Turning Cold Water Tank To Tropical

[snagglepuss]

i currently have a 70l coldwater tank and i am thinking of turning into a tropical tank, it has been a cold water tank for several months with frequent water changes i have a fluval 2 plus filter & a rena air 100 pump in it, live plants & a piece of bog wood, along with my fish. could i just put a heater in it & use the same water or would i have to do a full tank clean & start again.

also what sort & quantity of fish would be good to start of with as i have never had a tropical tank before, plus a would like an algae eater of some sort.

thanks

 

[mark.w.jones]

My thoughts hm.

1. Dont see why you couldnt just add a heater (after removing your coldwater fish of course) and then leave it to heat up. My only worry would be your plants and whether they are suitable for tropical temperatures.
2. My 2nd worry is that as soon as you remove your fish there will be no fish waste for your filter bacteria to live off of. The longer you leave it without fish the more will die off and you may get an ammonia spike as soon as you add your new fish as the filter has no bacteria left to cope with their waste. I would suggest doing a water stats test just before cleaning out your tank ready for your new occupants to make sure your levels are good. Then remove your old fish and ideally replace them with tropicals the same day. See what others think.
3. If youve had an empty tank for a while then all your good bacteria have already died off. If this is the case you need to fishless cycle it before adding your new tropicals. Follow the add & wait method in here:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...3861&hl=methods

4. Stocking wise 70l = 18 US gallons. So, you can have 18 adult sized inches of fish in you tank for the first 6 months. Then maybe a 1 or 2 more after, once it's matured. Being understocked with healthy / happy fish is better than being overstocked with unhappy / unhealthy fish.

5. Personally I wouldnt bother with an algae eater. Id go with maybe 2 groups of smallish mid level fish (tetras, rasboras, platties) + a school of pygmy cories + possibly a gourami as a feature fish.

 

[snagglepuss]

thanks for the info i will see wot others post

 

[Talz]

My thoughts hm.

1. Dont see why you couldnt just add a heater (after removing your coldwater fish of course) and then leave it to heat up. My only worry would be your plants and whether they are suitable for tropical temperatures.
2. My 2nd worry is that as soon as you remove your fish there will be no fish waste for your filter bacteria to live off of. The longer you leave it without fish the more will die off and you may get an ammonia spike as soon as you add your new fish as the filter has no bacteria left to cope with their waste. I would suggest doing a water stats test just before cleaning out your tank ready for your new occupants to make sure your levels are good. Then remove your old fish and ideally replace them with tropicals the same day. See what others think.
3. If youve had an empty tank for a while then all your good bacteria have already died off. If this is the case you need to fishless cycle it before adding your new tropicals. Follow the add & wait method in here:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...3861&hl=methods

4. Stocking wise 70l = 18 US gallons. So, you can have 18 adult sized inches of fish in you tank for the first 6 months. Then maybe a 1 or 2 more after, once it's matured. Being understocked with healthy / happy fish is better than being overstocked with unhappy / unhealthy fish.

5. Personally I wouldnt bother with an algae eater. Id go with maybe 2 groups of smallish mid level fish (tetras, rasboras, platties) + a school of pygmy cories + possibly a gourami as a feature fish.

I would have to agree with the above statement but still, have you removed the fish yet and if so how long? Are the water parimaters good? Any sign of disease?

 

[snagglepuss]

no i havent removed any thing from the tank my goldfish & weather loach are still in it with no sign of disease

 

[Talz]

no i havent removed any thing from the tank my goldfish & weather loach are still in it with no sign of disease

Well I dont see why you couldent do it then, also I have 3 weather loach in my tropical tank and they do great, you might be able to keep him in!