Aquarium volume Q's, am I overstocked?

[Essjay]

The big advantage with litres is working out tank volume, the arithmetic is much simpler.

A note for UK fish keepers - King British products give the dose rate in litres and gallons - but it's Imperial gallons not American gallons. Since just about every other brand uses American gallons, it is easy to assume King British is the same. One reason I prefer to use litres so there can be no mistake.

 

[ClownLurch]

Aquarist-classifieds.co.uk
Should help you find used tanks in your area. There’s a search by county option as well.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Late to this thread, sorry AD, but save this link, it's my go-to for tanks sizes AND weights, empty and filled

Standard aquarium tank sizes and weights

Volumes in US Gallons and liters, dimensions in inches and centimeters, and estimated weights in pounds and kilograms, both empty and full with freshwater

www.aqua-calc.com

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Late to this thread, sorry AD, but save this link, it's my go-to for tanks sizes AND weights, empty and filled

Standard aquarium tank sizes and weights

Volumes in US Gallons and liters, dimensions in inches and centimeters, and estimated weights in pounds and kilograms, both empty and full with freshwater

www.aqua-calc.com

Don't be sorry, this is really useful! Bookmarked, thank you so much!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Aquarist-classifieds.co.uk
Should help you find used tanks in your area. There’s a search by county option as well.

Awesome, I haven't been looking there, thank you!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Don't be sorry, this is really useful! Bookmarked, thank you so much!

More than welcome

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Oh, everybody knows metric measurements make a lot more sense than Imperial/USCS. But it's a bit like keeping plecos, falling in love, or camping: It doesn't really make any sense, but we love it anyway.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Finally got the tank to upgrade these guys!! Took a month to find the right tank at the right price and finally get it delivered, but it's here at last! I'm so excited to get them set up in it.

Photos from the seller, so not my cichlids! lol. @Wills would love to know what kind of cichlids these are, South American or African? I'm guessing the second, not sure why, and maybe it's even a mix of both. But curious to find out, and I know that you'll know

It's second hand so needs a bit of a clean and is in the back garden right now, then I need to make a plan for housing the fish currently in this 36g while I tear it down and set up the new one. To save anyone from having to read back through the thread, current stock list that at the moment are in a 36g with a footprint of 80 by 35cm

18 corydoras. Six sterbai, 2 albino aeneus, 7 bronzes, three tiny baby black Venezuelan.
2 juvenile 181 peppermint plecos.
4 elderly retired guppies
2 male platies
5 elderly tetra, small species.
Shrimp colony.

Will now be moving to a Fluval Roma 240, which is 63 US gallons/240L, with a footprint of 120 by 40cm. Much better! And will fit perfectly on the cabinet I have already, which is great since the tank didn't come with a stand.

But has confirmed my suspicions that I shouldn't have got this tank, and should have held out for something larger/longer. Looking up starlight plecos on Seriously Fish, which are almost the same as my L181 apart from adult colouration, and they say base dimensions of 120cm by 45cm smallest base size considered. Mine are still only 2 inch juveniles, but I want to upgrade long before they need it or it gets urgent.

My 'new' tank isn't quite as wide as SF recommends, since this is 120 by 40cms, but my cabinet is 43cms wide, so I couldn't find a tank that was 120 by 45 that would either come with a stand, or would fit on the stand I have, so I'm hoping it's still going to be okay for them. They're still pretty small at the moment and have had plenty of space to grow out since they were in a 57g until recently, so they're not stunted, so if they get huge as time goes on, I'll then look into upgrading them from the 63g.
Here's the plecs, Ziggy and Stardust

Seriously though, you have a lot of bottom dwellers, that footprint would be good for 12 cories, 15 at a push. I tend to disregard shrimp but if you factor them in as well it is stretched, then add the plecos and it's a real crowd.
In contrast the mid-upper fish are suitably stocked.

Hi @Naughts , @Byron , @GaryE , @WhistlingBadger , @Slaphppy7 and @DoubleDutch ,
I was naughty, and as you saw, bought three more cories to add to the crowd! I can't help it, I'm a cory addict! It's like a compulsion So the total new bottom dweller stock, in a tank with a footprint of 120 by 40cm and volume of 240L will be 18 cories and 2 peppermint plecos. Top level just the few remaining elderly tetra and livebearers until they pass, the tanks were always meant to be about keeping the cories and plecs. Does that sound like an okay stocking to you? I respect your opinions a great deal, so would really appreciate any thoughts or advice you may have!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Finally got the tank to upgrade these guys!! Took a month to find the right tank at the right price and finally get it delivered, but it's here at last! I'm so excited to get them set up in it.

Photos from the seller, so not my cichlids! lol. @Wills would love to know what kind of cichlids these are, South American or African? I'm guessing the second, not sure why, and maybe it's even a mix of both. But curious to find out, and I know that you'll know
View attachment 165284View attachment 165285

It's second hand so needs a bit of a clean and is in the back garden right now, then I need to make a plan for housing the fish currently in this 36g while I tear it down and set up the new one. To save anyone from having to read back through the thread, current stock list that at the moment are in a 36g with a footprint of 80 by 35cm

18 corydoras. Six sterbai, 2 albino aeneus, 7 bronzes, three tiny baby black Venezuelan.
2 juvenile 181 peppermint plecos.
4 elderly retired guppies
2 male platies
5 elderly tetra, small species.
Shrimp colony.

