New Bloke

[mike rolly]

Hi to all,

My name is Mike, live in Australia and am just getting into this tropical fish keeping hobby.

I was lucky enough to get two large tanks and canister filters, heaters, air pumps, pH testing equipment, Nitrate and ammonia test kits, and other odds and ends.

I have been running an Aqua One AR-510 for a year, these new tanks have opened up more possibilities for me. I have set up one tank already, did the cycling, testing and filtration installation.

Added my fish from my little AR-510 today, consisting of 3 bristle nose catfish, 3 Silver Dollars, 1 Black Widow and 3 Colombian Reds. The new tank looks very sparse with my fish added.

Been keeping a close eye on them all afternoon, all seem to be doing well. The Silver Dollars seem a little stressed, they are staying in the same spot, in a corner and in the top 1/3 rd of the water depth. Is this normal?

The new tank is 5ft x 2.5ft and quite deep at 4ft. Running an Aqua One CF-700 canister filter and a Shark internal filter, temp is at 25-26 degrees Celsius. No nitrate or ammonia present, PH is at 7.0-7.2. Using a halogen lamp at the moment until I decide on a lighting system.

OK, some questions guys,

What would be the suggestion for lighting for the above mentioned tank?

I am keen to 'fill' up with some new fish species, comments or suggestions very welcome.

Plant life? Anything I should get planted quickly?

Substrate, I am just using sand at the moment, at approx 5 cm deep. I would like to add some coloured gravel for aesthetic purposes, this OK?

Thanks for reading my rather long post, I am here to learn and expand on my new found enthusiasm with the new tanks. The second tank is going to slowly built up for saltwater environments. I still have a lot to learn regarding this type of fish keeping, I plan to read up and research carefully.

First things first though, squaring my new tropical tank away.

Thanks in advance, very happy to have found this site.


Mike

 

[castiel]

Welcome, Mike! Good to see someone else from Aus on this forum - mostly filled with bloody Brits!
(I am a Brit myself, but now living in Melbourne)

I will let others far, far, far more knowledgeable than I answer your questions =0)

 

[colleen0309]

Good morning and welcome! Wow! 4ft deep? Really? How the **** are you going to clean it? That's deep. Must be a beautiful tank. Lighting for plants might be a little difficult with that depth. I will have to look around for some advice.

 

[mike rolly]

Thanks for the welcome castiel and colleen.

Yes, 4ft deep alright and on a 2.5ft cabinet stand, its a monster!

I have purchased an extendable tongs spring loaded jobbie for moving things in the tank and planting.

My concern is with lighting this tank so I can grow some plants and make it all look nice.

I would rather stay away from Metal Halides, I am looking into LED at the moment. LED seems to be the way to go?

Any recommendations welcome team.


Mike

 

[Dutsey]

Hello

I am envious of you having such a great tank. Mind you wouldn't like to clean it myself.

Welcome to the forums.

 

[XeroTolerance]

to the forums.

 

[micko]

Hello and welcome to the forums.

Lighting for plants will be an issue here, as its 4ft deep your going to need really strong lighting. You may post in the planted section of the forum as they are the experts on this.

As for your stocking your silver dollars need to be in groups of 6+, they like to hang about with eachother and are quite shy, like you've noticed since putting them in the new tank.
Your black widdows also need to be in groups of 6+ although a lot of people would say to double it to at least 12, it depends on your tank size.
How many litres is your tank?

You could build a breathable egg crate shelf as the tank is so deep you might find your able to get plants growing better if you put a shelf in at say 2ft. Obviously not completely dividing the whole tank into two sections.

If you have a small child then hoof them in with a snorkle and let them clean it.

 

[XeroTolerance]

If you have a small child then hoof them in with a snorkle and let them clean it.

+1

 

[colleen0309]

If you have a small child then hoof them in with a snorkle and let them clean it.

+1

Made my day!! Just pictured my grandson snorkling in the tank with the cleaning hose!