Fast Flowing River Set Up

[NeilP]

I have a BGKF, Bulldog Plec and African Butterfly which i am rehousing into a River Set up from south America ( in know that two of the occupants aren't from South America.....)

I've tried to research other occupants to go with them (its a 3ft tank) but can't find any usefull info such as

Compatilble Fish
Plants

etc

Any suggestions anyone?

Thanks

Neil.

 

[CFC]

I wouldnt recomend trying a fast flowing river set up in a 3 ft tank as the relatively short distance the water can travel will create a whirlpool effect which the fish will not appreciate, for fast flowing water you really need either a very long wide tank (5ftx2ft minimum) or tank which runs on a sump system so the water is taken from one end of the tank and put back in at the other to create a continuous flow.

Two of your fish are from the amazon, only the african butterfly is not.

For a south american wet season biotope use amazon sword plants Echinodorus species and lots of pieces of driftwood. Since tankmates need to be too big to be eaten by the BGK or butterfly stick to catfish such as corydoras and hoplosternum and dwarf cichlids Appistogramma species.

The amazon system has little aquatic vegetation as the acidic water burns most plants, it is only during the wet season when the rivers flood into the jungle that the typical idea of a underwater jungle occurs.

 

[ryan]

I would recommend some of the Apistogramma species to you. There are also hundreds of varieties of Tetras, Plecos are Cichlids. As CFC mentioned Echinodorus species and lots of bogwood will help add to the environment of the South American region.

Good Luck

 

[NeilP]

Thanks CFC,

Sump system ehh...... not tried that before........ (eyes glint at a new challenge)

To set up a sump system am i right in thinking that i would need....

A sump (duh - obviously) sitting behind/below the main tank which has the filter in it sucking water from sump pumping it back into the main tank, and a pump//filter or overflow in the main tank leading down to the sump.

Is this right?

If so, does the sump need to be covered, have anything in it (apart from water) and if i use an overflow, presumably i will have to get the tank drilled.

Thanks

Neil.

 

[CFC]

I think youve got it, the sump is positioned beneath the tank and should be able to hold all the water from the tank above in case of a accident (you really dont want 30 odd gallons of water on our living room floor). the tank can be drilled (only recomended for new tanks, old glass can be brittle and may shatter) or you could use a overflow box, it is possible to use pumps of the same output too but if one fails or becomes blocked it can result in all the water ending up in one tank.

The sump is used as a huge filter containing various medias to provide optimum filtration, the best person i know to dicuss this with is Ste2k3 who builds a lot of his own sumps and filters.

 

[NeilP]

Thanks CFC,

I'll PM Ste2k3