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A place 4 my questions & ponderings as I build a 34 Gallons (127L) tank

AilyNC

AilyNC

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I finally ordered my tank! I'm so excited I danced around the kitchen & my husband is like "eh... You ok?!"

I've ordered the Clearseal (L)36" x (W)18" x (H)12" tank. It's 127 Litres (34 US gallons). I've ordered a custom glass sliding lid too.

The tank (€114) will arrive with Seahorse Aquarium on Tuesday, they'll then build the custom sliding glass lid (€70!). I know that's a costly lid but I've very specific requirements for the space & don't trust myself to DIY it. I could order a hinged glass Aqueon lid from at ~ €35 inc delivery but want sliding lid.

At €184 I thinks it's a great price for the tank size. A 125L Fluval is €305 & Jewel Rio 125L is €270.

EDIT: forgot to add an additional €100 for lights, filter & heater so less that Fluval but bit more than Jewel. More capacity than both.

Tank will arrive around Tuesday 15th September. Woohoo :yahoo: :thumbs::mama:
 
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I haven't been able to find a Forktail Blue-Eyed Rainbowfish but as luck would have it Seahorse Aquarium are getting some today. They said they can send one out with my order & he can live in my 58L tank for 2 weeks while I cycle the new tank.

Very excited as I prefer fun looking fish & I'm very limited with my hard water. Internet pic of mohawk cutie :wub:
mkCYA4DDJh.jpg
 
Forktails are real nice, dazzling blue eyes and lovely colours especially in peak conditions, very much a underrated fish species by lots of keepers but for those who have kept them, they loved them :nod:

Am very certain you will love those guys!

Think your choice of forktails will be perfect for that tank to be perfectly honest!

I nearly got forktails years ago but went with Threadfins instead as I liked their trailing fins a little more but it was close and took me ages to finally decide which of these two specie to get :nod:
 
Water parameters:

PH 8 (tank) or 7.5/7.6 (tap water left overnight)
GH 14 (current tank test)
KH 19 (current tank test)

Water company says 307ppm.
 
Eeek, I'm excited for you! And deeply jealous ;) lol. I need to research this fish now since I have hard water too, and it's beautiful!

The tank and lid sounds like a bargain, especially for a brand new tank and custom lid! I reckon you're right to get it custom made given where you want to place it. My tanks are second hand and the lids don't fit properly. Two don't have gaps for things like lights and cables, so they don't shut properly, one clearly wasn't the hood meant for the tank and is too large, so just rests on top, and I hate that. Custom lids look better and make life easier, and mean you can keep fish that have a tendency to jump without worrying!

Seeing how dramatically you improved your current tank and how great it looks now, it'll be awesome to see what you do with this one! Can't wait :wub:
 
Ch4rlie said:
Forktails are real nice, dazzling blue eyes and lovely colours especially in peak conditions, very much a underrated fish species by lots of keepers but for those who have kept them, they loved them :nod:

Am very certain you will love those guys!

Think your choice of forktails will be perfect for that tank to be perfectly honest!

I nearly got forktails years ago but went with Threadfins instead as I liked their trailing fins a little more but it was close and took me ages to finally decide which of these two specie to get :nod:
Click to expand...
It was thanks to @essjay that I came across them. I need to find out how many I should keep together. But my goodness it's a beautiful fish.

Edit typo
 
AdoraBelle Dearheart said:
Eeek, I'm excited for you! And deeply jealous ;) lol. I need to research this fish now since I have hard water too, and it's beautiful!

The tank and lid sounds like a bargain, especially for a brand new tank and custom lid! I reckon you're right to get it custom made given where you want to place it. My tanks are second hand and the lids don't fit properly. Two don't have gaps for things like lights and cables, so they don't shut properly, one clearly wasn't the hood meant for the tank and is too large, so just rests on top, and I hate that. Custom lids look better and make life easier, and mean you can keep fish that have a tendency to jump without worrying!

Seeing how dramatically you improved your current tank and how great it looks now, it'll be awesome to see what you do with this one! Can't wait :wub:
Click to expand...

I'm so excited! This fish shop is run by a marine biologist and omg he's so helpful! I'm gonna look at their plants and start planning that this week. Do I cycle the tank with or without plants?
 
AilyNC said:
Do I cycle the tank with or without plants?
Click to expand...

With plants, absolutely.

In fact plants will bring some benefits to a cycling tank, one example being is bringing in some of their own bb to your tank.

I’ve always cycled my tank with plants, even my very first tank and like you I was a newbie who asked the very same questions :lol:

Don’t be frightened of adding plants, but do be cautious to check if they’ve been treated with pesticide or not, check for snails if you don’t want them and damselfy nymph / eggs, a diluted bleach dip is not a bad thing to do to help eradicate these these but do expect plants to die back a little after this and if they’re strong they will bounce back after a wee while.

Not all plants will survive, normally a case of see what works and doesn’t work in your tank as everyone’s tank is different, no two tanks are the same ever, even if they’re exactly the same tanks in the same room with the same sources etc, they’ll be different in subtle ways!

So be prepared to chuck out dead or dying plants when obviously not going to work, wee bit of money down the drain and disappointment I know, but then you’ll know not to buy these types of plants again and go for different ones. At least that’s what I do!!!
 
Ch4rlie said:
With plants, absolutely.

