Upgrading To 4 Footer.

[indir-emir]

Hi all,
Im upgrading to a four foot tank tomorrow Going to pick it up tomorrow hehehehe. Cant wait.

Anyway questions are:
1) How much gravel would i need to give me about 2-3 inches of depth (want to plant the aquarium out) for the dimension 48x15 inches? From looking around in shops they prove about 30KG of gravel in their 4 footer deals.

2) Should i run the Fluval 105 i have now along side the FX5 filter that is going to be running in the aquarium to cycle the FX5? (i need to wash it out thoroughly because it was running in a marine aquarium.) Or should i just put the media into the FX5 alongside the extra media that will be in the filter?

Asking this to ensure the least amount of stress for the fish while the filter catches up with the other media

Regards,
Indir

 

[saz326]

Okay - Firstly ENVY ENVY ENVY........ lucky you!!!!

Gravel is a bit tricky to estimate in weight as it depends on the size of the grains that you want to use. If you use pea sized gravel for example the weight would be less than if you used finer stuff - Alongside that - the expanded stone stuff is far lighter!... nice and easy

What I'd do is pop to the shop you're likely to buy from, and lay a few bags out on the floor. They may look at you a bit wierd but its well worth doing. tip the bags so that the gravel is at the depth you would like and then push a few bags together. You can do this for a 2ft by 15" area so that you dont use too many bags - then simply double it to know what you need.

Always buy more than you need tho. You may want to re-scape later or have raised areas.

With regards to the filter question - I dont know enough about the bacteria in marine systems to give you an answer. I guess they would be a different type of bactera as the freshwater ones wouldnt survive the salty conditions... but I could be mistaken. If no-one else can give more information on this then Id start fresh with the FX5. I wouldnt transfer the marine media into the new filter.

There are media donations available on this site.... anyone have a link in their sig?

 

[indir-emir]

Hehe thanks mate. Didnt think parents would let me but surpisingly they did So im over hte moon there. Plus founda good bargain
I think about 3 bags would do it to be honest (10kg bags). Their probly a bit above a foot by like 20cm or so with about 3 or 4 inches thick of gravel (pea sized, maybe bit smaller).

I was acutaly going to wash out the entire contents of the FX5 and put the media FROM the Fluval 105 (filter floss, ceramic noodles, few sponges) into the FX5 (after the wash ofcourse) then just wait for the media to catch up on the rest of media.

Regards,
Indir

P.S Thank is 60G tank from my calculations