Looking At Going Big.

[impmonkey]

Hey everyone I have been spending alot of time at this forum lately and really learning alot. Currently I have a 10 gallon tank that has been up and running for about a year or so. Im just getting the itch to go bigger. Currently in my ten I have a betta and just three small zebra danios. I have had them all since the tank was first cycled and they are all really happy.
Well I went down to the local fish store and they have a beautiful setup that includes a 65 gallon tanks, a nice modern looking stand, and a full hood w/ lighting for 230. Man is that tempting.
My ? are as follows:
Could I use a filter from the ten to jump start the cycle in the 65?
How hard would it be to do that?
What would you recommend as far as cool community tank fish for this size tank?
I would like to stay with plastic plants, are there any you recommend?
Filter setups? etc...

Thanks In advance.

Chuck

 

[newfishaddict]

Hey everyone I have been spending alot of time at this forum lately and really learning alot. Currently I have a 10 gallon tank that has been up and running for about a year or so. Im just getting the itch to go bigger. Currently in my ten I have a betta and just three small zebra danios. I have had them all since the tank was first cycled and they are all really happy.
Well I went down to the local fish store and they have a beautiful setup that includes a 65 gallon tanks, a nice modern looking stand, and a full hood w/ lighting for 230. Man is that tempting.
My ? are as follows:
Could I use a filter from the ten to jump start the cycle in the 65?
How hard would it be to do that?
What would you recommend as far as cool community tank fish for this size tank?
I would like to stay with plastic plants, are there any you recommend?
Filter setups? etc...

Thanks In advance.

Chuck

I like 55g tanks, not too big not too small, cheep stands at wallmart (70$ Canadian = about 50$ American)

I cycled my 55g instantly with a used (3 weeks) aquaclear 150 filter; by instantly I mean I SLOWY stalked the tank and never had any ammonia or nitrite readings....(I also had a rena xp3 filter that was new out of the box)

I love my rainbow shark, red line torpedo barbs, and angel fish!

If you are satisfied with plastic plants I would by a tank "kit", but if you ever want real plants you will obviously need better lights....

For cheep, I like aquaclear filters due to: low sound level, you can add two sponge filters in each and still have room for carbon and high surface area "bacteria blocks" as I call them... , and they are cheep….

If you have few money restrictions, I like my rena xp3 filter

Cheers and have fun with the new tank....

 

[Ethos]

I like 55g tanks, not too big not too small, cheep stands at wallmart (70$ Canadian = about 50$ American)

Actually the stand at my walmart is about $65-$70 and its a serious peice of crap.
There was someone on here a couple days/weeks ago who had set one up and then was concerned about its stability, and took it down because it is NOT worth the risk of the aquarium.
Just a little side fact

PS: There's a very nice selection of stands at petco which a very well built.
Mine was a bit off the expansive end, I paid about $170 for mine, but I love it. It looks beautiful.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Ha, another one succumbs to MTS! Congrats! I'm in the same boat, having only just managed to talk my family into letting me get a 55 gals- though I probably won't be able to set it up until after the summer.

Can't advise on tanks, I'm hopeless with technical things. As for cloning, I'm sure it will help, though if you clone the filter from your 10 gals, you will only get a bacteria colony of that sort of size, not enough to fill the entire 65 gals.

As for fish- this is the fun bit. This is how I'm going to spend this spring, making more and more elaborate plans!

Plan A for my new tank involves a trio of pearl gouramis as a centrepiece, and surface dwellers.

Then for the middle a biggish school (c. 10 individuals) of some quiet smallish tetras, something that won't nip the gouramis. Maybe black neons, or black phantoms; or maybe harlequin rasboras instead of tetras. Anyway a decent sized school.

For the bottom, either a school of corys, or a pair of bristlenoses; I think I will probably go for the bristlies as I've got corys in my other tank.

This still leaves a bit of room to play about with. Thinking about some of the more unusual livebearers, like limias; I've got a thing about livebearers. Or I might just move some of my pink platies in here for a bit of colour.

Plan B would be to keep a school of giant danios for the top layers, and then loaches or something down the bottom.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi impmonkey

Welcome to the forum!

A community tank is a great way to move up in the fishkeeping world, and if you are happy with the deal you found, go with it.

You can get your new tank off to a flying start by using the filter from your existing one. The amount of beneficial bacteria in your tank is enough to support the number of fish you presently have in there. If you move it to a bigger tank and let it run along with the new filter, you can move your fish into the new tank with no problem. Then, if you very gradually stock the new tank, the number of bacteria will increase to catch up to the increased demand.

The key to being successful with this method is to stock slowly (especially at first) and to monitor your water parameters.

Good luck!

