Changing Back To The Fresher Side Of Life

[loneranger]

Hi All,
I'm new to this forum, but not so new to the hobby. I've kept freshwater trops, on and off for 15yrs or so, with a short dive into mbuna, then the last 4 yrs or so dabbling in the salty stuff.

I currently run a sumped Fluval Osaka 155 reef, however with 2 young children and cash not so readilly available as it once was, I've mad the decision to head back for a breath of fresh water as I always found it less time consuming and generally cheaper than reefs.

I'm still undecided which way to head with the tank set-up, but I feel that keeping it sumped is the way forward for extra filtration and tidyness.

As for stocking plans...well I'm really not sure. My wife likes mbuna, however the tanks a bit small for them, so I'm really open to suggestions.


It's tough, cus every time I look at the reef I want to keep it, but realistically, it's got to go. So come on folkes, give the new guy some cool suggestions


regards

Ad

 

[minnnt]

Heavily planted with Dwarf Cichlids and Tetra's.

Welcome back to the better side of fish keeping!

 

[DrRob]

I'm guessing you're keeping the same tank? I agree, it's not the right shape and size for mbuna, but they're lovely tanks, I've seen some really nice set ups in those.

If you're looking for a community then you can get a fair shoal of tetras, and dwarfs would be good. Probably not more than one pair of apistos with the lack of floor space territory. Not really long enough for the harlequins or danios.

Options open up for species tanks, and with the sump running there's all sorts of things you'd be able to keep. That would depend what you like really. What's caught your eye? With the height of the tank several of the taller fish start to become possible as well.

 

[loneranger]

Thanks guys, I love the look of heavily planted, but want to keep things quite simple. Is CO2 necessary? I have a choice of lighting available, a twin 24w T5 or a 6x24w T5, or could run both as I do at the mo on the reef.

 

[DrRob]

You'll struggle with CO2 with a sump, the extra gas transfer entering the sump tends to blow off a lot of the co2. Best results I've heard of were putting it into the sump return system, but you're likely to go through a lot more to get the levels you want.

Lots of plants don't need CO2, lots of the old school aquarium plants are fine without, so long as the lighting level isn't too high otherwise you'll get algae problems. If you go down the high light route, you'll need CO2 and ferts.

 

[loneranger]

Ok, so the twin T5 unit would perhaps do the job then?

Is there a list of the less demanding plants anywhere?

Ad

 

[minnnt]

Tropica website. Also have a look in the planted section on this forum and be sure to check out the PARC sticky there too.

Heavily planted is achievable without co2, i just dose ferts and run the same lighting system as you but on the Vicenza 180. No real trouble tbh. I also think that Harlequins would be fine in your sized tank...

 

[DrRob]

I was worrying about the length. They're good sized tanks, just not in any particular dimension, and I've found harlequins to be on the more active end for their size (but nowhere near as active as the danios).

 

[minnnt]

My Harlequins must just be idle then

Totally agree with you on the Danio's though... They're wappy!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

There are a lot of undemanding plants. Anubias are very undemanding, as are many, many others. The above link and a quick journey through the planted section will help in finding what works best for you. Be careful though with cichlids and plants. They didn't get their scientific name (geophagus) for nothing.

 

[minnnt]

Who mentioned Rams? I wouldgo with a pair of Keyholes myself and a group of 10 Neons, a small group of 5 or 6 Corydoras and then a nice small Plec such as a Bulldog or Rubber Lip. Would also add in about 4 or 5 Apple Snails just to get another colour in there

 

[loneranger]

Thanks all for your input.

I love Rams, but never had any luck keeping them, maybe it was down to my source rather than me as I hear many of them are quite weak. I had good success with keyholes, but find them a little drab, quite like Kribs though??? I also like the black tetra's. I'm thinking perhaps a pair of Rams (if I can find a good supplier), a big school of black neons, not sure about upper level yet? Would marbled hatchets be an issue with the tetra's?

what do you think?

 

[ZoddyZod]

Rams? Go with Bolivian rams rather than 'blue' 'german' or 'gold' as they are much much hardier little fish and more tolerant of a wide range of water perameters.

do you have a cover/lid for the Osaka? If not, steer clear of hatchets as they are highly prone to suicidal leaps from open top tanks.

 

[loneranger]

@zoddyzod - Good point about the hatchets and the open top, I'd forgotton their love of carpet surfing.

Regarding the Rams though, the more I look around the less I like the Bolivian Rams, just think they look dull, the German are lovely, but perhaps too fragile...

so still a bit stumped, I'm going to do a bit of reading around Apistogramma agassizii and Apistogramma cacatuoides as their both stunning fish, but staying open minded at the moment. At least until I've sold off all my marine Stock.

Ad

 

[loneranger]

Thanks again for all the advice guys......here's my work in progress

MY TANK

Ad