In fact plants will bring some benefits to a cycling tank, one example being is bringing in some of their own bb to your tank.

I’ve always cycled my tank with plants, even my very first tank and like you I was a newbie who asked the very same questions :lol:

Don’t be frightened of adding plants, but do be cautious to check if they’ve been treated with pesticide or not, check for snails if you don’t want them and damselfy nymph / eggs, a diluted bleach dip is not a bad thing to do to help eradicate these these but do expect plants to die back a little after this and if they’re strong they will bounce back after a wee while.

Not all plants will survive, normally a case of see what works and doesn’t work in your tank as everyone’s tank is different, no two tanks are the same ever, even if they’re exactly the same tanks in the same room with the same sources etc, they’ll be different in subtle ways!

So be prepared to chuck out dead or dying plants when obviously not going to work, wee bit of money down the drain and disappointment I know, but then you’ll know not to buy these types of plants again and go for different ones. At least that’s what I do!!!
Click to expand...
Sounds good. I've been very trial and error with garden plants so much the same. I'll also look into hard water plants and prefer low maintenance ;)
 
Hmm, internal filter are sometimes bulky and take up valuable fish swimming space inside the tank.

If I have to choose, I’d choose the Pickup 160, it looks more like a better quality build and easier to access to the gubbins inside.

But have not actually had either of those filters in the past but have had eheims and they’re always reliable, so both will do the job just fine I think.

The heater, I’d go for the Fluval E series, I’ve had these heaters in the past and it’s great in the fact it has all round plastic guard around the heating element to protect fish and shrimps from burning themselves on the heater and the best thing was the LCD display, very easy to see form a distance what the current temperature is and also has coloured display to tell you if running a bit cool by turning blue and red if running hot, green for normal desired temperature.

A little more pricey than most heaters but for me, I think they’re worth it.

The aquael heater, nice design being black and flat to make it easier to hide and I've had this heater as well, no complaints at all and reliable, easy to adjust heater with the round dial.
 
Ch4rlie said:
With plants, absolutely.

In fact plants will bring some benefits to a cycling tank, one example being is bringing in some of their own bb to your tank.

I’ve always cycled my tank with plants, even my very first tank and like you I was a newbie who asked the very same questions :lol:

Don’t be frightened of adding plants, but do be cautious to check if they’ve been treated with pesticide or not, check for snails if you don’t want them and damselfy nymph / eggs, a diluted bleach dip is not a bad thing to do to help eradicate these these but do expect plants to die back a little after this and if they’re strong they will bounce back after a wee while.

Not all plants will survive, normally a case of see what works and doesn’t work in your tank as everyone’s tank is different, no two tanks are the same ever, even if they’re exactly the same tanks in the same room with the same sources etc, they’ll be different in subtle ways!

So be prepared to chuck out dead or dying plants when obviously not going to work, wee bit of money down the drain and disappointment I know, but then you’ll know not to buy these types of plants again and go for different ones. At least that’s what I do!!!
Click to expand...
I would have said everything he said :D Only I'd have been less concise and waffled on more - it's a problem, I can't help it. :blush:
Nicrew lights have a good rep. Affordable, but still great for your every day planted tank. A youtuber I sometimes watch who has beautiful planted tanks recommends them too. He's sponsored by them mind, so biased, but he does actually use them too, and I've seen others recommend them. If you were doing a high tech set up with really demanding plants you'd need to delve much deeper and invest in super fancy lights, but most of us just want a cheap-ish but half decent light that works well for most basic plants.
 
Possible Fish stock: ph 8, hardness is 307ppm

Forktail Blue-Eyed Rainbowfish shoals 8-10

L129 Columbian/False Zebra Pleco
(Could two co-exist? Or one L129 with an Albino Bristlenose? Is Lemon Ancistrus L144 same as Albino Bristlenose??)

Platy (currently have 2 adult {1F, 1M} & 8 Fry)

Endlers (5-10?!) I really love their movement

Other possible fish:
Odessa barb
Zebra/celestial Pearl/turquoise/LFWC Danio
Molly lyretail silver & black
Barb (denison/green tiger)
Killifish (SF says tank size, pH & hardness ok)
Dwarf Pufferfish
Rainbow fish
Kribensis Cichlid
 
Ch4rlie said:
Hmm, internal filter are sometimes bulky and take up valuable fish swimming space inside the tank.

If I have to choose, I’d choose the Pickup 160, it looks more like a better quality build and easier to access to the gubbins inside.

But have not actually had either of those filters in the past but have had eheims and they’re always reliable, so both will do the job just fine I think.

The heater, I’d go for the Fluval E series, I’ve had these heaters in the past and it’s great in the fact it has all round plastic guard around the heating element to protect fish and shrimps from burning themselves on the heater and the best thing was the LCD display, very easy to see form a distance what the current temperature is and also has coloured display to tell you if running a bit cool by turning blue and red if running hot, green for normal desired temperature.

A little more pricey than most heaters but for me, I think they’re worth it.

The aquael heater, nice design being black and flat to make it easier to hide and I've had this heater as well, no complaints at all and reliable, easy to adjust heater with the round dial.
Click to expand...

I'm just concerned an external filter won't work with the lid & could be noisy. I find my Tetra APS 100 air pump very annoying.

I think I'll spend the extra on the Fluval E Series heater. Solid reviews online & like the idea of the display as well as protective case.
 
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