50 Gal

[Questions?]

i have a 20 gallon wth the stocking in my signature
i will be getting a 50 gallon in 2 days
my ideas are as below

fauna:
4x Angels (i already have 2)
1 German Blue Ram
2 Bristlenose Plecos
4 ghost shrimp (i know they will get eaten soon )

flora:
2 amazon sword
1 rosette sword
6 cryptocoryne wendtii (green)
1 cryptocoryne wendtii (red)
3 batches of java moss
4 batches of wisteria (2 planted, two floating)
a lot of hornwort
1 java fern
1 anubias

filters:
30 gallon
55 or 60 gallon

hardscape:
4 driftwood (3 small, 1 large)
1 slate

lighting:
undecided, either low light or medium light

anyone know if this will be good?
also anyone know if should add the 2 angelfish to make it 4? (already have 2)
anyone know of some kind of schooling fish i could add or anything else i could add?

 

[Blitz]

Mmmm... In my opinion I wouldn't get 4 angelfish. From my past experience I took fish keeping the wrong way and overstocked in a small tank. So I'm scared to ever do that again. I would only do 3. Just my opinion!!

 

[Questions?]

alright thanks, do you know f i could add a firemouth cichlid

 

[techen]

3 angels are too much as well! One angel every 100l meaning a 50gallon can fit two angels. Mixing angels are a bad idea as well as they have a habbit of killing each other. Stay with two, I have one in my 53 gallon due to how big they get and tthe risk of it killing another angel

 

[thereverendturtle]

Get 6 angels let them pair up then sell the 4 you don't want, or keep them all a 4' 50 is larger enough for 6 angels. Breeders typically keep pairs in 20 highs or 2 pairs in a divided 29 gal.

 

[Questions?]

ok, so its ok to get 4 angels or no? i don't want a par though, be then they would attack my other fish, maybe later on though....

 

[techen]

ok, so its ok to get 4 angels or no? i don't want a par though, be then they would attack my other fish, maybe later on though....

I suggest you keep two, If they get one with each other two is fine for your size of tank. Angels need a lot of swimming room due to there big size.

 

[Questions?]

ok ill keep 2 angel fish. i also just got 6 rummy nose tetras since they are good at the higher temperatures and are to big for angelfish to eat them

also does anyone know how to seed a new filter? i want to get rd of my 30 gallon filter. but i want to put the filter media in the 65 gallon filter. does anyone know how to do that? also would it be ok to put the fish in the tank with the filter have the mature filter media? i want to get the fish moved as quickly as possible. also since there is live plants in there and it is a big tank (n my opinion) so would any ammonia spkes be sgnifcant until the filter is fully cycled.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

The easiest answer is to just take the old material and cut it up as necessary to fit into the new filter any way that allows the water to flow over the media without clogging it up.


What filter are you replacing, and what is the new one?


When setting up a new filter with old media, you need to keep the old stuff wet and fed until you move it as much as possible... AND you should test the water for a while (a week would be best, I think) to confirm that ammonia and nitrite remain zero constantly. If they don't, be sure to do as large a water change as necessary, because technically, you are in the middle of a 'fish-in cycle'. ;-)

 

[Questions?]

thanks^
the old filter s a top fin 30. it is fully cycled as it is in my 20 long gallon that has 2 small angelfsh, 1 betta, 6 pygmy cores, 1 albino cory, 1 peppered cory, 2 bristlenose plecos, 1 male GBR, 4 ghost shrimp 6 rummynose tetras. the new flter is Marineland bio-wheel power filter penguin 350.

well we went to get the fish tank and came back with a 60 gallon since the 50 gallon with a stand (seperately) was more than a 60 gallon with the stand (together)
when i get the tank setup the stocking will be:
2x Angelfish ( Pterophyllum scalare)
1 male GBR
6 rummynose tetras
2 bristlenose plecos
4 ghost shrimp

i was wondering f i could add 1 male GBR and 2 more female GBRs and anything else i could get?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm not an expert on GBRs. Personally, even in the bigger tank, I'd probably not do it. If you ended up with breeding pairs, you might get more aggression than you wanted from them.


I have two Penguin 200s on my home tank, and 2 Penguin 350s on a tank at school. They are very nice filters. They give you plenty of extra space to add the media from the top fin 30.

Put the new cartridge for the 350 in the slot closest to the return to the tank, and use the space behind that to hold your old filter media. With the 350, you have space on either side of the intake to add stuff, so just split the media (cutting it up is fine, as necessary) between the two sides to allow for maximum water flow and you are set. Give it about 6 weeks set-up like that, then slowly take bits of the old material out. The new filter media will be able to cope with the increased load necessary to keep up with the bioload.

I'd also move as much of the substrate over as possible to the new tank and the other decorations. Tanks take a while to build up a biofilm and any extra boost you can give that process the better. Some of your fish, like the GBR are fairly delicate, so changes in their environment will be a bit of an issue.


I'd take 50% of the water from the original tank and add it AS IT IS to the new tank - to try to keep the water chemistry as similar as possible. And I'd refill the old tank, sufficiently to allow the heater and filter to keep running on that tank while you make the transfer. Fill the new tank the rest of the way with dechlorinated tank water and get that up to the same temp as the old tank. Run the new filters without the old media to get things going and the heater up to make sure you can hold the proper temp. Then start moving substrate, decor, etc. No matter what, it will be a bit traumatic for the fish, so keeping the water chemistry as static as possible is the goal. I'd also do a few water changes in the 20 gallon beforehand to get the fish used to the tap conditions as close as possible.

When you are ready to move the fish, I'd remove 50% of the water again - and add it to the NEW tank. This should eliminate your need to acclimate your fish, since the water will be the same already. The biggest concern would be temp shock. So, try to keep them the exact same temp, or float them for a little while in the new tank in ziptop bags to get the temps to match. Then everything should be fine... Of course, you could do a drip acclamation process still if you are overly concerned about shock. You could even do it connecting the two tanks, depending on their locations.

 

[thereverendturtle]

Rams do best in pairs. A pair will take a territory of about one square foot, and aren't very aggressive to other fish. Even when breeding at most they just give a small chase to anything they consider a threat to their fry. If you don't want them breeding , there is nothing wrong with having a group of males. Three to four would be ok.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Which is why I claimed not to be an expert in GBRs. Thanks rev.

 

[Questions?]

thanks guys and gals

 

[Questions?]

would 30 watts work for low light plants in my 60 gallon? t would be 0.5 watts per galon. becaquse the hood is two seperate hoods each wth 18" 15 watts bulbs and i can't find anyother 18" bulbs for 30 watts or higher