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. If you have the cash handy and really want a bigger tank, absolutely go for it. Once set-up, they aren't that much more work, and the pay-offs are huge. I noticed a big difference in my fish when i moved them from a cramped 10 gal to a 55 gal. Fish that were always hiding before are now out all the time. It was amazing the transformation in some of the fish. There's also a big difference in the decorating and stocking you can do in a large tank.
I would use your small filter on the big tank along with the new filter for the new tank for a while and that way as long as you don't add too many fish too fast you shouldn't have much of a cycle or any at all. Make sure you get an appropriate heater and filter. I chose to go with plastic plants as i didn't want to have to worry about keeping live plants. I'm not sure if you are in north america or elsewhere, but i got a bunch of plastic plants from bigalsonline.ca . You can see the fish i have in my tank in my sig, and there are many, many other types you could have as well. Everybody's taste is a little different. Good luck!

 

[impmonkey]

I do have the cash in hand, however I like to have everything figured out before go to buy, such as lighting, filer and heater. I would love to go with sand as I think it looks better, but does it require more upkeep? cujoho78 I see you have the filter I was looking at would you recommend that one?
So if I run the filter I have on the new tank along with the new one I will be able to put my fish I have in right away? That would be great as I love my trio of danios and my betta.
How big of a heater, and any models you recommend?
Im thinking
my 3 danios + 6 more: 9 danios
9 neons
6 corys
my betta
and maybe some loaches or something, any suggestions as I am completely open to all suggestions here.
What could I do instead of the loaches? Would this be overstocked?


I really want to do a landscape with two pieces of "dualing" driftwood on opposite sides of the tank with a good about of plastic plants and maybe a couple of fake wood/rock caves.

Does that sound ok for the species?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi impmonkey

Sand is easier to keep clean than gravel. All the dirt either gets sucked up into the filter or lays on top so you can just vacuum it up with a siphon. There is no need to vacuum into sand, like you must with gravel.

The usual heater requirement is 5 watts per gallon of water. Some people prefer to get two smaller heaters, others only one, but you would want to get around 250 watts total.

 

[impmonkey]

cool 250 huh so two like 150 on each end would be ok as i could hide them behind the drift wood

Hi impmonkey

Sand is easier to keep clean than gravel. All the dirt either gets sucked up into the filter or lays on top so you can just vacuum it up with a siphon. There is no need to vacuum into sand, like you must with gravel.

The usual heater requirement is 5 watts per gallon of water. Some people prefer to get two smaller heaters, others only one, but you would want to get around 250 watts total.

 

[impmonkey]

Going to pick up tank this weekend. I think Im going to stick with gravel as sand sounds like more work to me. Anyway, how much gravel should I pick up pound wise. Could I mix this gravel with my old stuff to help the cycle that much more? Thanks in advance.

On second thought, how about if i took the gravel I have and mix it with sand for the new tank. WOuld this still help with the cycle and look more natural in my thoughts.

 

[Ethos]

I don't think so.
But you can buy a natural looking gravel, which is what I would recomend.

 

[impmonkey]

i picked up my filter and heater tonight. and will have to wait till mon to get the tank. Is it ok If i set up the filter on my ten (turn the flow all the way down) and let it run on the ten to gain some bacteria?
I plan on setting up the 65 putting both filters on the 65 and then putting in the fish? will all be well?

 

[impmonkey]

Tank is up and has been since last mon. I added the pre-existing fish and all is well.
Have decided on the stocking though.

3neons
3 bloodfins
4 hatchets
3 corys
my betta
2 rams
and 3 ottos

what ya think?

Also how long should i run the old filter on the new tank? it has been about a week can I take it off now?

Thanks
Chuck

i picked up my filter and heater tonight. and will have to wait till mon to get the tank. Is it ok If i set up the filter on my ten (turn the flow all the way down) and let it run on the ten to gain some bacteria?
I plan on setting up the 65 putting both filters on the
65 and then putting in the fish? will all be well?

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. Congrats on the new tank purchase, you must really be enjoying it. What size did you get, what filter and heater? I like the Penguin 350 on my tank very well. I find it makes a little bit of noise from the water running over the bio-wheels since it is in my bedroom but i've become accustomed to it (Sorry i didn't reply sooner to answer your question). Are you running the new filter on the tank with the old one? I would leave it on for a while (maybe 2 weeks) then if there's room, put the filter material from the old filter into the new filter along with the new filter material and let that run for a good month or so. That way you can remove the old filter. Just watch your water stats. If you're not getting ammonia or nitrite, then you can do whatever you like. Add your new stock slowly and all should be well. Good luck.

 

[SamUK]

Ha, another one succumbs to MTS! Congrats! I'm in the same boat, having only just managed to talk my family into letting me get a 55 gals- though I probably won't be able to set it up until after the summer.

i bought a 2ft tank 6 months ago and now i have an 80G 5ft tank, 55G 4ft tank and a 3FT tank coming friday.


jus gotta figure out where to put it lol. live with my parents and my room is kinda taken up! bit of rearranging and itll go in here somewhere tho.


damn MTS lol