Will now be moving to a Fluval Roma 240, which is 63 US gallons/240L, with a footprint of 120 by 40cm. Much better! And will fit perfectly on the cabinet I have already, which is great since the tank didn't come with a stand.

My 'new' tank isn't quite as wide as SF recommends, since this is 120 by 40cms, but my cabinet is 43cms wide, so I couldn't find a tank that was 120 by 45 that would either come with a stand, or would fit on the stand I have, so I'm hoping it's still going to be okay for them. They're still pretty small at the moment and have had plenty of space to grow out since they were in a 57g until recently, so they're not stunted, so if they get huge as time goes on, I'll then look into upgrading them from the 63g.
Here's the plecs, Ziggy and Stardust
View attachment 165288


Hi @Naughts , @Byron , @GaryE , @WhistlingBadger , @Slaphppy7 and @DoubleDutch ,
I was naughty, and as you saw, bought three more cories to add to the crowd! I can't help it, I'm a cory addict! It's like a compulsion So the total new bottom dweller stock, in a tank with a footprint of 120 by 40cm and volume of 240L will be 18 cories and 2 peppermint plecos. Top level just the few remaining elderly tetra and livebearers until they pass, the tanks were always meant to be about keeping the cories and plecs. Does that sound like an okay stocking to you? I respect your opinions a great deal, so would really appreciate any thoughts or advice you may have!

Sounds just fine to me....congrats on the newbies, and the future newbies

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Sounds just fine to me....congrats on the newbies, and the future newbies

Thank you! I'm really happy, looking forward to scaping it and seeing them explore the larger space
And lol, what future newbies?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Thank you! I'm really happy, looking forward to scaping it and seeing them explore the larger space
And lol, what future newbies?

There will be future newbies...trust me*

*Sorry, may have gotten this tank confused with another....haven't had enough Earl Gray yet this morning...

 

[GaryE]

The Cichlid photos wouldn't expand for my lousy eyes, but I think the seller had mostly Lake Malawi species, with one species from a petrie dish habitat...

It's pretty fundamental that once you have Corydoras, nothing else is needed in a tank. Who cares about the upper reaches of a tank.

 

[Wills]

Gary is right mostly Malawi, I think Mbunas but I can see a Midas or Midevil Cichlid in the middle and I think I see a Green Terror at the back?

Really good news on the tank though I wouldnt worry about 40cm vs 45cm, I wonder if 45cm is the width of a standard US tank? I think I've seen reference to SF using standard tank sizes for things like this rather than an actual requirement.

I'd probably say you have some space in there to add something new if you wanted too as well not sure what to suggest though... some of the fish are too small for a feature fish like a cichlid (which is my go to) but you could look at doing a big school of a small species as an extra feature to the tank. Like a big school of Galaxy Rasboras or Emerald Rasboras 15-20 of them?

Looking forward to seeing you get this set up!

Wills

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

There will be future newbies...trust me*

*Sorry, may have gotten this tank confused with another....haven't had enough Earl Gray yet this morning...

Why sorry? As long as we remain in the hobby, there will always be future newbies So you're right!

The Cichlid photos wouldn't expand for my lousy eyes, but I think the seller had mostly Lake Malawi species, with one species from a petrie dish habitat...

Sorry, I couldn't figure out to expand them when he sent them to me either, and I never learned how to change formats like jpegs etc, I'm a luddite, lol. But thank you for the ID! The fish from a petri dish habitat - does that mean a man-created hybrid type thing? What's the fish called?

It's pretty fundamental that once you have Corydoras, nothing else is needed in a tank. Who cares about the upper reaches of a tank.

I see a lot of people stock their tank with what they want first, then think about adding bottom dwellers almost as an afterthought, thinking of them as just a clean up crew. But cories and otos are one of my favourite fish, so my tank planning went the other way around - design the scape and habitat with the cories and plecs in mind (my otos are in a different tank with pygmy cories) and any top dwellers that get added later will have to be ones that will work with these fish and in that habitat.

I'm gonna try really hard to resist any more bottom dwellers, since that's already a lot of fish bumbling about the bottom, and I don't want them to get overcrowded! But I will eventually want to stock something in the mid-upper levels. Likely a small schooling fish in a decent number, to add some colour and activity, but I haven't got a clue what to get yet, and I'm not in a rush. Letting the remaining tetra and livebearers live out their days and focusing my efforts on the fish I already have before worrying about stocking the upper levels.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Really good news on the tank though I wouldnt worry about 40cm vs 45cm, I wonder if 45cm is the width of a standard US tank? I think I've seen reference to SF using standard tank sizes for things like this rather than an actual requirement.

Standard aquarium tank sizes and weights

Volumes in US Gallons and liters, dimensions in inches and centimeters, and estimated weights in pounds and kilograms, both empty and full with freshwater

www.aqua-calc.com