might even have a suggestion on how she would like the water distributed.)

 

[Tstone]

And what does everyone think about live plants? Being my tank is so deep and someone mentioned lights not being able to reach the bottom of it to give the plant proper lighting

Also I see a lot about filters.. when I go get my stuff, should I get like replacement filters?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

How deep is it? My tank is 24 inches deep with only an 18W T8 bulb. My plants are doing fine. There is some initial melt for some of them, but once the plants adapt to the lighting, they are fine. Obviously, plant choice will make a HUGE difference with this. You must choose the proper plants, but there is no reason that you can't have live plants. Your fish will thank you for it! Ultimately, I think that you can't get their best colors without natural plants. The fake ones just don't cut it in my opinion.


Do you mean replacement media (the stuff that goes into the filters)? Yes, you will want some backup, but DO NOT REPLACE THE OLD STUFF according to manufacturer's directions. They just want you to buy their product, they don't care that replacing the stuff will also cause of recycling of your tank. It is better to just rinse your media in old tank water and return it to the filter regularly. If it starts to fall apart, then put a new one in, but cut up the old one and fit it in somehow. The bacteria will eventually colonize the new stuff, and you can them get rid of the old stuff. When I do this, I let the filter use BOTH old and new for 6 weeks. Then a take a part of the old media out every week for the next month or so. It works great. Depending on your type of media, this may not have to happen very often at all. I also added other media to my tank as well - ceramics - which NEVER have to be replaced. Just give them a good swishing every so often to keep the water flowing through them.

 

[Tstone]

31" deep.. and what should I buy as far as media?